important info needed!

[woywitka]

so today a buddy and i pulled out the passenger seat, rear seat, console and carpet to acess the rust hole in the floorboard of my newly aquired 89' t16. what i discovered was absoloutely devastating! the whole joint where the floorboard meets the outer lower framework it rusted beyong sanding and repainting. For 5-10inches inwards a full cut out of floorboard must be done. THen we will shape new sheet meatal and voerlay it on the existing floorboard and have a straight edge where it can be rewelded to the frame, the frame beam will need some sanding down as it has rust as well. the bottom part of it will be rewelded with a new piece of steel. then a chemical treatment to void any left over rust, follwing a rust preventing primer then paint. the questions come with where are the gas lines?, the jettronic unit is on the passenger side, brake lines and some wires are there which can be moved and avoided while work is being done. the issues are also the sunroof drain is what causes the issue in the fist place, it must have been plugged. the jackstand location is gone as well. what other obstacles are there? and should i plug the drainplug on the roof on that side? any idea suggestions to this?

[Jezzadee]

To the best of my knowledge the fuel lines go through the roof, but where they go from there I'm not entirely sure. If you've got a 3 door the sunroof drains empty down the A pillars to near the front wheels and down the C pillars to come out at the side vents.

[woywitka]

got a 4 door, frame is just destroyed on that side! i don't know what i'm going to do, the car needs $1000 in work (driveline work like inner c/v, outer c/v boot 2balljoints, engine mount, pcv, hub nut), i already put $3000 into aquiring this car. THe bottom of the frame beam along the passenger side is rotted out, so i only have 3 sides to the frame on that part of the car. This is all just so horrible as now i need to decide if i go ahead with the $1,200 in rapirs or do i junk this car and go buy a toyota with a few hundred i can get together. There is no way i can go for another saab in this case. either way i can't just drive it till it dies as it won't last long with the driveline parts. i'm so lost i feel sick, just horrible.

[NSE]

That sucks. I thought you took it for an inspection before buying it. They should have reported the extent of the rust.

[eggsngrits]

I feel your pain... bought my 1988 900 Convertible this summer for $2900. Needed a lot of cosmetic TLC, but sounded and drove well. Less than a week later, pinion whine, then a few days later complete tranny failure (ring gear dropped).

Then the question: what do I do? Part it and start over? Fix it?

The fix was around $2000, but I added some stuff to do while the engine was out and the total came to $2500.

My logic on deciding to fix was:
1. Car worth about $5000 fixed.
2. Car worth about $800 parted.
3. Couldn't get another 'good' Saab for the $800 I would get for the parts plus the $2000 in repairs - that's what got me here in the first place!

In the end -- I'm loving the decision! I've got a fresh tranny, lots of confidence in the engine with some freshening (new seals, etc.). The car is solid. Of course, I got a $2000 lesson, but that's life.

My advice: if you think that it will cost $1,200 to fix and that's it -- do it. The resulting car will be better than any $1,200 car that you could buy, and you've already made a purchase that you can't recoup.

My two cents (in Canada I guess it's three :wink: ).

Mike

[Jezzadee]

It's a difficult call, and you have my sympathies. The first thing - the most serious thing, sounds like the rust. Loads of C900s have knackered ball joints and bust engine mounts, and if you can't fix them yourself someone will usually know a cheap place who can. For the rust, In this country if a load bearing structure is weakened by rust it will fail the MOT (waiting to ge a phone call about mine right now :-? ). It may be classed as uneconomical to repair, but that is not always the case. I would get some quotes from bodyshops, see if there are any Saab enthusiasts round your way who have fixed rust damage before. IIRC you mentioned a car college in one of your previous posts. Is it worth contacting them to see if they want to practice their bodywork at a reduced rate? My headgasket went in the first week of my ownership when i had emptied my bank account to get my car. I remember when I bought mine my dad came with me and thought I was crazy when I lay down in a puddle in a muddy parking lot and crawled under the car with a torch, but this is why.

[Rhino2.3t]

Originally Posted by Jezzadee

To the best of my knowledge the fuel lines go through the roof.

Lordy that sounds dangerous.. i couldn't see any up there when i had the headlining out :wink: only the sunroof cables and drains and a few wires..

i don't know the exact pipe run on the c900 but i've only ever seen fuel lines outside of the car / under the tunnel / floorpan and up into the engine bay.

[trackside]

the fuel lines go through the roof

- nah - they are on the floor on the pasenger side (UK).

[Jezzadee]

I was surprised as well by that but I'm pretty sure I saw it said that in the Bentley - could well be wrong though, wouldn't be the first time. :wink:

[Rhino2.3t]

Jez, maybe that referred to the convertible models :wink:

OK i'm shutting up now.

[Matthew]

What you need is someone with a full set of the original Saab workshop manuals

I had a look, and here's what it says:

The fuel lines from the tank to the engine compartment run along the left-hand sill inside the car.

[Jezzadee]

Would that be the left-hand roof sill?

[Matthew]

LOL good comeback

[Jezzadee]

Well I've just checked the Bentley and you're absolutely right. Where the hell did I get the idea that they were up in the roof? I mean common sense would say that in the event of an impact the last thing you want is for all the occupants to be doused in petrol from above. Deary me.

[deniss]

Rhino is right - no fuel lines up on the roof, except that breather line to the charcoal canister. When I took the headliner out, I didn't see any hard fuel lines up there.

[Jezzadee]

Originally Posted by deniss

except that breather line to the charcoal canister.

Aha! I knew there was something up there. Oh well, never mind

[Rhino2.3t]

Originally Posted by Jezzadee

Would that be the left-hand roof sill?

muhahaha 8)

it would certainly make smoking more of an extreme sport :wink:

back to the plot; provided the main cross-sections are intact it's no huge drama to fabricate & replace floorpans.
it all comes down to 'you can't make the scene if you don't have the green' or something :wink: