Chassis and bulkhead or just bulkhead??

[reb78]

My 110 bulkhead has to be changed this year. The doors are all padt their best. The chassis is sound but I have patched various bits of it (the repairs are all sound). 

Do I:

1. Bite the bullet and do do doors, chassis and bulkhead at the same time?

2. Just do the bulkhead and doors?

3. Just do the bulkhead and the worst of the doors (middle row frames are really bad)

I guess what I keep wondering is how far towards a chassis change strip down, in terms of work and time, am I when doing the bulkehead and would it essentially be easier to build up from the old onto a new chassis compared to changing the bulkhead in situ. Cost isnt too much of an issue as I have the bulkhead and five new doors already (all need painting) and have saved for a chassis. BUT it is my daily driver and I have put it off for quite a while for this reason, but the bulkhead is unlikely to pas another MOT.

What would you do?

[ianmayco68]

As you have the bulkhead and doors and also have the money for the chassis I'd say do the lot in one go , that's what I'd do , as you will only have to strip it again at a latter date to do the chassis . I would go over it very thoroughly and get everything together that you will need in the way of nuts , bolts and seals as waiting for parts can make the job a hell of a lot longer than it should have taken .

 

[Sigi_H]

Build a (not rolling) chassis with bulkhead, side frames, doors and a lot of small parts you can get, while using your 110.

Then swap axles, gearboxes, engine and all of the rest in a 4 weeks vacation. That's realistic, I think, if you organize it well.

 

Edited April 2, 2020 by Sigi_H

[Bowie69]

A good, built up second hand bulkhead, bolted to a new chassis would make the job an awful lot quicker.

Unbolt body, lift, roll chassis out, swap running gear to new one, roll under and plonk the body on top.

Doors can wait, they are only 6 bolts after all.

[Retroanaconda]

If it needs done then do it. Buy a cheap car as a runaround if necessary and then sell it afterwards, unlikely to cost you more than a few hundred quid at worst and will keep you mobile. I managed to make a profit on the Focus I used when my 90 was getting its chassis swap.

If you’re changing bulkhead and doors etc. then you’ll not be able to do the “body off in one” method easily, so watch for mission creep! 

[L19MUD]

I am right in the middle of all of this and I can say that mission creep is a killer! I chose not to do my bulkhead as other than a footwell it really is mint. My doors are crusty but because I didn't want the expense of a respray right now I decided not to do them. If you are having a bulkhead sprayed you may as well do the doors at the same time. 

It really depends on your goal I guess, back on the road as quickly as possible or spend a bit of time getting things back to new (or better) condition. I have got carried away with the interior on mine.... 

 

The advice of getting a runaround if you can is sound. No matter what you think you will always need more parts you have not factored in and will have to wait for. I seem to order bits every week! 

For me the issue with having the 90 off the road was the fact it's my tow vehicle and used for dirty jobs I didn't want to use the RR for. Cue the purchase of a very handy transit tipper! 

 

Personally I think if a jobs worth doing it's worth doing properly and not just rush it back together. Loads of jobs are so easy when it is apart

[Jon W]

Definitely buy a run around. It is likely to take 3 times as long as you think and cost twice what you imagine. I did my 90 bulkhead and chassis on my own at a friends workshop which granted was 50miles away so could only do weekends on it. I tried to do as much as I could and said to myself 4months. In reality life gets in the way and fatigue. So it was nice to not have to spend every spare moment on it.

Just under 1 year later I finished. Granted if I was better at electrics it would probably have been done sooner.

 

[Ed Poore]

I'd do as @Sigi_H suggested and build up as much as you can off the vehicle, you've got the space.

I doubt it would take you anywhere near 4 weeks to swap the rest if you needed it done quickly. I did an engine swap on my 110 on my own in 6h taking my time. Granted it was the second in as many months and the engine was built up but it should take long.

Do a forum chassis swap like @miketomcat was going to do. Maybe bring both down and we can have two teams racing 

[smallfry]

Also, you will find the new bits you put on make the other stuff look carp, and you end up unsatisfied.

It will definitely take you longer than you imagine, so a runaround is  must

The danger here is that you might find you grow to like the runaround better. 😲 Its what happened to me in the 90s. Bought a Peugeot 205 diesel. Quiet, comfortable, 60 mpg ……...