my raptor restoration

so after a few months looking about and visiting various defender owners around the emerald isle i eventually found a project for myself to tackle.. its a 1994 defender 110.. an imported utility wagon from the uk ive been told by the pros lol ..
anyway not sure whats its like across the pond but here in ireland at the minute defenders are been advertised for mad money.. so finding a half decent one that a guy can work on and rebuild or repair is becoming more and more difficult.. i originally wanted one for hunting and going around to local vintage shows etc.. but things have changed
so a few things i have learnt over the last few months is the fact i still want a defender even after seeing them dismantled all over peoples sheds and gardens lol.. ive always wanted to own and drive a defender as well as rebuild one..
however the family love the one i have.. i cant keep the kids out of it.. for this reason ive decided not to strip the one i have down to bits and pray i get it back together within a reasonable time frame while the family watch on..
the plan for this one is to remove the roof and rear tub.. the chassis has had a new extended rear cross member from the previous owner.. i will patch the chassis where needed and use WAR to protect it as well as a few other products.. the tub cappings need work as well as a few other little things need touching up on the tub and the odd dint filled.. i will raptor every inch of it.. not sure in what color yet.. originally the wife wanted orange and black but we will see.. i will touch up the interior and get it back into a respectable condition for everyday use..
the bulk head is in a bad way..
i have purchased a replacement for mine.. i got it sand blasted and ive repaired and galvanised it.. some repairs were carried out by the previous owner.. for anybody going to galvanise a bulkhead or any other part.. make sure the welds are perfectly smooth as the galvanise will stick to the slightest of blemishes and will highlight it ten times worse.. this can be sanded afterwards,, but you need to be careful not to remove all the galvanising ,,when the bulkhead returned from galvanising it had been bent so i needed to straighten it,,, im not sure if i will use the refurbished bulkhead yet or repair the original one in situ.. anyway heres a few pics of the original defender when i got it and how it is now..once this is on the road i will be looking to purchase a more family friendly one that holds 5 people at the one time and isnt mad money to tax















repaired





and galvanised see pics of the bend and how it was straightened

so to follow on i havent touched it in months.. a third child and a busy few months and ive done nothing in a long long while.. i finished patching the chassis the other day.. have one bulk head outrigger to patch and i will do when i remove the bulkhead.. i will be steam wash the chassis soon and let it dry before treating it.. points to note to any newbies going to look at their first dream defender.. bring a punch and hammer and beat the **** out of the chassis where the shock mounts join the rear of the chassis and in behind the from shock mounts **** and dirt gathers there and they will be rotted.. an easy enough fix on the rear but the front was a bit more awkward as the shock mounts cant be bolted off.. after that the body work just need some filling in various places on the wings roof and side panels,, they are very soft and dint easily.. looking forward to making some progress again on this project before winter comes again

a little bit of red neck repair from the previous owner

how it looked last august 2018 when i stopped at it

got at it again today and a few hours yesterday i replaced the front right outrigger after the previous owner had did a bad patch job on it..
a beast of a job.. i used the existing bulkhead as a guide so id have a reference point.. for anybody reading this make sure you support the bulkhead incase it drops.. i welded box iron to it and supported it from the floor of the shed

im waiting for some chassis treatment to arrive in the post so i said i would tackle the tub and see if its salvageable,,
it looks repairable.. however im going to try look out for a replacement... if one doesnt come up soon i will try make a new storage panel for it

davidreid said:

finally got back to it.. swamped with kids but they are getting a little easier to manage now.. just treated the chassis with aquasteel rust treatment and finished t off with very hot waxoyl.. also treated it to two new rear shocks

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Pics not working bud.

kevstar said:

Pics not working bud.

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ive just seen that im trying to use photobucket but not working for some reason

davidreid said:

ive just seen that im trying to use photobucket but not working for some reason

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Photobucket is a nightmare....much easier to upload them from a laptop or phone.

ffs it was showing them a moment ago.. if an admin see ths can they please delete the mess ive created on here lol

finally got back to it.. swamped with kids but they are getting a little easier to manage now.. just treated the chassis with aquasteel rust treatment and finished t off with very hot waxoyl.. also treated it to two new rear shocks

some tub restoration.. i purchased galvanised cappings for it that are slightly rusted in one or two spots i will have them re done along with another few bits