#savethechassis

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Welding works, but some chassis are just to far gone, even good ones when cut open arent pretty, you can get years more out of them but fcuked is still fcuked.

On some of the classic land rover forums for some time its been galv chassis all the time, but people are starting to wake up to the fact its then just a kit car of many shiny parts, but an original quality repaired chassis with the chassis number still readable is a little bit special.
So an early car wth an original chassis is very nice indeed, but middle of the road nothing special car just get galved and be done with it.
 
The Unit said:
As a Materials Engineer, with a PhD in Corrosion, and a great deal of interest in Landies, when I had to choose what to do to protect the chassis of my new 6x6 it was a no-brainer. Painting the outside with fancy epoxy-based coating systems is all well and good, but after 25 years all that's left is the paint! Painting the inside never works because no-one can ever prepare the surface suitably for the paint system to work. Galvanising by hot dipping is the answer. The chemical dips before the zinc bath ensure removal of all the nasties we don't want to be there, and the zinc finds all the little holes, corners and hard to reach bits that paint systems can easily bridge over.
The secret to any protection is always preparation. Unless a surface is prepared properly, whatever protection you put on will be of limited use and benefit. Manufacturers claim all sorts of benefits and life extensions, but that is almost always for virtually laboratory prepared samples with short terms tests extrapolated to many years. The real world is different! As a colleague of mine used to say "In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they're not!"
Go Galvanising, or Rover-Chrome as I've heard it referred to!
Click to expand...


Rover chrome, just like the owners all bright and shiny to start with, then dulls considerably over the years:D
 
I will tell you what you want to hear,
No, fix it well and it will last forever the inner rust is a myth and a well patched chassis is authentic and worth the effort.
Now the truth, inner rust is a killer for your chassis, what you think will be a small patch repair, always requires a lot more cutting and welding once you start and you end up chasing rust forever.
if you don't want a new galvanised chassis, there are non galvanised ones on sale as well, but you sound like you have already made your mind up and want to commit to a long term welding program of failed MOT's and patching up that will eventually end in it ending up in the scrap yard.
A new chassis is a good opportunity to sort out all the other things you did not know where a problem, like bulk head repairs, doors about to rust away, engine leaks and overhaul, fuel tank refurbishment, etc, etc. Once done it will be worth a lot more too.
Would you rather buy a Landy with a new chassis or one with a patched up chassis, nowing if its been patched it will most likely require more soon.
 
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Sheeesh, you boys on commission from marsland, Richards, those peaky Irish fellas or designa?
I'd bet my house I could restore it and get 20 more years.......




Okay, I'm joking. You all make fantastic points and deep down it's nothing I don't already know. So while we are here, marsland too expensive for me but appears the best, shielder doesn't have very good reviews and I can't find much about designa so Richards seems about the best option and I see them with a couple of hundred quid off on a site I've not used that I can't remember right now. So any chance you guys know where the best deals are to be found. It would be nice to get the chassis for under 2k but I very much doubt it...
 
Henry_b said:
A galv chassis can be painted if you detest shiny stuff so much.
Click to expand...

Should be painted. Galvanising is better than bare steel, but it works because the zinc corrodes preferrentially to steel. Paint protects the zinc and makes it last longer as well as looking better.
 
I’m welding up a fender chassis. I’ve also welded up probably 70% of the rear of my d1 chassis. If the fender was mine, it would’ve been a galv chassis for sure but that wasn’t an option as it’s a favour and a bit too expensive for the owner.
You never know how bad a chassis is until you open it up!! I may be naive but I’ve got rid of so much of the rust from inside of the d1 chassis and covered the lot in dynax. It won’t last for ever but I think it’s got a fair few years in it! Would I do that over again? **** no. I’d get another chassis with log book and bath and galv it. Build her up bit by bit removing parts from old to clean paint and reinstall to new
 
Also, don’t think welding it up will be a case of just sticking plates on. The rust really eats certain places. The a frame cross member is a rust trap, rear cross member, if your spring seats are gone you need to replace the reinforcement sections that surround them and the shock mounts. You then have to align your crush tubes if your shock mount locations are rusted out. It’s not a fun job. It’s dirty, hot, painful and a test of mind!!!
 
Well here’s what you’ll find under it mate. Spring seats I found a bit tricky as I had to weld in new steel behind them on d1 but got there.
I’m one of the people who who try and save your chassis if it were mine but only if worth saving and again, it might be because I’m naive!
B94DADA2-26F6-433C-99D5-6FB647B3BDAC.jpeg
 
And here’s the repair. Like I said earlier, gave us so much easier and less of a headache but it wasn’t an option.
0D9A75ED-5909-422D-9589-FBE459B590F1.jpeg
02B90CA4-98E7-43EA-A902-646FA66DF17B.jpeg
 
I was 2 feet on the new chassis bandwagon but resto_d1 has made me wobble. That's exactly what I need to do and repair the rear cross member maybe a patch or 2, I don't know for sure yet. I rekon for 500£ I would get at least 10 years if not more if cared for well and it would remain original. Not that's its anything special, It's only a 300 tdi van.
Now I need to learn to weld!
 
You don’t know that yet though which is the problem. I’m far from accomplished but there’s a lot of fettling and messing about to get things fitting nicely and stuck together well. That was only a simple fix because I’ve spent months on and off welding up the d1. Not trying to discourage, just be aware that it’s not plain sailing and you’ll find more than you expect.
 
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