July 30, 2011

all glass out .. a saab story

We took off just about all of remaining parts in preparation for media blasting including the glass. The windshields are known to be difficult and prone to cracking. I originally was on the fence about taking out the windscreen (all other glass though) but it only made sense if you’re going to take it this far, you have to address rust where it may lurk. I had my eye on several windscreens that were available but didn’t really have room to keep a spare. Well, now I have room. On the CAR! If the windscreen seal wasn’t rarer than the windshield it would have made sense to just cut it out and install a new one.

More pictures on Monday, it was getting dark and we were bummed about the cracked windshield.

Note the rust in the channel, we knew it was there. With the dash pad residue off you can also see the original ‘cream’ or ‘marble white’ WH 02.

July 28, 2011

removing c-post and fixed rear door glass

To prep ourselves on the windshield removal, we got the c-post and fixed rear door glass out. Both of these are installed with lock strips. On the c-post glass, we pulled the lock strip out, but on the fixed rear door glass we were able to remove it with the lock strip intact. The plastic lock strip for the c-post glass is available through Restoration Specialties. The left side came out clean and looked good, but the right side has some rust under it.

Media blasting is scheduled for Monday August 1st, so we’ll be removing the remaining glass and trim on Friday.

July 18, 2011

next to last view before media blaster

Glass is coming out next … nice to see the lines coming back on the left side.

July 15, 2011

rough body work finished

Dana feels that he has done what he can to rough the body and save quite a bit of time for the body shop. The primer is only there to protect the exposed metal from rusting when the sections were torched for shrinking. The next step is to pull the head liner, bumpers, lights, door mechanisms, wipers, window scrapers and glass then its off to the media blaster. I’m shooting to get it up there in the next two weeks.

June 26, 2011

WagonBack vs. CombiCoupé

These vent louvers were a neat and unintentional find. I’d never seen these before, but I believe they were only on the US marketed hatchback 99s between 1974 – 1976. However, it seems that the WagonBack 99 didn’t debut in the US until 1976 [1]. Björn Envall is credited for coining the term CombiCoupé and most likely WagonBack as well. It’s not clear if these vent louvers were on any other model year, but I’ll put them on the car when its ready for them.

June 9, 2011

stripping down the car – session one

After some careful thought, consultation, second opinions et cetera .. I think the best route seems to be to strip down the car myself, get it media blasted and then have an independent body shop work on getting the car a new finish. Because there are several rust spots, media blasting will really help to make sure the car gets a proper foundation for a good paint job and even more important expose any issues that may be covered up with paint and bondo. Without taking care of the rust spots now, they’ll always be a problem.

Fortunately I have a good friend who has been in the business for about 35 years and has good contacts as well as tools/techniques and suggestions. We worked out a deal and got started on the car today. We should have it ready for Alternative Blasting sometime in early July.


(Took the door handle off to start working on the door and quarter panel)

April 20, 2011

a look at the damage

The main damage to the body is on the left fender, left rear door and lower left quarter. The fender will have to be replaced, but the door and left rear quarter can be pulled back out. These photos have high contrast to try and show detail of the damage which is still hard to see.

April 10, 2011

A closer look


The turn signal indicator lamps have deteriorated due to exposure to the sun, water and moss. They’re supposed to be reflective silver, but they’re bleached white and literally crumble when touched. This part is interchangeable with the 99 and 900 between 1977 – 1980 (I believe).

The same goes for the tail lamps, though the lamp housing is a little more intact. The lenses are compatible between 1977 and 1980. After 1980 they get a little larger.

But these aren’t really the major issues .. 🙂

April 4, 2011

1977 as found…

I went into Scanwest to get the backup light switch replaced on my NG900. The backup light switch, when grounded, will take out your windshield wipers too. It was raining, and I needed those. While in the waiting room I saw an advert for a 1977 99 GL.
I had specifically been looking for an older 5DR, so I took a card.
I came out to see the car on a Tuesday to see what I’d be getting myself into. The owner had kept good records but it seemed after a demoralizing collision with an SUV in 2006, it sat rusting and collecting moss.
The original paint is mostly intact, but the Earl Scheib finish was flaking away like latex house paint. There are several rust spots, but they appeared to be surface rust with the exception being the left front door water collector.
The left rear door and quarter panel were damaged, but they were such that it seemed they could easily be pulled/tapped out. The left front fender would have to be replaced.
A big job for sure, but these 5DRs often go to the crusher in favor of the Combi-Coupe and 2DR Notchback. With limited import numbers for this body style it only makes them rarer.


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