miktdish · Wednesday at 11:36

scott3933 said:
<snip>

Edit:
Just ordered a new galv bumper to go on as well as the old one is slightly bent, and of course crusty. I was considering a military style one but I don't think they're worth paying twice the price for so standard galv it is with stainless bolts.

I'm not a big fan of stainless bolts in that location.
Stainless comes in may forms, A4-70 is approaching 8.8 steel in hardness and strength but all others are as soft as brass. You can easily shear the head off an A2, M8 stainless bolt with a standard 13mm ring spanner, a one handed operation with a socket and an extension bar.
In the event of a 'bump' the bolts will just shear like a scissor cutting through cardboard.
If someone tried to use the bumper to pull you out of trouble the bumper would get/fly off at the first pull.

Use a minimum of 10.9 HT steel or even better 12.9 High Tensile bolts.
Lather everything with a waterproof grease during and after assembly and it will last for many years

scott3933 · Wednesday at 11:52

miktdish said:
I'm not a big fan of stainless bolts in that location.
Stainless comes in may forms, A4-70 is approaching 8.8 steel in hardness and strength but all others are as soft as brass. You can easily shear the head off an A2, M8 stainless bolt with a standard 13mm ring spanner, a one handed operation with a socket and an extension bar.
In the event of a 'bump' the bolts will just shear like a scissor cutting through cardboard.
If someone tried to use the bumper to pull you out of trouble the bumper would get/fly off at the first pull.

Use a minimum of 10.9 HT steel or even better 12.9 High Tensile bolts.
Lather everything with a waterproof grease during and after assembly and it will last for many years

I didn't even think about that but makes perfect sense! I just ordered stuff quickly earlier with express delivery as I want it for the weekend. I'm not going to get the welding done just yet but at least I can stick the new bumper on to drive about. Since I opted for standard I wouldn't intend to be pulling from the bumper, there are towing eyes on the front, definitely something to bare in mind though! Especially if I did change the bumper for military, or a winch etc

Anaconda · Wednesday at 13:08

scott3933 said:
Seems now a standard galv aftermarket one is about £90-100... galv military about 150+.

I'm going to properly clean it up later but I don't think its gone quite that far back to the crossmember. I just feel like I need to weld it up for now to get it through MOT and the winter and see how long the repairs last... then when the time comes go chopping sections off to replace.

I'm conscious with being nearly 40 years old that it might get to the point where a new chassis is needed, but I'm hoping that would be 5-10+ years down the line when I'm in a better position to do it. For now I'm patching things up as best I can (to be fair this is only the second bit of welding, the other being the rear crossmember) and trying to hold the rust back.

Good plan

meego · Wednesday at 15:39

Knappster said:
Is that the full mud stuff dash? I looked at it but couldn’t face chopping the dash so went with the top dash pod, which fits where the ash tray sits.

I can’t remember where I got it to be honest. It’s metal with a brushed aluminum front on it.

Def90man · Wednesday at 16:13

meego said:
I can’t remember where I got it to be honest. It’s metal with a brushed aluminum front on it.

This kind of fella?

meego · Wednesday at 20:59

Def90man said:
This kind of fella?

View attachment 349081

That’s the very chap.

scott3933 · 2025-09-04T16:04:09+0100

I've done a bit of cutting and poking and sucking rust out with trusty Henry and yeah, the situation isn't ideal!

Definitely a bit worse than I was hoping for as there's a hole through to inside the crossmember, but I think im still gonna try and patch this up. I'm thinking cut away/remove what I can, go absolutely mental with the rust converter then fabricate up a bottom piece to slide in with maybe 20mm of lip either side to weld to the sides. Then again go crazy with spray it all with something like Dinitrol and see how long it lasts.

Hicap phill · 2025-09-04T18:43:42+0100

@scott3933 remember your chassis number should be on that jacking point.
Skin & weld the inside. Make a few tubes for the bumper bolts to go through & then flat the front.
Happy welding

Anaconda · 2025-09-04T19:14:16+0100

scott3933 said:
I've done a bit of cutting and poking and sucking rust out with trusty Henry and yeah, the situation isn't ideal!

Definitely a bit worse than I was hoping for as there's a hole through to inside the crossmember, but I think im still gonna try and patch this up. I'm thinking cut away/remove what I can, go absolutely mental with the rust converter then fabricate up a bottom piece to slide in with maybe 20mm of lip either side to weld to the sides. Then again go crazy with spray it all with something like Dinitrol and see how long it lasts.

View attachment 349165

Unfortunately I thought it might be the case. Just do what you can for now, try and keep the chassis number if you can.

scott3933 · 2025-09-04T21:44:32+0100

Hicap phill said:
@scott3933 remember your chassis number should be on that jacking point.
Skin & weld the inside. Make a few tubes for the bumper bolts to go through & then flat the front.
Happy welding

I'll have a look at the weekend and see how I might be able to proceed while things are still in situ... but it is looking like I should really do more than just stick something in the bottom. I might see if its possible to grind the weld off the jacking point on the worse side, cut along the top edge and peel it off to replace. I know anything is possible but without stripping it down it's a bit like keyhole surgery!

I also cut the other side open and that's got a hole too, but not quite as bad as this side though so not top priority!

Knappster · 2025-09-04T23:14:31+0100

That rust looks worse than the first picture suggests. It might be worth fitting new chassis legs.

miktdish

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