55.2-59 1958 Saab story

[gottattooz]

I cut out and mounted all the tail lights. I still have to wire them up, but I was anxious to see what they look like.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I stitched the original floor pan back in, cut an access hole and mounted the fuel filler neck. I bought new carriage bolts and modified a bracket to mount the rear bumper. I'm working on the headlight mounts right now.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

Well apparently the lights I wanted don't exist, so I went with the chrome lights with the halo/angel eyes. The angel eyes will be the parking lights.

Here's a comparison to what I installed on dad's 59. I made a mount tab to hold the bezel. I'll have to build out a little bit to fill in the gap, but I'm up for it.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I got out of work early today, so I went to the metal supermarket on the south side of Atlanta and picked up some sheet metal to make floor pans behind the fender wells. The plan is to make these removable to access the wiring and such.

I also used a hole saw to make a path for the intake to breathe inside the fender, behind the headlights. I need to take the pipe to a muffler shop and have the end expanded to 3 1/4 inch for the air filter to seal properly.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

Ran over to the muffler shop and got the end of the aluminum pipe expanded to 3 1/4 inches. He was afraid it would split the pipe, but he took his time and it came out great. I cut some old fuel line and used it to cushion the edges of the hole through the fender apron and secured the air filter behind the headlights.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

Not a lot of progress today, but it's still progress. Connected the fuel filler neck with a longer fuel hose and breather hose. That hose was $40!!!, but I'd rather pay up front and do it right the first time.

Then I bought a packet of cage nuts to reattach the lower dog leg of the front fender. I can't get to the driver's side until I reset the arm on the lift. It's blocking the fender just enough that I can't pull it away from the truck.

-Josh

[6DoF]

i have that same fender mount issue, but i'm missing a little more metal ... solid fix though, should work great

[dsraven]

the lower fender mount fix is pretty common. now they will be nice and tight.
just wondering if you need to think about water getting into the air filter if driving in rain. did you leave the trailblazer inner fender liner in there to "strain" that?
that inner fender strip is pretty much gonezo on my fenders. they are available aftermarket though. some say 58-59 some say 55-59. I can't really see that there would be any difference between the rear parts of the fenders for the different years since they have to fit the contour of the fender which has to fit the contour of the cab and also bolt up in the same place for all years. I'll probably just order a set when ready and modify them if they don't fit the 57 fenders.

[gottattooz]

I have the Saab inner splash fenders as well as the 58 fender aprons. I have to secure the front of the splash fender front just like I did on the rear, but I have to finish wiring up the lights first. The splash fender will block any direct spray off the front tire to the air filter.

-Josh

[Madkidd007]

Hey I was just looking back at posts, did you make sure to protect your fuel tank from getting dirt on it incase of a non paved road?

[gottattooz]

I tackled the filler panels around the driver's side Harley headlight.

I also went to the paint store and had them match the paint in single stage urethane so I can just spot repair the existing paint job instead of repainting the whole truck.

-Josh

[6DoF]

your still crazy, i still like it! once body worked that should be sweet

[gottattooz]

And I finished the passenger headlight install. There's quite a bit of body filler at the top edge of the fender above the headlight. I'll have to sculpt the to ridge body line back in as best I can when the time comes.

-Josh

[6DoF]

shoot, save some light for the rest of us

[gottattooz]

I wanted a deeper exhaust note without the obnoxious drone in the cab, so I installed a 50 series flowmaster. Has a great idle and let's everyone know it's got something under the hood when you step on it.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I used bed frame rails to secure the rear floor panel. I had to beat the 90 degree angle to about 120 degrees and then straighten everything back out in the vise because it developed a curve toward the spine. I bolted the first angle to the bottom where the doors close. I cut the radius it of the rear floor pan so it was straight across. The angle of the floor where the latch was ending up being perfect, so I bolted the angle iron down and stitch welded the floor pan to it. Then I drilled the top of the panel and install nut-serts so the panel will be removable, in case I need access to whatever is behind it. I still have to stitch weld the panel to the bottom angle iron and drill a hole for the spare tire tool to lower the spare, but it's getting there.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

Just making more panels. Welded the rear panel to the bottom angle iron and painted with roll bar epoxy paint.

Then I made lower splash pans to keep most of the water and debris kicked up by the rear wheels from getting all over the tail light wiring and fuel filler neck access holes.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

For the up access floor pans, I made a support bracket that attaches to the top threads of the bolt that secures the splash pans. I installed nut-serts and used a j-clip on the top of the support bracket to secure the edge of the panel closest to the wall.

You may also notice the extra hole in the rear panel. That's to access the spare tire crank with the square drive tool.

-Josh

[dsraven]

will you also cut a hole and plug it with a rubber grommet where the shock bolts are, for future maintenance access?
looks way better when the panels are on to close things up. keep plugging away and it will be done.

[dsraven]

wondering if your air bag compressor will get hot if not in the open air like factory? run it and see? lots of guys have disabled the air bags and installed the coils back there anyway as the compressor is pretty spendy as well as the air bags if they need replacement at some point. bags get a leak, compressor runs overtime to keep up and then quits entirely. guys get a quote and decide to go coils instead. kit is available apparently. air bag height sensors are a pain to adjust for proper ride height as the system takes a bit to self level and find it's new height. trust me, I have done this before-too high-nope, just too high on the right ot left- too low- grrrr. try not to mess with them and life will be better. haha. maybe a scanner could tell you what the inouts from each sensor are-no scanner in my shop presently.

[gottattooz]

None of the panels are air tight. The splash panels were only intended to deflect debris coming off the rear tires. My original thought was to make a small vertical plate by the tail light wiring access hole to keep debris from collecting and rotting out the body panels over time. But when I saw there was almost a straight shot from the 2 bolt holes left on the fender well and the rear panel where the original wooden floor was, I thought that was the better option. I thought about making louvers to drain any water that got trapped and, like you mentioned with air flow, but we'll see what happens and I'll address any issues as they arise.

-Josh

[Madkidd007]

Originally Posted by dsraven

wondering if your air bag compressor will get hot if not in the open air like factory? run it and see? lots of guys have disabled the air bags and installed the coils back there anyway as the compressor is pretty spendy as well as the air bags if they need replacement at some point. bags get a leak, compressor runs overtime to keep up and then quits entirely. guys get a quote and decide to go coils instead. kit is available apparently. air bag height sensors are a pain to adjust for proper ride height as the system takes a bit to self level and find it's new height. trust me, I have done this before-too high-nope, just too high on the right ot left- too low- grrrr. try not to mess with them and life will be better. haha. maybe a scanner could tell you what the inouts from each sensor are-no scanner in my shop presently.

I can assure you he won’t have overheating issues as that compressor only ran once a week if that and for no more than 5 seconds. The air ride on that works perfect as I’ve already gone through the compressor last year

[dsraven]

just thinking out loud, would it be a good idea t have the inside sealed from the outside so as not to get exhaust fumes drawn inside the car, especially on a low vehicle where the exhaust exit does not clear the body? also, simply for dust and noise coming in?

[gottattooz]

All my cars are like that. All the trim is missing on my 65 wagon, so some exhaust gets sucked in through the trim holes. On the 68 wagoneer, I accidentally bowed the roof, so the rear glass doesn't seat fully in the middle. You could stick a ruler between the glass and the track.

On the plus side, if there's ever an issue where I'm leaking coolant or burning oil, I know pretty quick if there's an issue because I'll smell it.

-Josh

[dsraven]

I'm sure you know. Carbon monoxide, colorless, odorless, toxic, product of combustion. You'll prolly get a headache, feel sluggish, nauseated. Takes awhile to clear out of your system. Your truck, you do it like you want, careful for passengers though.
Coming along nicely. Gonna be driving soon.