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The steering bar on the second one does not look trustworthy. Not a fan of the chopped up grill on the front of the wing either.

Thanks folks. I do have a MIG so might give that a go and worst case scenario i can bond in an aluminium panel as I'll be putting some form of headlining in eventually anyway. With a bit of luck it'll be ready for winter when the smaller cab size will help with heating in the old girl. Never used hammers and dollies before so will do some YouTube research on how they work.

I've just taken ownership of a second hand truck cab purchased from another forum member. I knew it needed some work and originally I had thought of just patching it up and getting it on the car but now I'm thinking I'll maybe put a bit more effort in and see if I can get it looking good. A couple of Q's for you learned people: 1 - what's the best way to straighten out the dents? 2 - I can't TIG weld and don't have A TIG welder, what's the best way to fill the holes? 3 - the car is Blenheim silver with colour coded wheel arches. Should I go for a gloss black roof or was that not a factory option?

That chassis looks to be in remarkably good health for its age! Looking forward to seeing the progress.

I've seen a few YouTube videos but none of them show any circlips. It's a complete cartridge replacement I was considering. Is there a way to just replace the seals and bearings or would I then need to get it balanced?

Looking shiny! That is indeed self levelling suspension you have. Quite rare I think.

I think it would be rude not to give this thing the TLC it so desperately needs! There's a yellow lightweight behind Shorty's that I'm hoping can be procured on my next trip. Seems like those islands have a few gems hidden here and there.

Excellent! Is it a fairly straight forward swap or do I need specialist tooling?

After 2 years I still haven't replaced my turbo but after recently replacing the intercooler i should probably try to reduce the amount of oil going through it. Can I just replace the cartridge only? Will that cure the oil leaks and wobbly bearings?

Took her out for a long spin today aiming for every puddle and muddy track whilst frantically waving to any other defender owner i could see - it's great to be back!

And we have an MOT pass!! A big thank you to all you kind folks who have steered me in the right direction over these past 7 months. Feeling quite proud of my efforts and looking forward to being back behind the wheel and enjoying the truck one again.

Did you happen to do one of your usual excellent tech write ups for this? I've got crystal lenses and nightbreakers which were fantastic compared to the original setup but I do suspect a weak power supply to them sometimes.

I used the Bolt Hamber etchweld stuff in a tin. I think I probably didn't clean the chassis enough before starting so lesson learned there. When it comes time to do the bulkhead the new one will be hung outside on the crane and washed repeatedly before I start to paint it.

@Litchexcellent post there and here are my 'lessons learned:' On the topic of body dismantling vs moving everything as one, i think it really depends on what you're working with. My bodywork isn't great and it's one of those jobs where once you start you can't put it back together in it's rusty state so the cost of replacing bits is just too much. I'm planning on a new bulkhead, doors, body cappings and seatbox bits for next year so at that time i'll have everything apart and hopefully it'll be easier to get it back together again. My alignment issues probably would have been lessened somewhat if i had moved things across piece by piece but then i'd be remortgaging to pay for all the extra bits i would be needing. On the process as a whole i think i did things in roughly the right order which was to put the old chassis/truck on axle stands, take everything off, get it blasted and painted then re-assemble on the new chassis which was sat next to it on stands as well. I needed new bushes, bolts/fixings, dampers etc so it made sense to dismantle everything completely. Had i given it to a garage to do i'm sure they would've taken the axle with springs and radius arms etc off in the oner then stuck them on the new chassis but i didn't really have that option. If i was to be unlucky enough to have to do all this again in the future i would make sure to take the A-frame across at the same time. Mine needed the bolts cut off to free it from the old chassis and i did this after the body was transferred to give me room with the cutting disc. That has definitely contributed to my wonky axle as all the weight has difficult to move around to get the A-frame centred. I thought it would be a good idea to paint the chassis with etch primer then a black top coat and i wouldn't do this again. I have zero luck/skill when it comes to coatings and in a few places i've knocked the finish with ingoing parts and the paint has chipped. The only part of the chassis that will be visible once the rock sliders are on will be the rear crossmember so that's the only bit i would paint after everything was back together. I learned during the build that making a list at the beginning was useful but ultimately my contingency was nowhere near enough once i got going. There were so many parts that i didn't ever think about replacing but either thought it best to do it whilst i had access or the old ones were too far gone to save. Having a TD5 with the DMF didn't help budgets either and i considered not replacing it at the same time as the clutch but in the end bit the bullet. I also completely re-did the brake lines and unions which was theraputic in the end it's given me peace of mind for quite an important system on the vehicle! New swivel balls and swivel housings were also a bit pricey but i think worthwhile. I would buy a heap of M8 bolts if i was to do it again and not even bother trying to undo some of the rustier fasteners i had, just get busy with the cutting disc again. From a time perspective, i started in August last year so with an MOT date of tomorrow that would make 7 months. I had 3 months in my mind as a planned duration so that clearly didn't work out how i thought! Lockdowns, work and having a daughter all conspired to drag things out a bit and i wasn't going at it every day so given ideal conditions i could probably half that time. Having owned a Defender for about 8 years now i have accumulated most of the usual bits and bobs and to be honest i didn't need much else than things that people would have in a standard tool kit. My 13, 15, 17 and 19mm spanners and sockets were the most used and i felt grateful for the breaker bar on more than one occasion. My big learning outcome here is never to buy cheap cutting discs again. I spent £1 more on my discs and was amazed both by cutting performance but also by the longevity. The cheaper onces had a nasty habit of exploding as well which was never nice to experience. I was lucky enough to borrow a 1.5t engine crane for the job which initially helped life the engine out, then the gearbox and before long was used for lifting up the body so i couldn't have done the job without it. My socket set is a Halfords job from 15 years ago and it's still going strong with the spanners being Teng Tools. I don't have any high-end tools and i don't think it slowed me down any. Someone asked me the other day whether, knowing what i know now, i would do it again myself or would i put it to someone else. I wasn't sure to begin with but now i think about it i would definitely do it myself. I now know my 90 inside and out including all the good bits and bad bits. I have renewed or upgraded all the safety critical elements including the fixings and have also liberally applied copper grease everywhere. The chassis is galvanised, cavity waxed, epoxied and undersealed so should hopefully outlive me. The next step in her journey will be new body parts next year and hopefully tomorrow's MOT will go smoothly....

Sounds like a job for the garage on Monday which also sounds like a cop out but they'll have better access than me. The rear axle still isn't centred after the drive either so I'll get them to look at that, too.

Had a wee test drive this afternoon (closed roads) in advance of Monday's MOT. Lots of rattling from the rear and the traction control was stuck on so every time I hit the accelerator it made that usual TC grinding noise. A couple of questions: - how tight do all the nuts and bolts have to be around the trailing arms and A frame? Do the bolts actually squeeze the bushes tight or are they just there to act as a pivot point? - what could be causing the TC issues? I've got 2 new ABS sensors on the rear and I think I've got them on the right wheels. The sensors are pushed as the way home but I've put 2 new bushes on so maybe they're not far enough in?

I don't want to put you off but the job genuinely upset me for about a week until today. I made simple mistakes like forgetting to slacken the bolts along the sill and floor plans, not thinking to undo the windscreen brackets and also keeping the slam panel tight. I only had to move the top of the bulkhead forward by about 7mm on both sides and at times it felt like 7 miles!

Very kind of you and a well timed nudge! I've spent what feels like forever getting the doors sorted and today I finally had success. It's by no means perfect and I'm sure the LR engineers would weep if they saw what I was doing. In the end it wasn't so much the bulkhead to chassis bracket that was the issue but the inner footwell to chassis bracket that was preventing adjustment. I loosened that off then ratched strapped the top of the bulkhead to the bumper to get things aligned before tightening everything back up again. Felt horrible to do but I now have 2 doors that close so I'm happy enough. I've also booked the MOT for the 8th March which may be foolhardy but time will tell. I just need to fit the rear ABS sensors, give the brakes a last bleed and fit the bump stops for the turning circles and I'm done. My only rear for the MOT is the bulkhead feet that attach to the outriggers as they're fairly rotten.

@Ed Poore might be able to assist.

The same issues that plague the majority of defenders (i.e. rust, oil leaks etc) will also plague those £40-50k defenders, the only difference being you'll have a nice DAB radio and quilted leather to enjoy whilst it's happening. I would echo the sentiments above but for me it would be a 2013-15 110 for £20-25k then have it properly cleaned up and waxoyled every couple of years. The 2.2 engines are a bit more familiar-feeling if you're new to defender ownership and the heaters on those models are pretty good which makes a big difference. No need to stick with LR dealers either as their prices will definitely be inflated.

Luckily the new chassis outriggers don't have any tubes so I've got more room already. The trouble with doing that is the wing acts as a pivot and pushes the top of the bulkhead forward which closes the gap I'm trying to lengthen. Also, the chassis bulkhead brackets are already too far forward i think. I might have to drop new holes in those if I get everything else lined up ok.

Ran some string down the tub tonight out of curiosity and sure enough I'm currently way out. I've already loosened off the front wing bolts and taken the footwell/chassis bolts out to let everything move. When I took those bolts out the brackets moved quite far forward so the holes in the chassis are covered by the brackets. That feels like a tomorrow problem though! Next up I'll slacken the wings along the tops and see if that helps the bulkhead move forward any.

You can see them here on the new chassis, the old one was the same. 2001MY 90 TD5 and the chassis is a shielder one. Maybe it's a TD5 thing?

I've been trying to avoid it but I think the reality is I'm going to have to take the wings off and probably take the windscreen out as well. That string method looks ideal, thanks for the pointer. Might need to take a day off work for all this...

I've checked the old chassis and that front mount isn't slotted either so I think it should be fixed. Today I moved the rear tub back to lined up that mount and it looks better than I thought. Only about a 3mm overhang so nothing to worry about. I now have a better gap at the bottom of the doors but it reduces the higher up the door gap I measure by about 10mm. Any ideas how I might make it parallel?