Time For Paint – Engine Bay

One Saab 99 Turbo engine bay done.

After doing the practice run with the interior it was time to move on to the engine bay. The 99 engine bay is not an easy thing to paint well. There are all sorts of nooks and crannies that are difficult to reach. Especially the “canyon” between the wheel well and rear of the fender.… Continue reading Time For Paint – Engine Bay

Paint prep on the Saab 99 Turbo

I mixed a darker hue of the primer to act as guide coat.

Paint prep is the stage in a restoration that I personally find the most tedious. It’s basically just doing the same thing over and over again until you finally get something acceptable. But at the same time it’s also probably the most important thing to get right. Imperfections and errors are usually instantly visible in… Continue reading Paint prep on the Saab 99 Turbo

Fitting the grille

Well - now it's starting to look like a Saab 99 Turbo.

Before moving on with the paint prep I decided to do a test fitting on all the components. The doors, hatch and bonnet were all installed and fitted correctly to check that they sit correctly and all the gaps are even. Or as even as they are on an old Saab… One of the most… Continue reading Fitting the grille

Saab 99 Turbo Part 16 – Metal prep & Primer

Panel gap fitting

We are finally at the Metal prep & Primer stage with the Turbo. We used a standard 2k Epoxy primer. Basecoat will be water based color and over that some clearcoat. This will be the first time for me spraying metallics or water base color so I’m looking forward to it. Already did some test… Continue reading Saab 99 Turbo Part 16 – Metal prep & Primer

Saab 99 Turbo part 15 – Driver side door repair

The door in primer. Still needs some fine tuning.

The corrosion issues on this car are everywhere. Both of the doors were basically not salvageable. Just rotten. I did get a few spare doors that looked pretty good. Unfortunately they were not that good after the paint was stripped… The passenger side door didn’t need that much work but the driver side door was… Continue reading Saab 99 Turbo part 15 – Driver side door repair

Saab 99 Turbo part 14 – Time for some primer

Cleaning up and glass bead blasting the components.

A few photos on getting some primer on some of the suspension components and other stuff. We needed to make new fuel tank belts since the old ones were rotten and decided to use slightly thicker material for them. All the components were thoroughly cleaned using electrolysis and mechanical cleaning (glass bead blasting). Some of… Continue reading Saab 99 Turbo part 14 – Time for some primer

Saab 99 Turbo Part 13 – Alternator and Starter Motor Restoration

And done. I painted the heat shield bracket with silver paint as it cannot be seen anyway.

I restored the alternator and starter motor. Pretty straightforward job other than the pulley and fan on the alternator being pretty stuck. Mostly just a bit of cleanup, glass bead blasting and new paint. I also replaced the old nuts and washers with new shiny ones. I still need to send the fan and pulley… Continue reading Saab 99 Turbo Part 13 – Alternator and Starter Motor Restoration

Saab 99 Turbo part 12 – Learning To Use Auto Body Solder

Sanding the area pretty much done.

I have seen body solder used in some custom car shows over the years, but have not tried it myself. It’s sometimes also called “lead loading” since in the golden age of Hot Rodding lead was used to fill and shape body panels. Epoxy fillers (“bondo”) were not really available back in the day so… Continue reading Saab 99 Turbo part 12 – Learning To Use Auto Body Solder

Saab 99 Turbo part 11 – restoring the brakes and suspension components

So - there we go. A few restored brake and suspension components for the 99 Turbo.

Brakes on the Saab 99 can be a bit tricky to fix these days. All the components can be found but probably not off-the-shelf at the local auto parts store. The Saab Club Sweden can help with some of the components, like seal kits. Also new dust shields are available – although not very cheap…… Continue reading Saab 99 Turbo part 11 – restoring the brakes and suspension components