It’s been a while since I did a progress report on the 99 Turbo. It’s coming along but requires a lot of work. We have been working on the rocker panels and floor, and now moved on to the rear side panels.
Ultimately I came to the conclusion that the best way to repair the inner and outer side panels and inner fenders is to cut away the badly corroded outer panels. We got a pair of pretty good rear quarter side panels from a Saab 900 Combi – although they too needed some repair.
Here’s some photos:
I couldn’t find any floor repair plates so we just made them.
The shapes of the floor panels required quite a jigsaw puzzle.
Pretty much done. With a little more finishing work, paint and undrecoating it will look pretty good I think.
We used the jacking points from a Saab 900 donor car but they will need to be shortened a little to fit 99.
Side window frames need to be partly replaced on both sides.
Cutting away the rusty section.
And welding in replacement section from a Saab 900 donor.
We attached doors and the hatch to check that they are in shape and will fit the car.
The hatch had a little dent that required some work to straighten it out.
Ultimately we came to the conclusion that the rear quarter side panels on the Turbo are just too rusty to save and decided to replace them. The car was cross braced and leveled on jackstands.
Side panel removed on the right hand side.
The donor car – a 1987 Saab 900 Combi Coupe in metallic silver. Not completely rust free but pretty good for our purposes.
There we go – a new repair panel for 99 Turbo. Ofcourse the inner structure will be removed and only the skin is used.
There were some holes – like the decorative list attachments that needed to be welded.
More repair pieces…
Side panel with epoxy undercoat.
While the side panel and inner fender was away it was relatively easy to fix the shock absorber mounting points.
I bought some repair panels but they were badly distorted. Likely the cause of old molds and tooling. But we made them fit.
Fitting the inner fender.
Fitting the quarter panel from a Saab 900. The outer skin is identical with the 99.
Fits like a glove.
The lower rear quarter section had some rust so we used a patch panel for it (since we had one).
Marking the cutting line with painters tape.
Cutting away the old section.
Flanging the repair plate.
The repair plate is not quite the correct shape but it was pretty easily fixed by bending it against my knee.
Welding done. Not a whole lot distortion and it was pretty easily fixed.
The welds seen from the inside. Pretty neat. All it needs is a little cleanup and epoxy.
Repairing the list holes on the sides distorted the panel a little. There was a high spot that I decided needed a little shrinking.
The high tech shrinking tool. Coal holder for a mig gun.
Heating the high spot with the coal.
A wet rag cools the hot spot quickly and shrinks the metal.
Better already.
Epoxy undercoat on the inner panel.
Making holes for plug welds.
All it needs is to be welded around the seams and this part is done.
A quick note on the door hinges: We had to replace all of them because of stuck hinge pins.
I don’t think too many Saab owners go through the trouble of cleaning the lubrication channels and lubricating the pins. It’s a pain to do but the only way to keep the hinges from getting stuck.
