Replacing Body caps

raywin · Apr 8, 2020

Just bought new body caps for my 90 the old ones were shot.
I know there are a few threads on here about this, maybe it's an age thing but I want to bring a few questions together and hope the people who have done it previously will share their experiences.

1 do you buy a set of rubber seals to put on the caps, or do you buy a roll of foam rubber and cut to length, if second what's the best way to deal with the joints at the rear corners?

2 I've read about people using none setting mastic, I assume you put this on the rubber to help sealing.

3 blind rivets what size is needed any reccomend supplier?

4 can you change the caps without taking the roof completely off, I will be working alone so I will be improvising.

5 the caps i bought are in primer and I intend to paint them but I'm thinking of using glass reinforced chassis paint to put a good hard coat on them and avoid a repeat. Galvanizing would be tricky in the preselock down situation

6 any tips from the wize who have done this already.

dag019 · Apr 8, 2020

raywin said:
do you buy a set of rubber seals to put on the caps, or do you buy a roll of foam rubber and cut to length, if second what's the best way to deal with the joints at the rear corners?

there are proper seals for between the capping and the roof side, you can get them from all of the normal suppliers. between the capping and the tub i used neoprene tape I do not know what the correct seal is.

raywin said:
I've read about people using none setting mastic, I assume you put this on the rubber to help sealing.

yes this is for the rubber seals between the capping adn the roof sides. You apply the mastic each side of the seal.

raywin said:
blind rivets what size is needed any reccomend supplier?

I used normal pop rivets when I did mine, standard 5mm rivets, no problem several years later

raywin said:
can you change the caps without taking the roof completely off, I will be working alone so I will be improvising

I cannot give a definitive answer on this as when I did mine I removed the roof sides as I was painting it at the same time. You can remove the sides without removing the roof by lifting the back end so you may be able to remove the cappings this way, but it would be far easier with the sides and/or roof removed

Glass paint should be a good solution as will be a properly hard finish, I personally got mine galvansied but we were not on lockdown when I did mine! The only tip I can give you is that mine were stuck to the tub, so I had to hammer a cold chisel all the way along the tub side to split them, so I needed a chisel and a 6ft rod to get the whole length. Other than that is it s a very easy job to do, as is removing the sides if this is the route you go, just unbolt for the the rear and gently lift up. there is enough flex in the roof to create a large enough gap without unbolting form the windscreen frame.

tottot · Apr 8, 2020

I just loosened the bolts holding the screen to bulkhead and lifted the roof at the back supporting it with carefully with a length of timber. Used normal pop rivets and fine after ten years. Do not use open foam strips to seal, get the proper seals. Dogs bollocks from Jewson is a good sealer that remains a bit flexible.

Al2O3 · Apr 8, 2020

raywin said:
Just bought new body caps for my 90 the old ones were shot.
I know there are a few threads on here about this, maybe it's an age thing but I want to bring a few questions together and hope the people who have done it previously will share their experiences.

1 do you buy a set of rubber seals to put on the caps, or do you buy a roll of foam rubber and cut to length, if second what's the best way to deal with the joints at the rear corners?

2 I've read about people using none setting mastic, I assume you put this on the rubber to help sealing.

3 blind rivets what size is needed any reccomend supplier?

4 can you change the caps without taking the roof completely off, I will be working alone so I will be improvising.

5 the caps i bought are in primer and I intend to paint them but I'm thinking of using glass reinforced chassis paint to put a good hard coat on them and avoid a repeat. Galvanizing would be tricky in the preselock down situation

6 any tips from the wize who have done this already.

View attachment 204934

View attachment 204936

Hi raywin, you know when you post something like this and some toss@ chucks more hassle in to the mix

I'm pretty sure you would already have considered this though! Well, I'm hoping so, so that I don't feel so bad saying this!
Your rear quarter cappings are looking fairly shot too. Might be worth swapping those when your in there.
Your side panels have a steel strengthening panel in the corner, through which it's bolted down to the tub. There is a very good chance that this steel panel is also very rusty and could do with treatment while your in there. TBH the bolt can be very rusted and there's a risk of it shearing when you try to undo the nut.

You probably already know that when you start doing something like changing your cappings, there's a danger of one thing leading to another. So, please feel free to ignore me!

dag019 · Apr 9, 2020

Al2O3 said:
Hi raywin, you know when you post something like this and some toss@ chucks more hassle in to the mix
I'm pretty sure you would already have considered this though! Well, I'm hoping so, so that I don't feel so bad saying this!
Your rear quarter cappings are looking fairly shot too. Might be worth swapping those when your in there.
Your side panels have a steel strengthening panel in the corner, through which it's bolted down to the tub. There is a very good chance that this steel panel is also very rusty and could do with treatment while your in there. TBH the bolt can be very rusted and there's a risk of it shearing when you try to undo the nut.

You probably already know that when you start doing something like changing your cappings, there's a danger of one thing leading to another. So, please feel free to ignore me!

I had rather assumed you were replacing both the side and the rear cappings, if not then I completely agree with the above, that they could do with replacement while everything is apart at the same time.

I would also fully agree that the bolts used to hold the side panel to the tub in the corners are likely to be very rusty, I would have a replacement set ready for refitting. It depends how much time you can afford to have the vehicle off the road (in lock-down there might not be the time constraint usually needed), but you could remove them and make a decision then, unless they come out pristine I would replace them.

tottot · Apr 9, 2020

Body capping replacements are usualy one piece ,side and corner in one. When I did mine I used a set of cut down series 109 capping's in which the side and corner are separate and left them that way.

Al2O3 · Apr 9, 2020

tottot said:
Body capping replacements are usualy one piece ,side and corner in one. When I did mine I used a set of cut down series 109 capping's in which the side and corner are separate and left them that way.

Not sure if you are talking about what I mentioned, but I'm on about the rear quarter cappings that go around the rear lights.

K14 · Apr 9, 2020

I removed the roof to do my cappings as I had other jobs to do. I also used the correct seals between roof and capping. Additionally I filled the gap between capping and roof with semi setting gutter sealant.
I actually repaired my cappings and galvanised them, I did not paint them

Litch · Apr 9, 2020

I had my cappings galvanised however I can understand why you can't go down this route at the moment however you can buy galvanised ones and then either paint them or leave them bare.
Looks like you have some alloy corrosion to the panelwork under the capping. As already stated be prepared for more heartache when you lift the capping off, sometimes these job have a habit of getting out of control!

raywin · Apr 9, 2020

Thanks for all the replies the info is comming together now I probably need to make a thread on this when I get all the bits to try and put something out there for others who are looking at this job.
I ordered some vactan rust converter and primer to cover any bad bits (Defender owners probably should have this stuff on draft) I intend to break out the bolts and replace them with
stainless ones.
Galvanizing would be good but not practical at the moment so need to paint the new cappings with glass paint and leave them for a while to set hard.
I heard that blind rivets are best because water cant ooze through them, so 5mm blind rivets : https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Land-Rov...649644&hash=item4aee6d7623:g:jwoAAOSwjVVVyF2a

Will look to find some seals from a LR supplier and buy some mastic, Maybe : https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-x-BUTY...481193?hash=item3d22995ce9:g:aVcAAOSw-itXrJiA

Not looking forward to getting the old ones off sounds like a real Defender job and Im expecting more and more jobs to crop up, will look at the back corners I wondered about rubbing them down and painting them with the black glass paint also but plenty of time to decide, I may also rub down the whole back of the paint work and try to revive it, nbut spray painting is not my best subject.
These are the capping I bought from Maltings 4X4 in Doncaster decent price and quick delivery

tottot · Apr 9, 2020

Al2O3 said:
Not sure if you are talking about what I mentioned, but I'm on about the rear quarter cappings that go around the rear lights.

Ah right, YRM metal solutions do the light surround.

Chalky. · Apr 9, 2020

dag019 said:
there are proper seals for between the capping and the roof side, you can get them from all of the normal suppliers. between the capping and the tub i used neoprene tape I do not know what the correct seal is.

yes this is for the rubber seals between the capping adn the roof sides. You apply the mastic each side of the seal.

I used normal pop rivets when I did mine, standard 5mm rivets, no problem several years later

I cannot give a definitive answer on this as when I did mine I removed the roof sides as I was painting it at the same time. You can remove the sides without removing the roof by lifting the back end so you may be able to remove the cappings this way, but it would be far easier with the sides and/or roof removed

View attachment 204946 View attachment 204947

Glass paint should be a good solution as will be a properly hard finish, I personally got mine galvansied but we were not on lockdown when I did mine! The only tip I can give you is that mine were stuck to the tub, so I had to hammer a cold chisel all the way along the tub side to split them, so I needed a chisel and a 6ft rod to get the whole length. Other than that is it s a very easy job to do, as is removing the sides if this is the route you go, just unbolt for the the rear and gently lift up. there is enough flex in the roof to create a large enough gap without unbolting form the windscreen frame.

I really fancy some galvanised ones, I love the look, like the series vehicles, and the longevity of course ... what kind of place did you take them to to get them done? I think there's a place fairly close to me that would do it, but I think only if I have a certain weight of things...

raywin · Apr 9, 2020

dag019 said:
there are proper seals for between the capping and the roof side, you can get them from all of the normal suppliers. between the capping and the tub i used neoprene tape I do not know what the correct seal is.

yes this is for the rubber seals between the capping adn the roof sides. You apply the mastic each side of the seal.

I used normal pop rivets when I did mine, standard 5mm rivets, no problem several years later

I cannot give a definitive answer on this as when I did mine I removed the roof sides as I was painting it at the same time. You can remove the sides without removing the roof by lifting the back end so you may be able to remove the cappings this way, but it would be far easier with the sides and/or roof removed

View attachment 204946 View attachment 204947

Glass paint should be a good solution as will be a properly hard finish, I personally got mine galvansied but we were not on lockdown when I did mine! The only tip I can give you is that mine were stuck to the tub, so I had to hammer a cold chisel all the way along the tub side to split them, so I needed a chisel and a 6ft rod to get the whole length. Other than that is it s a very easy job to do, as is removing the sides if this is the route you go, just unbolt for the the rear and gently lift up. there is enough flex in the roof to create a large enough gap without unbolting form the windscreen frame.

That bodywork looks great, did you spray it?

dag019 · Apr 9, 2020

Gottschalk said:
I really fancy some galvanised ones, I love the look, like the series vehicles, and the longevity of course ... what kind of place did you take them to to get them done? I think there's a place fairly close to me that would do it, but I think only if I have a certain weight of things...

I bought mine ready galvansied because they are actually taken of a series 109 (same size as a 110). however I have had lots of parts galvanised, I personally use Arkinstall galvanising (link) in the centre of Birmingham, but that is because they are very local to me so it is easy for me to drop off and collect. They work the same as most where they charge by weight but there is a minimum charge (from memory about 100kg). therefore if you do get things galvansied it makes sense to strip everything off and get it all done together as you will be paying for the weight anyway. I have done nearly everything that is steel and easy to unbolt (bumper, bull bars, snorkel, wing snow cover, tree sliders, swing away, towbar, rear ladder, sand ladders etc).

Chalky. · Apr 9, 2020

dag019 said:
I bought mine ready galvansied because they are actually taken of a series 109 (same size as a 110). however I have had lots of parts galvanised, I personally use Arkinstall galvanising (link) in the centre of Birmingham, but that is because they are very local to me so it is easy for me to drop off and collect. They work the same as most where they charge by weight but there is a minimum charge (from memory about 100kg). therefore if you do get things galvansied it makes sense to strip everything off and get it all done together as you will be paying for the weight anyway. I have done nearly everything that is steel and easy to unbolt (bumper, bull bars, snorkel, wing snow cover, tree sliders, swing away, towbar, rear ladder, sand ladders etc).

Yeah that's a great idea, I'll do the same. I fitted a military bumper to mine with the center pin which was very useful at work and laning... the paint was gone in 12 months and looks tatty, so swapped to the original. I want to do my tow bar and associated brackets to, so I'll take your advice and get a pile ready!!

dag019 · Apr 9, 2020

raywin said:
That bodywork looks great, did you spray it?

Nope, that is done with a standard foam gloss roller from screwfix. Orbital sander to rub it all down, rollered coat of special metals primer, three coats of rollered gloss enamel. However that was a few years ago now, it has a far more work worn appearance now.
But this was about 12months after completed:

raywin · Apr 9, 2020

dag019 said:
Nope, that is done with a standard foam gloss roller from screwfix. Orbital sander to rub it all down, rollered coat of special metals primer, three coats of rollered gloss enamel. However that was a few years ago now, it has a far more work worn appearance now.
But this was about 12months after completed:
View attachment 205036

Looks pretty neat to me

Gottschalk said:
Yeah that's a great idea, I'll do the same. I fitted a military bumper to mine with the center pin which was very useful at work and laning... the paint was gone in 12 months and looks tatty, so swapped to the original. I want to do my tow bar and associated brackets to, so I'll take your advice and get a pile ready!!

I had wondered about doing something similar, often wondered about doing the radius arms, they dont seem to stay painted for long.

Chalky. · Apr 9, 2020

raywin said:
I had wondered about doing something similar, often wondered about doing the radius arms, they dont seem to stay painted for long.

Now you're talking, that's a great idea! I replaced my chassis a few years ago with a marsland galvanised one, I left it unpainted as I quite like the smart, but utilitarian look. Radius arms front and rear would really suit! I've bought some standard galvanised shock turrets and spring seats , but am yet to fit them.
Love a bit of galvanised steel!!

dag019 · Apr 9, 2020

raywin said:
Looks pretty neat to me.

For a "working" defender I wouldn't bother getting it sprayed and would always do it yours elf with a roller. I didn't bother knocking out or filling any of the dents, and just preped and painted. I was very happy with the results, but a friend, who is into wasting his time detailing and mirror finishes etc. on his silly euroboxs, described it as a 20/20 paint job, looks good from 20feet or at 20mph. But for a used land rover that is off roaded, overlanded, filled with tools and wet dogs etc. that is fine. If it was school run poser land rover with every shine but unused accessory bolted to it, it is probably not a good enough quality finish.

raywin · Jun 28, 2020

I have the parts I ordered, but the top panel to caps seal has me wondering.
New one is a britpart seal and is quite different from the original, it looks like it has to be fitted on edge with the lip facing down to seat on the capping.
Anyone used these seals.

New one on left and original on the right
Would put the new one in the other way up, I.e. the lip sitting on the capping.

Replacing Body caps

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