Chassis question

Hi
I have wanted a work horse 90 for some time for forestry & field use ( not comps etc ).

Like a muppet, ( rushed in feet first eyes wide shut ), i went out and bought a nice looking Q Plated ( i was told ex-military by seller ) Def 90 van just before xmas 2010. I did take a mate who is a mechanic but not with Landrovers. He gave the once over and also thought it was ok for the price as a lot of upgrades had been done such as Disco 200 Tdi, Safari Snorkel, 2" lift, HD radius arms etc, nice big INSAs fitted, ply and rubber chequer plate pattern lining on inside, bucket seats, Mud Dash, Winch + remote, NAS lights. Disc brakes all round, 7 months left on MOT. So quite a bit that i would not have to pay out on ( i thought ).
Problem is it turns out that the vehicle is not ex-mod ( not that i can find out) and the chassis may actually be an old IIRC RR due to position of VIN.
Now i may be fretting over nothing but can anyone tell me what the differences are, if any, for this type of chassis and what to look out for.
There is one relatively small hole in the front right side of the chassis just forward of the spring / axle area about size of 20p piece and thats all i have found after a good steam clean. It was my intention at some time to rebuild on a new galvanised chassis if rust became a big issue.
With this IIRC RR chassis will it affect how body work and mechanics are attached, ie will things need modding a lot to fit? The time and cost of doing this if needed may accelerate the need to change the chassis sooner.
Any info, help or advice is appreciated.
Cheers
Kev

What the hell is a IIRC RR chassis????
IIRC = "If I recall correctly"
RR = "Range Rover"

What makes yu think the chassis ain't correct?
You day VIN position - if so, where is it and where do you think it should be?
Irrespective of position, is the VIN correct?

the vin for a 90 should be on the front off side dumb iron just behind the bumper, and on the vin plate riveted to the brake pedal box under the bonnet.
If it is a rangey chassis it will have a join in the middle as a rangey is 100" wheelbase.

Cheers Guys

Not knowing much at all about Land Rovers, ( does it show?? ), I was chatting to some guys on the LRO forums and an initial feedback due to the position of the VIN was " IIRC RR ...... vin is in the position you describe". This is where i got confused and thought the IIRC was some sort of model prefix !!!:doh:
I had intended to edit the post on here asap to remove the IIRC but you fellas beat me to it !

The VIN is on the what i think is the drivers side bulkhead outrigger the first thing that sticks out sideways behind the front shock spring unit. I believe the proper 90 is marked in front of this spring on the "Dumb Iron". It does match the V5C docs and a £5 check online shows nothing untoward with the vehicle with the first reg date of 1998 so i guess at least i'm all legal etc.

I would still like to find out the history of the vehicle and why someone would chop a RR chassis and what problems this may cause me,if any, in the future with parts and maintenance etc. I am assuming as it has had a Q Plate allocated that it has passed a single vehicle inspection of some sort and several MOTs since.

I will have another crawl around underneathe to check for a joint weld, is this likely to be straight across the chassis or staggered?

As i mentioned the vehicle has been modded for off road but will never be comped or used for extreme off road by me but i would like to keep it maintained for as long as possible and possibly use it as a donor onto a new galv chassis at some stage. question is would the body work and mechanics fit a standard 90 chassis or are they likely to have been modded to fit the present RR chassis and thereby no good for a donor?

Thanks for all the input and feedback. it's all greatly appreciated.

Rgds
Kev

check it on here...... Clifton Scientific Text Services, the Netherlands

to see which vehicle it says it is.

Thanks TMHM

I tried that one but it comes up with a lot of weird and wonderful stuff.

Canadian Disco Engine, 110 chassis......

I would be very suprised if this were accurate...although i would never say it was'nt.

I was hoping by posting the index number in a few Land Rover forums that possibly the previous owners would be able to shed some light on the history but nothing as yet.

Cheers for feedback

Rgds
kev

post the first 11 digits on here (no more), or PM me

PM sent

Cheers

If the rangey chassis has been modified properly to fit the defender bodywork then a new chassis should fit straight underneath. I have seen this done many times and not always very good. I bought a 90 that had a shortened rangey/disco chassis and unless you knew about them you wouldnt tell as it was done very well indeed. You can buy all the outriggers and such to do the job but its still a lot of work for someone.
If it all comes up legit then you have no worries!

Cheers Tig

I'll post up what i find underneath as soon as i get chance to look.

Any thoughts on where these cuts would usually be made or can it be pretty much anywhere?

Rgds
Kev

they are normally shortened right in the middle between the front and rear suspension mounts.
Also have a look under your rear tub and the a frame mounting crossmember. ie the aframe that holds the rear axle (you wont miss it!) goes upwards and attatches to the chassis onto a crossmember. if this crossmember is a round tube then its deffo rangey/disco.

This get stranger and stranger!!!

Just managed to crawl under between rain downpours and the cross member which the A-Frame mounts to is square box and not tube!!
Also no sign of welding between rear axle and gear box cross member.
I think a visit to Keith Gott in Alton is next move for a pre-mot and some further advice/info.

Will keep you all posted.
Rgds
Kev

Basic stuff, but does the chassis number on the car, correspond to the one on the V5?

paul_c said:

Basic stuff, but does the chassis number on the car, correspond to the one on the V5?

Click to expand...

Hi Paul
Thanks for the input.
I did mention earlier in the post/topic that the VIN did indeed match the V5C doc so all appears legal etc which is something to be grateful for at least!

Rgds
Kev