defender rebuild and trayback project , fast progress with pics !

yet another update today

first up was the front shocks , im using discovery 1 extended shocks which is a problem when mounting to a td5 axle as they are completely different , i could change the axle bracket but that means i have limited space for the spanner like the crap d1 set up has so i have used some plates for mounting them instead , shocks can be removed in less than 5 mins now

also loosely fitted some panelwork so i can get the width needed for cage and rear tray ect , once i have everything where it should be then i can dismantle and fully weld items in place , as you can see in the photos the sides will be removable , currently the side needs to move back and the tray needs to go up , it does give you an idea of the finished vehicles appearance though

pics below

not sure if anyone is reading this thread anymore ......... but if anyone is then more to come

more pictures from todays antics , loosely fitted the rear panels so i could set the height of the rear tray inside ( needs to be on the curve of the shoulder)
this is still the planning stage but all has to be fitted to work around everything else , this is the stage that will take the longest

to mock fit the panels i have just tack welded a washer between the two capping sections on each panel , at the rear theres just some tube tacked to the chassis to support the back while i decide how to actually mount the panels and how it will intergrate with the rear tray

tray is still fitted under all of this , the reason being is have owned this vehicle before and have good memories of it so id like it looking as close to it used to as possible however if i roll it ect then i wont do any serious damage , theese panels will clip on so for winch challenge events ect they will be removed prior

Well im still reading it.

I'm still reading keep um coming.

I'm still reading anorl. Looks good, lots of pictures, what's not to like?

no actual progress today but its moved and now its in the open , first time i have seen the vehicle in an open area myself as my work area is quite cramped i dont get the full view , i have made another decision regarding the rear , i have a defender 110 tub here in white which i will remove the bulkhead section and modify so it bolts on easilly along with a bolt on crossmember to the existing winch tray , this will allow the vehicle to be used as a daily and for events i can just unbolt and slide off the tub and bolt the trayback on !

, theres a few jobs to do on here while i can get around it easier as i have another vehicle in the work area i need to do a few jobs on before end of the month

I am watching too.

shaggydefender said:

well progress is still going and should speed up much more soon with the rest of the cage !

in the mean time i have had the mind-numbing job of repairing someone elses cock up !

basicly the guy who was doing the cage originally decided he knew better than me when it came to the chassis,
and did unorthorised modifications to it which are not only terrible but prevented the shock mounts being fitted

the shiny welds are ones i have added as removing the whole lot would have resulted in more damage so.....
it was easier to add more plates , grind and square the lot up ready for shock mounts , not perfect as this will get covered anyway ,
also my grinder was playing up and welder leaking gas lol !

not quite finished yet after 3 hours id had enough , need to weld and grind a bit more yet , mount is just tacked and will be coming back off so i can finish underneath

ill let the pictures do the rest going in order of fixing this crap ! View attachment 121057 View attachment 121058 View attachment 121059 View attachment 121060 View attachment 121061 View attachment 121062

Click to expand...

I know nothing about welding, but those welds look really good to me.

I'm still reading