MOT Due so thought I would take a look underneath , Big Mistake !!

Well this is interesting :-

VOSA Website

MOT History

Date of test:
03/07/2009

Certificate issued (Pass)

Odometer reading:
106,417 Miles

Test number:
823**********

Test station name:
MID CORNWALL CLASS VII

Test station number:
1ALN46

Test station telephone number:
01726 852385

Test class:
IV

Test expiry date:
07/2010

Advisory Notice issued

Chassis rusted

Bloke I bought it off stated that no advisories had been issued at previous MOT, seems he lied.


@Redhand

1. Have you got a large garage or plot of land/big drive/garden. ? NO
2. Can you weld? NO But have a MIG Welder strangely
3. Are you any good with a set of spanners? YES
4. Have you got lots of spare time? POSSIBLY

Reckon them wheels would burn well ?

hwo the fook can a mot tester miss all those holes , that ant happoned in 12 months !!

what yer reccon contact vosa ?

Just so happens my mates missus is a VOSA inpector, you reckon it worth asking her advice ?

Jesus looking at the chassis it looks like the whole back end has sat in the dead sea for a month, how the hell could it ever have got a ticket. Only went around knocking it with a grinder spanner and the whole lot fell out. Front end looks and sounds proper sound but from the rear wheel area onwards it turns out its made of mud a metal shavings.

Good luck with the VOSA.

Unless you've got a lot of time and can weld I suspect you'll be giving Richard's a call for a galv chassis.

Good luck

Mine looked right dodgy when I started poking around - you'll find the more you look around, the worse it'll get!! New chassis time me thinks . . .

I think you only have a few days (maybe 30) after the MOT was issued to get VOSA involved, so you're probably too late

I took this pic of my outrigger the day after it passed it's MOT last week.

The next day I cut it out and welded in a new one.

I have to say sadley that your chassis looks terminal

new chassis not as dear as you think. to do a good job welding that you need body off.thats half the job done,then itll probly need weldin again next year,if your happy with the moterthen new chassis, only needs doin once, scrap it and buy another you could end up with a worse pile of ****e

Well after the initial horror of finding chassis from hell I must now try and make a silk purse out of a sows ear. The rest of the chassis is really pretty sturdy , been all over it and beat the **** out of it with a hammer and everything sounds like it should with no extra holes or corrosion found.

So going to have a go a repairing it for now and try and get it through an MOT whilst I save for a new chassis. What metal am I going to need ? My old man is a coded welder and after seeing the pics he reckons with some clever chopping and welding we could get it looking fairly decent. He thinks some 3mm Mild Steel would do the trick but told me to ask here to make sure. So recommendations please for the steel.

I need to order the steel for my old man who can come visit me for a week in late August. Is there anything else I will need , Paint, tools etc

Really appreciate the help, feel like a total prick not realising the extent of the corrosion when I bought it but I wouldn't be the first to buy a dud.

mid cornwall 4x4 is that?

I thought mine was bad after i beat it ...... whats it like where the centre cross member goes ? , if its layering where it bolts to the chassis take the X-member out and have a tap ( see my pics ) . I had a big hole under the plates .
Also check where the A-frame X-member is and on top of the chassis there too as mud sits in the suport plates .
If the rear X-member is also shot ? , dont **** with it just buy a new one with extentions and weld on .
3mm plate will be fine , if you got an angle grinder ? , some 0.8mm cutting discs ( cuts like a hot knife through butter ) , twisted wire wheels for the grinder etc etc .
its a case of good luck really mate , but not the end of the world tho .

reading this thread make my rust worries seem so minor

sypher said:

I thought mine was bad after i beat it ...... whats it like where the centre cross member goes ? , if its layering where it bolts to the chassis take the X-member out and have a tap ( see my pics ) . I had a big hole under the plates .
Also check where the A-frame X-member is and on top of the chassis there too as mud sits in the suport plates .
If the rear X-member is also shot ? , dont **** with it just buy a new one with extentions and weld on .
3mm plate will be fine , if you got an angle grinder ? , some 0.8mm cutting discs ( cuts like a hot knife through butter ) , twisted wire wheels for the grinder etc etc .
its a case of good luck really mate , but not the end of the world tho .

Click to expand...

Cheers for that bud, got an angle grinder and have started to thoroughly clean the chassis with wire wheels. No further rot found anwhere else, bonus.

Rear crossmember was a bit tatty but defo not shot, cleaned it last week back to bare metal then filled the couple of small holes it had, red oxided it with 2 coats then finished with three coats of black metal paint using a brush. Sanded out the brush marks and finally finished it off with a spray can.

Could you provide pics of the A-frame X-member & centre cross member so that I can visualize what I need to look at next. I have felt all the way along the flat section of chassis underneath the tub and only found dry mud with no corrosion on either side.

Got a mig set on a pallet being sent down from my hometown of stoke so doing all the prep/cleanup ready for cutting out and welding marathon.

Way I see it is it shagged now so gonna do my upmost to try and save my landy god knows I can't do any worse than the chassis's current state.

uncle albert said:

reading this thread make my rust worries seem so minor

Click to expand...

Glad I could assist

Pod51 said:

Could you provide pics of the A-frame X-member & centre cross member so that I can visualize what I need to look at next.

Click to expand...

Under the centre ( gearbox ) cross member .



A frame-chassis mount Below

Look in and around the red area Both sides as its a great mud trap



All was cut out and replaced with 3mm plate .
Check your spring mounts too as they might look like this .





Sorry for the big post guys

The fact you're tackling this makes it more worth while, good luck with it and i hope she becomes roadworthy again

Dayyym, hope mine is ok for the MOT . It's been sat in the garden since september, I went out to have a look at it and it seems to have this odd sort of crunchy layer of rust covering the whole chassis that can be scraped off, but no holes found yet.

PaulWilde said:

The fact you're tackling this makes it more worth while, good luck with it and i hope she becomes roadworthy again

Click to expand...

That was last year mate just after i bought it ( ex farm landy ) rear X member was shot and the rest i found after atacking it with a hammer .

Shes all welded up solid now and flew through the MOT as long as you cut out the **** and plate on good thick origanal chassis then you should be fine . But if you havent done any welding , get your mate / relation thats the Cert welder to do it ( remember that 110 with them kids ? ) .
I welded all my chassis myself ( been welding for years ) and I know its strong and put it to the test the other month by towing a double decker bus up hill , thats just over 10ton .

@ Sypher

Good advice thanks and I will take heed of what you have said. I have arc welded before through my work and completed basic training and most importantly I have now gained an eagerness to have a go. My old mans got 42 yrs welding experience but due to health and safety being next to useless in his career he unfortunately has to use oxygen for health reasons and has had to retire from welding, he will however be a guiding hand should I need his help.

As the rest of the chassis is sound then repairing is the way to go and fair play to you - spark up the mig.
I would have thought though that you need 5mm plate....?

I used 3mm plates and then made sure it was sealed with hammerite before covering it in waxoyl. Good luck - this time next year you'll be wondering what all the fuss was about!