Coxie8 Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Hi all, after some shopping advice.I have decided (after a catastrophic MOT failure) to replace the rotten chassis on my 1996 300tdi 90 for a galvanised one. In your humble opinions, where is the best place to purchase a new chassis? I'm not necessarily after the cheapest, I want one where everything I take off the old will fit straight onto the new.I will also be renewing as many parts as need it along the way, clutch, pressure plate etc, bushes and mounts and the likes.Also, I take it there will be no detrimental consequences if I Waxoyl the new galvanised chassis. I want to do this mainly for protection and so I'm not advertising my sparkly new bits to every sod and his dog.Any advice would be greatly appreciated.Coxie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Hi, I re chassised my '89 110csw in late 2013, I bought direct from Marsland chassis http://www.marsland-chassis.co.uk/ collected it myself, mine went together with no problems at all, I did enquire with Richards Chassis http://www.richardschassis.co.uk/defender-chassis.html there was a 8 to 10 week order to delivery time. there is also Designa http://www.designa-chassis.co.uk/chassis.html I don't know what their chassis is like. my thread http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=85416&hl= Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 No harm in treating a new galv chassis at all. I'll be painting mine when it get's fitted, can't stand the sight of a galv chassis, it should be black!! Have a look at Buzzweld, they're doing a lot of coatings for chassis and stuff. They've been doing a lot of experimentating with lots of differrent paints and stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneandtwo Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 I've had eight from Richards now. I have had a couple of problems with some of the earlier ones but the last four defender ones have been spot on. The first chassis I did ten years ago I left bare but it now looks very scabby, so much so I've stripped the landrover down and will paint the chassis. I promised I wouldn't do another but I've just bought two more grotty 300tdi 90's so looks like I may be building another one shortly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coxie8 Posted January 24, 2016 Author Share Posted January 24, 2016 Thanks guys, have looked at both from Richards and Marsland, and yep, still undecided. I guess it's just swings and roundabouts. Off to clear the workshop now to get the patient in to see how I'm going to tackle this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco-Ron Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Richards ones do not come (or didn't three years ago) with holes for fuel and brake lines.... marsland do. However as they are brand new genuine gkn chassis' s you have to use the same clipd as the new defenders..... not the original type 300 clips.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Marsland use Genuine Landrover/GKN chassis, which they have dipped. They're also built to the latest spec. Richards fabricate their own replicas of the original chassis. I went with Marsland for mine, i preferred the idea that it was original and aesthetically thought the original welded C sections looked nicer than the richards ones which are welded up from plate. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco-Ron Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Having today received confirmation from someone who works on the chassis line at gkn that they are ceasing to make them very soon, in my mind this means that marsland will lose their supply, therefore (I guess) Richards ones will be in even more demand.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris113 Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I used a chassis from Richards and have been very happy with it. I chose them because they were the only supplier that would do roll cage mounts before galvanising. The advantage of the Marslands is that it has the adjustable rail on the rear cross member to assist with aligning the body which could save a bit of hassle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retroanaconda Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I spoke to Marsland a few weeks ago and they seemed confident that they could continue supply for the foreseeable future. Perhaps they are going to do what Richards have done. Either way I want one of the GKN ones for my 110 so I need to get the order in sharpish. After the minor alignment issues I had with the 88" chassis from Richards I think the Marsland one is a better option, and looks better/more original too as above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericobrave Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I have had two Richards' chassis, the first one for my 110 200tdi went reasonably well apart from minor alignment problems with the rear end. The second is a 90 200tdi and has been a nightmare,very difficult to get the bulkhead lined up and the front axle could only be brought into line by using an adjustable panhard rod - tracking was impossible without it as the front and rear axles were 1/2" out of line and the vehicle would be crabbing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailysleaze Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I've bitten the bullet and bought a Marsland chassis. It's coming in 2 weeks. I've toyed with the idea for a while, but have had quotes over the years and the price has gone up about £100 per year for the last 4 years, so it's a better investment than an ISA! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco-Ron Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I spoke to Marsland a few weeks ago and they seemed confident that they could continue supply for the foreseeable future. Perhaps they are going to do what Richards have done. Either way I want one of the GKN ones for my 110 so I need to get the order in sharpish. After the minor alignment issues I had with the 88" chassis from Richards I think the Marsland one is a better option, and looks better/more original too as above. Maybe they have a warehouse somewhere stacked full of stock...... unless they're buying the tooling..... which I doubt... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 or maybe they do enough of them that GKN will keep a line open for them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco-Ron Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Bearing in mind that gkn apparently only broke even on the chassis's I doubt that.....A friend was a development officer in the engine department when they developed the 300 and gkn threatened to stop making them back then, until LR agreed to pay more for them..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 I used a chassis from Richards and have been very happy with it. I chose them because they were the only supplier that would do roll cage mounts before galvanising. The advantage of the Marslands is that it has the adjustable rail on the rear cross member to assist with aligning the body which could save a bit of hassle. That's just a feature of the late chassis, Richards can supply the same if you spec it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted February 3, 2016 Share Posted February 3, 2016 Maybe they have a warehouse somewhere stacked full of stock...... unless they're buying the tooling..... which I doubt... I believe that their series chassis were eventually jigged on the genuine tooling, once it was made available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landrovermanuk Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Aren't Land Rover bound to supply parts for up to 5 years after end of production? The guy on the factory tour said that LR were going to supply parts for 10 years... If that's the case you should still be able to get new chassis... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GW8IZR Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 I'd suppose an original chassis direct from LR would be quite a price and it would then need galv. I used a Marsland and everything just fit as I'd expect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 The Marsland Defender chassis are the LR ones. They are made at the same place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GW8IZR Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 The Marsland Defender chassis are the LR ones. They are made at the same place. aye .. good luck getting one direct from LR at the same price as Marslands :-) Whilst they come off the same line at GKN before being fully bracketed they are not LR genuine parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 aye .. good luck getting one direct from LR at the same price as Marslands :-) Whilst they come off the same line at GKN before being fully bracketed they are not LR genuine parts Hi Paul - I don't have any knowledge about this , it's just that Marsland told me that they come from the same place. I haven't seen it but what are they doing to make the difference between genuine and direct Marsland ones? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GW8IZR Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 :-) I think we are at cross purposes here.. You are 100% correct they are the same, what I'm saying is the price from LR as a genuine part is most likely going to be much higher than buying essentially the same thing from Marslands. Even then you would probably only get a current spec chassis from LR thus needing to modify the new chassis to your engine / transmission mount requirements and then send it for galvanising. Of course there have been variations on this, witness the glut of brand new bulkheads direct from LR that were ridiculously cheap and had all gone by the time I reacted to the deal :-) I have to say Marslands were spot on to deal with, I'm sure the other manufacturers are fine but I've no direct experience of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailysleaze Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Aren't Land Rover bound to supply parts for up to 5 years after end of production? The guy on the factory tour said that LR were going to supply parts for 10 years... If that's the case you should still be able to get new chassis... They are, but for body panels they're going to make that supply in the next 6 months then close that part of the factory. After that when it's gone it's gone. Any shortfall I expect would be catered with one offs at a huge price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted February 4, 2016 Share Posted February 4, 2016 Of course there have been variations on this, witness the glut of brand new bulkheads direct from LR that were ridiculously cheap and had all gone by the time I reacted to the deal :-) I have to say Marslands were spot on to deal with, I'm sure the other manufacturers are fine but I've no direct experience of them. Ah OK now I see. Thanks If you mean the TD5 bulkheads, I bought one (so did a mate) for £167 and did the work on it to fit it to my S3 88". Perfect but a heck of a big job. Drilled all the spot welds out to remove the tunnel and footwells then fitted new wells and my salvaged series middle panel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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