reb78 Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 There have been a few threads recently about providers of new chassis. Choices seemed to lean towards Marsland over Richards but until the last few years, I always thought Richards were the supplier of choice. They are also in the region of £600 cheaper than Marsland once VAT etc is costed in. Why haven't folk been choosing Richards recently? I am in no rush, so wait times are not a factor for me. I have new doors and a galvanised bulkhead and given the welding I had to do earlier this year on my chassis, I am coming to the conclusion that it may just be easier to build the new parts (especially the bulkhead) onto a new chassis as the amount needed to be done to strip and change on the current chassis is part of the way there anyway.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 From what I have read of other peoples' comments online, availability has been a big factor in supplier choice. They all seem to have lengthy waiting lists, and when you consider how many owners want a new chassis these days, it's not such a surprise. I think I also read somewhere that GKN were no longer supplying Joe Public direct, but only through distributors. I can understand them not wanting to be constantly on the phone to muppets that want to haggle with them. A similar situation exists with Adwest and LR steering boxes. Other manufacturers have popped up too, some not quite getting everything correct to begin with, but reports suggest this situation is improving. Shielder (in Ireland) and RCP (Replacement Chassis Parts) are two relatively new companies I am aware of, although the latter doesn't actually supply a full chassis. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted August 15, 2019 Author Share Posted August 15, 2019 Just taken a look at the Sheilder Chassis site and interestingly they are exactly the same price as Richards. I think the Marsland chassis come from GKN from what I can make out, but are they worth the extra money compared to Richards or Sheilder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneandtwo Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 (edited) I have had at least nine chassis from Richards now. The first couple had various errors and out of tolerance but that was at least twelve years ago and they rectified them. The last six Defender ones have been spot on, although I still haven’t got round to rebuilding my Puma 90 onto its new chassis. I don’t like the original landrover construction method of two overlapping C sections hence always choosing Richards. They are also more accommodating of modifications such as tdci rear crossmember and tank brackets on 300tdi. Edited August 15, 2019 by oneandtwo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted August 15, 2019 Author Share Posted August 15, 2019 hmmmmmmmm . Good to hear. I had always leaned that way but more recently a few people seemed to have been negative about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 I have a Marsland chassis on my 109. It had a plethora of errors, all because of being misjudged in many locations, which showed a severe lack of care. However, as you correctly state, their Defender chassis come from GKN, unlike their own-build Series units. I have seen issues with Richards and heard of Shielder being a bit iffy (that was more their bulkheads). I think given the choice, the GKN built unit would be the best bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 My 110 has a galv Marsland/gkn chassis, it was faultless during the change, didn't have any alignment problems, best buy I ever made, I would definitely recommend & choose again if I needed another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 I went for Richards in late 2017 because at that moment Marsland stopped supplying direct and began to go through Britpart. All the outlets have to buy through them too. The prices jumped. It’s true that their Defender chassis are supplied by GKN. They used to make Series chassis on site and I bought mine from them, driving to pick it up as they are very local. That stopped a good while ago. The Richards chassis (300Tdi on 110) was fine except that I had a @&£&) of a job getting the crossmember in. I mean it was nearly impossible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneandtwo Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 All nine of my Richards chassis I have had to spread the chassis very slightly with hi lift jack protecting the chassis with wood blocks to get the crossmember in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 I had to do that with my Marsland chassis too, simply because I removed it as I wanted the entire chassis painted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted August 15, 2019 Share Posted August 15, 2019 😀 mine didn’t recognise lightly! It really needed some force with a hi lift. I almost gave up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 My 90 has what must have been one of the first Richards Chassis (early to mid 2000's), apart from having a strange rear axle offset which doesn't seem to cause me problems, its a real nice solid chassis Recently acquired a Marland 90 chassis which is a GKN one, again looks as it should, its one of the TDCi types as it has some extra webs in the bulkhead outrigger support, it also has the latest rear tub adjustable fixing arrangement, I think it looks a bit naff but its ok, I have noted that both ends of the rear crossmember are slightly bowed in, I thought this might have been down to transit damage or to do with the galvanising, but I happen to have a look at the last 15 plate 110's the team has got and they are just the same so it must have come from GKN like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landrovernuts Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 I have not had any issues with my Marsland chassis either although the person that changed it said it was out of alignment which has since been proved as not the case. Yes the Marslands chassis comes from GKN and as part of the issues I have with my so called expert chassis changer (more an egg spurt), I had an Certificate of Authenticity supplied by GKN. When I ordered my chassis it only took 3 weeks before it was ready, but that was two years ago and I was offered the choice of rear crossmembers. Toby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallfry Posted August 16, 2019 Share Posted August 16, 2019 I have had a couple of chassis from Designa Chassis, and both have been absolutely fine, as were the deviations from standard that I specified, one of which being a 90 chassis but with a series rear half, but to fit a 90 rear body. One thing that bothers me with replacement chassis nowadays are the rules, which amongst other things states that a new or replacement chassis MUST be of the same specification. From the late seventies /early eighties the chassis has been made with two "C" sections welded together, so strictly speaking, the four sides welded at the corners method of construction does not comply. I wonder if that would bring a problem if some jobsworth inspector wanted to be really pedantic ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneandtwo Posted August 17, 2019 Share Posted August 17, 2019 15 hours ago, Maverik said: My 90 has what must have been one of the first Richards Chassis (early to mid 2000's), apart from having a strange rear axle offset which doesn't seem to cause me problems, its a real nice solid chassis Recently acquired a Marland 90 chassis which is a GKN one, again looks as it should, its one of the TDCi types as it has some extra webs in the bulkhead outrigger support, it also has the latest rear tub adjustable fixing arrangement, I think it looks a bit naff but its ok, I have noted that both ends of the rear crossmember are slightly bowed in, I thought this might have been down to transit damage or to do with the galvanising, but I happen to have a look at the last 15 plate 110's the team has got and they are just the same so it must have come from GKN like that. The bowing is normal and is the reason why Land Rover changed to the adjustable rail mounting for the the rear tub. The genuine NAS rear step even comes with a selection of shims to allow for the bowed crossmember ends. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cackshifter Posted August 18, 2019 Share Posted August 18, 2019 I have had 2 Richards chassis. The first one was the subject of a Vic check and the vosa inspector went all over it (in 2010) and declared himself very happy, so the construction method didn't bother him. Both chassis have been great, absolutely no issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 Mine's a Richards, I went with them as they were the only ones which offered customisation such as the cage mounts, flush crossmember and my custom rear crossmember. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted August 19, 2019 Share Posted August 19, 2019 On 8/17/2019 at 2:13 AM, oneandtwo said: The bowing is normal and is the reason why Land Rover changed to the adjustable rail mounting for the the rear tub. The genuine NAS rear step even comes with a selection of shims to allow for the bowed crossmember ends. Good to know. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakmaster Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 I got a Richards, and the people who did the swap (in 2014/15 - it took them a while) said they were the only real choice )back then. never heard anything negative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 On 8/19/2019 at 12:19 PM, landroversforever said: Mine's a Richards, I went with them as they were the only ones which offered customisation such as the cage mounts, flush crossmember and my custom rear crossmember. You surprise me - I'd have thought you'd have gone bespoke 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 20 minutes ago, Ed Poore said: You surprise me - I'd have thought you'd have gone bespoke Or machined it from solid ? 😁😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 He should know that's too heavy - unless it's from titanium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 With the right tooling he’d be able to mill the insides out. 👍🏻 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirton Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 Hi, regarding RCP chassis parts i had a half chassis fitted to my 1996 110 csw in jan 2017, one of the first they made, they actually delivered it to my engineer in Wiltshire. It has various parts to improve it from original. So far so good December 2019. Hope this may help somebody. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted December 8, 2019 Share Posted December 8, 2019 Small dogs ! 😍❤ They are lovely, Kirton ! Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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