You are doing WHAT to a 1968 SAAB?

[Stein]

Stein submitted a new Build:

You are doing WHAT to a 1968 SAAB?

I've had a couple people ask about this build so I'm going to post a VERY abbreviated thread to bring you up to speed.

I bought this 1968 SAAB from John (80' 427 here) about a year ago.

I then bought a '94 Miata for the drivetrain.



In two days it looked like this.







Drug the Miata hulk out and drug in the SAAB





Cut out the floor and firewall
...

Read more about this build here...

View attachment 230750

 

[Stein]

Added roll bar

And seats

Engine in place.

Started fabbing interior

Radiator, shroud and intercooler. Yes, it's getting turbocharged.

Miata, while small, is still wider than this car.

Flare to fit.

Rear was much worse. Need 4" flare each side. I wanted to preserve the style line so sectioning was needed.

 

[Stein]

Bit of rust on doors

New metal in

Heading to sandblasting

Loaded with engine hoist

 

[Stein]

Blasted and primed. Picking it up.

Starting body work. I've never done a bit of bodywork in my life.

Where it sits today.

 

[K85 Octane]

that's freaking crazy

I love it!!!!

 

[y5mgisi]

Incredible fab work!

 

[munepit]

Wow! Nice work. One of a kind!!!

 

[bradshawtech]

You are giving me some fab ideas.

Awesome job.

 

[Deuling]

Way cool!!

 

[badmix]

Tag for home viewing.

 

[Richcz28]

uhm subscribed!

 

[scotto0609]

GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY,man that looks out there! have fun!

 

[Stein]

I didn't take much time to explain yesterday and I know y'all like pictars so I spent my time posting them.

Car is a 1968 SAAB 96. It was originally a V4 FWD car. In the past I've built a couple of Miatas, plus turbocharged one and did a V8 swap in one. The Miata is a fantastic handling small car, just lacks power to be a hoot.

The SAAB has a 10" longer wheelbase but is narrower than a Miata. The SAAB's original 60hp V4 gave it a blistering 16 second 0-60 which would even make the anemic Miata seem quick by comparison. SAAB was 2,100 lbs stock so should be around 2200-2250 after the swap. About the same as a Miata.

Turbocharging the stock Miata motor allows up to 250WHP on stock internals, 300 if you just swap rods to a forged set.

The car is being set up for track days on our two local road racing tracks. This was what I originally built the V8 car for, but I got carried away building it and now it's too nice and I have way too much money into it to risk totalling it so I started on this. It is being built to a budget. Not a lot of money but will probably be 600 hours of labor when done.

By carrying over all of the Miata subframes, subframe mounts and shock pockets and inner fenders the suspension and steering geometry will be 100% Miata so it should handle the same. Add the Miata drivetrain and a turbo and it should be a very quick track car. The only splurges were a used set of Tein Flex coilovers and $1,700 to sandblast and prime the car. That was totally worth the expense. The donor car was a 1994 R model Miata so it already had upgraded sway bars and a Torsen diff. I sold enough parts off of the old car that the drivetrain ended up being free.

 

[jekquistk5]

awesome!

 

[82355]

While I do love this build, it is preventing him from putting a real transmission in his CUCV!

Martin

 

[skunked]

Rad build, love these old Euro cars with modern drive train upgrades. Love those reworked rear skirts too.

was it the picture or were those seats mounted really high?

 

[ryoken]

way neat.... love the project, car is butt fugly, but neat none the less...


I have a couple friends with Miata's... not really my cup of tea (I tend to love my muscle cars) but it's a pretty impressive platform for fun from what I've seen...

subscribed...

 

[Stein]

Rad build, love these old Euro cars with modern drive train upgrades. Love those reworked rear skirts too.

was it the picture or were those seats mounted really high?

That's how high they have to be to get the correct sight line out of the windshield. They are now at stock seat height, maybe an inch or so lower actually. I have about four inches from my helmet to the roof, eyes in the center of the windshield. Seating position is like driving an S10. Shifter still falls right to hand, though. It worked out because the seats have to actually cantilever over the trans tunner a bit due to inside width. This thing is a couple of inches narrower than a Miata.

 

[red87gmc]

What a neat project good luck with it !!

 

[skunked]

That's how high they have to be to get the correct sight line out of the windshield. They are now at stock seat height, maybe an inch or so lower actually. I have about four inches from my helmet to the roof, eyes in the center of the windshield. Seating position is like driving an S10. Shifter still falls right to hand, though. It worked out because the seats have to actually cantilever over the trans tunner a bit due to inside width. This thing is a couple of inches narrower than a Miata.

that's plenty of head room.

It's just so common to see these builds with the seats damn near on the floor.