85 900T Street Project

[hutch]

I cannot find a suitable replacement or substitution for plastic inserts that go in the square holes in the lower body sides. The ones that expand when you run a screw into them. They hold the rails for the SPG Ground FX panels. Can anyone suggest a source or PN for a replacement?

I found a set that works pretty well that is available over the counter at Pep Boys, I don't still have the box for the part # but I might need something else there this weekend I can look and try to take a picture of it. They are slightly undersized but when I put some gasket maker in the hole to keep moisture out they fit snugly. You can get new ones from a dealer for an absurd price or search around for something similar sized from an autoparts store. They're not really structural, they just line the panel up when it's being mounted to the car.

[hutch]

Here's what I used, like I said they were a tad small but there were only a few options at the store. They use the same size screw as stock but you probably want to get new screws anyway.

[SwedeSport]

I have made a little progress on the 85 900 project, but I have a question for the gang.

When repainting a car, is it necessary to retain the build date and tire info stickers in the drivers door jamb? I have de-stickered the engine bay and even popped off the vin plates to prepare for paint. But Im not sure about the legality of removing the ones on the pillar.

It would certainly make it look alot cleaner, but I wouldnt want to get in trouble with Johnny Law.

[Jordan]

The Vin on the door jam you should keep. The mask it off with some painters tape and an xacto knife. Mine have a barcode they scan when doing the emissions test.

[SwedeSport]

Spent the better part of the last week making some good progress on the body prep.

Cleaned out a bunch of old body caulk with a wire wheel and treated the joints with rust inhibitor. Re caulked the joints with seam sealer. Hammered out a few dings here and there. Welded up the holes from the aluminum channel that goes on the early cars. The hammered up quarter panel on the right side was a bear. I There is a bit of filler in it but overall I think it came out well. I whacked the rear quarter out a little as it pinched the hatch a bit. I was able to massage it out enough to make it look ok. The body accent line was a challenge but looks pretty good in wet primer, so I'm happy. I sprayed 2 coats of Variprime and worked a few imperfections out along the way. All 4 corners are in primer, and Ill finish up the jambs tomorrow. Next apply 2 coats of filler primer over the sides, then block em out before painting the car. Looks pretty straight before blocking it out.

I have to do it all over again with the doors, hood, hatch, and other bits that will be body color.

[SwedeSport]

Coming along nicely.

[SwedeSport]

And yet more pictures.

[SwedeSport]

You guessed it,... More!

[Luke]

Damn dude, way to be kicking some butt. Really inspiring to see all this, I'll need to stop by soon and check out the progress firsthand.

[SwedeSport]

The project has slowed a bit due to a few days of bitter cold temps. Working on derusting the frame in the front of the car. About 2 years ago I spent some time thoroughly cleaning and degreasing the engine bay and front end. Removing a fair amount of undercoating, and cleaning it in preperation to paint. The rust was minimal, with very little pitting in the CV joint tunnels. The paint was gone from areas and had some surface rust. Absolutely no metal needed to be replaced though.

Over the last few days I sanded the rails, and treated everything with a liberal coating of Naval Jelly to neutralize the rust. I washed it well with water, and let it dry for about a week before sanding and scuffing with a Scotchbrite pad. I am using a product called Rust Encapsulator from Eastwood Co. Basically a red oxide primer that I am brushing on. I'll do 2 heavy coats in the frame to stop rust and seal the metal. Originally the factory paint job left alot to be desired. The only color that got in the frame was overspray. The stuff is taking forever to dry with the freezing temps though.

I'll paint over alot of the red with the body color when I spray the engine compartment, and the wheelhouse will get a fresh layer of undercoating. I do plan on leaving the tunnel and spring tower innards red.

[Geoff]

That Eastwood stuff seems to work pretty well. If you look at my '80 GLi's inner wheel well, I painted the rust surrounding the upper hole with Eastwood's old stuff "Coroless" and then covered it with sheet metal and the other side with duct tape (a nice moisture-holding setup). 9 years later when I pulled the sheet metal off, the rust still had paint on it. I think I may have painted some of the other areas which were covered with fiberglass and were lower areas in the car, those didn't hold up as well. But, I think that stuff will hold up well on your car. It looks glossy on your car. The stuff I had was a little flat (porous) so I'd want to put a top coat on it.

[SwedeSport]

The stuff I used is in fact the Corroless product. If you just degrease the area, and wire brush the flaky stuff off, this product will convert rust to magnetite. This effectively neutralizes the rust and stops its progress. It has glass particles in it that interlock to not only seal further moisture, but absorbs any residual moisture on the substrate. So in spite of its low gloss IS in fact waterproofing the surface that you treated. You can thin it and spray it but I chose to brush it on. I was liberal enough that it was flowing into the unsealed seams between pinch welded panels. It almost has a capillary effect and seems to draw into the joints. It can be top coated by almost any paint system, but will stand alone to prevent future corrosion. I plan to put on a second coat and touch up a few thin spots tonight.


It looks shiny in the pic because it is still wet.

I bought mine years ago, and I'm not 100% sure but I don't think the newer version of the product is as good as the older stuff.

[SwedeSport]

I touched up with Variprime and sanded any rough spots , and then sprayed 2 coats of Chroma Surfacer. I tried to lay some millage in the questionable areas so I can block it all smooth. I started blocking a few problem areas with 220. The plan is for another coat of filler prime, then blocking with 400. Paint shop says I should not need a sealer between the primer and top coat if I do at least 3 medium wet coats of color. I am using Centari single stage. Its kinda old school tech, but I never thought the new 2 stage systems accurately replicated the classic Saab colors. I am going to wait until I'm ready to spray the whole exterior to final sand it.

[Geoff]

Coroless is also a perfect match to B engine red. Not sure about the new Eastwood stuff, I saw some once and the "red" looked kind of purple.

How well is the primer drying in the cold?

[SwedeSport]

It's taking it's sweet old time. I put it on kinda thick too though. The red stuff ? The gray filler primer is catalyzed so its ready to sand in a few hours.