Series III Body Work

[pyounts]

Does anyone know of anyone experienced in LR Series body work in NC? Preferably between Charlotte and Greensboro, NC.

[thixon]

What kind of body work? Most body shops should be able to handle anything you throw at them, but you might not want to pay what they'll ask to do it.

[pyounts]

I admit I'm new to these vehicles, but in reading about the etching process, dealing with the pop rivets and the annealing - it just seemed to me you would want someone who had dealt with these types of vehicles before. The SIII I have was painted befoe I got it, but there are a few cracks where it looks like they did something wrong.

[thixon]

When you say cracks, do you mean in the aluminum body panels? Or, do you mean cracks in the paint surface. If you mean cracks in the aluminum body panels, send me some photos. Depending on where/how big/etc. you might just be better off buying a new panel.

[pyounts]

No, it is just in the paint surface. But the color is a really glossy hunter green that shows every dent in the body. Most panels I could live with just fine, but the drivers door fits poorly and would probably need replacing. I think it has just been slammed shut so many times that it no longer matches the slight curve of the body. For some reason both side doors have waves in the top metal above the window. I was thinking of going back to the original light blue I see in the bed and under the hood.

[thixon]

Some of what you're describing sounds pretty normal. You're right about the dark color. It will show every imperfection in the body. I always laugh when I see black defenders. Marine blue is a better color all around on a rover if small imperfections bug you. It definately won't show dings and dents off as much.

If you're dead set on painting it, and you really want it to look good, then I'd just buy new door bottoms before you take it to the paint shop. In the grand scheme of things, they are'nt that expensive (at least not when compared to having the whole truck painted at a shop). Not knowing you're budget, your abilities, or your tastes, its tough for me to make a really good recomedation to you. It just isn't worth making it perfect, unless you have deep pockets, and don't care how much you sink into it. Are you willing to do some dissasembly before taking to the painter?

[pyounts]

Yeah, I don't mind getting it ready for them. I just want to make sure they can do the job.

[SafeAirOne]

Hmmm. It almost looks like the sort of mis-alignment where you could make an "adjustment" by separating the door halves and gently pulling on the bottom of the door at the same time you're pushing on the glav capstrip on the top. Of course, this is what I'd do on my blue-collar rover. If you have a white-collar rover, you might buy a new door, have it professionally installed, and get it painted--It all depends on your wants, needs and wallet thickness.

[Leslie]

As the hinges don't have a lot of play, it looks like your bulkhead might be leaning back a hair...

Handle and key cylinder didn't get masked when sprayed.....


You know, I'd be half-tempted to say, leave it alone, let the paint age and patina out, and not worry about it.....

[pyounts]

I really think they cut some corners on the paint job. The door really drives me crazy though. There is some play in the latch on it too and it's got a nice rattle when you drive it.

[BellaCoola]

You should be able to adjust the striker plate as there is a fair amount of forward and back movement. Simple to do, just loosen the two bolts, close the door to get it snug, then tighten the bolts up.

Sometimes it may be easier if you have a helper push on the door as you tighten up the striker plate to ensure a snug, rattle free fit.

As far as the paint goes, unless you plan on only running it on the road, wait until you have some fun offroading before painting. I'd also recomend re-galvanizing the steel bits if you are going for a resto.

Cheers

[pyounts]

Thanks for the info. I'll give it a shot. I really have no idea how you would go about re-galvanizing the steel parts though. Is that something that you would have to send away to get done?

[Leslie]

Well..... most people take stuff to a galvanizer, so yeah, if you don't have one close by, you'd have to send it off.... I'd be more comfortable delivering it in person, but....

I suppose you *could* make a heated tank, buy a lot of zinc and do it yourself, but, it'd be cheaper by far to have it done, I think.

[thixon]

I suppose you *could* make a heated tank, buy a lot of zinc and do it yourself, but, it'd be cheaper by far to have it done, I think.

As cool as it would sound to say "hey, I did the regalv myself" I just can't help wondering what I'd do with that big leftover chunk of zinc. Plus, my wife would kill me (or divorce me, which would be worse than death).

[greenmeanie]

As cool as it would sound to say "hey, I did the regalv myself" I just can't help wondering what I'd do with that big leftover chunk of zinc. Plus, my wife would kill me (or divorce me, which would be worse than death).

How about a sacrificial anode for every steel thing you own. I can see it tucked away under a bench in the garage with ground straps to cars, bikes, boats, tool chest, cutlery drawer, hot water tank, bed frames um.....nothing in your house will ever rust again. Your wife will be happy because the time you would have spent rust proofing is now free for other projects on the list.

Back home in Glasgow I lived along the road from a retired, widowed metalurgist who had a lathe down the center of what had been the dining room and a metal furnace in the living room. He loved the challenge of making special tools for us to work on the vehicles. Casting and heat treats were no problem. I was quite suprised that he never burned the place to the ground.

Cheers
Gregor

[thixon]

How about a sacrificial anode for every steel thing you own. I can see it tucked away under a bench in the garage with ground straps to cars, bikes, boats, tool chest, cutlery drawer, hot water tank, bed frames

There's an idea! The grounding straps, if properly attached, could also act as a theft deterent for various things I own. I might be able to sell this to the wife.....

[pyounts]

I guess that was a stupid question. I don't really think we have a local galvanizing shop though.

[LaneRover]

I guess that was a stupid question. I don't really think we have a local galvanizing shop though.

Not a stupid question, people just having some fun with the answering!

If your galvanized stuff is in good condition you can easily just leave it even if you do take everything apart to repaint. But! If you get one piece galvanized and leave the rest it will look a bit weird and out of place until the new galvanized bits 'calm down' a bit.

Brent

[thixon]

I guess that was a stupid question. I don't really think we have a local galvanizing shop though.

Not a stupid question. Gregor and I were just having some fun with the idea of having your own garage style galvanizing plant.

My guess is, he thought, at least for a second, "how can I pull it off". I know I did!
Good luck.

[greenmeanie]

It's a long slow day making casting drawings. After staring at the CAD box for this long I couldn't give a sensible answer if I was paid.

Now I was looking at a house with an RV garage up in Portland. Puting the tank in wouldn't be too difficult, maybe get the local Rover club to chip in for the zinc and run a communal bath? Explaining the heating bills each month might be interesting.

On a more seroius note, for those of a marine nature, has anyone any idea how long a block of zinc (call it a 6"x6"x1") would last if hooked up to a truck as a cheap and perhaps temporary alternative to galvy?

Cheers
Gregor

[pyounts]

The galvanized metal looks fairly good. However for some reason the fellow before me painted the back corners. It painted pretty well though the galvanized looks better to me. I'm not sure if I can find replacement parts for them or would be better taking the paint off and seeing what is underneath.

[thixon]

On a more seroius note, for those of a marine nature, has anyone any idea how long a block of zinc (call it a 6"x6"x1") would last if hooked up to a truck as a cheap and perhaps temporary alternative to galvy?

Cheers
Gregor

I don't know how accurate this is, but I asked a boat captain friend of mine that fishes for a living. Not "deadliest catch" kind of fishing, but more like overpaid pushy rich guy on a fishing trip type fishing. That being said, this may not be very accurate.

He says its all about surface area. The rule of thumb for anode surface area is about 3% of the total surface area of the metal being protected. using this rule, he changes out the anodes yearly. At the end of this cycle, the anode has lost about half its mass. Now, I was a little shocked when I got this answer. I'm not used to hearing much out of his mouth other than explitaves, and requests for more beer. I don't take my wife around this guy.

When I asked him how long he thought a zinc anode would last on my rover when hooked up to various steel items, he paused for about 15 seconds, and then said the following: "a long a$$ time unless you plan on driving it in the ocean."

So Gregor, there's your answer. A 6"x6"x1" zinc anode should last "a long a$$ time" when used to stave off corrosion on your rover. It always helps to consult a pro. And by pro I mean drunk, overwieght, crass, uneducated fishing yacht captian.

[Eric W S]

The galvanized metal looks fairly good. However for some reason the fellow before me painted the back corners. It painted pretty well though the galvanized looks better to me. I'm not sure if I can find replacement parts for them or would be better taking the paint off and seeing what is underneath.

Our hosts have these peices. Not too bad. Check the catalog.

EwS

[SafeAirOne]

The galvanized metal looks fairly good. However for some reason the fellow before me painted the back corners. It painted pretty well though the galvanized looks better to me. I'm not sure if I can find replacement parts for them or would be better taking the paint off and seeing what is underneath.

Don't worry--If it's galvanized under the paint, chances are you'll see the galvanizing again--Paint doesn't stick well to the galvanized bits.

As for where to get something galvanized, I'd check with my local steel supplier/metal fabrication shop. The larger ones will have a place that does galvanizing for them. I was going to use a place that had a truck from the galvanizer come by every few weeks and pick up/drop off their stuff. As I recall, they said they'd be happy to throw my stuff in with thiers and would charge me by weight. I think the galv shop was about 100mi away from the metal fab place.

[Eric W S]

[quote=SafeAirOne]Don't worry--If it's galvanized under the paint, chances are you'll see the galvanizing again--Paint doesn't stick well to the galvanized bits.

[quote]

Depends how it was painted. You can get real good adhesion to Galvy with the right product.

[SafeAirOne]

Depends how it was painted. You can get real good adhesion to Galvy with the right product.

Let me rephrase that. If my Rover's previous owner painted your galvanizing, you'll be seeing the galvanizing again. Refer to my black and galvanized front bumper and silver/galv windshield frame.

[SafeAirOne]

Here's a tidbit I have on my "favorites" list for some reason....It's a "Listing of North American Post-Fabrication Hot Dip Galvanizers". Quite fascinating...a real suspense-packed page-turner:

http://www.ovlr.ca/jberg/galvan.pdf

Surely there must be a galvanizer in your neck of the woods...