Building a Q plate 90

Hi all I know this has been covered many times throughout the years!

But here goes, I have decided to build myself a Defender 90 as I want it to be solid and last me for many years to come, I have purchased a chassis and engine with axles off eBay and am now going to begin stripping it, wanted to ask some questions regarding galvanising and the R380 gearbox.

My first is - How likely is it that the chassis will warp when being galvanised? The place that did it kept stressing it is possible but not likely!

The other is the R380 gearbox, as my chassis and engine did not come with one! I have been offered a cheap R380 box from a discovery 300tdi it appears the R380 was the same defender or disco? As ashcroft do a long stick modification for them? I just wanted to check this out there with some people who may have had this issue before!

I will be uploading photos of the project as I go along, early days at the moment, just figuring out where I should start first!

if chassis is good enough to be galvanized, why was it sold on ebay? with out the V5 or what ever you call the title? A majority of ebay defender parts are probably stolen and broken into pieces so it can'r be traced as being stolen or back to the owner

sometimes a chassis is sold without the v5 and identity as someone else wants it.

The OP didn't ask about the implications of this, but about galvanising.

If its in solid condition it should be ok, you can get big problems with a repaired chassis being galvanised if it hasn't been done properly. Also a lot of places wont galvanise secondhand chassis's as any contamination can ruin their batch. Have they galvanised a chassis before do you know?

my brother bought a series that had an 'old' chassis that had been galvanised, and it had to be replaced as it still rotted away!

Alp Landy said:

my brother bought a series that had an 'old' chassis that had been galvanised, and it had to be replaced as it still rotted away!

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Chassis was probably contaminated with road salt or similar before it was dipped.
It is possible to get a good job if the chassis is reasonable before it is dipped. A friend had his s3 chassis and bulkhead done, after carefully repairing, by welding in new steel, not by overplating existing rot spots. Chassis and bulkhead are still very good after 14 years.

On the r380 subject ,if its from a disco it will have a long input shaft and bellhousing so may not be suitable for a 90 without modification to the mounts and prop shafts

As has been said you want to be sure the chassis is good before having it galved ,id think about having it blasted first as this will show any hidden rot and bad repairs ,you could then decide if its worth galving or maybe you could just paint it ?

Ive seen new galv chassis go cheap on ebay as unfinished projects ,i got the lightweight in my profile pic with a galv chassis ,body ,axles ,engine (not fitted) ,box and v5 for less than a new galv chassis

yes the newer or better repaired the chassis is the better chance you have but if the tin worm has got in where you cannot see you have problems, my brother's retro galvanised chassis rotted from the inside out...

Re twisting, it is highly unlikely a chassis will twist when being galved, more likely problems with adhesion of the zinc. I had acompany make a right both of a new steel bulkhead that had not been cleaned properly