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 New Project: '68 Baja Saab!

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T O P I C    R E V I E W
Mos6502Posted - 29 Mar 2018 : 07:30:12
A couple weeks ago I received a text from somebody I've never met, but who had left a note under the windshield of my car. They knew of a collection of Saabs and parts that was all going to go to the crusher. I could show up and take anything away for free, even whole parts cars.

The catch? The scrap dealer was showing up in less than a week to take everything. So I went to see if I could find some parts for my 1969 95.



I was not prepared for what I saw when I pulled up to the old barn. About 12 Saabs parked in the grass, in various states of decay and disassembly. The oldest from 1962, the newest from about ten years later. Most in very sad shape, wrecked, rusted, partially parted out.

Inside the barn? Shelves and shelves of parts. Bins and boxes of parts. Parts everywhere. Unfortunately for me, most of it was 2-stroke stuff. Unfortunately for owners of 2-stroke Saabs, I have no idea what of those parts is sought after! I'm sure I let a fortune slip through my ignorant hands.

In the whole lot of transmissions, there was only one late-model ribbed case. So I grabbed that. Got four steel wheels (and more hubcaps than I bothered to count, just grabbed a whole stack of them), got three lever shocks, heater blower fan, and various odds and ends. Unfortunately I did not have space to grab larger items I'd have killed to have - lots of glass, and even a complete V4 engine shoved in the corner.



Also in the barn was this 2-stroke 95. Last registered in 1983. Crusty and hail damaged, but mostly complete. I had to have it.



Out in the grass was this 1968 V4. Remarkably rust free, and complete, unlike any of the other cars parked outside. I looked through the paperwork inside the drawers in the barn. Found a title, it was last on the road in 2005, and had been purchased and brought to the farm in 2010. Light front end accident damage, but not too severe.



As the sun was setting, I packed up my finds and went home. I emailed the property owner. Could she save the wagon and the V4 for me? A day went by, no reply. One more day and they'd all be taken away. I sent another email, and thankfully she replied. She would consider keeping the cars only if I absolutely picked them up within the next week. I promised I would.

I came back next weekend. All of the other cars were gone. The barn was completely empty except for a few traces of items here or there. A pull handle, a bit of chrome trim. The stack of doors gone. The transmissions, gone. Steering wheels, seatbelts, wiper motors, all gone. The sad bullnose 96 outside was gone too. A shame really, but beyond the point of economical restoration really.



The '68 V4 was easy enough to move onto the trailer once the tires were pumped up. The 95 though? Took hours to load. Somebody decided to move it out of the barn before I got there. They caused the front tires to roll off the rims, then got one of the rear wheels stuck in a rut outside the barn (where water drained away from the roof). Then apparently decided that would be my problem to deal with. It took a total of about four hours to get the 95 onto the trailer, driven to storage and unloaded. I ache again just thinking about getting the damned thing to budge off the trailer.



The interior is in surprisingly good shape. But I won't be needing it. Because what I want to do is build a car inspired by the Saabs entered in the 1969 Baja 500 race. This will basically require beefing up the suspension, stripping out the interior and side glass, and fitting the biggest tires the wheels and wheel wells can handle.



The 95 is safe for the moment. I don't really have the time or money to fix it and am looking for a new owner to take it in and part it out or fix it up as they see fit. It was just too complete/rust free to be sent to the crusher.



15   L A T E S T    R E P L I E S    (Newest First)
PYM35Posted - 29 Jun 2020 : 19:58:21
Hello !
What happened to this beauty ?
Cheers from France.
Mos6502Posted - 17 Nov 2018 : 06:37:35


Removed the front seats and took a look at the floor today. Rusty! But not seriously so. Though the firewall has rusted away where it joins to the floor, the floor itself is still very solid, with just a few small holes in it. Poking around with a screwdriver didn't reveal any more holes. Should be pretty easy to clean, patch and seal the floor, and not too hard to reconnect the firewall to the floor.
Mos6502Posted - 03 Nov 2018 : 05:58:04
Well today was a moment of truth. Put a battery in it and cranked it over. Nothing happened at first, then I realized I needed to have the alternator on the engine and connected to get electricity to the fuse box. Turned the key again and the engine spun round and round! Good to know it's free. No unusual clanking or knocking, just whirring and churning (plugs out).

The headlights worked but seemed stuck on high beam. It was only now, as I was writing this that I realized the dimmer switch is on the floor, not on the stalk LOL. I kept pulling on the stalk trying to dip the lights. Unfortunately most of the electrics don't seem to do anything. No brake lights, blinkers, or tail lights. The idiot lights on the dash don't come on when the ignition is switched on either... so I'm going to have to do a lot of cleaning and checking with the test light to figure out what's what. I noticed a lot of wires coming out of the loom in the vicinity of the front blinkers/parking lights - but with nothing apparent to connect to. If anybody has a photo of this part of a '68 that may help me figure out where those wires go, it'd be appreciated.

Most worryingly - the fuel gauge swung up to FULL when I turned the key... this car has been off the road since 2005! I certainly hope there's no fuel in the tank! (if there is... I guess at least the tank isn't leaking)
UK_SubPosted - 02 Nov 2018 : 09:18:39
Your car looks great!

Keeping a keen eye on this project - it will make a great article for our Saab club magazine (if you're interested)!

Simon
Mos6502Posted - 02 Nov 2018 : 00:55:46
Quick mock up:


Pulled the broken windshield out today. Squirted oil in the cylinders. Did a small bit of cleaning up.
Mos6502Posted - 30 Oct 2018 : 07:28:29
Well it's finally in the garage.


So I have had a chance to really look it over. Seems pretty much complete and in good shape despite the years of neglect. The block was drained of coolant before it was parked years ago, and the crankcase is over-filled with oil, so the engine should be in good shape. However, all of the hoses had been cut, the shift linkage unbolted, and the clamps for the inner axle boots removed, as though the previous owner had planned on pulling the power unit out. I don't know for what reason they planned on doing this.

One immediate problem is the clutch is frozen - the clutch pedal sticks fast. Not sure if this means the master or slave is frozen, or if the clutch disk is stuck to the flywheel. Can't get the reservoir cap off the master to check for fluid.

Carb is off and I already started with the rebuild kit. Going to drain the engine oil and fill with fresh oil, then swap in the battery from the 95 and see if I can get the engine to turn over/check for spark. If that is good I'll progress with rebuilding the carb and cleaning out the fuel tank then seeing if I can get the engine to run.
James RanaldiPosted - 28 Aug 2018 : 09:39:25
Looking good.

The two tone paint job on the 95 looks fantastic.

1968 V4 96 ,LHD
1984 99 GL
1992 C900i Convertible
1993 C900 LPT Convertible
Mos6502Posted - 28 Aug 2018 : 03:59:14
Put together a roof rack meant for a VW Beetle. Surprisingly fits the 96 nearly perfectly.





James RanaldiPosted - 12 Jul 2018 : 08:25:10
Very nice lights

1968 V4 96 ,LHD
1984 99 GL
1992 C900i Convertible
1993 C900 LPT Convertible
Mos6502Posted - 12 Jul 2018 : 04:23:10
Found some old lights for it:



Mos6502Posted - 27 May 2018 : 19:48:44
Decided to mount the fascia for the first time. Installed some new headlamps and bulbs (yellow bulbs will have to come out for inspection, they're not legal for headlights here, but I think it looks great with the color of the car).

I noticed the spring on the driver's side has what appears to be slag from welding on it. I think somebody may have attempted to lower the car in the past by welding a couple turns of the spring together. I'm worried about the effect the heat of this may have had on the temper of the spring, so will be looking for a new set. Also noticed the hole the tie rod passes through had two cuts made in the top of it, as though somebody was going to peel back the metal - perhaps to give more room for the tie rod if the car was lowered? So that is going to have to be welded up when I pull the car into my garage this winter.

Also have been looking for appropriate tires. My first choice of tires, in the 195/80/R15 size disappeared. I ordered them, then got a phone call saying the order was going to be delayed, but not to worry, they still were going to send me the tires. Then got an email saying my payment had been refunded the next day, and my money was returned.

So I ordered another set of tires in the 175/80/R15 size (Nankang FT-7 tires) and the same thing happened! I called the U.S. distributor and they were unhelpful, they have no plans to bring any more of these tires to the U.S. Luckily I know a guy in Japan who can ship them to me, so that's the route I'm going. Of course these tires are easily available all over Europe and Asia, just not in the U.S.

Mos6502Posted - 30 Apr 2018 : 23:06:33
So I've been ordering all the front end parts, bushings, ball joints, axle boots. Still need to order the brake hoses and brake parts it will almost certainly need. But I also started getting the fun stuff too, got some old Lumax spot lights and a VW roof rack to adapt.
Mos6502Posted - 22 Apr 2018 : 19:29:04
Communicated with the previous, previous owner and found she bought it from the son of the original owner. The car had been bought by his parents. His mother stopped driving it in the 1980s, and it was stored in a shed for nearly 20 years when she bought it and put it back on the road - so it is an all original car minus some paint to hide front end damage. A real shame it was left outside to rot in a field the past five or so years.

This also explains why all the ball joints etc. appear original with zerk fittings instead of modern sealed replacements. The car had been maintained meticulously by the original owners.
GeoffCPosted - 14 Apr 2018 : 19:00:31
Yes good stuff, love to see these old articles thanks.
James RanaldiPosted - 14 Apr 2018 : 10:29:51
Fantastic article Mos6502. Thanks for posting.

Cheers

1968 V4, LHD
1984 99 GL
1992 C900i Convertible
1993 C900 LPT Convertible

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