To Weld or Not to Weld, that is the (dumb iron) question !!

Hi Guys,
I've been around this forum for a long time, reading, absorbing information and making lots of notes ... However I am now at the stage where I need some advice on my restoration...
I have a 1972 Series 3 SWB which I bought earlier this year, progress has been slow but enjoyable, for me that is and not the wife, she just cant see the beauty in my 4 wheels of rust and dents..
So far I have overhalled the brakes, (new Master Cyl, pipes, cylinders, pads, drums, springs etc.... Cleaned, de-rusted, patched where needed and painted 3/4's of the chassis, stripped the inside in prep for painting and new seats, removed 2 dead mice !!!! and had the engine running quite sweetly before the petrol tank decided to leak most of the fuel onto the drive.
However I am after some advice in the dumb irons, if you look at the following the pasenger side can be patched, only the front has gone and the rest is solid..
The drivers side is a bit more affected, dispite this from the hanger it is still solid, so .... Would you patch it or replace it ???
Si.

Weld it

burn it.

1spin said:

burn it.

Click to expand...

your in the wrong section

you need the free lander section

weld it, looks like the spring hanger is rotten too

Replace them both, they look too far gone to be trusted. Remember what their purpose is and if they fail...

Oh, and welcome.

300tdistu said:

your in the wrong section

you need the free lander section

Click to expand...

christ sorry , thought i was

If you're going to weld that, weld it heavy. That element probably takes more stress than any other part of the chassis.

Mine were almost as bad as that, I rebuilt mine (sorry, no pics), if you know what you're doing tis easy.

I reckon if you box it all sides you're better than stock

i gutted and rebuilt both my dumbirons on my 109



page six gives an idea of what i had to contend with
My 1965 109 pictures by NiteMare_08 - Photobucket

Thanks for the feedback guys, I think I will have a crack at repairing them both first, as it's more fun and I'd feel like I had achieved something, I prefer the "I built this landy" feeling, rather than "its made of ****part bits" ....
And if that fails I'll replace them !!!!

NiteMare, you've made me feel quite lucky with the lack of rot I have compared to you, dispite you having 7 years on mine. Apart from the dumb irons, all I have had to replace is the front Out Riggers and am about the tackle the rear cross member in the coming weeks. (here's hoping I've not missed anything major)

Si.

Nice one....Nothing like a sense of achievement..

Nice welding! -what welder do you use nitemare?

i think it's an SIP150 (i'd have to go in my garage to check) that's more or less 20 years old, loads of controls on it which make it easy to use to get nice flow, a little test weld or two whilst setting up and away you go

i paid 100quid for it secondhand about 13-14 years ago, probably the best 100quid i've ever spent

Replace them with new ones £50 for parts and about a morning to do it.
Assuming you have one of those reciprocating mains saws with a long metal cutting blade to remove them.

There easy enough to make at home to the length you need, done a few of them over the years.