Chassis swap, what would you do differently?

[muddy]

I am hoping to swap my 90 truck cab body over onto its new rolling chassis with drivetrain already in place, hopefully lifting it in one with the forklift.

 

My question is for those who have done rebuilds before was there anything you wish you had done before putting the body on or anything you missed?

[Anderzander]

It’s probably stating the obvious … but just plan for extra work. Giving yourself the time and money to do it.

An example being bulkhead repairs - mine wasn’t bad, but there was still previously unseen welding to do. I’ve seen one being done locally just a week or two back - where the bulkhead was better replaced when it wasn’t planned for or expected.  
 

I felt it was a balance between mission creep and finding things that I thought I’d be mad to not get done whilst I’m in there.

[smallfry]

It all depends on how quickly you want it up and running, and to what standard. I know the answer is always "by tomorrow" but any body repairs are much easier with the body off. I only ever tried the complete body off approach with a 109 some years ago, but that ended up having to take it all to bits in the end, and once you start that, it ends up being a near "as new" rebuild.

You are sure to find things that you are not yet aware of !

[paime]

What @Anderzandersaid really - prepare yourself for scope creep on an industrial scale. I ended up painting bits like trailing arms and the A bars because they looked a bit tired and it all took a lot longer than I'd hoped as a result. Otherwise, panel gap alignment is a nightmare if you're lifting the body as a single piece. If I had the space I would definitely strip everything back to the bulkhead then reassemble on the new chassis piece by piece but when I did mine that wasn't really possible. My sodding doors still don't shut properly!!

[Arjan]

Chassis swop is the the moment for all that sort of small things that wait to be done and together add up...

wiring, brake & fuel pipes, clips, bushed and all that are just begging to be done..

We really would love to see pictures !

Good luck !!

[Snagger]

I did plan ahead and had the new chassis built with engine mounts that would fit all the 2.5s prior to the 300Tdi, would take the original rear tank and twin MoD front tanks, had the removable gearbox cross member and the suspension mountings I wanted.  I didn’t expect to later fit PAS or need an anti roll bar, so those brackets had to be added much later, which was a shame.

Even if you don’t think you will fit certain accessories or mods, have a think about what you can incorporate into the chassis now that will more easily allow a change of mind later.

Ralph did a great job of getting all the bits that bolt on galvanised.  There is more to ensuring the long term corrosion resistance of a Land Rover than a galvanised chassis or even a galv bulkhead.  The more you can do, the better.

[western]

I bought pre galvanised replacement brackets via online sellers or ebay to replace my originals, most were sold on or scrapped, my intention was to just get the chassis replaced & get it back on the road as soon as I could, my 110 is my only vehicle, while it was off the road I hired a car from a local place, parts were swapped over once they were treated & painted, suspension bushes were replaced at a later date, 

[miketomcat]

I've done two and things were a lot easier second time mainly down to having a mate help me. I let everything go on the Thurs and Fri evening. Chassis out everything swapped and back under over the weekend (mate helping). The following week evenings I bolted it all back down and replaced both C pillars and the front of the rear floor.

Mike

[muddy]

Cheers, I perhaps should have been more clear, I already have the new chassis rolling with rebuilt axles, suspension and steering. Engine and box is due to come out tonight hopefully for new rear main, clutch, timing belt, P gasket and exhaust/inlet gasket before going onto the new chassis and exhaust and steering piped going on. With the current price of defenders I want to sell this when its done as otherwise I will just wreck what is fairly honest if worked 90 so I don't want to disappear down the rabbit hole of 'future' mods.

 

My question was more as in the swapping of the body and the order of components going back, im fairly certain I have done pretty much every job you can on a landrover but never all at once like with a chassis change so if someone has done this and found its easier to fit X before Y ect.

 

Will.

[Snagger]

Put the engine and transmission, PAS box and fuel tank in.  Then the tub and the bulkhead.  Use those to align each other - the tub is fixed against the rear cross member and you use a string line to lift the front end to line up the body crease of the tub with the door pillar.  Once the tub is set, shim the bulkhead feet to get the right door sill length and then set the other bulkhead fixings to make the A-pillar parallel to the B pillar. The rest is fairly self explanatory, but I recommend fitting the steering column before the wind screen and roof and the wiring after fitting he roof.  I’d leave the front doors and bonnet until last, and probably the rear door until the rear lights are wired up.

[reb78]

Plan time to do it before you start... I opted to take the 110 off the road, bought a chassis and now have no time. So I have a 110 getting dusty alongside its new chassis!