paime

The solenoids are prone to giving up on TD5s. Not an expensive job but not a fun one either.

I've heard mixed opinions in the past with some people saying that waxoyl actually traps moisture against the steel work and may enhance corrosion over the years. I think if you were to do it in a proper heated spray booth then that might help though? If i ever get round to doing my chassis i think i'll probably coat the inside as my current one seems to be rotting from the inside out. On another note, did you keep the earthing points covered when the satin paint was going on or will you remove the paint later?

Looks great! Will you do any waxoyling/coating on the internals at all?

I had to use a couple of ratchet straps to pull the screen down enough to get the bolts into the brackets, should it be that difficult? I'll maybe do some minor modification with a file to the top holes where the captive nuts sit in the bulkhead and see if that makes a difference.

That's a terrifying prospect tbh! It's not terrible just now and must only be out by about 3mm so i'm not massively concerned. Chassis swap is due in Spring next year so i think that will be the time to line everything back up again.

now i think about it, getting the windscreen hinge bolts in was a nightmare and that's probably because the screen was sitting too high with the roof. It all makes sense now!

Yup, front wings came off for the job. Feeling like a numpty now! I've got to put a new chassis on next year anyway so maybe i'll just have to deal with a slightly annoying door close until then.

What didn't i weld might be an easier question! It was mostly done on the chassis and new outriggers as well. I put one new corner on the top of the OS bulkhead corner but the holes for the hinges were bigger than the original holes so there was no restriction in movement. There is a difference in height between the curve on the body and the door (will post pics later) and it looks like the whole door should be lifted a couple of mm straight up. Trouble is i don't have that much movement available to me in either the bottom hinge (where no work was done) or the top hinge. Thinking about it, is it possible the bulkhead has sunk a little when i removed the old outriggers getting ready for the new ones? I only did one side at a time in the hope that nothing would move.

So after all the welding and fannying around i finally got the old girl through her MOT. I put the doors on in a bit of a hurry the first time round as i was 1 day away from my free re-test so tried to do a better job of it over the weekend. Is there a technique/process i should follow to get them to hang properly? The doors line up quite nicely with the bottom of the rear wing and the A-post but the catch on the B post is about 3mm too high. I'm lowered the catch as much as i can but it still rubs on the door trim when opening and closing. I've played around with the shims in the hinges and i've even used (don't get mad at me, please) a trolley jack and a bit of wood to lift the rear of the door up to make sure everything is as high as it will go but still no joy. Any suggestions?

A half marathon followed by removing a chassis from a Defender?? You're making us all feel bad here!!

Is the swivel assembly on the other side the same and have you got any pics? My instinct would be to replace like for like as it if ain't broke, don't fix it.

+1 for flap discs but be careful with them. It's amazing how powerful they can be and it's easy to rip a bit more metal out that you had initially planned.

Just spent a good hour trawling through your chassis thread, excellent work btw!

What did you use to lift the body? Farm jacks, chain hoists or bacon & coffee fuelled helpers?

If you're pulling the chassis out from the front then what does the engine need to clear? Particularly if the wings are off, is there anything else going to be in the way?

How are you planning to do the swap? Do you have access to a lift or are you going to remove the body panel by panel? Mine needs done as well as i'm in the middle of welding, what feels like, patch number 10,239,292. I've seen various methods using scaffolding poles and chain hoists to lift the body clear but i was wondering if you removed the radiator and front panels if you could roll the chassis out by only lifting the body up by a few inches on scaff poles and farm jacks?

Essentially this

Respectfully, i'm not sure i agree. The new Defender has been marketed as a utility off roader but yet it'll cost way too much and will likely be too fragile to risk being used in anger. I would group it in with the D3 and D4 which were aimed at a more gentile market that might drive it across a grass field on their way to the next pheasant drive but nothing more, despite it's abilities. The old Defender, on the other hand, was used by many in anger straight out of the wrapper. I have no issues with the new Defender being used for the school run but it's not a patch on the old Defender and doesn't even sit in the same bracket as it imho

Taken from this article: "The Defender 90 is described as the “halo image icon” of the Defender and is aimed at “the young, affluent fun seekers”. I think that sums up the new Defender for me. I'm sure it'll be an accomplished vehicle that looks flashy and fits in well on the school run but it won't be the kind of vehicle that you could actually use for work. I'd be terrified of scratching it or bending those plastic bits. The interior will also be far too nice to chuck a load of timber in the back or accommodate my dogs when they've been rolling in god-knows-what. I agree with others who say this should've been the next Disco instead of the misshapen hippo they produced.

Happy days!

Steeped my old hinges in Coke and it appears to have removed the rust that was keeping them tight. They're now flapping around all over the place and are badly pitted in areas so i'm going to buy new. DC - are these ones zinc plated or do i have to coat them myself?

That does look quite good. This was the other stuff i've found but not sure if it's up to the job: https://www.frost.co.uk/eastwood-flexible-strip-caulk-dum-dum-replacement/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIh5z2kbSR5AIV0OR3Ch1buw4gEAkYAiABEgJ3bPD_BwE

It looks like the seal has been replaced recently as it's quite supple and doesn't look to be deformed. Do you still get dum dum anywhere? There are a few areas that could do with a bit of extra protection i think

Some success at last! All painted and lacquered up and managed to get the dash back in last night. Those metal plates that fell out were the retaining plates for the rubber floor lining and all parts are present and correct, thankfully. I now need to fit the windscreen which is my next problem. Does anyone have any tips for how to get the top seal into place and keep it there? Tried a bit last night but it was rather fiddly.

Have you lifted up the floor pans yet? I had a similar issue with mine and when i took the floors out i found a lot more rot. It's easy enough to repair but can be quite extensive and will let in water when you're driving in the rain etc.