Chassis Repair 101 "hopefully"

[esquivelia]

I'm about to replace all of the brake lines. Some of which "snake" around parts of the frame that need repair. I'm figuring on killing two birds with one stone. I know ther is a repair kit available for the forks of the chassis but I'm not sure how much material it will cover. My other question would be if the part that connects the leaf spring to the frame is available as a peplacement piece or not. Hopefully these pictures will help illustrate what I'm talking about.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

[esquivelia]

hopefully i did thid right...

[sven]

I hate to say this but your chassis looks a lot beyond repair. The replacement front horns only go up to the front crossmember. I dont even think they make a repair section for the rear leaf spring mounts.

[J!m]

Most of those patches can be fabricated by a local welder.

Here's the catch:

You really want to remove the body to avoid damage to the body from weld spatter and to allow the welder access all around the frame rails for the best possible repair. Once he starts prepping to weld, he will very likely find several other places as bad or worse than the photos you posted. The Rover frame rots from the inside out due to its fully boxed design, and I have seen frames with "shiny black paint" where only that shiny paint was offering any structural support. A screwdriver or drift penetrates the paper-thin rust with ease. Even if you csan't poke through the frame, this does not exclude serious structural damage inside the frame.

The best bet for longevity and safety is to do a frame-over. The price of the new (and galvanized) frame will be the same (if not less) than a competent and complete repair of your rusty frame. You still have to pull most of the body anyway, and the repaired frame will always be a repaired frame, and not a nice new galvanized frame. The new frame adds value to the truck should you ever decide to sell it later on as well.

It's a lot of work either way, as well as a considerable amount of money. Take the time and money and do it right in the first place. You will be glad you did, and have peace of mind for the next 30 years or so.

[Leslie]

I'll concur, I think yours is to the point that you need to do a chassis replacement, not just repairs.

[esquivelia]

Thanks for the input guys!! Looks like I have a winter project in my future.

[daveb]

I'll concur, I think yours is to the point that you need to do a chassis replacement, not just repairs.

sorry, but I would be hesitant to even drive that, judgiung by the state of the front chassis. if you were to hit something or something hit you, the chassis would fold up like paper mache with the likely result of the steering column or other large heavy objects suddenly trying to occupy the same space as the driver.

not to mention the possibility of the chassis just flat out breaking which given the right conditions could at the very least reult in some ruined pants and at the worst you could wreck or cause someone else to.

you should be thinking about whether or not that car should even be on the road...sorry...

dave in dc

[LaneRover]

Oh, so thats not Landrover's way of pre-engineering in 'future compliant' crumple zones?

[daveb]

Oh, so thats not Landrover's way of pre-engineering in 'future compliant' crumple zones?

no, the other car is your crumple zone!