New owner chassis & bulkhead question

[Chrissam]

Hi folks 

Am fairly new to land rover ownship, finally bought myself a new project!! 

I've been looking at a new bulkhead and chassis. Looking at the different suppliers there seems to be quite a difference between price and how they are built. From what I can see it's only the gkn chassis that is type approved. I know that they should all really be type approved, however with an eye on cost, is it a good idea to out cash down on a shielder Chassis? As anybody had problems with getting one MOD'd or has anybody had the misfortune of crashing one, how did proform, or fall apart? 

Basically is it worth saving a few quid or will that just come back to bite? 

Chris

Edited June 11, 2021 by western
Title made more relevant

[Snagger]

Shielded picked up a bad reputation here a couple of years ago over quality and service.  I don’t know how they are now.  
 

Marsland Chassis used to sell GKN sourced chassis under licence.  I think they bought the tooling, so are the correct spec.  Richards Chassis manufacture using corner welds, like Series vehicles, but enjoy a good reputation for quality and will incorporate changes at customer request.

I have heard of Pegasus bulkheads, but don’t know much about them.

[Sigi_H]

I have installed the Polish chassis. It seems to be technically the best. But to be honest ... any galvanised chassis will outlive us if we don't cold deform it

[Chrissam]

Yeah I understand that the galvanised should out live most of us, although personally am hoping it's close lol

My question was more, is the corner weld on the defender not a problem, as they are not legal, has nobody had problems with the mot or resale of the vehicle? 

[Snagger]

That construction won’t give you legal or resale issues.  They’re strong enough - most are of thicker gauge steel and are stronger than the original GKN, even with those welds, and they were plenty tough enough for the Series vehicles including Forward Controls.

[Retroanaconda]

They are legal - what you have raised doesn’t seem to be an issue in the UK. Yes you could argue that only the Marsland one is ‘original’ as it is made by GKN in the same way as the one from Land Rover, but in practice all aftermarket chassis appear to be accepted without issue.

Whatever you do don’t try and preempt any inspection etc. by getting in touch with the DVLA (or DVA in NI) and telling them about the replacement chassis - this can lead to a world of pain if they get the wrong end of the stick. So long as you’re using a brand new one and can prove it if ever needed, there is no need to tell them you’ve swapped a chassis any more than if you’ve swapped a set of brake pads.

Having used several types my recommendation would be for the Marsland one, they are worth the extra cost. 

[steve b]

Just to add , the Marsland chassis can be supplied stamped with the VIN number prior to galvanising if you provide a scan of the V5c . They are made by GKN who supplied JLR for new Defenders up until production ceased . I have a 110 csw one on order along with a pair of B/C and sills also in galv.

I've also used Richards for a Series 3 109 most recently . 

Most people also cut out the VIN from the old scrap chassis and retain should further proof be needed .

Mosside do a reconditioning service for Bulkheads and are in NI , can be found on FB 

Welcome to the forum too 

Steve

[Sigi_H]

Technically the original is made of two half profiles, what gives, as on a lot other places, overlappings.

This is not a good base for galvanising.

Corner welds and no overlappings are a lot better, because no acid will be trapped

[paime]

I fitted a Shielder last year and didn't have any troubles. I think a lot of the issues have been dealt with now and there's probably not much difference between all chassis brands. I used cavity wax on mine as well as epoxy and underseal everywhere to give it as much protection as possible.

[Mo Murphy]

I've been happy enough with the genuine replacement chassis on mine to get a galvanised Marsland replacement IF the time ever comes for it to need replacement.

Mo