artdjones Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 I finally started tó do something about my Saab96L today,as I had a free afternoon,and the weather is great. Alusilber, juular, shoddybanger and 17 others 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdjones Posted September 14, 2019 Author Share Posted September 14, 2019 The first time the car has moved out of the shed for about 3 years,and it was last on the road about 2010.I removed and stripped the front wings last year,and put a coat of primer on them,but then lost momentum. Jim Bell, Yoss, RobT and 13 others 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bell Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Lovely car, nice shed. Shep Shepherd 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdjones Posted September 14, 2019 Author Share Posted September 14, 2019 After a couple of hours the car looked like this.I removed the rest of the lights,both bumpers,the boot lock and handle and the front panel.Next,both back wings have to come off and the rest of the trims and badges.After a few welding repairs hopefully it can be painted so that all the body is the same colour again. Shep Shepherd, Sudsprint, Jim Bell and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shep Shepherd Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Looks like an easy restoration. Please keep us up to date with its progress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Moog Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Ohh that looks tasty. Always wanted a 95 or 96 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdjones Posted September 14, 2019 Author Share Posted September 14, 2019 The underneath looked fairly awful with lots of flaking underseal and surface rust.Amazingly though,it seems to be all solid,except for a strip on the bottom of the r/h inner wing,and the area in the second photo,which is the bottom of the rear quarter panel.Also,there are some small areas of rust on the boot surround,and the two brackets that hold the small mud flaps in front of the back wheels need replacing. danthecapriman, The Moog, Skizzer and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdjones Posted September 14, 2019 Author Share Posted September 14, 2019 So that's it for now.I'll leave you with this pic of the front end as it is now. Stand by for irregular progress. The Moog, juular, RobT and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatharris Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Looking forward to seeing the project develop, something about a Saab that gets under your skin!Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk Shep Shepherd 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaseracer Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 I had a 96 for a year or so, 25 years ago. Lovely old thing. Still around, on SORN somewhere. Skizzer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthecapriman Posted September 14, 2019 Share Posted September 14, 2019 Lovely little car, and I love the colour too! Can’t wait to see how you get on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asimo Posted September 15, 2019 Share Posted September 15, 2019 Wonderful colour. Always wanted to try one of these because FREEWHEEL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdjones Posted September 21, 2019 Author Share Posted September 21, 2019 I had a spare couple of hours today,so I carefully removed one rear wing.This car is really solid.I only found one tiny hole that I wasn't expecting.Graham McDonald said it was a good one when I bought it off him,but that was 11 years ago,and it's been sitting in my shed for the past 8 years.Also ,I only paid him £900 for it,which wasn't a huge amount for a roadworthy 96 even then. Sudsprint, Saabnut, The Moog and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdjones Posted September 22, 2019 Author Share Posted September 22, 2019 L/H rear wing off today.This corner is even more solid than the other side.Next thing is to power wash the four inner wings then strip back , weld and rustproof the four corners in turn. Sudsprint, The Moog, Uncle Jimmy and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 Looks solid indeed. I like old Saabs, so this thread has my interest piqued and a follow added. What's the plans for the engine and drivetrain? Is the engine a runner or are you rebuilding that too? The Moog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saabnut Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 That does look very solid indeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdjones Posted September 22, 2019 Author Share Posted September 22, 2019 The engine runs ok.I have a two barrel manifold for the car,so if anyone has a 32/36 or 28/36 Weber at not too high a price,let me know.I may get a Jetex/Simons 2" exhaust as well once it's on the road. juular 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somewhatfoolish Posted September 22, 2019 Share Posted September 22, 2019 Given these originally had 3 cylinders of smelly two stroke goodness and the V4 is a terrible lumpen piece of FoMoCo horribility, have there been any with bike engines swapped in? The lump out of a Honda Pan Euro must be decent candidate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdjones Posted September 22, 2019 Author Share Posted September 22, 2019 The V4 is the German Ford design out of the fwd Taunus,so is a better proposition than the English V4 as found in the Corsair and Transit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saabnut Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 More power is not the problem, 3 litre V6 and 2 litre turbo engines have been fitted. The weak point is the gearbox, designed for the mighty power of the two stroke and made of chocolate. The fact the diff bearings, often the first thing to fail are made of unobtanium does not help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdjones Posted September 23, 2019 Author Share Posted September 23, 2019 Luckily,I have a spare gearbox. Saabnut 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KitKat Posted September 23, 2019 Share Posted September 23, 2019 What gearboxes did these have? Are they unique to these cars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdjones Posted September 23, 2019 Author Share Posted September 23, 2019 They are totally Saab specific.I,m sure someone else's transaxle could be made to fit with a lot of work,but the column change and freewheel,which give the car a lot of it's charm, would be lost. Saabnut, Skizzer and Asimo 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdjones Posted September 24, 2019 Author Share Posted September 24, 2019 You know all the people that told you removing underseal was great fun? They were lying. Cord Fourteener, Saabnut, juular and 1 other 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bunglebus Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 I really like the 95 and 96, and that is absolutely the best colour they came in. My vote is for a front mounted Beetle engine and transaxle, but then I'm weird. Sudsprint 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdjones Posted September 25, 2019 Author Share Posted September 25, 2019 11 minutes ago, bunglebus said: I really like the 95 and 96, and that is absolutely the best colour they came in. My vote is for a front mounted Beetle engine and transaxle, but then I'm weird. I'm not going to do a transplant on this car,but surely the object would be to improve it. bunglebus, Talbot, puddlethumper and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Jimmy Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 Good stuff; nice to see pics of a '96 which isn't mine...I've done a little work on the front wings recently, they'll be getting top coated soon, then the rad and pipework can go back in and the fun stuff fiddling with Nikki carbs and linkages can begin. How did you get on taking the rear wings off? I haven't got around to the rear end yet; is it just a couple of bolts? We're they seized up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Jimmy Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 On 9/22/2019 at 10:30 PM, somewhatfoolish said: the V4 is a terrible lumpen piece of FoMoCo horribility, The Taunus V4 is really rather good. It's compact, fairly light, strong and reliable. Really the only thing I could hold against it are the siamesed exhaust ports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Case Posted September 25, 2019 Share Posted September 25, 2019 Good to see at least one has survived. I had one exactly the same colour (KOW 296 P) which apparently survived till 2009. Mine only had a little rot on the front valance panel, but it is amazing that any car of mine could survive for 15 years after I sold it (and 33 years in total ? } artdjones 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artdjones Posted September 25, 2019 Author Share Posted September 25, 2019 7 minutes ago, Nibblet said: Good stuff; nice to see pics of a '96 which isn't mine...I've done a little work on the front wings recently, they'll be getting top coated soon, then the rad and pipework can go back in and the fun stuff fiddling with Nikki carbs and linkages can begin. How did you get on taking the rear wings off? I haven't got around to the rear end yet; is it just a couple of bolts? We're they seized up? There are 12 bolts.4on the front edge of the wing ,which screw into captive nuts on the side panel.You can soak them in penetrating oil by removing the trim inside the car. There are three that screw vertically into the body side below the window,also accessed from under the wheelarch.They can be soaked in oil from inside the boot . Those are all normal set screws,13mm/½ inch head.The rest of the fixings can be seen running down the edge of the boot and valance. They have a Phillips head and screw into spire nuts on the edge of the wing.I used my impact driver to get them started. Uncle Jimmy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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