55.2-59 1958 Saab story

[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

[Father&son56project]

Excellent progress! Smart move using the sturdier wiper system kit. That does not look like it would be a lot of fun to replace if it failed!!!! This build is fun to watch.....

[gottattooz]

Well now that the wipers are sorted, let's make some floor pans!

First, I cut the top of the step at the corners, bent the top middle section to match the angle of the Saab floor and placed the carpet over it to see how well it covers. Looks like it was made to be there.

Then I made a cardboard template for the section between the step and the rear fender tub.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I finished making the floor board and stitched the entry step to the floor pan

-Josh

[gottattooz]

Then I made a patch panel to fill in the gap below the dash. I ground all the welds and sprayed everything with epoxy paint, even the underside of the new floor pan.

-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

[gottattooz]

I finished the driver's side, spraying epoxy paint inside as best I could along the way. Then I used a spot mirror bracket and an a/c compressor washer to hold the bottom of the inner splash fender.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I finished stitching up the passenger side (no fire this time).

Then I set the front clip on and shimmed the fenders, which closed the gap at the bottom, which means I don't have to modify the core support.

-Josh

[dsraven]

Great work, that looks way straighter now.

[Jason 56]

Just read through you build. It’s coming together at a great pace. Personally I think you nailed the stance. Keep up the progress.

[Father&son56project]

Looks great. You are nailing a rather tricky swap!

[gottattooz]

I cut up the panel truck inner fenders because I needed to repurpose the part with the hood hinge spring.

I think I'll get a top post battery so I don't have any issues with this dude post being so close to the inner fender.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I put the hood on with new hood springs. Everything clears and it latches beautifully.

-Josh

[dsraven]

Looks great. Side post or relocate for sure. Gotta get that front end hung on there and drive it.

[gottattooz]

I mounted the trans cooler with it's own fan and the engine fan today.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I made a bracket to mount the fuse panel

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I bought a top post battery with the positive post Inboard. I used terminal adapters to connect the factory side post connector to the battery. For the negative, I bought a 14 inch negative cable, thinking I'd need to go from the battery negative to the engine block, but the factory battery hold down post was in the perfect spot to connect the ground cable and extend to the battery negative. I'll shorten the extension cable to maybe 5 or 6 inches later. But with the battery connected and most of the ground wires connected, it started right up.

-Josh