Rear cross member welds

Hi all,
Newbie here, looking to purchase my first Defender. Have looked at many over the past year, seeking a solid chassis/bulkhead/suspension that I can work on for years to come. Found a pretty one (usually a red flag to begin with as far as I can tell) that has recently had new rear cross member fitted. I'm no welder, but this appears a bit sloppy to my untrained eye. Of course it's heavily coated making the actual weld hard to examine. Hoping for a more expert opinion.
It has also had other work done recently to get it back into shape for sale - brakes, headliner, seats, lights... all appear ok in pictures but if the quality of the cross member installation is low I'd question the whole restoration. What do you think, run away or start bidding?
Many thanks in advance for any assistance!

Photo makes it look like they drilled and welded on the flat surface ( plug welded) to get strength into it. Although the weld ing on the end of the plates does look a bit manky.

Nowt to stop you buying it and giving the ends of the plates a go over with a welder if it worries you.

Cheers

Yep, that’s a naff weld, but as Neilly says, you can always redo the weld. Ipso Facto don’t let that put you off the vehicle.

Have they forgot to put the anti roll bar back on the 110?

them are honest welds(not covered with under seal)
What was the bulkhead like?

Measure the height of the weld and times it by 4, then the width of the chassis then times that by 4, add it altogether (be about 4 feet or so?) then ask yourself is it going to fall/pull off? the answer is of course no, so keep on trucking.

The real question should be, did they drop the tank? if not how did they weld the other side?

How much is it up for is my first question.

F all penetration in those welds but easy enough to sort , quick grind and run a welder over it.

And yeah what Flat said^

Agree with the above comments but would also like to add, at least they went the right way with the repair rather than a load of patches

Kev12 said:

Agree with the above comments but would also like to add, at least they went the right way with the repair rather than a load of patches

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Being a td5 they probably had no choice, they seem to rot pretty fast compared to the older crap!

Thank you for the thoughtful replies. I am less put off knowing it's easy enough to redo some poor welds like this. The next thing I am struggling with, to answer some of your questions, is the mighty asking price of 25k ('95 300tdi, 90k mi) which seems tall even if it is as tidy as they claim. Probably out of my range I'm afraid, though the wife did offer to downtrade her vehicle to help make it happen

cg56 said:

Thank you for the thoughtful replies. I am less put off knowing it's easy enough to redo some poor welds like this. The next thing I am struggling with, to answer some of your questions, is the mighty asking price of 25k ('95 300tdi, 90k mi) which seems tall even if it is as tidy as they claim. Probably out of my range I'm afraid, though the wife did offer to downtrade her vehicle to help make it happen

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Too pricey

cg56 said:

Thank you for the thoughtful replies. I am less put off knowing it's easy enough to redo some poor welds like this. The next thing I am struggling with, to answer some of your questions, is the mighty asking price of 25k ('95 300tdi, 90k mi) which seems tall even if it is as tidy as they claim. Probably out of my range I'm afraid, though the wife did offer to downtrade her vehicle to help make it happen

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Your wife is lovely, but in your shoes I would hold onto that good will for something more important in the future,, and look elsewhere for a cheaper defender.
As for the price no way, for 25k you nearly want a brand new defender, new chassis/bulkhead both galved of course.

Roughly where in the UK are you? I ask as I would bet a local LZ memebr would let you have a good look at theirs, and maybe have a drive as well.

neilly said:

Photo makes it look like they drilled and welded on the flat surface ( plug welded) to get strength into it. Although the weld ing on the end of the plates does look a bit manky.

Nowt to stop you buying it and giving the ends of the plates a go over with a welder if it worries you.

Cheers

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I reckon that's just where they flap disced the paint back to weld it, I don't think the xmember is even a galved one?

25kmis waaayyyy over tbh. Walk away that’s far to much.

lynall said:

I reckon that's just where they flap disced the paint back to weld it, I don't think the xmember is even a galved one?

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they were using a small flapwheel. Only way to find out is to take the paint off.

Either way , too expensive.

Cheers

neilly said:

they were using a small flapwheel. Only way to find out is to take the paint off.

Either way , too expensive.

Cheers

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It was probably the free grinder that came with the welder!

lynall said:

Being a td5 they probably had no choice, they seem to rot pretty fast compared to the older crap!

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He says it is a '95 300tdi?

Cheers

£25k!?

bluedog333 said:

£25k!?

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Its a bargain George , a bargain.

Cheers

@cg56 , as others have said above £25k is far too pricey for a 1995 300tdi - even if the rear x-member welds are genuinely good for that price I'd expect the whole underside to be spotless. The underside of that tratter is covered in/full of crud and underneath tratter crud lies a whole host issues, especially wiring issues. The trick with Land Rovers is the underside should be in better condition than the top side and a real proof the tratter has been properly maintained...apart from rust, bulkhead, panels, chassis et al...is for the engine bay to be spotless. Anything else, walk away or buy at a lower price giving you a kitty for additional maintenance.

Best recommendation? Hold on to your hard earned money and view many more Defenders before buying. There are 100's for sale out there, 75% are crap and by viewing more you'll get a really good feel for a proper Defender. Good luck...