Fabricating rear crossmember?

[Gringo]

I was talking to La Gringa's flight instructor this morning. He's possibly interested in buying the 110 from us, he wants the Tdi out of it. He's a Brit with a newer 110 and he was telling me that it wasn't all that much work to replace the entire chassis with a galvanized one.

That sounds interesting to me, because the local Land Rover dealer is offering us diddly squat trade in for them. I KNOW this 90 is worth more than $ 3500. I am considering what would be involved in keeping the 90, and actually fixing it right. I have the garage and workshop space, and the tools, and have rebuilt a number of vehicles and engines over the years. Automobile, 4x4, boat, motorcycle and aircraft.

But I am concerned about how much work it would be, one guy working alone. I have built an overhead hoist in my garage, and have lifted a 500 lb. outboard motor with it, with no problem. What's the heaviest component of a 90,. the engine?

Does anyone here know about these galvanized chassis replacements, what they cost, and how much work it would actually be for me to take this little Defender apart and reassemble it on a new frame? There is something that appeals to me about rebuilding a 90 specifically for this climate, with galvanic isolation between steel and aluminum, stainless brake tubes, alloy wheels, etc. I'm concerned that I might be biting off too much of a project. Any thoughts on that?

I'd want a pickup truck half cab for it, too, of course.

[Retroanaconda]

It's fairly common over here to be honest, but then we can get the chassis/parts easily. I did a short wheelbase Series III mostly on my own in about 8 months of weekends/evenings, though I had excellent help for some of the heavy lifting bits such as moving body panels about. It's not a big project to just change the chassis, that can be done in a weekend with enough bods (

), the time starts to stack up when you end up replacing/restoring other bits "while they're off" and, as will be likely in your case, waiting for parts.

I've removed/fitted engines on my own and it's doable but a pain in the rear and takes about three times as long as doing it with someone to help you push and prod. And the benefit of a second pair of eyes should never be under-estimated.

[CwazyWabbit]

For costs/suppliers in the UK of galvanised chassis

http://www.richardschassis.co.uk/

http://www.marslands.com/

http://www.designa-chassis.co.uk/

[Team Idris]

I think house-of-flying-spanners did one in a weekend, but that was a 'chassis swap', not a chassis change with vehicle overhaul

By the time you have replaced loads of parts, fixed leaks, sorted the wiring it is a big job. But you save that time later on in the vehicles life because everything is 'sorted'. Especially if you use stainless bolts and greece everything before assembly.

[Gringo]

You're right. After sleeping on it, it's just too much of a project for me right now. Too many other things going on. I don't need a Defender sitting in pieces for the next two years while I import parts from the UK. For example, that nice galvanized chassis....$ 1600 USD in UK. BUT I have to ship it over here, and it's bulky and heavy. I am guessing, based upon a quote for a hard top last year, at least another thousand dollars in shipping costs. Plus, when it gets here, I pay 36% of it's value in present import duties. The TCI is all screwed up with customs duties at the moment, not likely to change any time soon. So, that's another $ 576. There's a $25 processing fee with the shipper at this end to stand in line and handle the Customs BS...so lets just call that $ 600.

So, for me to even SEE a galvanized chassis will cost me, conservatively, $3200. Twice what you guys pay for it in the UK. Delivery? A month, if I'm lucky.

And once I start pulling stuff off this vehicle, a lot of it would be too rusty to want to put back on.

Meanwhile I have this old English 12 meter catamaran we bought last year that needs a lot of my time and money to return to pristine condition, after we got hit by lightning just north of Chub Cay in the Bahamas while sailing it down here.

Hmm..What would I rather spend the next year doing...paying twice as much as needed and putting all my free time into building another vehicle? Or putting that time and money into turning this boat into a really nice cruising catamaran for two?

Not much of a choice, is it. Vehicles are vehicles. You never get your money back. But a well designed and up to date cruising sailboat of that vintage holds it's value. They only made 27 of those, and we have # 25.

tough choice, but I think I am going to have to let the Defenders go back to that big ore heap in the sky.

[jbs]

When I did mine I did it on my driveway and It took me 2 weeks of solid work and early mornings and late nights there'll be a tech archive somewhere telling you what nuts/bolts washers etc. you'll need-after you cut the old ones off to aid the replacement

[UdderlyOffroad]

Then why not just put on a decent c-section girder to replace the cross-member & run the Defender as long as possible?

From previous experience you will need a decent vehicle to restore boats!

[Gringo]

Yes, I think that probably makes sense. That was more or less my original post here. I got sidetracked when I learned about the galvanised chassis. Because the truth is that I love that 90 and am going to be real sad to see it gol

I can find some kind of girder locally. If it were up to me, a section of railroad steel would work nicely. But C channel shouldn't be hard to find.

I still have a problem with the scrap of canvas over the top being all that's left of the original soft top, but I can probably work with that. I'll cut some plywood to slide under it. We don't get that much rain here, anyhow. And someone here will want it eventually, once word gets around that it's for sale at a reasonable price. There are only about 18000 full time residents on this island. Small community when it comes to Land Rover fans. Some with incredibly deep pockets, too.

[Team Idris]

Normal trick in the uk (back in the day) was to skin the hood sticks in ally sheet

[Gringo]

Normal trick in the uk (back in the day) was to skin the hood sticks in ally sheet

You know, it took me a moment ( my primary language is Texan) but I actually understood that! Of course I've been following this forum for some time now and the Landy lingo lingers. Maintaining a partial set of Defenders will teach an American a completely new language if he has to order all his parts from the UK.

And thanks for that idea. I have most of an 8 ft. diameter sat dish still here, destroyed by Hurricane Hanna in '08. It wouldn't be smooth like fresh sheet, of course. Hurricanes have that effect on satellite dishes. But I might be able to work with that. Beat the whole thing up with a hammer for 'texture', Make it in sections like an Airstream trailer ( no, wait...Caravan! ) does in the curved ends. Overlapping armor like an ambling armadillo.

say that three times fast...

[bishbosh]

If you do replace the cross member either have it fully open (c section) or a closed box.

I would advise against trying to bolt it to the chassis rails unless you add some substantial doubler plates to the rails - otherwise your bolts will tear out of the rails.

Personally I would weld it on and add some additional gussets to spread the load.

[Team Idris]

Closed box works well. I was with the; "holes let mud in and back out again", but now I'm going with "seal it, fit screw bungs and put oil in there" philosophy.

The hood skinned ally roof is refered to as a 'pig top'

We had one where the whole front cab bit hinged back, like a really big sun roof. It never had pigs in it, but it did go on to house sheep

[Gringo]

Closed box works well. I was with the; "holes let mud in and back out again", but now I'm going with "seal it, fit screw bungs and put oil in there" philosophy.

The hood skinned ally roof is refered to as a 'pig top'

We had one where the whole front cab bit hinged back, like a really big sun roof. It never had pigs in it, but it did go on to house sheep

You wouldn't by any chance have any photos of one of those, would you? Did you install a rear window?

[dailysleaze]

There's a guy on Landyzone who makes crossmembers from 6mm steel formed into a C section. The theory goes that because it has rounded edges rather than square, it's harder for the water to accumulate in crevices.

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/1676225-post56.html

[Team Idris]

I'll have a dig, but the rear window looked to have been plexi-glass in an angle-steel frame. It did the whole rear width in one. This made the bolt-on-roof part a single sheet. This is probably why the front part hinged, as there had to be a joint there anyway. By the time we got the truck the rear tailgate top was more of a 'hint' than fact

It was one step up from the basic pig-top with angle-steel corners which added shape.

It was stripped for spares in the late 1980's as it had been changed a lot and I did wonder at the time if it should be saved? But the parts all went to good homes. When all said and done it was a 1949 narrow springed 80" though. (GVJ195).

p.s. Thats a mean looking crossmember. I like that a lot!

(serious folder as well I recon)