Share Your Rebuild Bodywork Horror Finds

NinkyNonk · Mar 15, 2018

Any horror stories with the bulkhead or body panels found during strip prior to a rebuild??

I have been considering rebuilding my Defender onto a Galv' chassis for a while, mainly so I know exactly what I have, and to give me something to do. However the thought of coming across a rotted out bulkheads or other panels has put me off, what you don't know won't hurt you sort of philosophy. I know it is better to find corrosion sooner rather than later but as far as I am aware the bulkhead and bodywork are still in a "serviceable" condition and should last a few years before anything needs doing.

I'm renowned for being a little fussy when it comes to pretty much anything, my friends were shocked when they had heard I had bought a 20 year old Defender. It's kind of a guilty pleasure for me after always worrying about cars' with clean bodywork. So am just wondering what others have come across on there journeys.

Al2O3 · Mar 16, 2018

NinkyNonk said:
Any horror stories with the bulkhead or body panels found during strip prior to a rebuild??

I have been considering rebuilding my Defender onto a Galv' chassis for a while, mainly so I know exactly what I have, and to give me something to do. However the thought of coming across a rotted out bulkheads or other panels has put me off, what you don't know won't hurt you sort of philosophy. I know it is better to find corrosion sooner rather than later but as far as I am aware the bulkhead and bodywork are still in a "serviceable" condition and should last a few years before anything needs doing.

I'm renowned for being a little fussy when it comes to pretty much anything, my friends were shocked when they had heard I had bought a 20 year old Defender. It's kind of a guilty pleasure for me after always worrying about cars' with clean bodywork. So am just wondering what others have come across on there journeys.

If you are of a nervous disposition, then be careful what you ask for.

There'll be thousands of horror stories out there to give you nightmares.

Those of us who own older vehicles have to accept that major work will need to be done sooner or later. Probably sooner. Once you come to terms with that you can then embrace it and start enjoying the fun of fully maintaining your own vehicle.

wattfield · Mar 16, 2018

My 2A bulkhead looked OK until I took the windscreen off!

Worse though, I bought my first Land Rover, a 90 Turbo, from a dealer who had "refurbished" it. When it rolled (no, I wasn't driving) I found that the bulkhead at the corner of the screen had been repaired with newspaper and filler. Not funny when your wife (yes, she was driving!) has had to leave by the now broken windscreen.

Colthebrummie · Mar 16, 2018

Trying to keep your old landy rust free is like paying for your aging wife to have plastic surgery, sooner or later they are both gonna drop dead no matter how good they look on the outside. Either accept the inevitable or trade in for a younger model.

Col

Flossie · Mar 16, 2018

Bulkhead will be loads worse than it looks, ditto doors front and rear.
Tub and seatbox will need repairs too.
Where the indicators, sidelights fit in the front wings will be crumbly, ditto rear fog/reverse light area.

zeaphod · Mar 16, 2018

The good news is that during a full rebuild you'll have plenty of access to the rotted bulkhead/seatbase attachment points/tub reinforcement bars. Get as much wax into the bulkhead as possible - then you can lie in bed with a smug grim on your face for a few years. If the alloy corrosion isn't too bad I've found treatment with chemicals and reinforcement with washers is fine for non load bearing bits. Of course, maybe the previous owner will have looked after it

NinkyNonk · Mar 17, 2018

Al2O3 said:
If you are of a nervous disposition, then be careful what you ask for. There'll be thousands of horror stories out there to give you nightmares.

I'm more intrigued as to what I may find and figure out how I could repair any body work issues. From what I have seen it is mainly corrosion where dissimilar metals join which is to be expected and would be easily remedied and wouldn't happen when it was reassembled. I'm an aircraft fitter by trade and can do most aluminum repairs easily enough, I spent most of my apprenticeship doing life extensions on old Lynxs'. Just wanted to see what people have found.

If I put it on a galvanised chassis I would keep the body work looking as it does now, ok but nothing special, to draw as little attention as possible. Obviously some things will need replacing, tub capping and anything else which would be a pain to repair or replace once its back together.

I've flicked through a fair few rebuild threads but it's quite a labour intensive process. Went through a build thread earlier which was 127 pages long

Colthebrummie · Mar 17, 2018

Your experience with aluminium repairs may well be invaluable here. We already have a good few experts on almost every subject but another one is always welcome.

Col

NinkyNonk · Mar 17, 2018

Colthebrummie said:
Your experience with aluminium repairs may well be invaluable here. We already have a good few experts on almost every subject but another one is always welcome.

Col

Problem being that we have access to chemicals and treatments at work which aren't widely available like alocrom, which releases cyanide gases 24hrs after it's mixed. Generally speaking if anything is badly corroded it will be replaced and not repaired. When repairing corrosion we don't do anything different to anyone else, rub down corrosion, alocrom, prime, and top coat.

Funnily enough we use a fuel tank sealant between any permanently joined structures and skins. This makes taking things apart again a very long process and you can easily end up damaging panels if you aren't careful.

Share Your Rebuild Bodywork Horror Finds

NinkyNonk

Active Member

Al2O3

Well-Known Member

wattfield

AKA Dirk Diggler

Colthebrummie

Well-Known Member

Flossie

Well-Known Member

zeaphod

Well-Known Member

NinkyNonk

Active Member

Colthebrummie

Well-Known Member

NinkyNonk

Active Member

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