Finally, painting is completed. Now cut and buff with some touch up. The doors go back on tomorrow.
August 3, 2012
June 12, 2012
a first look at the new paint
SAAB WH02 (Coral White). The inside doors and hood have been painted. We double checked the fit of the hood prior to get the rest of the car painted. The very first piece I installed as an act of actually putting the car BACK TOGETHER was the hood spike for the latch.
May 22, 2012
primer and sealer done
After priming, more sanding and sealer. Years of dings, dents and rust damage are gone.
April 13, 2012
1 year since the restoration was started
So here we are 1 year after the restoration began. It has been a lot of fun, but there is still quite a bit more work to do. Some parts have been replaced, some parts of been restored through easy cleaning and others through extensive cleaning. Its been a lot of cleaning! And its not just dirt, its been moss and old paint overspray as well. The rubber parts seem to be responding to scotch brite, joy and Black Again.
The rust is all gone and fortunately it doesn’t look like it made its way into any of the hidden areas. The driver’s side door had quite a bit of rust in the ‘rain collector’ but that has all been ground out and patched. It was all mostly surface rust elsewhere. The wheel wells have been power wire brushed out and a new layer of black undercoat has been sprayed in. I have a new set of SPG springs to install and Blistens for the front to replace the (apparently) stock KYBs.
I will be getting the incas sandblasted, corrected and then either powder coated or painted. I plan to put Michelin Hydroedge 195s to replace the current 185s which will match well with the new spring set.
I was hoping to be done by the 21st of this month for the Volvo/SAAB show at the Nordic Heritage Museum, but I’ll have to shoot for the Volvo/SAAB show at the Swedish Cultural Center.
More updates to come .. I’m obviously obsessed with this car.
January 18, 2012
October 2, 2011
Rear seat is finished
I picked up the rear seat today. The driver and passenger seat are still getting finished up with new seat and back trampolines. I think they really turned out great. The trunk fabric on the back of the back seat is what is going to be used on the floor panels and side panels of the trunk. There are a few ‘manila brown’ pieces which I plan to paint with a good enamel and cure in a low temp drying oven. The two side panels that fit over the wheel arches in the back seat area are getting painted at the body shop with a very durable paint.
September 17, 2011
The SAAB 99 Holy Grail .. well, one of them
There is a definite list of Holy Grails for the SAAB 99. The front turn signals probably aren’t that rare for the 1977-1984 models since they’re newer and they were made for 7 years, but they seem impossible to find. I was piecing together a set when I came across a brand new one .. and just one. Both the left and right on the car were destroyed by the accident and weathering. What was left of them crumbled to the touch.
I probably will save the new one pictured above until I find another and for now make a pair out of these below. The clear lenses are from the earlier years, the later were European spec and later US models. One reason why these may be so rare is that they have issues with weatherproofing which causes moisture to get trapped. The build up of moisture, moss/mold can destroy the reflective mirroring enamel and ultimately make the plastic brittle. If you ever crack your lenses its important to take care of it as soon a possible. I’ve been researching how to restore them, its a common problem but its very expensive to get the mirroring restored.
It’s best not to obsess over this though.
August 11, 2011
freshly blasted
The blasting revealed the extent of the rust damage. Fortunately for the areas of concern it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. We did find new areas from a previous repair job on the left rear quarter and left rear door along with evidence of bondo. All the bondo was removed and any rust damage to the bottom of the doors will be patched with fiberglas.
August 2, 2011
July 31, 2011
to the media blaster on Monday
This is about as stripped as she is going to get before the media blaster does the rest. I am not pulling the engine or getting the interior blasted except for the exposed wings and door jambs where there are rust issues.
Tow truck arrives @ 11am Monday
