Steve's unexpected Series 3 rebuild.

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Rivets and a bit of that wonder glue is most likely going to be stronger than spot welds (he says licking this thumb and sticking it in the air!)

I don't have an AC/DC TIG welding setup so I'm not meant to weld aluminium with it. The thing that I keep reading about Birmabright is that it behaves so differently from other aluminium alloys you can indeed get away with welding it with DC or gas. I haven't tried it myself yet so I can't say for sure that is correct. As for stress cracking: Well have a look at my series 2a and tell me that doesn't happen naturally! The green book advice of annealing should come into play to help the cause...
Maybe a bit of old scrap birmabright and a good old experiment is needed.:)
 
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I've got some crumbly ali at the front of my tub too, i think some new pieces rivetted in with some adhesive will be the best bet. If you have a go yourself if be interested to see how you get on.
 
I've got some crumbly ali at the front of my tub too, i think some new pieces rivetted in with some adhesive will be the best bet. If you have a go yourself if be interested to see how you get on.
I have decided to fill, plate, bond and rivet. I hope to make a start tomorrow. Pictures will follow as soon as I can.
 
Steve,

Have you heard of easyfix duraweld? It's impressive stuff if you use it within it's limitations and exactly to the letter of the instructions:
http://www.chronos.ltd.uk/acatalog/...ium-Welding-Brazing---Soldering-Products.html
http://www.chronos.ltd.uk/acatalog/...ium-Welding-Brazing---Soldering-Products.html
I've used it in the past to fix all sorts/shapes of ali, galv steel, copper and even tried the party trick of 'welding' up a hole in an ali coke can, which actually very easy.
It might be a very good way to fill in some of your pitted ali, and /or rejoin some bits and bobs...
 
Thanks for the link Saltlick. I've also got a pin hole in my original rad (brass tank with, I believe, copper core). I'd like to re-core the rad for a proper repair in the future but to get me back on the road do you think Duraweld would work?
 
Steve,

Have you heard of easyfix duraweld? It's impressive stuff if you use it within it's limitations and exactly to the letter of the instructions:
http://www.chronos.ltd.uk/acatalog/...ium-Welding-Brazing---Soldering-Products.html
I've used it in the past to fix all sorts/shapes of ali, galv steel, copper and even tried the party trick of 'welding' up a hole in an ali coke can, which actually very easy.
It might be a very good way to fill in some of your pitted ali, and /or rejoin some bits and bobs...

That stuff looks very similar to the HTS2000. It is good stuff - it does stick but I don't think it is ideal for Land Rover body work on the thin bits.

I did a bit of experimenting (with the HTS2000) and found that as the stuff sits on top of the holes and it is difficult to get it to stay within the holes it pulls the sheet metal out of shape

https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/1965-series-2a-station-wagon-in-holland.298002/page-21

1965-series-2a-station-wagon-hts-panel-distorted1-jpg.108509


1965-series-2a-station-wagon-hts-why-filling-holes-with-hts-doesnt-work-jpg.108512


Thanks for the link Saltlick. I've also got a pin hole in my original rad (brass tank with, I believe, copper core). I'd like to re-core the rad for a proper repair in the future but to get me back on the road do you think Duraweld would work?

I'd expect this type of product to be quite successful for this type of problem so long as you are able to clean the damaged area really well.
 
Great, thanks Stretch. Just watched the linked video in full, looks like a miracle product for DIYers!
 
These brazing / soldering things are fascinating. I know stretch has had trouble with the heat distorting the panels. I've ordered some chemical metal so I will give that a go first but I really think I ought to give the soldering a go sometime. Thanks for the suggestions and advice chaps. I will keep you posted as I go.
 
Thanks for the link Saltlick. I've also got a pin hole in my original rad (brass tank with, I believe, copper core). I'd like to re-core the rad for a proper repair in the future but to get me back on the road do you think Duraweld would work?
Yep, it should work a treat on the brass, Like I say just follow the instructions carefully and you should be ok..
 
WOO! 1000 posts... Yay... oh wait, no this is 1001 isn't it? do I need to post another in a second....? 1002, hmm... that was a bit premature, sorry...don't worry, I'll clean that up... :oops:
 
Right. Tub update.

As we've established it's in a bit of a state. After a lot of cleaning, scraping and fettling it's a bit better.

The inside is still rough.

The plan is that I make a bit of aluminium to fit over both sides then bond, rivet and bolt it together in a big sandwich to get some strength back in.
This is the gobbo I decided to use. As usual because it was the cheapest.

This is what I've ended up with.


Now my fuss arse, perfectionist streak is not too happy with this but my more practical side is winning. In an ideal world I would liked to have removed all the manky bits completely but it just wasn't sensible to go to such lengths. The chemical metal seems great. It grabbed the plates so hard when I offered them up that i'm confident with it's grip. It does set very hard though so I don't know if it would stand up to much flexing before it cracked. I used rivets with big heads to spread the load. Ideally I wanted all rivet heads facing the same way so the arse ends all faced into the wheel arch but I couldn't get the rivet gun in so I've got them going both ways.
The other side needed the same treatment but wasn't quite so badly corroded.
Next were the 'top hats' along the length of the floor. When the big floor strengtheners came off I was expecting a disaster but for once it wasn't as bad as I had imagined. There were 3 places where the corrosion was to bad to ignore. This is the worst one.

Again my solution is not the perfectionist's preference but I think it will be up to the job. I made a repair section and riveted it in place. It'll be better than the gaping hole.



Then it was time to give the front end of the floor a good old scrub. We've gone from this

To this

So now it's just going to be more of the same. Scraping, cleaning, wire brushing etc.
I have found that white vinegar works really well on the white powdery aluminium corrosion so i'll try to get rid of as much as possible. Even though it's just the underside I will put some of the filler in the pitted areas. Then i'll do the wheel arches. I've got some seam sealer as well. The stuff that's in there now is really brittle so will all have to come out.
As far as painting goes i'm going to take a chance on some hammerite stuff that claims it can be painted straight onto aluminium or galv steel without primer or anything. There's a little voice in my ear shouting 'don't be so daft it'll be crap' but as always it's the cheapest so i'll give it a crack. What could possibly go wrong?
The whole back end of the tub is a project in itself. The w section cross piece and both rear quarters have got to be replaced so i'll show you that another time.
Lastly my young assistant has started helping me again recently. I think the milder weather suits him better.
He brought some pals down for a ride on the chassis and then thought he'd have a go at shifting it himself. You've got to have eyes in the back of your head when he's around though because he wants a go with every tool in the garage. This weekend it was the air sander that took his fancy. There was muck and dust everywhere.

 
Looking good @LincolnSteve ,
What are you using to strip it clean?
And are you going to braze any of the tub? Maybe if you up those supporting pieces in beneath the holes and then filled the remaining gap with braze you could get a strong good looking fill :)
Saw this the other day maybe its of use
 
For the stripping so far I have used every type of scraping tool imaginable, a small DA sander, wire brushes on a drill and angle grinder and lots of white spirit.
I think you are right about the brazing rods. Now that there is not such a big gap they would probably fill it in really well. I will order some tonight. We were only talking about them on here recently yet I still forgot about them. It's a good job you were on the ball. Thanks.
I will have a look at the arc rite paint. I got my chassis paint from them and it was good stuff.
 
Don't know what you are planning to coat the bottom of the tub with but I saw this recently and I am wondering about putting it on my Galv chassis
Wondered if if anyone has used it :
https://blog.jgs4x4.co.uk/2017/02/14/new-product-truck-bed-liner-aerosol-paint/
This stuff reminds me of the plastic undercoat Mercedes spray on the underside of their cars.

It works really well until you get water creeping under it - you then get capillary action - sucking water over greater areas which makes much larger rust holes than if it had pooled in one place. For a mixed structure of aluminium and steel this might not be such a problem but I favour old fashioned paint.
 
Still a bit undecided at the moment so I'm open to suggestions. I'll give it a look.
I can understand the story of it acting like underseal and trapping moisture, and honestly I have not tried it, but would be interesting to hear from anyone who has and see what they think.
 
For the stripping so far I have used every type of scraping tool imaginable, a small DA sander, wire brushes on a drill and angle grinder and lots of white spirit.
I think you are right about the brazing rods. Now that there is not such a big gap they would probably fill it in really well. I will order some tonight. We were only talking about them on here recently yet I still forgot about them. It's a good job you were on the ball. Thanks.
I will have a look at the arc rite paint. I got my chassis paint from them and it was good stuff.
Its because just about the same time as brazing was being talked about on here I was researching it meself and got clued up on it!
I have a couple tins of red oxide etch primer I bought from the peterborough LR show I plan to use, you could use that as well, since you can use it on anything I reckon, being an etch.
A brilliant chap called Ken who I bought em from owns this website
http://www.carrestorationpaints.co.uk
He's well worth a phone call, and will sort you out with anything you need and provide his knowledge on the job at hand,
Really nice bloke :)
 
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