JonathanB Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 Hello, I have been looking at getting a bulkhead for my 1992 200tdi Defender 90. Most of my current one is in a dust bucket and I haven't been able to decide what route to go down, Refurbed, New or galvanised. I've been tempted by Sheilder but haven't seen any recent reviews as I know a year or so ago there were numerous horror stories. I'm just wondering if they've managed to iron out the kinks? Ive also seen Bearmach are selling non Galvanised bulkheads that will need some modifications or I could find a refurbished Bulkhead. I already have a Galvanised Richards chassis waiting and so once I have the bulkhead I'd like to hope that it will last for the rest of its life. Would anyone be able to give me some advice on which route would be best and if anyone has had any recent experience with a Sheilder Bulkhead? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 Galvanising is a great corrosion prevention technique, but will introduce distortion. And it's not a universal cure, it will eventually fail and rust unless protected. What I plan for my bulkhead, which is in mostly good shape, is to shot blast it, repair, and cover with a layer or two of zinc rich 2k epoxy paint. Then the body colour. I'll get the interior soaked with a decent cavity wax. As the current British Leyland paint protected it for nearly forty years I imagine that this will get me another forty, after which I'll repeat the process. For you? Get a semi decent TDI 200 bulkhead, second hand, repair and protect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 If you need bulkhead mods, then you don’t want to buy anything already galvanised as you’d be damaging the protective coat where you cut and around where you weld, but welding is also made more difficult and dangerous (toxic fumes) by the zinc. I’d recommend a good replacement bulkhead (new or used, depending on availability, condition and budget), doing your mods, and then having the outside hot zinc sprayed (think powder coating with molten zinc) and then waxing the cavities before fitting, so you can rotate it around to get better access and gravity assistance for best cover and penetration. That way, you’ll avoid the distortion of hot dipping, and avoid clogging the vent flap hinges with solid zinc and unfurling the bonnet hinge clasps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 10 hours ago, Gazzar said: Galvanising is a great corrosion prevention technique, but will introduce distortion. And it's not a universal cure, it will eventually fail and rust unless protected. What I plan for my bulkhead, which is in mostly good shape, is to shot blast it, repair, and cover with a layer or two of zinc rich 2k epoxy paint. Then the body colour. I'll get the interior soaked with a decent cavity wax. As the current British Leyland paint protected it for nearly forty years I imagine that this will get me another forty, after which I'll repeat the process. For you? Get a semi decent TDI 200 bulkhead, second hand, repair and protect. The distortion thing is a bit of a myth IMO. Land Rover stuff doesn't fit that well to start with so as long as the bottom is braced across the two outrigger holes then I don't think there are any issues. As for the galvanising, Yes its sacrifical, but well worth it and in normal use will last a lifetime. Worth bearing in mind that your series bulkhead is likley to be far nicer metal than the more recent defender stuff. There's certainly nothing to loose from dipping the bulkhead, only gains to be had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 Get a used bulkhead, fit it to the Richards chassis with the supports and repair it. Take it off and get it dipped (drill some extra holes for the air to come out) Afterwards some pushing & pulling is needed (most one do..) and a quality etching primer is needed but it will make the bulkhead live longer. Did the Series one 30 years ago and still as new. Have 2 Defender one waiting for that to be done once the chassis have been done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted September 24, 2020 Share Posted September 24, 2020 9 hours ago, landroversforever said: The distortion thing is a bit of a myth IMO. Land Rover stuff doesn't fit that well to start with so as long as the bottom is braced across the two outrigger holes then I don't think there are any issues. As for the galvanising, Yes its sacrifical, but well worth it and in normal use will last a lifetime. Worth bearing in mind that your series bulkhead is likley to be far nicer metal than the more recent defender stuff. There's certainly nothing to loose from dipping the bulkhead, only gains to be had. No, it is most certainly not a myth. Apart from the feet moving closer to each other with the heat buckling, you will also find the larger flat areas like the foot wells and the front exterior face above the wing tops bow. The bonnet hinges also unfurl as they anneal, needing refurling before painting. These are all common issues, and I had all of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Strangeglove Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1290740277780629&id=156391757882159&anchor_composer=false Saw this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 Faaaaaaaack thats a lot of cash! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 Utterly, utterly ridiculous, and pointless. Unless of course you were doing a bare metal polish vehicle, then this solves the problem of needing to paint the bulkhead 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 Apparently, some people have too much money. I can help them with that - they need only ask, rather than find silly ways to spend it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 On 9/24/2020 at 5:34 AM, Snagger said: No, it is most certainly not a myth. Apart from the feet moving closer to each other with the heat buckling, you will also find the larger flat areas like the foot wells and the front exterior face above the wing tops bow. The bonnet hinges also unfurl as they anneal, needing refurling before painting. These are all common issues, and I had all of them. *Bonnet hinges can unfur* but this isn't always the case, there are some warping effects due to the heat of the galvy process, depending on how well it was braced when it was dipped can influence the effect of the final product. - generally in my experience warping challenges are quite easily overcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Litch Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 Certainly I had no problems when my bulkhead was galvanised. I braced it across the bottom with a length of box-section steel and I drilled holes in all the hollow sections and it came back just fine. Yes there was some rippling to the flat sections but these were insignificant and completely invisible when built up. The bonnet hinges gave no problems, it was just the flap hinges that needed to have the excess galv removed. Everything lined up correctly, rivnuts / studs either had the protective bolts / nuts removed or if necessary had a tap run through them and as I had taken time to record where all the holes were I was able to clear & refit all the plastic nuts etc. A worthwhile job. 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Strangeglove Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 How much did it cost to do the galvanising Litch? Was it rusted or clear when you took it. I have heard some won't do older kit due to it contaminating the tank. Did you do much of a repair to yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 On 10/8/2020 at 9:28 PM, Dr Strangeglove said: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1290740277780629&id=156391757882159&anchor_composer=false Saw this. Nice, though. I wonder what grade stainless they used? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 On 10/9/2020 at 5:19 PM, Dr Strangeglove said: How much did it cost to do the galvanising Litch? Was it rusted or clear when you took it. I have heard some won't do older kit due to it contaminating the tank. Did you do much of a repair to yours? Rust is normally fine for a galvaniser as their acid dips take care of that (obviously something that's a complete rust bucket is a no go but light rusting is fine), it's paint and other dirt they can't abide. Cost wise I think the last thing I had galvanised was ~34p / kilo but that was through a local trailer fab company at cost. They send an artic of trailers at least once a week to be galvanised so I can drop off anything of any size on by Tuesday 9am and it'll be back on Thursday. It's a beautiful setup because I don't need to wait for small items to be grouped together it all just gets lumped in with the trailers. [edit]I've had a series bulkhead galvanised and never suffered with distortion issues but did as others have gone and braced across the footwells. No rippling in the large panels that I remember either[/edit]. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickdulas Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 (edited) Last year I had a Bulkhead, 2 inner wings, 4 or 5 under tub supports, radiator surround, tub cappings and loads of other brackets (basically filled the back of a 130 ) galvanised for the grand cost of £80 something + vat.. I also paid maybe £50 to have everything that needed sand blasted before hand. Hope this helps Edited November 4, 2020 by rickdulas spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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