Tirran
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Which galvanised chassis did you have delivered to the castle? Looking on line Shielder have a deal on at the moment @ less than £2k for the 200tdi chassis.
1993 Defender 90 Rebuild
- Thread starter Resurgam
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neilly
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Tirran
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Mmm, number of older posts don’t bode well. I did see them at Peterborough and thought the Marsland was best but with nearly £1200 difference the Shielder one was attractive. Maybe I should just go with my instincts and first impression and spend the extra for the Marsland.
As far as I’m aware, Shielder Chassis stopped making chassis last year due to too many unhappy customers, me being one of them. I wouldn’t purchase anything from them again, nothing but criminals.
I went with Richards chassis. It looks well made but as it's still sitting in the corner of the garage I haven't taken any measurements or tried to fit anything to it yet. They have a good reputation though.
It's fair to say that there hasn't been much progress over the last few months. As I've been doing the rebuild at a friend's house, the lockdown meant that all I could do was grab a few bits to do at home and entertain my children for what seems like an eternity. I've got a few photos of bits and bobs I was able to do, so here goes.
Seats. The fabric doesn't look too bad, but it's gone a bit mildewy, the centre seat cover was ripped and the frames are all rusty, so I treated myself to some new covers and started stripping the metalwork down.
For some reason there's a screw missing from both of the seat bases but I've no idea why. If they were ever there they've been gone a long time.
The headrest had been tastefully modified by someone who clearly didn't like the standard angle, and obviously didn't mind being horribly impaled in the event of an accident! I found another one on eBay and re-covered that.
A quick coat of primer...
...and some satin black paint, (it's wet here so looks a bit on the glossy side)...
...and the bits start to look a bit more presentable.
The seat pan was more of a problem. On both of them the metal had broken away from the welds.
After a short discussion on whether to weld it myself with zero experience, I took it off to a fabricator and got it welded all across the front. It shouldn't break again in a hurry.
Some nice Exmoor Trim covers later, and I've got some smart seats ready to go into the Land Rover I don't have. I'm still waiting for the middle seat cover. Long story, but my advice is to never order anything from TerrainTech if you can avoid it.
I also found time to clean up and respray the calipers in high temperature silver paint. Just need to summon the courage to fit the stainless steel pistons now.
Looking a bit tidier
And as the lockdown is gradually lifted here in Wales, I'm finally able to get back on with the rebuild. In the hot weather last week we dragged the chassis out and I gave it a coat of phosphoric acid, so it's looking much less shiny. I was hoping to get a coat of paint on it but the sun was just too hot and I was worried the paint wouldn't adhere properly to the steel. Ironically since then it's been pouring down with rain and so the painting is on hold again. The forecast looks better for later in the week so fingers crossed!
Seats. The fabric doesn't look too bad, but it's gone a bit mildewy, the centre seat cover was ripped and the frames are all rusty, so I treated myself to some new covers and started stripping the metalwork down.
For some reason there's a screw missing from both of the seat bases but I've no idea why. If they were ever there they've been gone a long time.
The headrest had been tastefully modified by someone who clearly didn't like the standard angle, and obviously didn't mind being horribly impaled in the event of an accident! I found another one on eBay and re-covered that.
A quick coat of primer...
...and some satin black paint, (it's wet here so looks a bit on the glossy side)...
...and the bits start to look a bit more presentable.
The seat pan was more of a problem. On both of them the metal had broken away from the welds.
After a short discussion on whether to weld it myself with zero experience, I took it off to a fabricator and got it welded all across the front. It shouldn't break again in a hurry.
Some nice Exmoor Trim covers later, and I've got some smart seats ready to go into the Land Rover I don't have. I'm still waiting for the middle seat cover. Long story, but my advice is to never order anything from TerrainTech if you can avoid it.
I also found time to clean up and respray the calipers in high temperature silver paint. Just need to summon the courage to fit the stainless steel pistons now.
Looking a bit tidier
And as the lockdown is gradually lifted here in Wales, I'm finally able to get back on with the rebuild. In the hot weather last week we dragged the chassis out and I gave it a coat of phosphoric acid, so it's looking much less shiny. I was hoping to get a coat of paint on it but the sun was just too hot and I was worried the paint wouldn't adhere properly to the steel. Ironically since then it's been pouring down with rain and so the painting is on hold again. The forecast looks better for later in the week so fingers crossed!
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raywin
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Those seats look good, were the covers expensive?
I did my calipers with special caliper paint, I've used the aluminum high temperature stuff in the past and I'd didn't seem to last long
I did my calipers with special caliper paint, I've used the aluminum high temperature stuff in the past and I'd didn't seem to last long
Flossie
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Nice.
I would have done the caliper pistons before painting them though.
I would have done the caliper pistons before painting them though.
I can't lie - they weren't cheap! They're Black Span/Mondus covers from Exmoor Trim - they're leather on the back with cloth on the front. Buying the retrim kit (which includes new foams) directly from Exmoor Trim is silly money - you'd pay over £400. I got them from BritCar for £280. I'm planning to buy the centre seat cover through Bearmach.
Was the “fabricator” ****ed when he welded that seat base? Some of the weld bead, right hand side of front, isn’t across the join. It’s only on the frame. I hope they didn’t charge much (anything) for it?
Ah well, there's plenty of paint left to touch up the inevitable scratches.
Quite possibly! I did think that myself, but it's held fine and it's hidden under the foam anyway. A tenner reasonably well spent.
Tirran
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Looking good, like you the lockdown has sloooooowwwwweeeeedddd me down too.
I like the seat upholstery, Exmoor stuff is good but, as you say expensive. Interesting comment regarding TerrainTech.
I like the seat upholstery, Exmoor stuff is good but, as you say expensive. Interesting comment regarding TerrainTech.
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Looking great so far - are you keeping a tally of costs ?
Tirran
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Yes, as I am trying to avoid spending too much over what it would achieve if I sold it. Not that my intention is to sell but, it is way to get carried away with new shiny things. I’ll add upgrades afterwards unless it makes sense to do them during the rebuild.
I had no timeline as the whole point of this is a) a hobby where I get back to engineering, b) me time c) give me time to save for the chassis and paint job.
I had no timeline as the whole point of this is a) a hobby where I get back to engineering, b) me time c) give me time to save for the chassis and paint job.
Yes, for better or worse. Currently at £4963.98! Hoping to keep it under £8000. Still got a bulkhead to buy though!
Tirran
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My target too , will need it all and more to glue this lot together.
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They've messed me around for over four months now trying to get hold of a centre seat retrim kit. Serves me right for trying to save £20 over the Bearmach price, and apparently TerrainTech order the kit from Bearmach anyway, which seems like an additional complicated step given that they're made to order by Exmoor Trim anyway so it's not as if Bearmach have them sitting in stock. Now I've given up and asked for a refund they're dragging their heels about that too. The frustrating thing is that they seem like genuinely pleasant people when you talk to them - they just appear to be really disorganised.
Tirran
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I found that they were ok people but I’m still waiting on a shipping cost for a Marsland Chassis! No rush as I’ll wait until this COVID 19 outbreak settles before spending £3k
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