55.2-59 1958 Saab story

[dsraven]

I tried the hinge rebuild kit but found my hinges were worn too worn for the bushings. Just bought new ones. In the past I have used brass valve guides for a SBC with the 3/8" valve stem. That way the bushing goes all the way through the hinge part for better longevity and strength. Then use a 3/8" bolt as the pin or a generic hinge pin from AutoZone or whatever. You would need to get the valve guides from a parts store that sells to an auto machine shop maybe.

[dsraven]

I gotta skin all my doors so I will likely pick the worst, cut the skin off, remove the hi he pocket, sandblast the whole thing, see what's left and go from there. How are your doors otherwise, they look good in the pics.

[gottattooz]

I made two relief cuts with a sawzall and bent the corner down and out of the way. Thankfully, there's no moving parts where it was touching.

Putting things back together, I noticed there was no hardware to secure the bottom of the vent window track. So I took everything back apart and put in some 1/4-20 nut-serts. I used the harness that came with the regulators and my power probe to roll the window up and down to make sure everything worked.

- Josh

[gottattooz]

I stripped the Saab front door wiring harness and disassembled the door panel to reuse the arm rest so I could mount the power window control panel on the panel truck door.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I cut the bottom hinge off the door and found out why it was welded. I cleaned it up as best I could and welded everything back together. I've still got to grind everything smooth, but it's definitely stronger now.

Trying to use everything I can off the Saab, I mounted the speaker with the bracket that hides behind the Saab door panel. The speaker hangs lower than the bracket, which I thought was perfect because I wanted to make an access panel for the wiring. The connector for the power window motor is right there. I cut off the plug for the Saab power window and connected the new regulator plug.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I used a hole saw to make a relief hole for the harness to get to the armrest, then cut away to the bottom of the panel. I used the slug from the home saw to fill in the old window crank handle opening.

I assembled the door so I could see how it's all going to look when it's put together, and so I don't misplace any parts or hardware. I have to take it back apart to paint the silver piece blue. And I have to figure out how to connect the door harness to the body harness, but I'm very happy with my progress.

Oh and the "auto down" feature on the window switch totally works!

-Josh

[dsraven]

gotta love those nutsert tools.
moving along quickly. how much coffee did you have this morning, haha.
wil you fab a door panel someday or leave it raw and open?

[gottattooz]

I'll leave it as is, minus the silver panel. I'll paint that blue when I paint where I did the body work.

-Josh

[dsraven]

looks like you may hve some work to do on that lower hinge pocket on the A pillar. that part is available aftermarket. pretty common issue. you could fab a patch panel for it too I suppose.

[gottattooz]

Originally Posted by dsraven

looks like you may hve some work to do on that lower hinge pocket on the A pillar. that part is available aftermarket. pretty common issue. you could fab a patch panel for it too I suppose.

I ordered a patch panel as soon as I noticed it was rotted out.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

Tackled the passenger door today. I'll spare you the duplicate pictures, and show you what I did differently.

Since I didn't remove the passenger door, I got to figure out how to connect the harnesses. I mounted the bracket on the leading edge of the front door and cut away everything that got in the path of the plugs when they were connected. Then I used a 2 inch hole saw to bring the door harness out the leading edge, just below the bracket.

I included a picture of the door closed, so you can see what it looks like as a passenger.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I was watching B!tc#in' rides and saw this on the screen. I was curious how mine would look with the center "window section" blacked out. I like how it looks.

-Josh

[Madkidd007]

Originally Posted by gottattooz

I ordered a patch panel as soon as I noticed it was rotted out.

-Josh

But where did you order it from? I know a place to get it that I know it would be the right thing

[gottattooz]

Originally Posted by Madkidd007

But where did you order it from? I know a place to get it that I know it would be the right thing

eBay.

-Josh

[dsraven]

I like the blacked out section in that pic as well. chevy has done this idea on some of their vehicles while still retaining the glass. black limo window tint on the glass and black painted area for the rest. seems like a cheap fix to try it out anyway. you could use some black decal material instead of paint or window tint and if you don't like it just peel it off.

[dsraven]

sometimes I think I should start on the passenger side first then the upgrades will be on the driver side where it will get used more, haha.

[6DoF]

i've always been a fan of the blacked out pillars, just cleans up the lines so much.

[gottattooz]

I got up this morning and register the panel truck, so now I can legally drive to the gas station. Also finished up the body work around the headlight to make the bezels fit as best as I could. And I bought blind spot mirrors for the tow mirrors.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I wet sanded and prepped the truck this morning before work and painted the primer spots when I got home. It was cold and foggy out this morning, and about 68 degrees when I got home. I'm very impressed with the color match from finish masters. It's just a single stage urethane.

-Josh

[Madkidd007]

Originally Posted by gottattooz

I wet sanded and prepped the truck this morning before work and painted the primer spots when I got home. It was cold and foggy out this morning, and about 68 degrees when I got home. I'm very impressed with the color match from finish masters. It's just a single stage urethane.

-Josh

Blah blah blah. Don’t you call me and then no answer when I return your call.

[gottattooz]

I got up this morning and wet sanded the fresh paint with 600 grit to knock some of the shine off so it matches the rest of the paint. Then I installed the tail lights and the headlight bezels.

-Josh

[joedoh]

man this is neat!

[dsraven]

Power polish?

[gottattooz]

Originally Posted by dsraven

Power polish?

I haven't polished anything yet. I'll probably hit it with some rubbing compound, but only to get the surface scratches out.

-Josh

[gottattooz]

I bought a new wiper cowl without the vents. I painted it when I did the fenders. Installed it and put the new wiper arms and blades on.

-Josh