Defender 90 "Father & Son" Re-Chassis Project ('91 Reg)

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timmotchell

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In an attempt to get my 17 yr old son off various screens, and spend some quality time with him over the next year or so before he finishes A-Levels and ups and leaves, I've bought a 90 that needs a new chassis.
I'm wondering if there's any way that we can pay someone to lift off the bodywork and store it for us for 6 + months, whilst we wheel off the current chassis (via trailer) and transfer bits over to the new, before returning to have the bodywork bolted back on.
We have the room to do the chassis work - but not to safely lift off the bodywork and then store it for a period of time.
I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts - or ideas on other potential options that are open to us...
Many thanks in advance for your help.
Tom
 
If you’ve got the space to do the work, you can lift the body off yourself in one. There are numerous videos on YouTube of people doing so and rolling the chassis out, supporting the body on trestles and planks or the like. As mentioned, a friendly farmer with a telehandler is very useful if there are any locally.
 
I had to remove the body work on my 110csw to do some major chassis repairs. I ended up removing the body in sections.
Roof and side panels
Rear tub
Bonnet
Wings and front panel and windscreen section.
This just left rolling chassis and bulk head.
While it was in sections, I removed and galvanised the steel body cappings. And carried out weld repairs to steel sills and pillars. I didn’t realise these areas needed attention until the body was stripped down.
It’s a bit of extra work, but worth it in my case. Also less risk of damage to bodywork.
 
miktdish said:
Take the body apart. You will find a lot of things that 'need' sorting or/replacing/renewing along the way.
It's also easier to store when it's flat packed ...
Click to expand...
And another vote for removing the panels individually. smaller to store and you can then assess, rebuild and reseal the body as well. also ideal opportunity to prep and paint. You will find that there are plenty of parts of the body that will need work if the chassis is so far gone that it needs to be replaced. Doors, bulkhead, capping's, ali sections on seat box and front edge of the tub where the seatbelt mounts are the imitates that come to mind. but there is plenty of others.
 
there's more fun in unbolting it all yourself.. honestly with the amount of diagrams there are.. don't be afraid you'll be able to put it back together pretty easy with workshop manuals such as lrworkshop.com
 
I rebuilt my 300Tdi ten years ago. It's a 96 plate. Rear cross member was shot and the outriggers were forming holes, so I decided to get a galv chassis. As shayne said, the hidden secrets, even at that age, were considerable. It'll be a biblical style miracle if you lift the body off and don't find horrors. Plan and budget for stripping it down in to bits, refurbishing or replacing a lot of them (including the bulkhead), replacing almost every nut and bolt. It'll take a lot longer than six months too, unless you're retired and can work 18 hour days, 7 days per week in a large, heated garage. It's great fun though :cool:
 
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