Finally some progress.
Pounding out the dents:
Hatch is on and fits:
Panel is almost ready for welding:
85 rally car rebuild
- Geoff
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Re: 85 rally car rebuild
Nice! I'm glad you didn't give up on the car.
The kind of dirty that doesn't wash off
- SwedeSport
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Re: 85 rally car rebuild
Great job guys!... get her back out on the stages !
Swedesport Motors, Apparel and Accessories for SAAB Junkies.
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Re: 85 rally car rebuild
Panel welded in. Still have to find that elusive rear axle. Have found a couple locally and every time they get away before we can get them. When we get that, can fix the front end damage.
- Jordan
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Re: 85 rally car rebuild
Nice work!
Re: 85 rally car rebuild
I take zero credit for the body work so far. Mark Huebbe with the VW Beetle rally car did most of the fitting and welding.
Re: 85 rally car rebuild
Finally found that axle. We have no excuses for making some progress now. Well other than prepping two RX7's for a road race next month :)
Re: 85 rally car rebuild
Sooo, two years later we've finally started on this again. Rob and I both have road race cars and just hadn't had any desire or reason to work on this poor car.
Our Show-Me Rally is only a month away and suddenly I got the itch to see if it we could get it done in time. There's a whole list of things to do but we decided it's doable and have been making some progress. All the rear end stuff is done and ready. Just need to get it out and get the front end straightened enough to be able to get the radiator, headlights, etc. on. Nothing is even close to fitting right now but we think we can MacGyver it back together.
Just hoping it still runs ok after sitting so long. It will be the ugliest, frankenstein-mobile ever seen in rally but at least I'll be back out there.
One question. For some reason the rear wheels/tires are rubbing on the shocks, esp on the pass. side. Same tires and wheels we always ran. At the insistence of our local Saab mechanic, we had him do a mod. to "adjust" the axle to get some camber. He's done this before on other cars but we are thinking it may be the cause of this. Gonna try a spacer but not sure the studs are long enough for this. Any other ideas?
Our Show-Me Rally is only a month away and suddenly I got the itch to see if it we could get it done in time. There's a whole list of things to do but we decided it's doable and have been making some progress. All the rear end stuff is done and ready. Just need to get it out and get the front end straightened enough to be able to get the radiator, headlights, etc. on. Nothing is even close to fitting right now but we think we can MacGyver it back together.
Just hoping it still runs ok after sitting so long. It will be the ugliest, frankenstein-mobile ever seen in rally but at least I'll be back out there.
One question. For some reason the rear wheels/tires are rubbing on the shocks, esp on the pass. side. Same tires and wheels we always ran. At the insistence of our local Saab mechanic, we had him do a mod. to "adjust" the axle to get some camber. He's done this before on other cars but we are thinking it may be the cause of this. Gonna try a spacer but not sure the studs are long enough for this. Any other ideas?
- Crazyswede
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Re: 85 rally car rebuild
did you put a new axle in after the body damage? likely the axle got bent in that altercation...they bend quite easy in those situations.
I am the 73%
- Jordan
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Re: 85 rally car rebuild
The rear axle shifts to the driver side when it is in full droop. So if you put the car back on the ground it would probably not rub. If this is an issue with the camber adjustment you should pick yourself up an adjustable panhard rod which will allow you to make some positioning adjustments.
Re: 85 rally car rebuild
Yes, new axle, or new to us at least.
Thanks, Jordan.
Thanks, Jordan.
Re: 85 rally car rebuild
No rubbing once the car on the ground.
Front end fixed up. Was gonna try myself, but finally found a body guy that understood it was an old race car and got it done in a day. Had to haul it about 45 miles but worth it I think.
Even started up a bit. Just need to get it running, swap all the fluids, and drive it around to see what else it needs. I'm sure there's something, besides a good cleaning.
Front end fixed up. Was gonna try myself, but finally found a body guy that understood it was an old race car and got it done in a day. Had to haul it about 45 miles but worth it I think.
Even started up a bit. Just need to get it running, swap all the fluids, and drive it around to see what else it needs. I'm sure there's something, besides a good cleaning.
Re: 85 rally car rebuild
Getting close to being done. She ain't pretty, but seems like it'll run ok. Got everything done but can't seem to figure out how to hook up the rad fans. Car has been "customized" a lot over the years and none of the stock wiring for that is still there. Front end trim doesn't fit too well so may just leave it off. You'll notice it's the wrong bumper but all I could find so far.
Re: 85 rally car rebuild
It actually survived the whole rally, all 55 stage miles. Had a first time co-driver along, but with only tulips, that worked out fine. Started off pretty well and was decently quick for the first three stages. This rally has 4 roads and we run each one back to back, plus a little super special to start. The second road was a new one and had my number. Pretty tight and twisty with lots of loose rock. Spun it a couple times and got stuck in a big pile of loose gravel once. Every stage after that, there were more rattles and clunks so ended up 12th but a finish is a finish, esp. considering how long the car sat unattended.
Mechanically, it did great, though the exhaust about fell off by the end. Rear shocks weren't great when we started but were really shot by the end.
People were really glad to see it back out there. Ran on 3 yr old tires and no intercom for half of it. It had this really nasty habit of over-rotating the rear under braking. Always did it a little, but really bad now. Lots of counter-steering to compensate. I was over using the brakes for sure going too slow over crests but was pretty rusty. Who knows when it will get rallied again as several more things need work and I'll be planning the 100AW for the next few months.
https://bradplantphotography.smugmug.com/2015-Show-Me-Rally/i-PSS4tdJ/A
Lots more photos here: https://bradplantphotography.smugmug.co ... -Me-Rally/
Mechanically, it did great, though the exhaust about fell off by the end. Rear shocks weren't great when we started but were really shot by the end.
People were really glad to see it back out there. Ran on 3 yr old tires and no intercom for half of it. It had this really nasty habit of over-rotating the rear under braking. Always did it a little, but really bad now. Lots of counter-steering to compensate. I was over using the brakes for sure going too slow over crests but was pretty rusty. Who knows when it will get rallied again as several more things need work and I'll be planning the 100AW for the next few months.
https://bradplantphotography.smugmug.com/2015-Show-Me-Rally/i-PSS4tdJ/A
Lots more photos here: https://bradplantphotography.smugmug.co ... -Me-Rally/
Re: 85 rally car rebuild
Really enjoyed the photos. Made me miss my GC8. Glad to see that your back in Rally.
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