muzaz Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 A new galvanized bulkhead is out of my budget, they are very expensive locally. If I manage to fix the rot I'm seeing and give it a good dose of wax and sealer inside, it should hopefully outlast me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troll Hunter Posted February 8 Share Posted February 8 What about repairing your existing bulkhead annd having that galvanised? Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigi_H Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 I wouldn´t galvanize old parts with doubled layers. Corrosion will come from the inside then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted February 9 Author Share Posted February 9 I'm reluctant to galvanize it, heard some stories of warpage etc and I have enough trouble at hand! The curious thing is this, the truck is 1988 yom, in 1995 it was exported and registered locally. All repairs to the bulkhead appear to have been done before being exported, so that means in the first 7 years the bulkhead suffered extensive rusting. Both lower footwells, bulkhead top corners and driver side vent were repaired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 TBH having to do a few weld repairs every decade or so is not the end of the world, if you give it a good dousing in cavity wax that could easily stretch out to every 20 years which is not too onerous! We did very minimal repairs to my bulkhead when we put the truck together in (yikes) 2006 and it's starting to show a few rust spots now, I can live with that sort of rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted February 9 Author Share Posted February 9 1 hour ago, FridgeFreezer said: TBH having to do a few weld repairs every decade or so is not the end of the world, if you give it a good dousing in cavity wax that could easily stretch out to every 20 years which is not too onerous! We did very minimal repairs to my bulkhead when we put the truck together in (yikes) 2006 and it's starting to show a few rust spots now, I can live with that sort of rate. I meant, strange it rusted out so badly in its first 7 years of existence! UK weather must be really hard for Landrovers! The damage I'm finding now, 30 years later, was mostly under already repaired sections or hidden with body filler. At first looks it looked fine, no obvious heavy rust. Only when I started taking things off and poking here and there the problems came out. I'm fine with some surface rust, not a big issue, and anyway as you said after repairs and cavity wax, should hopefully be good for a long while! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 We use rock salt on the roads in winter, so the foot wells get grit blasted and the whole vehicle gets covered in salt-rich road spray. Northern US and Canada do the same with the same bad corrosion as a result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted February 14 Author Share Posted February 14 Any idea of what the internal structure under the bulkhead skins should look like? Took the pillar off and found nothing...surely the door hinge must attach to some sort of internal reinforcement. Mine was two nuts welded onto the pillar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 Supposed to be a captive nut isn't it? https://www.lrworkshop.com/diagrams/land-rover-series-3-chassis-body/series-3-doors/body-hinges-and-straps-front-door_420 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted February 14 Author Share Posted February 14 Yes I think thats correct, but do they clip directly to the door post, or there should be some part of the bulkhead frame which supports it. For example, the windscreen frame hinge where it is attached to the top bulkhead, under the skin there is an internal structure. Is there anything similar for the doors? Would like to find some photos or drawings of the internal structure but cant find any. Just found photos of rust and holes 🤭 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurbie Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 4 hours ago, muzaz said: Yes I think thats correct, but do they clip directly to the door post, or there should be some part of the bulkhead frame which supports it. For example, the windscreen frame hinge where it is attached to the top bulkhead, under the skin there is an internal structure. Is there anything similar for the doors? Would like to find some photos or drawings of the internal structure but cant find any. Just found photos of rust and holes 🤭 nothing in the door pillar , just single plate steel with a nut-plate to hold the hinge on ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted February 14 Author Share Posted February 14 16 minutes ago, hurbie said: nothing in the door pillar , just single plate steel with a nut-plate to hold the hinge on ... Good, one problem less! Thanks. Tomorrow will cut the vent panel out to discover the horrors underneath. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 Got some good news and some bad news! Spent the morning carving with the grinder and finally got most of the rusty rot away...that's the good news... The bad news....there's not much of the bulkhead left! 😣 Had to take the inner structure off as it was mostly crumbled rust. Will have to fabricate all parts as I cant find any repair sections. Will see, I'm half thinking I should gave gone for a replacement bulkhead... Wish me luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 I do wish you luck. At the end of the day, you have little to lose (other than time) and much to gain - the bulkhead was pretty bad, so you’ll not have wrecked anything if it doesn’t work and a replacement is easily obtained, if a bit expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigi_H Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 what do you mean with "inner structure"? Pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 I'm not sure what it's correct name, I mean the frame underneath the skin panels. In the photo its the section you can see under the vent cutout where the bonnet hinge is attached. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigi_H Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 I can see. Thanks. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigi_H Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 Just an idea: Normally when parts are hot dip galvanised they go into an acid bath, to remove all the rust. It is bad to galvanise old parts, because acid can stay trapped inside where double layers with rust and dirt are. The acid will be sucked up and stays there. But if (like in your case) the skin was removed and all possible traps for acid are cleared, things become absolutely different. It becomes a way to remove rust from parts (what you call the frame) which are inside and can´t normally be reached. So remove and renew the skin where it is needed. Clean everything superficially (no complete rust removal needed) and remove anything that can act like a sponge. Then nothing speaks against galvanising and your work will pay of the most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted February 16 Share Posted February 16 Surely any acid will get neutralised first and then boiled out of it by the molten zinc bath? Otherwise all new panels would suffer the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted February 16 Author Share Posted February 16 In it's current state, half chopped, side post and part of the footwell removed, I think it will loose its shape if I attempt to galvanize it. Will treat it with phosphoric acid to neutralise any remaining rust, paint it with zinc phosphate and seal it with dinitrol. Open as it is I can reach most of the internal crevices. The repair panels will go on with sealer and rivets rather than plug welds as from what I could notice, rust starts from welded areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigi_H Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 14 hours ago, Bowie69 said: Otherwise all new panels would suffer the same. No, because there is no rust or anything else in it, that can act like a sponge. The water of the acid will be boiled out, but dry remains stay there and are not surely covered by zinc. Moisture will produce acid again with time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 I would plug weld and then add a creeping wax to get into the seams. If you don’t paint too thickly on the inside of the joints, then thin cavity wax added several times after pain trying should creep well into the joints. If you are really worried about that, you call always drill application points every so often to inject the wax. Rivets, apart from being ugly, will allow more moisture penetration than a plug weld and can fret or stretch, loosening the joint. A lot of safety inspectors might fail such a repair on a bulkhead, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted February 17 Author Share Posted February 17 I have an adversity to welding 🤣 Probably due to my line of work on aircraft where everthing is bonded together with sealant and riveted or bolted. Done properly it will hold well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 It was five rivets that ultimately lead to Alaska losing a door plug! 😉😂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzaz Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 I'm throwing in the towel...too much rust and almost nothing left from the bulkhead. I could attempt to repair it and I will at some point but it will take too long to do it right. So after much consideration I think it will be wise to opt for a new bulkhead. Buying one locally will be north of €3k so I'm looking at suppliers from the UK. From the description, SP 4x4 seem to have decent quality bulkheads at quite good prices, anyone got experience of one of theirs?https://www.sp-4x4.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=JWP3001 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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