74 GL - "not subtle" orange

[Jordan]

ah, the 16v/turbo question... :)

I think it'll stay 8v for a while. My other saab is 16V turbo, I so may as well be different w/ this one. It's the anti-SPG...

Yeah keep it how it is!! I think the standalone on the D-jet manifold is pretty badass! A cam (if it dosent already have one) should really wake the motor up and make it a very snappy little car with a different sort of feel than an SPG.

I dunno. If he already has to pull the motor, I'd put 16v head on it.....even if he keeps it non turbo. Then get two cams

I forget , are all H head ports (Intake/exhaust) the same or is the 8v different than the 16v?

[airsweden]

I've broken a few of the 8v H cam cradles over the years. That would be a good enough reason for me to swap in a 16v head but the intake and exhaust manifold are different so at the least that would also include finding/making a new head pipe. I think the proper order of modifications is to wait til something breaks, call AAA and then start changing it up.

[spgftw]

Quick question for anyone out there... I've discovered a very bent upper control arm. Will a 900 upper arm swap in?

On the plus side, I'm almost at the very bottom of things at this point, as there's nothing left to unbolt. Soon I can finally start heading back the other way. :)

[Crazyswede]

Quick question for anyone out there... I've discovered a very bent upper control arm. Will a 900 upper arm swap in?

On the plus side, I'm almost at the very bottom of things at this point, as there's nothing left to unbolt. Soon I can finally start heading back the other way. :)

The A-arm from a 900 will work but you will have to use the 99 mounts.

[spgftw]

Thanks much, crazyswede. That makes things easier. So, after removing the bent control arm, I realized the drive tunnel is cracked in the same general spot. I'm assuming it's from the same impact. Anyone seen this before? With this piece cracked through, the metal flexes easily by hand. Looks like I need to hire someone with a welder to patch this spot up. Should I have a reinforcing plate welded over the crack as well? Seems like it might need it.

I'm also debating what to do with the engine bay. The shell really isn't worth a full repaint, so I don't want to sink a lot of time/money into the engine bay. But, it would be nice to clean it up. There's some bare metal showing, some original orange, and mostly old grey primer that flakes/scrapes off wherever it's painted over smooth original orange. It seems like blasting it is the only reasonable way to do a good job of getting a clean surface and getting new paint to really stick...

Anyhow, here's photos of progress.

[KPAero]

I had good results using rustoleum primer and paint. I thinned and sprayed some from a quart size can and ended up using two cans to do the wheel wells, engine bay and some other misc. stuff. I just brushed on the primer. They also have the rattle cans which give a pretty good finish, just costs more. The "rusty metal" primer seems to do a good job sticking to surfaces that are not perfectly prepped.

Here is my engine bay after painting:

[spgftw]

That looks very clean. If I got results like that, it would be miraculous. :) What did you do for prep? I'm worried about the first layer of grey primer that isn't sticking very well, at the very least I think I need to scrub that off where possible. I guess paint stripper is an option as well? Just night quite sure which route to take next...

[hutch]

I can't quite tell how rusty it is, it doesn't look too bad from the pics, but I'd take a trip to your local autoparts store or Lowes/Home Depot and just get some basic paint stripper and a wire brush attachment for your drill. Let the stripper sit for an hour or so and then attack any nasty spots with the wire brush. Then I would second KPAero's recommendation of using some rustoleum, it is a very forgiving paint and if you thin it down a bit its even better. You could maybe go without primer but for how cheap it is you might as well. Since its your engine bay you could also get away with brushing the top coat on as well with a foam brush or roller if you don't have the equipment to spray it. When I painted with rustoleum I also bought an aerosal can in the right color so that I was able to spray it into tight corners, etc... where the brush wouldn't fit.

[SwedeSport]

I like Valspar farm implement paint. You need to use the hardener. I cannot testify to its durability with gas and oil since I have yet to paint my engine bay with it.

[Geoff]

That crack isn't too bad at all. On later 99s there is a triangular brace that runs between the inner and outer wheel well. It was also part of a Sport and Rally reinforcement kit. I'm guessing the reason for it might have to do with that type of crack. If it were me I'd stick weld that crack and then cut some 1/16" sheet metal to run a brace between the inner and outer wheel well. See the picture below for approximate location of the brace.

S&R Reinforcement.jpg (199.93 KiB) Viewed 3229 times

I'm not 100% sure but I think the 900 bushing blocks fit the 99 upper control arm mounts. The lower control arm bushing blocks are different between a 99 and 900 but I'm pretty sure the uppers will exchange.

[Jordan]

I did that mod on my '71. Just cut some 16 guage steel triangles and welded them in. They were stock on my '76.

[spgftw]

Slow progress here, but crawling forward. Big thanks for the diagram Geoff- the crack has been repaired exactly like that. I'll get a photo at some point.

Now, to sort out some steering. I've got a crazy pile of steering racks to pick from. Half of these have obvious damage, so will be picked over for spare parts. I'm reading that inner tie rods aren't available, but are any other innards available or needed? I searched, but haven't been able to find any kind of rebuild guide, so any links or suggestions would be a great help. I'm not even sure what kind of oil to put back in and how much.




Oh yeah, any advice on the 3.5 ratio rack vs 4.2?
-Paul

[Geoff]

The quick ratio rack is nice, I haven't found it to feel too heavy. I can only remember driving one car with a long ratio rack and it felt real long, but easy to turn.

Sonett on this board had built some rebuild kits for the racks but I don't think he has any more.

Rebuild information and lubricant specs are in the factory manual.

[spgftw]

So, it's been a long time since an update. Progress was halted for months by life, and a back injury, but the project is finally moving forward again.

I've had a minor breakthrough though: scoring a parts car! It's a 1980 99 that's been sideswiped and rear ended. Good enough for me though. It's a treasure trove of parts I was missing. Last pic in one piece:



And now, I'm stuck. I was going to pull the engine and grab the transmission, but this one has a gear driven primary. Is the clutch shaft on this style supposed to pop free like on the chain driven version? There's no apparent way to screw a bolt into the end of the clutch shaft to get some purchase, unless it's hidden under the caked on crud. Here's a pic of the situation as I wonder about my next move.



Is it even worth grabbing a chain drive 4 speed? Can it be converted to chain primaries? I'll start googling but any advice is welcome.

[99Super]

Clutch shaft pops out the same way. It's either packed w/ crud or the plastic oil flinger got broken off. Clean it out, stick a bolt in it and yank the shaft out.
The gear drive trannies work nice, just don't take as much power as the later units. They still work great on NA motors.

john