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 Rear screen rot.
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Proudycakes
Starting Member

United Kingdom
17 Posts

Posted - 13 Nov 2017 :  11:16:54 Show Profile Reply with Quote
Hi all, I have a '77 souvenir that is fairly well known to some of the members on here. It is number 123 and I have owned her for 18 months or so now. Unfortunately the car has rusted quite a bit below the rear screen, to the point where it is starting to leak. Luckily I found somebody who has kindly cut a section out of a scrap 96 for me to repair mine. He has offered some advice about how to go about the job and was a very nice chap to deal with ( he has a sonnett and an early V4 and may be a member of this forum, I forgot to ask).
So I was basically wondering if anyone on here has done this job and could offer any useful tips or advice about the job, which will basically involve cutting the car from below the rear screen right down to the bootlid on each side and inserting the replacement piece.

Betsy67
V4 Fanatic

United Kingdom
409 Posts

Posted - 13 Nov 2017 :  12:53:05 Show Profile Reply with Quote
I hope your welding skills are very good!
If you’re going to proceed - lay the repair section over the area to be repaired and draw around it. Nip your buttocks together and start cutting. Cut to the inside of the mark and try to leave more than you need - easy to remove excess, hard to replace. As with most things, take your time and forward plan where your cuts are and how you can access for welding the repair in. If i’m Doing this sort of repair I like to be able to weld both sides ie front and back.
Weld in small runs to avoid putting too much heat into the metal.
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melle
V4 Guru

United Kingdom
3830 Posts

Posted - 13 Nov 2017 :  14:21:30 Show Profile Reply with Quote
Try and get a good understanding of the construction, remember that a car is nothing but individual panels held together with (mostly) spot welds. The parts manual has drawings of the panel assemblies. Buy a 6mm spot weld drill to drill out (what's left of) the welds and use 1mm discs for cutting. I prefer to cut out a larger piece if that transfers the cut/ weld areas to places where they're less visible, i.e. hidden under rubbers or trim, or gives shorter or easier welds. Time spent on making the repair panel fit and thoroughly cleaning the metal is later saved in welding, grinding and filling time (and often a lot of frustration and swearing). I typically weld tacks about 5cm apart, let them cool off and start again next to the previous tacks until done. I mostly use 0.6mm wire with the welder on a fairly high setting; this gives full penetration and eliminates the need to weld from both sides. I find panel distortion mostly happens when I'm grinding back welds; I prefer a power file over an angle grinder and grinding/ flap discs.

Sooner or later I need to tackle this on my 96 as well (I "temporarily" sorted the leaks about 8 years ago with Shell Tixophalte, which has held up very well so far). I've actually come to enjoy this type of work as I got better at welding/ panel work. If the end result needs to be perfect, this is not the best job for absolute beginners I guess.

Some very good information here: http://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/70135/panels

www.saabv4.com
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Proudycakes
Starting Member

United Kingdom
17 Posts

Posted - 13 Nov 2017 :  14:35:23 Show Profile Reply with Quote
I'm not planning on doing the welding myself as it is way beyond my abilities. I will hopefully be talking a local welder into doing the job, I will probably do the rear screen removal and strip off the car myself then hand it over. The thought of it is making me very nervous though and I just want to make sure I know of any pitfalls or problems we are going to encounter. I'm already having nighmares about not being able to get the rear screen back in.
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melle
V4 Guru

United Kingdom
3830 Posts

Posted - 13 Nov 2017 :  14:39:46 Show Profile Reply with Quote
I've never removed/ installed a rear screen, so can't advice there. The repair itself is pretty straightforward and should be no issue for a competent panel beater/ welder.

www.saabv4.com
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GeoffC
V4 Mad

United Kingdom
507 Posts

Posted - 13 Nov 2017 :  15:57:31 Show Profile Reply with Quote
Re-fitting the rear screen is the same as doing the windscreen - just have to be a bit more careful and it's best to do it without the parcel shelf in *sorry for stating the obvious)!! Make sure that your joint lines are all ground flat and the aperture looks straight with no kinks near the joins. The rear screens are quite strong and well toughened so you should be OK just go easy!
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melle
V4 Guru

United Kingdom
3830 Posts

Posted - 13 Nov 2017 :  18:11:09 Show Profile Reply with Quote
Can you post a pic of the rot? If it's not too bad you might get away with grafting in a small section of fresh metal, especially if the replacement piece you got also requires work prior to fitting.

www.saabv4.com
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Proudycakes
Starting Member

United Kingdom
17 Posts

Posted - 14 Nov 2017 :  09:42:36 Show Profile Reply with Quote
I will try and put some pics up here when I get chance, although I have gone to post pictures on here a few times and always give up.
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Betsy67
V4 Fanatic

United Kingdom
409 Posts

Posted - 14 Nov 2017 :  09:57:20 Show Profile Reply with Quote
Melle, your instruction is what I had in my head which unfortunately didn’t translate in full to my reply
Like you, I find this kind of thing quite enjoyable and becomes much easier with practice.
Almost wish Betsy required some work, just so I could do some !
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