Beyond repair?

Hi all,

Took my front bumper off this weekend to assess what I thought was a small patch of rust. Obviously I had underestimated it!

Does the collective think this is beyond repair? I was hoping to patch her up for another year or two. Thinking I could get some repair sections and patch them in.

How much to have a shop repair do we think? I’ve not had to have welding done on a car in quite some time.

The rest of the chassis is in ok condition and doesn’t need any major work. Just the front here really.

Thanks, Dan

If it's just the tops and ends it's a nice easy job, easily accessible. Cut the top out and inset new steel, you'll have loads of fun trying to get the bumper back on if you plate over.

+1 nothing a good welder could not sort out.
Unsure how much they would charge though

Hicap phill said:

+1 nothing a good welder could not sort out.
Unsure how much they would charge though

Click to expand...

Probably just about enough to justify getting a decent 2nd hand mig and getting a couple of hours practice in

Tis but a flesh wound..........

Mine was almost identical, perhaps a bit worse, I cleaned it up as much as possible then drove it carefully to a fabicators with the bumper in the back. Bill was around £400 for the dumb irons and its a decent strong repair that is invisible. A big benefit of doing it this way is that you avoid the risk of misalignment if the dumb irons are cut off. I took the front panel off and welded that myself as I do the non-structural welding but leave the chassis to the experts. Whole lot was done and back on the road in a couple of days.

Take the side of your washing machine out and glue it over the hole. If the MOT chap spots it your not using enough under seal.

Looks like my mates landy except his was full of expanding foam & with a layer of fibreglass then smeared in underseal
I only found it when he wanted a small patch done & hit it with a grinder so he bought a new chassis & we done a re-build

Edit I found this for on bgay…………. bargain just the offside to find
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rov...366813?hash=item2ceb7c831d:g:2xoAAOSw9vVc6pm5

As with blue beasty I would just cut out the bad bits and weld in new plates. If you can not weld your self you can still clean things up and perhaps cut out replacement metal ready for the welder.
Keep the hole in the top inside of the dumb iron and use it to squirt Dintrol or similar preservative inside after repair.

Appreciate all the replies. It’s given me a bit of confidence to have a tackle at it myself. I’m pretty hands on so a bit of welding shouldn’t be a problem. I will try and get a couple of quotes for the dumb irons just to compare.

Thanks again

I have seen worse, what is it like further back around the bump stops ? Do a search on here for "divies dumb irons" from when mine were done.

It doesn't appear to be too bad around the bump stops. My intention over the next couple of days is to inspect a little further back. I think i might take off the wings to make life easier. Im pretty certain the axle/swivel hubs need a rebuild too. Turning into a much greater project than i had initially imagined! oh well - let the fun start.

Thanks for the search link, I'll take a look.

Dan

If you remove the front grill frame for repair you will be able to move the wings out enough to make room for work on the dumb irons. Do not make extra work for yourself if it is not needed. It is how many a project ends up taking a long time. Been there done that got the t shirt.

I'll second that, the vehiciles that survive are often the ones that are kept running. Take the front panel off and weld that on the bench, the holes in yours look to be mostly on the flat sections, No need to do an especailly good job as you can plan to fit a bottom half repair section at a later date. I too would leave the wings on and just ease them out enough to get the acces needed. Getting the front panel bolts on anf off is hard enough, the wing / bulkhead botls are another story.

That does sound like sound advice. I actually took the front wing off this morning before I read your comment however. I have a drivers side footwell repair to do anyway so it isn't too much bother. I might do one side at a time - repair the footwell and drivers side dumb iron then move onto the passenger side (might look at a door pillar repair whilst I'm there too).

I'm motivated enough now to get the project going (i wasn't a month or so ago i wanted to burn the bloody thing). Just need to get that welder - any reccomendations?

Thanks, Dan

I recently bought the 160A IGBT Inverter MIG from these guys:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/Static-Arc-Trading?_trksid=p2047675.l2563
£219 and so far its been really good, so easy to use compared to my old one. I'm using gasless wire and the welds are better then the gas MIG with my old machine. There's a load of fancy electronics keeping the arc stable. I got the 160 A because its about the limit on a 13A plug. Also got a new helmet which has made life a lot easier too. When you look at the welder its a real bargain at 219, the spool is 30-40 and the helemet 50.