55.2-59 1958 Saab story

[dsraven]

you got that right about the info thing. there are a lot of guys on here who have a wealth of information to share and don't mind the sharing part. it's a give and take thing but some guys give a lot more than they get back. thats awesome.

from experience, be real careful with those thin zip discs, or any zip disc for that matter. I have some shards still embedded in my hand from having one blow up on me. I have had several mishaps with disc disintegration and have the scars to prove it. a buddy of mine had one blow apart and severed his brachial artery (in the arm). if he wasn't a medic in a previous job he wouldn't have known what to do and would have bled out before the ambulance arrived. I try to use the metal cutting blades from lennox now. they stay together, last quite a while and don't get smaller as they wear out. lennox metal max. for the recip I try to find the ones I used to use as a firefighter doing vehicle extrication cutting the cars apart to get victims out after a car wreck. they were hilti or lennox fire and rescue blades. that with a spray bottle of water/dish soap mix to cool the blade and also help lubricate. Diablo carbide-tipped metal cutting reciprocating blade is a winner too, especially for the advanced steel used in newer cars, boron etc.

[dsraven]

I have a face shield like that one. I can't count the number of times I have had grinding slag bits bounce off my chest and go behind the shield and into my eye. I even wear safety glasses under it and it still has happened. I upgraded the shield to one of those Uvex Bionic shields. its better but I still wear safety glasses. I also invested in a bump cap. I have a long forehead (some would say I am bald) and the skin up there is really thin. I got tired of always having something in the healing stages up top so the bump cap gets put on when I am working. I don't even notice it anymore. it's hard to fit the hearing protection on anymore. I use the roll up ones but usually also try to fit the muffs on too as they have a lot better protection. grinding is really hard on the hearing.

[dsraven]

I have a set of sleeves for welding, plus an apron.

[BIGglaSS]

Cool project. My favorite metal cutting tool = plasma cutter. I feel like Luke Skywalker with a light saber.

[dsraven]

Josh, with your quick progress and suddenly no posts, I gotta think you finished and are driving. hope it's all good.

[gottattooz]

I wish. I definitely would have told you. I've had a few set backs with my other cars. I was driving the Jeep trailblazer on the interstate Monday night and the trans oil cooler hose slipped off and I got stranded on the side of the road. I got towed home a few hours later.

Tuesday I headed to summit racing to get trans fluid and a new filter for the Jeep, and my station wagon was acting weird. I ended up having to replace the spark plug wires because #3 was arcing through the boot to the header bolt.

I got the Jeep up and running today. I also ordered a visor for the panel truck to go above the windshield. My plan is to try to mount the windshield wiper transmission above the windshield and hide it with the visor. I can't move forward with the panel truck until I sort out the defrost and wiper situation. Once I get those two things in order, it'll be off to the sheet metal super store to buy materials to fill in the gaps in the body and floor and brace the floor.

-Josh

[dsraven]

ah man that sucks. I suppose the underside of the jeep is flithy and stinky now too.

[dsraven]

here's a link to the old car manuals project which shows the install procedure for the visor. maybe help you see what room you may have left or at least show the way the old visrs were supposed to be installed.
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com...cpctai206.html

curious what your jeelazer looks like (or whatever you call it, lol)

[gottattooz]

Originally Posted by dsraven

here's a link to the old car manuals project which shows the install procedure for the visor. maybe help you see what room you may have left or at least show the way the old visrs were supposed to be installed.
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com...cpctai206.html

curious what your jeelazer looks like (or whatever you call it, lol)

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=768482

Here's the link to the Jeep build

-Josh

[dsraven]

yikes, that jeep build was a lot of work in a short time. looks good though.

[gottattooz]

Not a whole lot of progress. Still trying to figure out the wiper situation. I decided for the defrost to use the factory dash panel, because it sticks out enough to blow on the glass at the correct angle. I trimmed it so it wouldn't stick out past the windshield channel. I also removed the dash board cover because it keeps catching on the window crank stems when I lift and lower the body onto the Saab.

-Josh

[dsraven]

hey Josh, any time for work on the truck? updates?

[gottattooz]

Sadly, no. I got my old account back at work which is second shift. By the time I get off work, it's too late to make noise in the garage. I planned on tackling the wipers over the weekend but the transmission went out on the Jeep. I went to Madkidd's house and we fine tuned the accuracy of the speedometer and adjusted the timing and idle because it would stall in low speed situations, mostly in parking lots and at stop lights.

A few weeks ago, I was heading home in the Jeep and the transcooler hose clamp broke and it spit out most of the transmission fluid on the interstate. I had it towed home, changed the filter and trans fluid. I don't know if the adage is true about transmission service by either change the filter at the proper intervals or don't change it at all because the dirt is the only thing holding it together. After the fluid and filter change (and 3 new hose clamps on each hose to the cooler), it shifted much better.

Coming home Saturday, I had to accelerate a little aggressively to merge into traffic. As it hit third gear, there was a huge 'bang' and it felt like it slipped into neutral. When I let off the gas, it caught and I carried on. Shortly after that incident, I made a left at a traffic light and as I accelerated out of the turn, it happened again. I pulled into a neighborhood and found out I lost all forward gears. I had reverse, and I seriously considered driving backwards the 1.5 miles I had to go home. Unfortunately the road I turned off of was a very busy pass through with no shoulder or room for error. We towed it home with a strap and I ordered a 2wd trans from mad dog transmissions. I'm getting out of the awd business. Hopefully it'll get better mileage as a 2wd and that's be the last original untouched piece of the original trailblazer drive train to be replaced or rebuilt.

-Josh

[dsraven]

man, that sucks.
good to hear you still moving forward.

[dsraven]

dont forget to install a trans cooler line filter or replace the cooler/rad. otherwise the crap from the old trans flushes back into your new trans and takes it out.

[6DoF]

yeah, i watched a buddy do that. bought a used truck, drove it for like 2 days before changing all the fluids, and only one more before the trans was dead.

i opt for the never change it method! if any get low after 100k, i refill with that LUCAS tranny fix syrup to give a little life back to the fluid. that stuff works.

[gottattooz]

Well more progress. I welded the new firewall piece in place. I set up the new wiper setup which looks promising

-Josh

[gottattooz]

Well, so much for that idea. I cut down the wiper arm armatures. Plumbed the tubing for the wiper coil out the firewall to make the wiper motor serviceable. I painted the bare metal and welded pieces with epoxy paint. I lowered the body onto the chassis and the wiper tube snapped off. So, there won't be any wipers on this build.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

So I contacted the eBay seller about the wiper setup I bought. They were taking their sweet time responding, so I went ahead and bought a similar kit from brothers trucks. The original eBay seller stepped up and sent me replacement parts, but I wanted to see what brothers had before making a decision. Well the brothers kit is leaps and bounds better. Just looking at the quality of the parts that actuate the wiper arms, I'll be sending the eBay kit back.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

Yay, progress! I installed the new wiper setup and mounted the wiper motor on the firewall. The new kit is leaps and bounds better than the first one I got.

Then I had to remember how to reassemble the dash pad, installed the dash speakers and lowered the body down, hopefully for the last time.

-Josh

[dsraven]

I'm at the same spot on mine. I plan to use the envoy carpet so the floor on the driver side is sorta like yours but the pass side I cut the envoy floor out where the kick panel starts and will widen it to the old truck door pillar and vent area width.

[Madkidd007]

Well hell, I guess it’s far enough in I can watch this **** show now

[gottattooz]

I finished making and welding in the floor board between the passenger entry step and the rear fender well.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I patched the lower a-pillar and installed the carpet and started putting the interior together, starting with the center console. I'm trying to put it together enough to move it under it's own power.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I started stitching up this gap, strengthening the body when it all came to a flaming halt. I've got the truck on the lift so I don't have to lie down and weld. I look up and I can smell burning fabric and see flames inside the windshield. I let the truck down (which took for ever) so I can open the door and extinguish the flames. The juke padding is everywhere under the dash on these things, so who knows what wiring nightmares await me.

-Josh