Escape Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 A friend of mine is planning to convert his 300Tdi 90SW to a NAS softtop. While at it, the plan is to replace the old chassis with a galvanised one. We know this is no small feat and it will take considerable time. But just how much time should we expect? We will be working with 2 to 3 men, in a well equiped workshop (2- and 4-post vehicle lifts, overhead crane...). A good amount of experience working on LRs between us, but no real experience with a project like this. Any tips and pointers will be greatly appreciated, as well as suggestions where to buy the necessary parts. At the moment it's still a vapourbuild, but the plan is to have it ready by spring 2009. Greetz, Filip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OilIT Posted August 9, 2008 Share Posted August 9, 2008 A friend of mine is planning to convert his 300Tdi 90SW to a NAS softtop. While at it, the plan is to replace the old chassis with a galvanised one.We know this is no small feat and it will take considerable time. But just how much time should we expect? We will be working with 2 to 3 men, in a well equiped workshop (2- and 4-post vehicle lifts, overhead crane...). A good amount of experience working on LRs between us, but no real experience with a project like this. Any tips and pointers will be greatly appreciated, as well as suggestions where to buy the necessary parts. At the moment it's still a vapourbuild, but the plan is to have it ready by spring 2009. Greetz, Filip My sIIa has taken me about 5 years thats been about 2 years of work and 3 years of coffee breaks Seriously though, the biggest issue with this type of project is that of how far do you go (I ended up rebuilding everything - engine, gearbox, tx box, axles etc etc) on the basis of 'whilst it off I'll just check....'! If you plan to go and just swop everything over - just make sure you have plenty of those boxes of nuts, bolts, and washers - as I found it was easier to replace with new. Oh and good luck ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escape Posted August 9, 2008 Author Share Posted August 9, 2008 The base vehicle seems to be in good order, so we don't expect the need to rebuild or replace any mechanical components. Bolts and nuts will all be replaced, probably SS for the body. We were thinking along the lines of 150 hours actual work time with 3 people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmhor Posted August 11, 2008 Share Posted August 11, 2008 The base vehicle seems to be in good order, so we don't expect the need to rebuild or replace any mechanical components.Bolts and nuts will all be replaced, probably SS for the body. We were thinking along the lines of 150 hours actual work time with 3 people. With the facilities and experience you have between you, you should be able to do the rechassis in a weekend including rebushing all the radius arms, A-frame etc. and fitting new brake pipes, dampers etc. If you do the chassis change 1st, then the hard top to soft top conversion the job will be MUCH easier as you can lift the body in one lump. I've done a couple now in the garage at home and the best result with a 90 has been 40 man hours..... Any questions please ask. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacey Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 A mate did a transfer from old to new chassis in 5 weeks working weekends and nights pretty much on hid own with the odd pair of hands for big things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrettS Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 Many moons ago we did a chassis swap on my Series 3. Rolled into the shop Sat. morning and drove it out Sunday night. Two 12 hour days, and that included extensive welding repairs to the bulkhead. We were three guys with a couple others coming and going over the weekend. It was a lot of fun too. Brett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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