The Bullnose

The Bullnose
This is how she looked the day she came home, 29 January 2009

04 February 2010

The beginning

I make it a habit to to visit Craigslist every few days to look for parts for my 1998 Saab 900SE.  One ad stated, "1963 SAAB 96, with engine."  I emailed the guy and these are the pictures he sent me.













A week later, I was standing in his driveway, freezing half to death and falling completely in love with the car.

There were no front seats.  There was chrome missing all around the body.  The engine was elsewhere.  The trunk was full of spare parts.  One turn signal assembly gone.  Rust had mostly destroyed the doors. Some hubcaps missing.  But...

Perfect glass.  Interior in surprisingly good shape.  Body in good shape with almost no structural rust and very little surface rust. 

I was... hooked. 
He didn't have much history about the car.  He had owned it for three years and bought it from someone that had it stored in one of the cave facilities here in KC for about 15 years.  I'd love to know more of course.

I paid him and a few minutes later the engine was sitting in the flooboard. 












I had it towed home and here she is:

I also found an extra little bonus:


First order of business will be to figure out why the engine won't rotate...




5 comments:

  1. Well, it certainly looks like you've got your work cut out for you! Actually this looks like immense fun. If you need anything wooden turned on a lathe just let me know. Sorry I can't help with the wrecked sill.

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  2. She is going to be a beauty and like all beauties she as to be sought after and handled with care.... but you are the man to make it happen. I cannot wait to see her in full glory! Any welding I can do... I'd be happy to. Can't wait to put on my Dickies shop suit, Doc Marten's and Red Bandana... maybe a little red lipstick to help out... for style purposes.
    OMG...she's gonna rock.

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  3. I love projects like this, bringing classic cars back from the brink. Can't wait to see the results. My Dad restored a 1940 Ford from the ground up, so I know what's involved. Thanks for documenting the entire process, I know, it's adds a lot of additional time to the project.

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  4. Hey, you still working on your Saab?

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  5. Dapatkan Penghasilan Tanpa Keluar Rumah.. Cara Daftar

    Tips bisa didapatkan disini Tips Mudah

    ReplyDelete