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Galvanised Series Bulkheads - Ashtree Land Rover


Retroanaconda

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Hello all,

Due to my inability to find any pristine Series 3 bulkheads out there, I have been taken to the idea of a refurbished one from Ashtree Land Rover:

http://www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/part_113.html

They want £900 for a Series III bulkhead, fully galvanised. The obvious large cost aside, I am wondering if anybody has any experience with this company, and any ideas on quality of the work etc?

Obviously if a good condition bulkhead comes up for sale then it is going to be a better deal to get that galvanised myself, but since a good one (or even one requiring minimal repairs) is like rocking horse poo at the moment, this other option is looking more likely.

Many thanks

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Hello all,

Due to my inability to find any pristine Series 3 bulkheads out there, I have been taken to the idea of a refurbished one from Ashtree Land Rover:

http://www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/part_113.html

They want £900 for a Series III bulkhead, fully galvanised. The obvious large cost aside, I am wondering if anybody has any experience with this company, and any ideas on quality of the work etc?

Obviously if a good condition bulkhead comes up for sale then it is going to be a better deal to get that galvanised myself, but since a good one (or even one requiring minimal repairs) is like rocking horse poo at the moment, this other option is looking more likely.

Many thanks

Umm, you might want to update the link, it currently goes to ashcrofts.

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Whoops! Should have checked my clipboard....

Of course the link should have been:

http://www.ashtreelandrover.com/

Gary: In theory yes, but it would require a bit of modification to fit various bits such as the dash, transmission tunnel area, windscreen hinges etc. Not confident I'd be up to the work myself.

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Whoops! Should have checked my clipboard....

Of course the link should have been:

http://www.ashtreelandrover.com/

Gary: In theory yes, but it would require a bit of modification to fit various bits such as the dash, transmission tunnel area, windscreen hinges etc. Not confident I'd be up to the work myself.

If you want the same dash as shown in the photos then it might be your only choice?

Carl and Dale Radford make new bulkheads for all series 1' so it may be worth trying them to if they will do a Series 2?

01346 531062; 07974 486021 no website.

Marc.

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I'm afraid I have no knowledge of the company you've highlighted, but I thought I might offer you a different option. I purchased a pattern part from Craddocks for my Series IIA which was supplied in primer. When I got my hands on it I sand blasted it back to bare metal and applied a cold galvanising 'paint' supplied under the trade name 'Zinga'.

This is a high quality, really high zinc content paint that has to be applied to abraded bare steel (hence the sand blasting) or over prepared galvanised steel. The inside of the main rails were treated with waxoyl using a long insertion spray kit. I did this work several years ago and my bulkhead is still perfect, but still destined for the scrapman I'm afraid.

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I had a long chat with these guys at the Dunsfold show, the jigs and workmanship looked very good and they were true enthusiasts. I asked about the issues of hot dipping such thin metal and heat distortion. He said they actually hot dip them at considerable less temperature than normal.

The finish looked good and the galvanising texture was a lot finer than anything else I've seen, I think he said they dipped them on the jigs to minimise distortion but don't quote me on that.

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Thanks for the views chaps.

I'm slowly convincing myself that a galvanised bulkhead is the way to go, as I don't like to cut corners and it will drastically improve the longevity of the vehicle combined with the chassis. It does somewhat change my plan for a 'cheap and cheerful' rebuild, but hey ho. Such is life :)

My only concerns are the quality of the repairs done before galvanising, but Ruuman has stated he found the workmanship to be of good quality.

I think I need to see some for myself before dropping £1000 on one. A trip to Hampshire in order then!

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It will certainly be interesting to see how those come out when they're done. Still says it's under development on the site.

Lot of money either way though. Suffice to say if I find a good condition one for reasonable money between now and crunch time, then that'll be getting the galvanised treatment instead.

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I have no experience of either type bulkhead only what I have heard from others.

Pegasus parts do not accept poor quality from what I've heard.

they are seriously keen restorers.

I have not seen a Ashtree bulkhead, but I have been told by someone who has that he was not impressed. He has done better repair work on bulkheads himself and that the "low temperature galvanising" appears not to have been very well adhered to the metal (bulkhead too lower temp so zinc didnt fuse with the steel)

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Hi ,

Could you fit a defender bulkhead instead ? I'm sure I've seen somebody selling new ones for around £250 (maybe Paddocks) you could then get it galved or pump full of waxoil :ph34r:

Gary

Once upon a time, you could buy a brand new TD5 Bulkhead from any landy garage for £250, and it needed very little modification. A pair of hinges for the windscreen, slight modification in the tunnel area and that was all...I'm sure that 99% of the dash fitted straight on to.

Then LR must have realised what was happening, coupled with the launch of the Puma, and they are now £895......+VAT!!!!!!!! I was a week away from ordering one when I asked, and that was 2 years ago... :(

I've never seen them any cheaper brand new since, and I bought a second hand one from Craddocks a year ago that needs some repairs...Im just debating whether to repair it myself, or asking Ashtree if they will repair...

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I know galvanised will last a very long time, but how long are you planning keeping it? Surely a reasonably painted non-galv bulkhead will last at least 20 years? I don't think I own anything 20 years old except for my cat I suppose, I certainly haven't owned a lr for anywhere near that long.

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As long as possible really.

The thing is, if I did find myself in the possession of a good-condition one I'd find myself very tempted to just get it galvanised anyway. The cost wouldn't be too great, it's only when you're looking at "brand new" ones that the cost becomes prohibitive.

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James, is your bulkhead really that shot?

I've seen some pretty bad stuff brought back from the brink of going in the bin. Is it a lack of skills and facilities, or do you not fancy the job/not have the time?

Agreed £1k is a lot to drop on a bulkhead when a chassis costs around the same.

Happy hunting.

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Nearside pillar is rusted at the bottom, as is the off-side one (very badly this side, the pillar has come apart at the footwell exposing the captive nuts) and both pillar feet practically came off in my hands. Both footwells need replacing. There is also some rot in the top corners.

It's probably repairable, but I don't have the time, facilities or skill to do so :(

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Nearside pillar is rusted at the bottom, as is the off-side one (very badly this side, the pillar has come apart at the footwell exposing the captive nuts) and both pillar feet practically came off in my hands. Both footwells need replacing. There is also some rot in the top corners.

It's probably repairable, but I don't have the time, facilities or skill to do so :(

That's a shame you can't do that kind of work. Door pillars, footwells and bulkhead top corners are all parts that I believe are available as repair sections.

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Like Mickyw says they are all replaceable parts and are quite easy to get hold of.

While the stuff I saw that Ashtree had done looked good, 1K is a lot of money for a repaired item. Especially with that cash you could probably buy a welder, grinder, parts to fix it with, a collage welding course and still have change for galvanizing and a beer afterward, I don't think I would.

It's always the dreaded time factor.

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I may have sourced a good condition second hand one, which I should be able to buy and get galvanised for less than half the price of these options.

Here's hoping, I'd like to have a go at fixing it up, would be a good project to learn to weld with I guess. Would need to buy a welder first though :P

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I've seen their stuff, and visited their workshop in Andover. It's ok. It's not perfect, when stuff is galvanised it causes repair welds to reappear - apparently the galv sticks on different steel at different thicknesses.

A IIa dash panel will warp slightly. The galv process does take away from the IIa dash.

For a series III I think they would be fine, as most of it is hidden, and what is left can be sprayed with highbuild and sanded flat. I'd still waxoil the lot, anyway.

As for fixing what you have....

I've just done a refurbishment on an early IIa this week (which is over on the Landroveraddicts board, in projects (lot of pictures)) and it's not being dipped as the galv co local to me has a poor reputation.

With a semi-decent MIG welder (Clarke160), and a little bit of experience, I was able to do the job of refitting inner pillars, feet and patch the mostly good footwell in 13 hours, though new footwells would have been quicker.

There is a supplier of new footwells on ebay - I've seen these and they are very high quality, MUCH better than the pattern parts that you normally get. They have the correct ribs and holes for series III, and could be adapted for series IIa by cutting out the dip switch access and welding on floor captive nut holders.

Other pattern parts such as pillars are quite good, though there are for series III and need the hinge captive nut holders added, plus the access hole blocking off.

Outer pillars and corners are again, fairly straight forward. What makes the job do-able is to have the bulkhead stripped.

I'm going to retrofit a TD5 bulkhead to a series IIa this summer, and I will swap the dash panel over. I'm not getting it dipped, but I will absolutely soak it with clear waxoil, pouring in with a funnel, and using a heat gun to ensure it is on every panel.

G.

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Gazzar,

I will take a look at your post on the LRA board, thank you.

I have been wanting to get a welder for some time and start learning, perhaps this is a good excuse to do so. Not so sure on the initial startup cost, but a decent welder will serve me well in the long run I guess. Looking at a Portamig 215, heard lots of good things...including importantly that it's a forgiving welder to learn with!

My bulkhead (or whatever one I end up with) will be fully stripped, as I need a new dash etc and to make modifications to the pedal area (for the upgraded brakes) and the heater mounts (for a Defender heater, hopefully), and then the finished article will go off to be galvanised as I want it to last! Luckily I have some galv. places nearby who have experience with Land Rover parts :)

I have gained a contact with a chap who has three Series Landys he's breaking, so I will see what state those are in and go from there. Might be better than mine.

Many thanks for the help all.

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James, if you're n the market for some welding kit, have a word with the chap at Valentine Welding in Crawley. He's very knowledgeable and sometimes will do cash deals. I have bought both my welders from there.

They don't have a website but contact details are here.

This is the ideal excuse to buy a welder and learn to use it. I know you're short of time but the money you save in not buying a galv bulkhead will get you a welder with plenty to spare :)

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I know galvanised will last a very long time, but how long are you planning keeping it? Surely a reasonably painted non-galv bulkhead will last at least 20 years? I don't think I own anything 20 years old except for my cat I suppose, I certainly haven't owned a lr for anywhere near that long.

I second that. The bulkhead and chassis on my 2a have lasted 49 years so far (although the bulkhead is due some attention). If either need replacing I wont worry about zinc plating as in another 49 years i'll be 84.

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