Some of the other trivial bits that got sorted..
Petty I know.. but the cloudy poorly fitted fog light just had to get addressed.
Also fitted new drop links..
Was generally happy thus far as there were no real mechanical issues and I was putting in some trouble free miles, even had the hood down on the few occasions we had some nice weather!
Anyway, acquired a set a of original Saab 17" double Y alloys which in no doubt have seen better days! in-keeping with the theme of OEM I thought I have a go at restoring them, if the job proved to be to much of a challenge I would resort to having them professionally refurbished. One thing this forum tought me was if you want to learn new skills you have to treat challenge's as a learning opportunity... so thats what I did!
Got stuck in to sanding and filling.. made good progress so cracked on with the others..
Half way stage.. still more sanding / filling required! .. Anyway, got them too a reasonable state, well.. much better than how they first looked anyway!
By no means perfect, but I planed to revisit this with a new approach and the things I learnt from this attempt. Got them popped onto each corner.
Much better than the standard 16".. managed to pick-up an Areo steering wheel which is a mandatory upgrade.
That was that for a while, just continued to drive and enjoy. Did however do a minor service in between, new plugs, oil+filter and an air filter.
Other than that she's was running quite nicely.
Next bit of work was to change the pollen filter and address some other small bits..
some before and after..
Apologies, quite pic heavy! .. just a few more progress pic's!
Got onto the brakes.. arches and callipers.. bit of a clean for the wheel arches, abrasive pad and paint for the callipers..
Then is was time to change the cam cover gasket as it was seeping a bit from one corner.
Simple enough swap out and install with no major dramas.. only frustrating bit was getting the centre gasket to stay put while re-fitting! ... was also nice to see the internals were remarkablly clean, I think the timely oil changes have paid off.. still quite low miles for the year (95k) so hopefully continued regular services will ensure it stays that way..
Not much happened after this really.. 93's was running well so I'd just been making the most of it and driving whenever possible.
With that said, she was mostly tucked away
(being winter) in the garage till probably Spring and it gave me an ideal opportunity to get stuck into what was now becoming more a 'resto' project as opposed to performance direction. Most Saab owners opt for the power upgrades being that these engines are quite tuneable.
Anyway decided to tackle some more niggley bits first..
The underside bonnet felt was looking a little worse for wear and I knew that along with the front bonnet rubber seal there were possibly bigger problems lurking underneath.. started by stripping the complete underside in order to get an idea of the extent of issues.
Well once removed it was as expected .. however it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!
Ok, got stuck into cleaning all the grime away first, fortunately the rust spots were only surface based so dealt with them by grinding back to sound metal. The bonnet is going for a complete respray in order to get rid of some stone chipped areas so I'll be priming and prepping the underside as I want the same quality of paint finish underneath.
(hate that this is never done at factory when built!) Debated whether to re-fit the felt as I really like the clean metal look, not really sure on the benefits as it tends to just act as a dirt magnet! .. will get the hood completely painted and detailed then maybe add a stick-on aluminium heat shield to replicate the same area that was on the felt.
With the dirt removed and the light rust ground back it's now at a good point for the start of repairing and preparing for paint.
Also sorted out the bonnet catch and lever.
Got it all put back together once primed pending a complete re-spray.. with the car majority off the road until Spring Summer there was no immediate rush however needed to deal with that rust!
I'm always actively sourcing parts and planned to get a few things sorted and ticked off the list over the next few weeks.
In other news, I acquired a set of Saab double Y Evo Alloy wheels which I refurbished back to an acceptable standard, now I have a compressor and spray gun the refurb and respraying was much easier. Learnt a lot from the first project which helped me get better results. Not sure if these will end up on the car as I have a set look I'm aiming for, but never the less was fun to do. May just sell these on.
Well, back to sourcing parts.. I also picked up this lot a few weeks back... full set of Areo bumpers and side skirts, getting really rare now so I was really happy find a complete set!
Side skirts are in really good condition and came compete with the even rarer jack covers!! .. well, minus one front! .. will hunt for one but also looking into options of getting one made if needed. Back bumper is also pretty good, the front however had a chunk missing out of the bottom, not completely surprised as these generally hit the odd kerb and speed hump.
Anyway.. set about repairing and prepping for a respray and sorting the minor discrepancies..
The front bumper needed quite a bit more work.. cut and plastic welded a piece back into the missing section, used a piece from an old bumper which I heat formed to as near as I could get it. Trimmed the edge to get the correct profile the used P40 filler which helped to form, bridge and fill, then P38 to achieve a good finish.
Was laborious, but really pleased with the outcome... the fact that they are now really rare makes it worth all the effort!
In between.. sorted the inner front wheel mouldings which link up to the aero side skirts..
Prep done, I moved on to disassemble the car in readiness for the new bumpers and skirts.. Plan was to referb some parts on the car which were now accessible before re-installing them, made a start on some bits but have quite a bit still to do.
Plan for the next couple of weekends while stripped down and access is easy.
Crank seal replacement
Updated PCV system
Another sump drop and clean.
Got started on with the crank seal.. evidence of the leaking seal around the crank case, completed with no real drama!
Then moved on to the sump drop.. looks like it was just about due
After extensive cleaning!
With that done, I moved on to other various bits that needed attention..
Ok, .. with all the remedial stuff out the way it's was time to finish what was previously started.. we last saw this lot sanded, repaired and primed.. it's now time for paint... Off to the paint shop it is then...
Pulled all the bits out of storage, gave them all a thorough wash. If you recall, I was missing a drivers side jacking point cover.. well, I managed to source one.. with all the bits now cleaned it was off to my makeshift spray booth
first pass of base coat went on well..
Once I completed a few passes of base coat it was time for some clear..
Intentionally laid a heavy coat of clear on the side skirts due to their location and pending road abuse.. I'll wet sanded flat once set..
Overall, happy with the finish..
Now finished it was time to blow of the dust off and get them fitted.. nothing left other than to give her a quick wash and then admire..
And that brings us up to current date.. have some plans for a brake overhaul next so will keep this thread updated on the progress of that.. for now its back in the garage..
