Heartache, but a learning curve when it comes to chassis

[Dangerous Brian]

well after a days welding and nearly rebuilding the complete front o/s chassis leg, i decided to look into the next section of the chassis under the bulkhead and see what needed doin, needless to say i quickly turned switched the garage lights off and made a beeline for the door, the chassis inbehind the bulkhead outriggers is red rotten with no way to get at it apart from cutting the outriggers off and plating it up, but then the under side of the chassis where it looks to be seem welded is gone aswell for about 1 1/2 Ft and thats just lightly tapping away at it with a hammer, both sides are exactly the same so its looking like a new chassis is required

as i have her stripped down to basically the running gear this isnt gonna take to long to get the chassis off and out the door now,

i am wondering however where can i take this now, can i rebuild the 110 on a 90/RRC/disco chassis and how much work is it goin to be ?

im rebuilding on a tight budget

any suggestions ?

Cheers Lads

[western]

only way to retain the original reg & chassis number all legally is a new chassis either galvanised from marsland or richards or a new one from LR. anything else is just leaving the door open to lots of possible problems.

you cannot use a chassis from a different model & retain the idenity of your vehicle.

[Dangerous Brian]

i figured that Western, but if i were to buy a disco chassis or RRC (if this is possible) to sit my 110 on the i could go with the chassis id ??

I would probably be looking to go more with the RRC route as i dont wont to be bothering with cat converters and the likes, pre 1988/89 is what i would be looking to get my hands on

i only ask as a decent 110 chassis up the top end of Scotland is hard to find and as this is going to be my forever workshorse i want to get the best chassis i can to last a few years until i can afford a galvy chassis ie when the sprogs have flown the nest and such

Cheers

[Landy-Novice]

doubt it, both rrc and D1 have 100" wheelbase.

[Dangerous Brian]

Cool, Thanks L-N

be a trip down south at somepoint in the near future to pick up a 110 chassis

any ideas on where to start looking ?

Cheers

[western]

any other chassis will require body length changes to make it fit a RRC or Disco chassis 7 the complete vehicle will need to pass the required inspection deemed by DVLA/VOSA & a new identity/reg number as it'll be a radically altered vehicle.

[Dangerous Brian]

Yeah, not that i would worry about it being on a Q plate or suchlike but i think it would be to much modifying for me to take on just

just brainstorming and clutching at straws just now

into it this far now was worth an ask

if anybody knows of a half decent or even salvagable chassis for a 110 pref. pre 1988/89 goin cheap give me a shout

Thanks folks

[eds]

Just keep welding if money is that tight :-)

A chassis is only welded bits already.

[Landy-Novice]

Just keep welding if money is that tight :-)

A chassis is only welded bits already.

fair point.

just as long as it's structurally sound. imho, a brand new galv chassis at £1300 is overrated and isn't a cost effective method of eradicating tin worm. but that my opinion.

[Dangerous Brian]

Just keep welding if money is that tight :-)

A chassis is only welded bits already.

i did try to convince myself that it would cost less to jist chap on wi the welding but with it being almost half the chassis leg completely gone right up and behind the bulkhead outriggers then is it really worth it ?? i mean its not just the one side thats gone but both sides and being so close to the gearbox mounts it obviously takes stresses and strains would it be safe ??

will there not be any restrictions on how much of the chassis can be repaired/replaced at such a load bearing part of the chassis ?

Thanks

[Landy-Novice]

will there not be any restrictions on how much of the chassis can be repaired/replaced at such a load bearing part of the chassis

thats a grey area, you can replace as much of is as you want theoretically but keeping the ID of course. but thats a jar of worms.

and all the mot looks for is that it has no holes.. they test with a hammer, and if it sounds more tinny like, then they hit it harder till a hole(s) appear.. so it can have as many repairs as you like.

[landroversforever]

fair point.

just as long as it's structurally sound. imho, a brand new galv chassis at £1300 is overrated and isn't a cost effective method of eradicating tin worm. but that my opinion.

I'm sorry but you are wrong. Getting rid of the rust completely is only possible with a new galvanised chassis. You will never eradicate the rust from an old chassis, and will continue to weld it forever.

[Landy-Novice]

I'm sorry but you are wrong. Getting rid of the rust completely is only possible with a new galvanised chassis. You will never eradicate the rust from an old chassis, and will continue to weld it forever.

its my opinion..

but i dont see whats wrong with just patching a chassis. aslong as its done well, its not a problem. unless your offering to buy us all galvanised chassis'?

[dirtydiesel]

Nothing is unrepairable,

I only draw the line, when the chassis has broke its back.

It's just the cost of profesional repair puts most chassis's beyond economic repair.

how about these for near invisible repairs on a series 1 chassis

[eds]

You can buy out riggers ready to weld on once you have made the rails good again. You may even be able to buy them ready galvanised. The rear cross member was available galvanised. Les Henson repairs all chassis with galvanised sheet so if you do enough you could have that galvanised chassis after all!

[western]

YRM do this chassis repair section http://www.yrmlandrover.com/epages/BT3575.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/BT3575/Products/096

might be worth a go.

[zim]

I'm going to type what others are thinking. Just find a replacement chassis from another 110 thats being broken for parts.

Not 100% legit if you go by the book, but a lot easier and cheaper than going for a new item.

G

[Disco-Ron]

Forget 100% legit, its not even 1% legit unless you use the id of the donor vehicle!

[Tanuki]

IMHO it all depends on how much you value your time.

How long will it take to fix-up your rotted chassis to the standard of a galvanised new-replacement ? And wouldn't you rather be doing something else? Or working overtime to raise the money to buy said new chassis?

[i generally 'value' my time at £30/hour - that's what I generally charge people for doing casual 'work' in my non-work hours - but only if the work interests me! Boring work gets charged at 'deterrent' prices.]

Also, if you're going into the game of chopping-out and replacing large sections of metal, you're probably going to need to construct a jig or something similar to make sure the combined structural-weakening of cutting out metal and the heating/distorting-effect of the welding doesn't leave you with an interestingly twisted chassis that's an inch longer on one side than the other.

[You may laugh - until you come to try fitting the doors].

--Tanuki.

[Dangerous Brian]

Thanks Western they looked like they could have been the ticket but the jigging route sounds like its gonna be out of my league to repair

so basically if i get my hands on a chassis that has the Id with it then thats the proper route to take ??

[Retroanaconda]

In reality, if you get a decent second hand chassis and use it to keep your car on the road no-one is going to care or even notice if you "repair" the front dumbiron. It's not like you're avoiding tax or something.

Of course I couldn't possibly condone such an activity...

[muddy]

I agree with retro, yes its illegal but so is speeding and driving on the phone, I did both these things just today.

Having made extensive repairs to my dads 110 chassis three years ago, then more patches two years ago and another this year the price of a galvanized chassis looks extremely cost effective and value for money. I certainly wouldn't weld another like it even with workshop, ramp etc etc.

I can see where saving a rarer chassis like the s1 in dans pics can be the right option but personally for you I would either get a good second hand chassis and you do want it GOOD or do some guvvies and buy new.

Just my 2p. Will.

[Dangerous Brian]

Cheers lads

i cant say i never tried to repair this one as the front o/s chassis leg looks spanking haha

when i look at the welding needing done now that i dug in aboot and behind the outriggers i just think its not really worth the bother of doing and if i do go ahead and weld on then how long is it gonna last me, i wouldnt mind if it was gonna last for 5 yrs or so but i cant see it lasting a year without needing more welding to sort it out

[bleyseng]

I restore cars for a living. I re-chassied my 110 Hi-Cap this summer, with a Richards chassis.

At the end of the day, your budget will dictate what you will end up with.

My personal opinion is that patching something is a complete waste of time, and money. As is, adding repair sections here and there to a fundamentally rotten chassis. Unless you are sure that you can keep adding repair sections until its all totally sound allround whats the point?

Whats the point to having done all of the reachable areas, but leaving the unreachable ones? You still own a rotten chassis but will have spent a lot of time, and a lot of money getting to that point.

If a section of metal is perforated, then putting a patch over the offending area is pointless. The whole area needs to be cut away way beyond the surounding area until there is totally sound metal. Often this would mean cutting more and more away till theres not much left. anything less is just kidding yourself.

Its difficult to comment on your situation without seeing it, but if you yourself suspect that the areas that are not currently perforated or holed, are not far behind the rest, then my advise is to forget it, and save for a galvy chassis. If you fit it up yourself you will add a lot of value to your vehicle and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that its going to last your lifetime.

I do understand that for a lot of owners, welding and modifying their Landy's is a hobby and part of the fun.

I would say that if you do go ahead and re-chassis, the chassis cost is just the begining. Every structural nut and bolt will probably need to be replaced. I know mine did. You will also discover other rusted parts that will have to be replaced along with bushes balljoints brake lines etc. Its all worth it but it does cost.

I think that to strip a landy right down to rechassis, and deliberately not replace or service stuff as you go would be very difficult for an enthusiast.

Good luck anyway.