55.2-59 1958 Saab story

[gottattooz]

I swapped tires from front to back to see if I could run the 245/50r18s on all 4 corners, but not without raising the front suspension, so that's not gonna happen right now. The rocker height front and rear is about 6 inches and I think it looks perfect.

So I went ahead and secured the driver's side dog leg of the front fender.

-Josh

[dsraven]

I have thought that my truck may be too low for my tire size choice. it is short to the ground as well (57 sitting on 04 Envoy).
I think I could easily install a body lift if needed. like a 4x4 guy would do, add spacers above the body mounts and see if that is what I want or if it does what I need. if it works buy a body lift kit for an envoy (yup, lots of those around, haha)

[Madkidd007]

Originally Posted by dsraven

I have thought that my truck may be too low for my tire size choice. it is short to the ground as well (57 sitting on 04 Envoy).
I think I could easily install a body lift if needed. like a 4x4 guy would do, add spacers above the body mounts and see if that is what I want or if it does what I need. if it works buy a body lift kit for an envoy (yup, lots of those around, haha)

Or in this case keep it simple by putting stock springs back in the front since I had previously lowered the saab. Or anyone else could use strut spacers

[dsraven]

I have a set of struts with adjustable height spacers in the spring pad area. just a thought on that, for anybody lurking, the ball joint area on the upper control arms is a weak spot and guys on the trailvoy website, who lift the trailblazers, say they break there. somebody built an aftermarket part that is much stronger.
just info

[Madkidd007]

Originally Posted by dsraven

I have a set of struts with adjustable height spacers in the spring pad area. just a thought on that, for anybody lurking, the ball joint area on the upper control arms is a weak spot and guys on the trailvoy website, who lift the trailblazers, say they break there. somebody built an aftermarket part that is much stronger.
just info

It already has aftermarket tubulars. Sorry josh, I won’t say any more.

[gottattooz]

Originally Posted by Madkidd007

It already has aftermarket tubulars. Sorry josh, I won’t say any more.

You know more about the Saab than I do. You're not doing anything wrong as far as I'm concerned.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I finished patching the floor pans, sealed the cracks with Seam sealer and painted everything with epoxy paint.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

My spare tire came in today, so I mounted it on the rim and installed it under the back.

I put the rest of the carpet in and installed the interior. I also wired up all the lights, except the headlights. I have harnesses coming so I can run all 4 low beams and high beams without melting the factory wiring.

I also drove it to the gas station. The rear tires barely scrub the outer edge of the inner fender wells. It's slow to fill, which is a little annoying, but it also could have been a sensitive fuel pump handle. The flowmaster sounds really good, since I currently don't have the back doors installed yet, lol.

-Josh

[dsraven]

nice.
try a different gas pump next time maybe.
do the tires rub both sides or just one? curious if an adjustable pan hard bar would remedy that. you could center the axle between the space available and make sure to have the panhard set so it is level at ride height, that way the amount of side to side change will be equal on an upstroke or a down srroke of the suspension. thas if a little adjustment of the inner fenders doesn't cure the rub issue. it would suck to burn up a set of new tires.

[dsraven]

did you bypass all the electronics for the door locks etc or have them programmed out maybe? it's not setting any codes for you?

[gottattooz]

And now that it's dark outside, I can get pictures of the tail lights, brake lights and reverse lights. The turn signals flash too fast to get a picture.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

Originally Posted by dsraven

did you bypass all the electronics for the door locks etc or have them programmed out maybe? it's not setting any codes for you?

I haven't done anything about the door locks. It's still set to lock and unlock the doors when it's put in gear and in park, but nothing's plugged in. No codes or issues. I didn't do anything about them on the Jeep either. I just used the wiring for the features I wanted and tucked the remaining wires out of the way.

-Josh

[Madkidd007]

Originally Posted by gottattooz

I haven't done anything about the door locks. It's still set to lock and unlock the doors when it's put in gear and in park, but nothing's plugged in. No codes or issues. I didn't do anything about them on the Jeep either. I just used the wiring for the features I wanted and tucked the remaining wires out of the way.

-Josh

Plus we both know what we can do about any codes that do set. Ah hahaha

[dsraven]

looking at the pics I can't believe your front tires dont rub on turns over a bump, they gotta be close. looks cool though.
electronic flasher should fix your fast signal, you already knew that though, haha

[gottattooz]

Originally Posted by dsraven

looking at the pics I can't believe your front tires dont rub on turns over a bump, they gotta be close. looks cool though.
electronic flasher should fix your fast signal, you already knew that though, haha

The Saab has a different flasher than the trailblazer. I looked everywhere for an LED specific relay and it doesn't exist. I'll put some load resistors in line to slow it down.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

Originally Posted by dsraven

nice.
try a different gas pump next time maybe.
do the tires rub both sides or just one? curious if an adjustable pan hard bar would remedy that. you could center the axle between the space available and make sure to have the panhard set so it is level at ride height, that way the amount of side to side change will be equal on an upstroke or a down srroke of the suspension. thas if a little adjustment of the inner fenders doesn't cure the rub issue. it would suck to burn up a set of new tires.

It does have a panhard bar, but it's not adjustable. I'll see what I can see tomorrow before I make any decisions.

-Josh

[dsraven]

yeah, load resistors are prolly your best bet since the ac delco flasher unit looks like a one off.

[gottattooz]

I got rid of the tiny sport mirrors. My dad's 59 has these suburban tow mirrors on it and I like the visibility. Since the Saab had turn signals in the side view mirrors, I added these clear lens LED lights with a stainless bezel.

-Josh

[dsraven]

Did the trailblazer also have the ground lights when the door opens? They sell those button led in clear as well if so and you were so inclined to use them.

[gottattooz]

I believe those are called perimeter lights. I'm not sure if the Saab has them, but I know what you're talking about

I put red LED lights on the sides of the rear bumper for side marker lights

Also I removed the rear wheels and used a ball peen hammer to massage the fender well just a bit. I also adjusted the ride height a bit to get some more clearance. Your can see the evidence on the side wall.

-Josh

[dsraven]

well, good you caught it right away. some dead blow hammer strikes may also work well, it's my go to before the heavy aetillary comes out, haha.
lights look good. I have some of those that are clear lens but light up red. truklite I think.

[gottattooz]

Here's the various stages of body work around the tail lights. I usually always start with all metal body filler and then try to use minimal body filler.

The bad news is that I hate body work. The good news is that body work means it's getting closer to being a driver.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

Progress on the headlight filler panels. The passenger side was worse, so I'll spare your pictures of the driver's side.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

The only other body work I'm doing, besides painting the new wiper cowl I bought, is behind the passenger rear wheel. I ground out as much as I could and filled it with all metal.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

Almost finished with the body work. Got a little more putty to do on the passenger headlight, but it's close to paint. Since it's not up on the lift, I forgot about the part behind the passenger rear tire. I'll get to it soon enough.

-Josh