Weld or replace?

Recently bought a 1989 90TD who's chassis has seen better days. It requires
fairly substantial welding (about 5 evenings worth) which a friend said he
would do for £200, but after this I will still have a 15 yo patched up
chassis, which will be fine, but another friend says he can get a galvanised
chassis for around £600 (all above board), and stripping the 90 down and
rebuilding isn't a problem. Is it worth shelling out an additional £400
(plus the rebuild time) or would you stick with the welding??? The rest of
the vehicle if pretty smart and the engine is a peach.

Angus
Norfolk'n'Good

Angus McDangle wrote:

> Recently bought a 1989 90TD who's chassis has seen better days. It
> requires fairly substantial welding (about 5 evenings worth) which a
> friend said he would do for £200, but after this I will still have a 15 yo
> patched up chassis, which will be fine, but another friend says he can get
> a galvanised chassis for around £600 (all above board), and stripping the
> 90 down and
> rebuilding isn't a problem. Is it worth shelling out an additional £400
> (plus the rebuild time) or would you stick with the welding??? The rest
> of the vehicle if pretty smart and the engine is a peach.

It'll be over a thousand by the time you get the parts onto the new chassis
- you will need an astonishing amount of new nuts and bolts, probably a new
exhaust+fittings, new bushes, brake lines - it all adds up, whereas the
chassis welding is pretty much all the cost - not much hidden extra. If
the stripping and rebuilding isn't really a problem, even taking into
account all the hidden costs then go for it - your vehicle will be worth
much more as well when/if you come to sell it.

Regards

William MacLeod

William MacLeod <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> It'll be over a thousand by the time you get the parts onto
> the new chassis - you will need an astonishing amount of
> new nuts and bolts, probably a new exhaust+fittings, new
> bushes, brake lines - it all adds up, whereas the chassis
> welding is pretty much all the cost - not much hidden
> extra. If the stripping and rebuilding isn't really a
> problem, even taking into account all the hidden costs then
> go for it - your vehicle will be worth much more as well
> when/if you come to sell it.

But winter is coming and you do have a nice dry warm shed to do
it in, don't you?

Derry
(Who doesn't have a shed answering the above description and
knows it!)

Angus McDangle vaguely muttered something like ...
> Recently bought a 1989 90TD who's chassis has seen better days. It
> requires fairly substantial welding (about 5 evenings worth) which a
> friend said he would do for £200, but after this I will still have a 15
> yo patched up chassis, which will be fine, but another friend says he can
> get a galvanised chassis for around £600 (all above board), and stripping
> the 90 down and rebuilding isn't a problem. Is it worth shelling out an
> additional £400 (plus the rebuild time) or would you stick with the
> welding??? The rest of the vehicle if pretty smart and the engine is a
> peach.

Providing you can afford double (at least) what the chassis costs for all
those niggly bits that break when being undone and have the time etc, then a
new chassis makes a lot of sense .. it shouldn't need anything doing to it
for .. ooohh ..... ages at least ...

It's likely to add value to the vehicle too, if you need to sell it.


--
Paul ...

(8(|) Homer Rules !!!

"A tosser is a tosser, no matter what mode of transport they're using."

WELD.
Yours Gmacz