1964-1974 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
What to do first? [besides memorize how to spell 'Sonett' ; ) ]
-- Figure out exactly what you've got. Not a lot of differences between '72 and '73 but model year could be important for some things. Super easy: look at the VIN #. First two digits are model number (97), second two are year of production (e.g. 9773xxxxx is a 1973 model.) Your Saab-nut friend got the original color by looking at the paint-code plate back near the heater in the engine compartment; this is also good info for you to have, so copy this down too. You might also want to get the numbers off the transaxle case, engine block, and chassis ('way down next to the engine on one of the frame rails.) In fact, if you own a digital camera, this might be a good time to start documenting your work by photographing the ID plates, damaged areas, good areas, etc.
-- Next, decide on your goals for this car. Do you want to do a super-beautiful restoration? Just fix it up enough to be a fun daily driver? Build it up for racing, autocross, etc.?
-- Then... keeping in mind the goals you just set... go all through the car and make a list of all the stuff that needs to be done. The reason you do the goal-setting step first is that it makes a difference how you look at this step: for example, if you've got a rust hole in the floor and you want a show car, you're going to want to cut out the whole panel, get a new one fabricated, and weld it in; if you're just making a daily driver, you might only want to patch it. Again, snapping photos as you go as well as making a written list is cool because later on as you're working your way through fixing things on the list, it will be fun to see how far you've come from the way it was when you got it.
-- Once you've got the list, prioritize it based on your budget and how you want to use the car. For example, if it's a "driver," the first things you want to do are the ones that will let you drive it safely so you can start having some fun with it. That means starting with the brakes, steering, suspension, and fuel system (leaky fuel system eventually = fiberglass fondue party = not good) and then going on to reliability stuff e.g. the engine, transaxle, cooling, etc., then finally on to the look-good stuff (body, interior, etc.) Then again if your goal is a show car, it makes more sense to organize the list in order of how you're going to take it apart and put it back together (e.g. there's no sense in getting the body painted first if you're then going to take it off later so you can do the chassis.)
-- Then ya just start perusing this site, other SAAB sites, SAAB mailing lists, etc., looking for sources of parts you need and stuff you want to have done, and start working your way through your list! Again, it'll be interesting later if you take photos, keep records, etc., as you go. And don't forget to have fun! That's why you're doing this, right???
posted by 32.97.3...
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