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Hmm.. now that is a very important bit of info! I wonder how to get round that? Maybe some strategically placed plug welds? The galvanised frames online seem to be galvanised after manufacture so they must be fully welded. So maybe worth a review with a blow torch to see what is welded and what is brazed prior to them going away..

Yeah it'll be on the list! I didn't know about the planting though but there is a boy near me that does blasting for decent cost so I will check first and pay him a visit if needs be.. thanks for the heads up!

They would likely distort but unlike bigger items should be able to be fettled back into shape with some light tapping... but they'll be used to galving smaller items hopefully and I'll mention distortion to them when I arrive

Is the new pan galv? if not, get it in the order! One note about galv stuff..... they often want it blasted before hand unless its somewhere that specifically mentions that they blast first themselves.

Exactly my thought process... or at least how I justified it to the Mrs 🤣

I have a Sailsbury axle with a brand new pan waiting to go on it 😁

Having just welded up my rear door frames, I can confirm that there are a couple of brazed joints in there, they make for quite unpleasant welding.

I've tried DIY nickel & zinc electroplating and that seems to work quite nicely, considering sourcing a 200L drum or old bathtub to do some larger pieces if I ever get around to it.

True, I get that. But the door frames aren't quite in the firing line like, say, chassis rails and bulkheads...

You won't get the same bond at the steel/zinc interaction point like you do with hot-dip.

Having lost strength in my left arm, and having a lot of pop rivets to set this spring, my charming wife told me I could have an electric rivet gun. Had an air powered bobbie, but that met with a bad accident (spare nozzle holder actually would have cost more than the tool did). So a quick trip to a local tool shop was in order. They had a few, some at eye watering prices, finally settled on this: Already have batteries so been out playing testing it. slightly struggles with 6.3mm structural stainless (who doesn't), but other than that what a cracking bit of kit. Even came with a real spanner for changing the nozzles (not a pressed tin one).

I’d look at having them hot zinc sprayed and giving the insides a generous dose of high quality wax.

Cold galvanizing isn't really galvanizing. It is just a zinc rich paint which if you use a good one will help but don't think you'll get anything like the protection and longevity of hot dipped galv.

And the court appearance dates.

I want to say there are some brazed joints in the door frames from memory... I could be talking rubbish however. @Junglie They'll show a per ton etc price, but the minimum order price/quantity will be less than that.

My concern over galvanising the door frames would be distortion, but if they can allow them to warm up more gradually by having them suspended a little above the zinc surface, and do the same for a more gentle cool-down,then distortion might be minimised.

Perfectly logical - if you're paying for a minimum of a tonne anyway then you'd be daft not to!

If you have a Salisury axle add the pan.

Yeah that is a fair point. A cold galv was a real option for me but i will explain my thinking on this a bit. The company near me that does galvanising charges for galvanising by the ton. Given that land rover parts are generally fairly light weight, you should get a lot for your money for the ton. So my galvanising list would likely be as follows: Door frames Rear tub cappings Roof rack (re-glav and dome of the coating has sacrificed itself over its 20 odd years). Front bumper Rock sliders Bonnet frame With the potential to also galvanise: Axles casings The repaired bulkhead I also have a couple non land rover bits and pieces for galvanising. Now, I am very aware that some of that would be considered. unnecessary and some of it is overkill. But all that will still be less than a tonne in weight and I'm going to be getting bits and pieces done anyway. I know it probably seems illogical. But I have the money to do it now and plan on having the defender for many many years and what is in the bank today is no guarantee of what will be in the bank tomorrow. So I'm opting for the overkill option while I have the funds with the intention of never putting another door, bumper or rock slider on it again!

What does the collective wisdom of the forum think of cold galvanising for things like this? May be a sensible and lower cost compromise for things that aren't directly in the firing line?

Is that a Minitwins SV650 in the background?

I did this - SP4x4 looked like my best option but I will be updating here when it arrives. They have already sent through the brackets and so on that I ordered at the same time and that looks decent quality (key point for me is that there are no razor-like edges to screw you up when you're reaching in and trying to do stuff up blind).

It was a serious consideration for me, but happily it looks as though mine only has a porous rear crossmember, which is a relatively easy fix - I might even get away with just plating it. though that's unlikely given everything else that has happened with this truck...

On the ins & outs of the safety implications I would just re-iterate the golden rule that if you DO decide to give it a go, you must film it and post the result here

Hi, bit late into replying to this... was talking about Landies at work and thought i would Google my reg to see if it was still about... that was my Lightweight! Built from a brand new Designa Coil sprung chassis up.. Rover SD1 3.5 V8, Jag autobox, Ashcroft Conversion, was my daily drive for years, then sat in a farmers yard for 5 years and sold it on to a work colleague n never heard of it again... it had that light green paint job for only a few month sbefore i put it back to Olive drab and a tan soft top (much better)! Stuart Lumsden Aberdeenshire, Scotland