I've been searching for 16in Aeros since I bought it in the fall. There seem to be a lot of Saabs in VT. After working on mine over christmas break my bro wants to add an SPG to his collection this summer. I copied him with getting a cruiser and now he wants to copy me and get an SPG. So we'll be a cruiser and SPG family.
Time for a little update. I got a Lincoln SP175T for christmas so I started doing a little body work today. I took some pictures that I'll put up tomorrow. I cut out and started welding the area over the drivers rear wheel well. It'll probably end up looking only a little better then the glob of bondo that was on there but atleast it wont rust as fast. I found out I dont have much patience for welding thin metal and my welds look like a 2 year old did them because even on the lowest setting I would still burn through. I'll probably cut off the rockers tomorrow in prep for some trail-gear sliders in the near future. I'd be working on my SPG but I'm at a stand still until I get the studs for my exhaust manifold which the dealer wanted $7 a piece and I need 7 of them so I'm at a stuck until I figure out what to do about them.
Are you talking about the studs in the block? Did they just come out with the manifold bolts? I'm about to do the same job of replacing the manifold gasket, looks like a real pain. lots of rusted bolts.
Sorry that was about my Saab SPG...unless thats what your talking about too? But to answer your question yeah they came out with the nuts. they pretty much rusted together to make a bolt. One of them snapped and then I snapped the easyout trying to get it out. So I spent days drilling the easyout out and then used a bigger one. It was pretty easy for me since the engine is out of the car...new tranny. I soaked them with PB everyday for a week or so and it didnt do a thing.
Heading to Lowes to pick up more discs so I can continue cutting before I second guess myself more then I already am. To those who have already cut their rockers. What line do you follow when you cut them? Could you also post a pic or 2 of them?
I got the lower wheel arch to rocker fixed today. I'll get pics up in a bit. I did it with 4 pieces of metal then beat on it with a hammer until it looked decent then pored and primered it. I need to finish cutting the rocker off tomorrow and then turn the cruiser around so I can work on the other side. I'm planning on doing a little bondo work to smooth stuff and then herculine it so it looks real good.
Here are pics. It doesnt look that great but its better then rust...right? Plus I think with a good coat of herc it'll look really good. Plus with some sliders you wont even see it.
During
Pored and primered
Ignore the crappy looking welds. I cant weld sheet metal to save my life!
Just get a flapper wheel (sand disc) for your angle grinder and smooth down the welds. That's what body guys do, weld, grind, weld more to fill in holes, grind, and over until the holes are filled in and the lines are smooth. Oh and smooth out with a little bondo and sand.
Thanks, stay tuned version 3 may happen this spring if I can figure out how to pay for the SOA...accepting donations of cash or parts...paypal accepted
Finally got the cruiser back in the garage to do more rust work. I have the drivers side all done, all that has to be done is to cut off the inner rocker panel. The passenger side is a little more involved. I have to weld in a new lower wheel lip on the rear and the part where the wheel well hits the rocker on the rear door is totally missing. So I have to completely rebuild that. So tomorrow I plan to get the rust patched and get the Herc rolled on. This week I'll be building a set of sliders so that I'm ready for my snow wheeling trip next weekend. I'll get finished pictures up tomorrow.
i am wishing you well with you sheet metal. big pain. i dont know if this helps but the rough weld is caused by a poor ground. its tough welding on sheet metal going onto a old painted vehicle but it can be done. grounding and patience is key though. i have a miller 210 mig welder and for 16 guage steel i use .030 wire on a 75/25 argon/co2 mix volatge 2 wire speed 32 and my tacks are smooth with no burn through. as boots 4 said spot weld grind spot weld grind etc. the ground is key. good luck
Yeah I have a better ground for my most recent welding. I'm using .025 wire with a 75/25 mix with the wire speed set at 8 or so. It recommends a setting of 2 but thats way too slow. I have all the sheet metal work done, I just have to POR it then Herc it all. I'm not too worried about how smooth the welds are since it will be covered by the Herc.
All done. I think it looks really good. I put 3 coats on it to get rid of any red spots. Masking is KEY and since it bores me to death I didnt do as good of a job as I should have so there are a few iffy spots and a couple small spots where the herc bled through the tape. I'm planning on doing the door jams and such in the next couple days. I also made the biggest mistake anyone can make when using herc or a similar product...I scratched my face and now have 2 nice long black stripes on my face that are going to be there for a while, just great. I also put some herc on the rear bumper. Tomorrow I'll get a fresh coat of black on all the trip pieces, put it all back together and take some better pictures outside.
The rear bumper turned out pretty good. I followed the same instructions that are in the kit. I'll have to wait and get pictures tomorrow, its already dark.
