55.2-59 1958 Saab story

[gottattooz]

I was showing my dad my progress and we decided to put the rear wheels on and see how they fit. The body needs to go forward about an inch to center the rear wheels.

-Josh

[dsraven]

Yeah, youre right about the dash thing. Wen i did mine i took the dash out. When it came time to install i had to narrow the dash some. On the envoy the headight switch was on the far left with a vent as well as a vent on the far right. Those will just get reconfigured when i get to putting it back together.
You may have to shorten the frame up along with removing the stock rad support when you get to that stage. The front frame horns will also be too long and tall for the stock bumper.
Pay attention to the foor height inside because to get the dash the right height to fit the windshield properly the cab will be seriosly low slung. If doing mine again i would do a body lift on the stock body mounts. That would also give more room over that crossmember ahead of the rear diff and also above the fuel tank bump.
Looks really good so far. Keep posting your progress.
Curious, where does your original firewall end up in relation to the saab firewall? Mine sits in the same place.

[dsraven]

The frame is fairly easily shortened or stretched a little. There is a welded seam area just behind the kick down behind the front wheels where the frame levels off. I would recomend to get the body down over the frame and at the floor height you want, then install a front tire and hang a front fender to see how the wheel looks in the opening. Since the front wheel opening is tapered on the rear part but not the front part it is important to get the wheel opening in the right place at ride height with a tire size you will end up with. Saab stock tire may be too tall. I went with a 28 inch tall tire similar in size to a 235/75R15 that I used to run on my 58 daily driver back in the day.that part is up to you though. So far I am using the stock 17 inch wheels from the envoy with 235/60R17 tires. They may chamge to something custom when done but the offset and diameter will stay the same as the mock up wheels and tires.

[dsraven]

The dash panel isnt really that tough to take off, just a lot of wiring plugs that need to come off to get the radio, heater controls etc. Take pics as you gp so you can remember how stuff was routed and bolted up.

[gottattooz]

Originally Posted by dsraven

Yeah, youre right about the dash thing. Wen i did mine i took the dash out. When it came time to install i had to narrow the dash some. On the envoy the headight switch was on the far left with a vent as well as a vent on the far right. Those will just get reconfigured when i get to putting it back together.
You may have to shorten the frame up along with removing the stock rad support when you get to that stage. The front frame horns will also be too long and tall for the stock bumper.
Pay attention to the foor height inside because to get the dash the right height to fit the windshield properly the cab will be seriosly low slung. If doing mine again i would do a body lift on the stock body mounts. That would also give more room over that crossmember ahead of the rear diff and also above the fuel tank bump.
Looks really good so far. Keep posting your progress.
Curious, where does your original firewall end up in relation to the saab firewall? Mine sits in the same place.

The Saab has the headlights on the turn signal stem. The rear wiper switch was on the left vent. It broke when I was squeezing the dash into the taper below the windshield.

The firewall falls into the pocket where the wiper motor sits. There's a drain channel on either side and if I cut a path from where the panel truck firewall sits now to the bottom of that channel, it'll lower the body 7 inches in the front. When dad and I put the rear wheels on, we noticed the body needs to go forward an inch, and that'll put the firewall right into that channel. I might get lucky and not have to disassemble there dash. I'll keep you posted.

-Josh

[dsraven]

It would be great to include pics if possible, I would like to see that.
I didnt bother with all the envoy sheet metal forward of the firewall because I didnt think it would fit well with the 57 front end and fenders. I cut all that off at the firewall and used the 57 inner fenders, fabbed a new rad support to have room ahead of the engine for an electric fan, rad and ac condensor. The 57 is a bit shorter than the 58 and 59 though.
I have seen other trailblazer envoy swaps on these and the firewalls pretty much line up with the stock old truck firewall in order to have the front wheels look right in the openings. Easier to do that and then modify the frame to fit the rear wheel openings since the front wheels need clearance to turn etc. Thst said, the front fenders could also be reworked to fit where the wheel ening needs to be after fitting the body to fit the rear wheels.

[dsraven]

Could you build a frame out of wood that is the same width as your old truck firewall cutout and use that as a caliper to see how and where to trim the saab? Just a thought. Maybe easier for you with the hoist and a helper than it was for me. No helper and my hoist was an engine lift with a cab lifting device attached (yup, a little jealousy noted, haha).

[6DoF]

you are nuckin futz and i'm highly entertained by it!

[gottattooz]

Originally Posted by dsraven

Could you build a frame out of wood that is the same width as your old truck firewall cutout and use that as a caliper to see how and where to trim the saab? Just a thought. Maybe easier for you with the hoist and a helper than it was for me. No helper and my hoist was an engine lift with a cab lifting device attached (yup, a little jealousy noted, haha).

I'm hoping to move the body an inch forward to center the rear wheels, cut a groove in the channel that serves as a drain for the wiper motor pocket and make filler panels to close up the gaps. I'll keep you posted how it works out.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

Originally Posted by 6DoF

you are nuckin futz and i'm highly entertained by it!

I think we're all a little crazy. I've been following your tow rat build. Very impressive.

I think more than anything, mine is a mix of curiosity, boredom and "f@#k it, let's see if this works". I love turning wrenches. I love being different. I hate car shows because it's mostly douche bags bragging about bolt ons and how much money they spent. I drove my 1965 Buick skylark wagon to a car shows and almost everyone scoffed at it because it wasn't shiny. It's flat black and bare bones, but I swapped the drivetrain, steering column, dash cluster and entire wiring harness from a 1999 Silverado into it. It actually drew a crowd because curious budget minded young guys were asking "what did I do here to make that fit ?"and "what did I have the most issues with?". I can talk to those people all day long. But the parking lot that smells like Maguire's detail spray and microfiber cloth towels because it's been 10 minutes since they've wiped off their garage trophy doesn't interest me in the least.

That's what I love about this forum. I see other people's idea and I see if those can influence something I'm trying to do.

-Josh

[6DoF]

oh man, time to find some different cruise nights. though i'm generally in the same boat. i show up in my LQ4 99 Jeep with full cage and coil-overs ... no one has any clue what they are looking at. but that one guy who wants to know is fun to strike a conversation with! i can't wait to get the 55 out to a show n sit with it.

[gottattooz]

I pie cut through the wiper trough to get the cab to slip down. It's lower, but dad and I were discussing cutting out the bottom of the fresh air vent ducting under the windshield and making a plate to seal off the cab to get the cab another inch or two lower. Then I might just make a cover plate to hide the gap above the dash. We'll see.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

And I relief cut the rear wheel tubs to let the shock towers and air ride level sensor clear the flanges. This is with the wheel tubs sitting on the tires. I dig it. These are 22x9s. I'm thinking of looking for a bit smaller diameter wheel and tire combo that'll let my ride height be about this low with clearance to absorb bumps without bottoming out.

-Josh

[6DoF]

from the outside it looks BALLER, chop the entire wheel tub out and make em fit the new big wheels.

but i also agree that i'd love to see the cab lower on the dash, you'll sit sooooo low in the cab if ya don't.

[dsraven]

I'm kinda with the lower it more side. Otherwise you will need seat risers to see over the cab and then the ergonomics will feel weird.

[gottattooz]

Originally Posted by dsraven

I'm kinda with the lower it more side. Otherwise you will need seat risers to see over the cab and then the ergonomics will feel weird.

I'm hoping to get the windshield down another 2-3 inches by cutting out the fresh air duct. I was joking with my dad about putting lifting blocks under the seat frames.

-Josh

[dsraven]

That's why I was talking body lift kit. Like a 4x4 body lift. Get the body to chassis/wheel fitment where you like it and then lift the floor off the chassis to get the dash where it needs to be. You also gain tire to inner fender clearance at the rear then or you could step the floor down behind the front seats. Use a pickup box floor from something with a steel floor and you get instant wheel tubs at the same time.
Just some thoughts running through my head.

[dsraven]

I would say keep trimming but beware of cutting into the firewall if you want the heater to bolt up. There is a fresh air pick up hole for the heater that you will likely wanna keep. You likely will need to fab up some alternate wiper arrangement when it's all said and done.

[6DoF]

i didn't even notice that was a body-on-frame truck you started with. i really like his idea of the "body lift" on the floor to keep the chassis to body alignment while brining the firewall/dash up to the windshield.

[dsraven]

I've built body lifts before using tubing cut to the correct length and capped with a home made washer on each end. That way you get the height you want instead of what's available at the store. Better than a piece of plastic unless the plastic is a beefy diameter. Just place the spacer on top of the original body mount insulator. Use a piece of wood for a spacer until you get the height you want.

[dsraven]

As posted earlier, you will need to watch the body height so it doesnt hang below the frame otherwise a speed bump will cause body damage as you high center in it. These road building dudes should own a low slung car and be made to drive over some of their creations. Sorry, i"m ranting, haha.

[6DoF]

Originally Posted by dsraven

I've built body lifts before using tubing cut to the correct length and capped with a home made washer on each end. That way you get the height you want instead of what's available at the store. Better than a piece of plastic unless the plastic is a beefy diameter. Just place the spacer on top of the original body mount insulator. Use a piece of wood for a spacer until you get the height you want.

i would weld the steel drop leg to the body if possible, and fish plate it. i've seen too many body mounts go thru the floor because a 3" standard plastic puck style puts too much leverage on everything bouncing around.

on the other hand, head down to the local ice rink and ask for the lost-n-found hockey puck bin! most have a 5-gal bucket you can grab from. hockey pucks are dead on 1" tall, high durability, nice n stiff, and drill easy.

[dsraven]

I was gonna suggest that as well the puck thing.
If you use steel and engineer it a little with some forethought, it could easily be welded to the body and gussetted while in place when it's like you want it. Especially since you have that darn hoist taking up room in your work space haha.

[dsraven]

Not trying to tell you how you need to build your truck, just giving my dollars worth of 2 cents thoughts.

[gottattooz]

Originally Posted by dsraven

Not trying to tell you how you need to build your truck, just giving my dollars worth of 2 cents thoughts.

I don't think that at all. I welcome any input. I'm trying to get the rocker panels even with the frame. I can adjust the ride height if need be. The dash board situation is my biggest priority, getting it as close as I can. The rear floor and all that will come after.

I bought some plastic spacers online that are very durable and fairly cheap for my wagon, so I know what you're trying to say with the hockey pucks. My plan in my head is to use the original floor mount holes from the wood floor and make cross braces that go to the Saab factory body mount locations. But what I think will happen versus what actually happened are seldom the same thing. I'll keep you guys posted.

-Josh