1988/E Saab 900 Turbo 16 Convertible Restoration
Brief history:
This is a customers car for restoration. The client contacted us after some previous body repairs (not by us!) carried out a couple of years ago were already starting to show rust and paint flaking off. It was evident that these repairs were not of a good quality.
Also the hood was leaking water into the inside of the car and boot, the hood was looking a bit shabby.
Initial condition:
The nearside front wing has rusted through around the arch, paint was flaking off the offside front wing, come corrosion evident along the lower windscreen surround. The offside rear wheelarch has corrosion on the rear edge. The bonnet has corrosion on the inner edges.
The chassis needs quite a lot of welding, around the boot seams, nearside jacking point and nearside seam, the offside driveshaft tunnel needs repair, as do several other localised areas.
Inside the drivers seat stitching has come undone, both front seats have split and have torn material near the tilt levers. The carpet is torn and holed on the drivers side.
The bumpers are scuffed, especially the rear corners, the numberplates are cracked.
Shedule of work required:
The customer has requested a complete full respray, to include enginebay and boot, The engine/gearbox will be removed along with all enginebay components to allow grit blasting of the engine bay before rectification work and repainting. Any corrosion found on the chassis and body will be cut out and replaced with fresh metal. The windscreen will be removed to enable full repair of the windscreen surround corrosion. Following the repaint the chassis and all box sections, seams etc will be fully rust proofed with dinitrol antirust products. The front seats will have the stitching repaired and lower seat edges replaced. A new black mohair hood, including rear screen section, will be fitted. A replacement carpet will be fitted. The engine will be refitted and serviced, new number plates fitted and New MoT obtained.
PICTURES AND BUILD PROGRESS REPORTS WILL BE ADDED SOON
This is a customers car for restoration. The client contacted us after some previous body repairs (not by us!) carried out a couple of years ago were already starting to show rust and paint flaking off. It was evident that these repairs were not of a good quality.
Also the hood was leaking water into the inside of the car and boot, the hood was looking a bit shabby.
Initial condition:
The nearside front wing has rusted through around the arch, paint was flaking off the offside front wing, come corrosion evident along the lower windscreen surround. The offside rear wheelarch has corrosion on the rear edge. The bonnet has corrosion on the inner edges.
The chassis needs quite a lot of welding, around the boot seams, nearside jacking point and nearside seam, the offside driveshaft tunnel needs repair, as do several other localised areas.
Inside the drivers seat stitching has come undone, both front seats have split and have torn material near the tilt levers. The carpet is torn and holed on the drivers side.
The bumpers are scuffed, especially the rear corners, the numberplates are cracked.
Shedule of work required:
The customer has requested a complete full respray, to include enginebay and boot, The engine/gearbox will be removed along with all enginebay components to allow grit blasting of the engine bay before rectification work and repainting. Any corrosion found on the chassis and body will be cut out and replaced with fresh metal. The windscreen will be removed to enable full repair of the windscreen surround corrosion. Following the repaint the chassis and all box sections, seams etc will be fully rust proofed with dinitrol antirust products. The front seats will have the stitching repaired and lower seat edges replaced. A new black mohair hood, including rear screen section, will be fitted. A replacement carpet will be fitted. The engine will be refitted and serviced, new number plates fitted and New MoT obtained.
PICTURES AND BUILD PROGRESS REPORTS WILL BE ADDED SOON
w/c 12/04/2010. The car as delivered to us for work:
The interior has been stripped out prior to chassis welding. Whilst the carpet felt dry, on the passenger side it was soaking wet underneath, the soundproofing underlay was soaking wet!. With everything removed it was evident that a couple of holes in the nearside seam had grown and this was where the water was coming from.
All the hard internal sound proofing was scraped away from the corroded areas to see if any corrosion had spread, only surface corrosion was found except for the passengers side front footwell which will require additional welding.
The hood leaking into the boot had caused mould to form on the false floor carpet. With the false floor and carpet sides removed it was clear that corrosion had started on the boot corners, although this is only surface corrosion and not holed.
The spare wheel well / lower boot floor has been 'repaired' in the past with some sort of painted finish. On the left side (under the spare wheel) it looked very 'lumpy'. a quick dig showed soft filler covering corrosion in the seam. This whole area will be grit blasted at the same time that the engine bay is done and any remedial work to this area will be completed then.
w/c 19/04/2010 The car has now been stripped of all interior floor fittings and transported to the welding shop for the serious grinding / cutting out work to begin, before repair panels / sections are welded in. Once the car is back the engine bay components, and any existing external trim, will be removed prior to transporting to the grit blasters to blast the enginebay and boot areas, and then on to the bodyshop to start transforming the car.
Note on the pictures above that the radiator is well past its best! The photos below show the wiring loom being removed from the engine bay. Many of the electrical connectors and earth points are showing advanced signes of corrosion and will need replacing to avoid future running issues.
The engine bay minus its components. Looks dirty but is generally very solid, requiring only minor rectification work. Once the engine bay has been grit blasted we will know exactly how much repair work will be required..
w/c 26/04/10 The car has been returned from the welding shop having had several areas on the chassis repaired. Old corroded areas removed back to good metal and fresh metal welded in, followed by seam sealer. Once the car is back from the bodyshop the whole chassis will be rustproofed. The engine and gearbox assembly has been removed and a visual inspection shows that the core plugs, water drain plug and water pump should be replaced. some hoses showing signs of perrishing. A more detailed report on the engine condition will follow.
w/c 03/05/10 The rolling shell has been transported to the bodyshop for a full internal and external repaint. The car is expected to be at the bodyshop for approx 3 weeks, during which the enginebay will be grit blasted, the exterior bodywork will have any dents, dings and corrosion sorted, including cutting away the corroded area in the front wing. The windscreen will be removed and any screen frame corrosion dealt with. The bonnet and bootlid will be removed and full painted inside and out, the front panel will be finished in original black. The entire bodyshell will then be repainted in the original white colour, baked in their huge oven and polished. Also the leather seats have been sent to the trimmers to have repairs.
w/c 17/05/10 The following are pictures taken at the bodyshop, and show the car mid-way through the repainting process. Top coat and polishing still to be done.
w/c 31/05/10 The bodyshop has now completed repainting the shell. Transported back to our workshop and a new windscreen ordered (the original cracked at one corner whilst being removed - some signes of delaminating were seen in that corner where a small area of corrosion was in the frame). The roof hydraulics are being serviced and refitted. The wiring loom is having repairs to old and corroded wiring and connectors, prior to being refitted to the engine bay. - photos to follow of the repainted shell.
The car back from the bodyshop prior to refitting:
Engine removed from car and fitting of replacement core plugs, water drain unit, water pump, water pipes, exhaust manifold gasket and stud kit, refurbished inlet manifold and cam cover, and sundry other components:
Under the car can be seen the badly corroded exhaust, brake hoses and fuel filter. New fuel filter and brake hoses shown in last picture:
DINITROL anti corrosion treatment applied to the engine bay, inner wings, driveshaft tunnels: DINITROL also applied to the doors, rear inner arches, floor seams, box sections, etc etc..
Repaired wiring loom being fitted to te engine bay
Front panel aligned and fitted with new radiator. powder coated battery tray, intercooler mounts, sump guard, washer bottle and air box mountings etc:
Engine installed into engine bay:
DINITROL anti corrosion products applied to the undrside and wheel arches:
Rear panel and boot internals fitted. Wiring to boot lid for central locking and number plate lights, also wiring loom for rear lights fitted.
New oil cooler fitted, repainted front and rear bumpers fitted to car:
Interior being fitted out, including replacement carpet and repaired leather seats:
Wheel arch trims and side rubbing strips being fitted:
