Disco 1 Front inner arches. Aluminium?

I am having to replace the inner arches on the D1 and the section that is horizontal that goes up from the battery box, under the fuse box/header tank and then down to the bulkhead including the wings either side of the shock tower I am thinking of replacing with 1.5mm aluminium.

Can you guys think of any reason why I should not do this. I have spoken to my MOT man and he has no problem with it as long as the bulkhead is seam welded steel and is sound.
aman

How are you going to weld it in !
NO disrespect aman but no mater how many welding videos you watch you will NOT find 1 that shows you how to weld steel to Aluminium !

They are not structural and so I will bolt them in using rivnutsand stainless steel bolts
Easy on panels do the whole section from the bulkhead to the slam panel including the headlight box and body mount panel next to the radiator as a bolt in section.
aman

Easy on panels may well sell one but I bet it's made of steel !

Just to be facetious


aman

Magicgrotto said:

Easy on panels may well sell one but I bet it's made of steel !

Click to expand...

But is there any reason why it can't be aluminium?
aman

So you have a TIG welder ?
Stainless steel & alli don't go together Rots faster than steel to alli !
Can't see the problem welding steel in the wheel arch to be honest ! & when done cover with Flash Band !

Just like this !
Think you'l get the idea !
Sorry for two of each picy !

There is absolutely nothing wrong with welding the inner arches. We are all different and like to do different things. I do not want to buy repair panels if I can help it and I have aluminium in stock so it makes sense to me to replace the non structural parts with ally.

I don't think I will be going down the flash band route though.
aman

If they are non- structural, why are they an MOT fail when corroded? The MOT station said that the front body mounts are the issue with corroded inner wings.

When I first bought my 95 Discovery six years ago, it failed on corrosion on the inner wings. Some welding had already been done in the past prior to purchase. Both are now in need of full replacement which is going to happen in the next few weeks, with YRM panels.

Just spoken with my MOT man (& a very good friend) What you are thinking of doing is A MOT FAIL !
So your on a hiding to nowt ! ALL welds have to be seam welded ! NO spot welding NONE of this weld 1" miss 2" now ! On a down side ALL welds must NOW be MIG ! NO stick weld OR Gas (Don't ask me ask your MOT man IF he's up to date with ALL the NEW regs He should know) !
SO the only way out for you @aman is to buy a mig welder & go see your local metal man & get some 2mm plate & get Welding !

Some parts of the inner wing are structural. The parts that are also the footwell are part of the structural bulkhead and incorporate the pedal cluster and further up, the master cyclynder and servo. There is also a body mount in this area. All these areas need to be seam welded steel I agree. I am still not cinvinced that the wheel tub itself is structural.
I will investigate further and get back to you
aman

Don't forget there's another body mount ahead of the wheelarch. For my money, I'd assume the whole arch needed to be structural and go from there, but I'd be interested to hear if your investigations turn up anything different.
I might ask, Magicgrotto, whether your MOT man stands any chance of seeing whether your arches are solid, rusty, steel, aluminium or cardboard under all of that insulation?

HOW dare you @thetim insinuate that I'm trying to hide something
Sorry no pics of when I'd been in with the 4" grinder with wire wheel on to get crud & rust off !

Wasn't insinuating anything
Just curious as to whether the MOT man could actually see what he was assessing
On the subject of hiding things, my Disco 1 arrived in my possession with amazingly elaborately bodged sills. Patch was welded on at the bottom, but stuck on with tar everywhere else. To this day I can't explain why - if someone can't weld, then I understand hiding the holes to get through the MOT, even if I don't condone it. But someone had the time and skill to weld... half of the patch. Not half the top and half the bottom, so it did something vaguely structural, but just the bottom.