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1972 SAAB 96
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john-saab



Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 341
Location: West Dorset

PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:17 am    Post subject: 1972 SAAB 96 Reply with quote

Last year i took up the offer of what looked like a good car..it was free so how could i say "no" ?


I collected the car from Yeovil and drove it home..it was a great drive but the back end did'nt seem right..i have now found that the centre bush on the rear axle has turned to mush and the rear axle is dragging back.
Once home i polished the car





Both sides of the front valence and lower part of the wings will need repairing..

The drivers door need attension but the passengers door may need a new bottom as it has come away along most of the length..doesn't look too bad from the outside but it is pulling away from the frame..

Both sill ends in the rear wheel arches need patching.

That will give me a chance to look at the repairs that have blown through again...



The engine is very tidy but has a massive oil leak..I suspect by the time i have finished it will be out for a full re-gasket.

The exhaust will need to be moved as the front silencer is touching the oil sump...which won't do the oil cooling any good.
Home made back seat cover has done it's job...i thought it was covering rot..but it had been put on before the rot started...

Note the rear window de-misting system..opperated by a switch on the dash. Wink ..


Both rear cards have split...

But i have another set to fit...

I removed the passengers side wing and made a start on cutting out the rot..
i was expecting to do a few bits of welding but was surprised at what i found. I prefer to take the wings off when working at the rear..these came off very very well...mainly due to the bolts being well greased and covered in waxoil...but some came off because they held in by air.
so heres what i found...


and the top..


The rot was cut out..

The new patches are flush fitted and follow the original lines...

The other side isn't much better.

The small mud flap fell off..along with the bracket..

I cut the rot out..the few scruffy bits have been left for now as reference points but they will go once the repair patches have been made..

A new sill section was made and the ends "stepped" so that once painted the seam will be..err seamless.


The chassis needs work on all 4 corners and a small section on the sill near the front edge of the drivers door.
I have good wings to replace the rears and will have a better look at the front wings when they come off.
What amazes me about this car is the way the original under seal is coming off...i can peel it off in large sheets and this reveals the original protected steel...you can see a light blue finish in some of the pictures..thats the original protective layer from the factory. It's only rusty in a few places apart from in the rear arches where the water and salt has got behind the underseal and rotted right through.
Once all of the rust is sorted i plan to strip and re-build the rear axle, I'm a bit of a one model man and have collected a large pile of parts over the years..this will come in handy as i also have this to start on once the biege car is finished..
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Comrade-Paul



Joined: 04 Mar 2009
Posts: 79
Location: NORWICH

PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I tell you something John.
I know you are hundreds of miles away, but for welding/fabrication my cars are coming to you !
Always enjoy reading about your Saabs.
The last free car I had was a 1972 Vauxhall Viva estate. Not my bag though, so passed it on.
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

top work there j-s, you'd never mistake the shape of a 96 (or a 95 for that matter) for any other car would you. Interesting to see the 95, same colour as the old ruin I had once upon a time Smile

R
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john-saab



Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 341
Location: West Dorset

PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 9:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

After a slow start due to helping a broken down beetle on the way to the workshop and my welder feeding wire into wrong place i started by repairing the centre section...wax oil and underseal caused the weld to splatter all over the place..got there but i'm not happy with the finish...i can clean it up from behind the rear card area..

I then made a lower section for the rear 1/4 and welded it in place...the heat damaged the paint which i was trying to preserve..I guessed this would happen though and this means i will have to look at a 1/2 if not full re-spray later.


The lower lip was drilled and plug welded..

Then the plugs were cleaned up..

Then onto closing the end of the sill box..I covered the inside of the sill area with red-oxide before fitting the lower section..i could have tried to do this in one piece put it was easier to do it in two.

Then the right hand section..

I left the hole for later.the box section was 1/4 full of waxoil and a bit of heat to the outer panels should move this into the new steel.
Onlo closing off the outer panel..I salvaged one of the original captive nuts and welded it to the back of the new section.

And put it in place..

Next was to open up the end hole..this is the area where waxoil is injected..and it will be filled at a later date..


A dab of red oxide to keep things rust free..it was then that i remembered i had forgot to add the mud flap bracket...that i will do tomorrow..
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

no holding you back is there!

Rick Cool
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john-saab



Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 341
Location: West Dorset

PostPosted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 10:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I plan to use this as my every day car so i have to live with it..i hate looking at a job and thinking.."if only i had .."
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john-saab



Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 341
Location: West Dorset

PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 8:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had a day of hell with my welder..i think it's time for a new one..this has lasted 15 years so i can't grumble..it's had a LOT of use.
I turned my attension to other areas of the car, I stripped a lot of the original underseal off as it has started to peel in large sheets..I wanted it removed so that it doesn't become a water trap and also so that i could check for other areas that have been filled instead of welded.
The wings are pretty poor and i have another set to use...i started to shot blast them but a friend was spraying his Volvo later in the day and the shot blasting was causing a lot of dust so onto job No 4 and it wasn't even lunch time
I wanted to look at the rubber stone guards that are fitted th the later 96's (from approx 1971-80).
These guards are fitted to the leading edge of the rear wing and although they are a water trap i will be re-fitting them for originality.
Here is one in reasonable condition..

These guards..when new have a piece of steel sandwitched inbetween the 2 outer pieces..these are then bonded together.
The problem with these stone guards is that water gets in and the metal plate rusts...then they blow up and become deformed...this also means that water and rust are held against the lower part of the wing and they also rot out.
If they come up for sale new they can be expensive..in time they will also rot out so what's the answer.
I am trying out this ....
Here they are straight from the spares pile..


Most of the metal insert could be removed as rust dust through the holes..the rest i had to remove by cutting into the back rubber..

The only bit of "solid" steel from 2 guards...

This leaves the guard in better shape..

There is a problem with this as the guard is floppy without the steel and it would also be a mud/water trap so i bought a tube of black silicon sealer and pumped it into the guard..this should keep the water out and give the guard some shape..over filling with silicon causes the guard to become deformed so it was a matter of filling the guard and smoothing them out and mopping up the excess..a messy job.
The end result...


I will let them dry for a day before fitting them...they can't look any worse than they were and i will post pictures when they go on. Wink
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Last edited by john-saab on Sun Mar 08, 2009 10:51 pm; edited 2 times in total
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gordon28



Joined: 28 Sep 2008
Posts: 38

PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 7:00 pm    Post subject: 1972 Saab Reply with quote

i think the previous owner knew that you had the right knowledge and skill to sort this restoration out. keep up the good work , and keep posting the pics . on behave of myself and a few others that look at the forum , a round of applause , well deserved. Very Happy gordon
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TonyBrooks



Joined: 02 Jan 2008
Posts: 108
Location: Maidenhead

PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 9:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great story - I have done all of that many times on Saabs - they all rust in the same places.

When you have finished you can get the car doing what it was meant to do - have a look at the link below which contains many of my rallying shots, some taken when I was a lot braver than I am now!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tbbuk96/3229199896/
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john-saab



Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 341
Location: West Dorset

PostPosted: Sun Mar 08, 2009 10:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry Tony but this will be an "every day" car...but as you have brought the subject up the "Flying Banana"....

....is in for a shock...I have a Highgate SAAB exhaust

....a set of uprated springs, shocks, engine with steel timing gear, twin choke carb etc etc to fit..i'm hoping it will be ready for a late winter local "event"
This will be a VERY low budget project...more on that later!..so far the car and all of the bits stand me in for less than £400..i'm hoping to have the car rally ready for under £1,000..that will include an MOT and all of the extra's needed to enter the rally...i have been saving bits for a few years so it might be possible...fingers crossed.
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