110 roof and rear side damage.

[Frogland]

I'm considering coming in from the cold with the aquisition of this specimen.

The seller says it's taken a slight knock to the side.

Is this repairable without mega investment ?

[chris200100]

Seems twisted to me, if you do get it I got a 110 roof you can have for a small amount of beer tokens

[CwazyWabbit]

From the photo it looks like just the roof and one side panel, both of those are cheap enough second hand in the UK. The rear door frame (B and C post) may also be bent, these are a bit rarer as they rust away however that should be possible to bend back. The rest should hopefully be a case of loosening bolts and re-aligning bits.

I'd go and have a look at it if I was you and see how much is bent.

[Frogland]

I rang the seller to get some info and he confirmed that the door post is bent,I'm going to go and have a look, It might be worth the trip

[Big.Mike]

To my eye it's foobar'd the whole side is bent... I've marked where it looks bent to me, and given its apparent age I you could almost guarantee the B and C pillars are weakened because of corrosion.

[Adam001]

That's taken a good hit, I would budget for replacing the majority of what you can see

[Frogland]

So it won't need just a new stop light and an indicator then ?

[Big.Mike]

Personally, depending where you are in the world, it would be cheaper to make it a convertible.

[Frogland]

well i'm in the sunny south of France so that may be an option

[bluespanner]

I'd run it as is

[CwazyWabbit]

It all depends on you and what you want from it.

Are you a hands on person who will turn you hand to anything, or do you expect to pay someone else to do all the repairs?

Do you expect the finished truck to be an article of perfection without a blemish to be seen?

Without having seen it close up I'd say you could get it on the road and fairly straight without a massive expense (using some 2nd hand panels from the uk) but it would mean getting your hands dirty. However if you want it perfect and you just want to write cheques then it could get very expensive.

[Frogland]

I'd be doing the work myself. I think anyone who owns a Defender and pays someone else to do the work is missing the point ! I'm just after a rough and ready truck that will get through it's M o t. The seller is asking for 3000.

[CwazyWabbit]

In my opinion its a rough and ready truck now and probably quite useable assuming the doors actually open and close, however a replacement roof and side panel will make it look a lot less like you have just been in an accident

The rest can probably be persuaded to look straight enough again assuming it's not rotten, in which case repair sections can be welded in while you straighten it up.

I don't know what Defender prices in France are like so couldn't say whether 3000 is good or bad considering the damage.

Not sure what your version of the MOT is like...... but it may actually be as simple as getting two new replacement lamps....

[CwazyWabbit]

BTW, what is the story with the roof rack? Never seen one like that

[Frogland]

It's a French turn on the Rhino rack.

[NL_Lexxie]

How did the seller manage to cause this damage?
3000 euro is pretty good for mainland Europe for a project like that, as long as the chassis is still straight that is.

[Frogland]

I'm going to see it tommorrow I'm trying to remember all the things to lookout for:

chassis ,door bottoms,footwells,bulkhead,oil filler cap heavy breathing.How can I tell if the gear/transfer boxes are sound.

I used to own a 300tdi this is a 200tdi which I'm not familiar with.

[CwazyWabbit]

Check where oil is dripping from them and also drive it a little paying attention to clunks when going from accelerating to engine breaking and back again also check that it changes up and down through all the gears .....

Worth checking if the diff lock will engage and dis-engage as well as using both the hi and low range gears.