Rear Crossmember or Chassis

[rmuller]

Hello All, I have just recently picked up a 1966 Series IIa named Olive ... The truck has switched hands a few times over the past years in the NJ area, but hasnt really been on the road in about 4 years or so, and not sure of the history before that.

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The truck runs pretty well actually, the previous owners have rebuilt the entire fuel system, and also added parabolic springs & OME shocks. Overall though, the truck ain't pretty... the frame has a hole near the rear spring mount, and the rear cross member is ugly... but I went over the whole frame with a hammer, and those seem to be the only rough/soft spots.

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Now... I have a galvanized chassis that came with the truck.. I'm debating if I should replace the whole chassis or just do the rear crossmember... I'm worried about getting a case of shipfitters disease and not get it done for a couple of years.

Anyways -- I do have a specific question -- In looking at the picture of the frame near the rear spring mount, would the rovers north Rear Crossmember w/ 18" (RNE404) be adequate for that? Does it have the replacement leaf spring mount already on it? Doing a quick measurement yesterday, it looks like the rust goes to about 12/13" from the rear crossmember.

Thanks all, and I look forward to Series ownership!

[o2batsea]

In pic #4 there is what appears to be a pretty significant body/frame issue. Looks like the tub is jacked and the crossmember is bent. I would strongly urge you to consider the frame swap since you have it on hand. Thing is that installing the weld in crossmember is almost as much hell as doing a frame swap, if you do it properly that is.
A frame swap will definitely reveal problems. I would budget about $5000 in funds and then a whole ton of weekends.

[SafeAirOne]

If I had a galvanized chassis waiting, I too would just swap it over. You're going to have to disassemble half the rover to do that rear crossmember repair properly anyhow (Don't cut 2 holes in the tub floor like the PO of my 109 did!)

The body forward of the tub is generally easy to remove anyway and once the body is off, the powertrain and bulkhead is easy to swap over. The wiring and plumbing will take a little time. Count on replacing lots of hardware and engine/transmission mounts, but if you're careful (and lucky), you might not need much else, provided your rover is in good shape otherwise and you can resist temptation and have the willpower to ignore a few things that you might see along the way.

[rmuller]

Other than the repair manuals, are there any good resources out there for doing the frame swap?

[SafeAirOne]

Other than the repair manuals, are there any good resources out there for doing the frame swap?

It's been done a million times. Just Google "Rover chassis swap".



Does this help?:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpTKTwEQksE

[rmuller]

Hahah... I was going to add "Other than the videos that show it done in 2 minutes".

[busboy]

Having just done a body off restoration I would say if you have the frame.. change it, you will have an almost new vehicle afterwards. I can say plan on new nuts and bolts for most things that don't matter too much like securing the tub to the frame, the seat base front floors. Plan a new exhaust it's cheap and easy to do with the body off and perhaps new brake lines will make things easier. You will most likely need new rubber overload stops, again all low cost things. Think about a 2 inch receiver hitch front and back. If you do the rear cross member change like I did plan on finding more rust and don't go for the short version as the frame around the rear spring hangars will be rotted also. get the longer version that includes the hangars. You will most likely find the wiring that runs inside the frame rail rotten and possibly shorting a new section of encased 7 wire trailer wire works wonders, I clamped mine to the outside of the frame instead. I have a sling for removing the top by myself but two people works fine for the top and bulkhead, most everything else can be handled by one person.

[rmuller]

Thank you for the info!

One good thing is that the exhaust and fuel system is all relatively new, so those are two things I don't have to worry about... but the rest of it........ yeah..

[I Leak Oil]

I'd seriously look at the front frame horns, all outriggers, all cross members and the main frame rails for rust. I mean REALLY evaluate them. If it all looks good then go ahead with the rear cross member. If you start finding more then chances are you'd just be throwing good money at bad by trying to fix it.

But, I disagree with my comrads in arms that a rear cross member replacement is almost as much work as a frame replacement.

[busboy]

Yeh, I forgot about the front frame horns, I did those some years back. One thing worth mentioning is most of the bolts will be rusted too badly so don't even try to undo them, tighten them instead and they will shear off, much easier. If I could have easily obtained a new frame I would have replaced mine and still might if the opportunity came along.

[o2batsea]

But, I disagree with my comrads in arms that a rear cross member replacement is almost as much work as a frame replacement.
Well, what I really mean is that if I had a fresh new galvy frame on hand and a janky 2A that had a bad rear cross member, I would just go and do the frame swap rather than patch the bad chassis. If I was gonna keep it, that is.
I will add that if the bulkhead proves to be full of rust, your best option for repair parts is Pegasus Parts in the UK. They have as close to genuine as you can get.

[disco2hse]

Do the chassis swap. Buy yourself a set of fasteners and fixings before you begin. Whole lot cheaper than and less stressful than getting to the final stages and realising you don't have the right size/type of fasteners or fixings.

http://www.landrover-parts.net/

[rmuller]

Do the chassis swap. Buy yourself a set of fasteners and fixings before you begin. Whole lot cheaper than and less stressful than getting to the final stages and realising you don't have the right size/type of fasteners or fixings.

http://www.landrover-parts.net/

While I've heard that the above link for bolts is an amazing set, does anyone know of a cheaper place for bolts, or even better, a list of needed bolts?

I did find this one kit: http://www.aseriesspares.co.uk/classic-car-fasteners/land-rover-hardware-sets/land-rover-series-ii-/-iia-full-chassis-/-body-off-hardware-set-over-1150-pieces/prod_1301.html ... while cheaper, i'm still wondering if it'll have everything I need, or if I'm better off just going to a local fastenal or something.

[disco2hse]

Consider the price of a compiled set that has the requisite number of fasteners and fittings versus sourcing and buying the individual components when you don't yet know the sizes or number required or what clips and other fittings you need.

Seems to me clear which is the cheaper option.

On the other hand, just buy a job lot of anything and make them fit. That'll be even cheaper.

[busboy]

Personally I recommend getting a generic bolt and lock nut in either UNF or UNC I just didn't see the point of using lock washers or trying to find BSF nuts and bolts. I did buy the factory floor screws but never used them, Slotted heads, give me a break it's not the stone age, I went with a 10mm hex head, although my floors are aluminum checker plate they are still quite slippery with snow on the boots so the hex head screws just give a little more grip. The cost of buying generic hardware was very low but worth the money in time saved.