Ripped the Band Aid off! Build Thread and Advice Sought.

[PH4]

Gad, those wings have me drooling even with the effed up looking diamond tread stuff on them. You just cannot get them any where.

Just buy a new galvanized chassis. Fooling with the old one, no matter what you do to it, you'll always wonder if it is bad inside.
I went with new on mine for this exact reason. Originality is of absolutely no consequence as far as value is concerned.

I agree about the diamond tread. PO did it. I am trying to figure out the best way to get rid of it and replace. Any suggestions?

[crankin]

Is it not just laying on top of the wing and riveted or screwed down?

[PH4]

Is it not just laying on top of the wing and riveted or screwed down?

You are right. It is riveted down but I do not believe what is underneath is in good condition. Maybe if I took the tread plates and had aluminum plates the same guage cut out using the diamond plate as a template. Any thoughts or advice?

[o2batsea]

I'd take the tread panels off and see what you got. way easier to fill a few rivet holes with JB Weld than finding another wing.
To fill the holes:
use a countersink to SLIGHTLY chamfer the outside of the hole. Sand to bare metal both sides. Apply clear packing tape outside over the hole. Now, working from inside apply the JB weld so it fills the hole and leave a bit proud and wide so that there is some bit of "backing" for the epoxy. After it kicks, pull off the tape. You should have a very smooth fill that needs very little finish sanding.

For large areas, get the powdered aluminum filler from Jamestown Distributors and mix it with West System resin.

[Alaskan Rover]

Replace the chassis??? Are you nuts?

One replaces the chassis when tje original is in fundememtally bad shape...everything in your photos show a chassis that is in good shape. In fact there are probably MANY Series owners here who WISH their chassis was in that shape!!

A 'soft' chassis and you'll know it...your screwdriver will go RIGHT through it. Doesn't look like that to me.

Soft spots at tbe rear spring monts are VERY common, RN sells new spring hanger chassis members that can be welded in. I used two on my rover and they're still strong now.

Wire brush the frame.
, then use Extend, then after ALL the rust is off, coat with US military grade red two-part EPOXY PRIMER.

When I was stripping the paint off my door hinges and rear tire carrier, I used a chemical stripper..that strpper stripped the paint off easily, but didn't do anything to the primer at all. I was using military-only 2-part epoxy primer...strongest, most rugged primer out there!

[o2batsea]

Replacement of the chassis far more cost effective than repair/refurb. Not nuts at all.

[yorker]

Replacement of the chassis far more cost effective than repair/refurb. Not nuts at all.

Cost effective IF IT REALLY NEEDS IT. In the last 15 years I've seen at least 5 perfectly good chassis cut up and scrapped by different people because they felt they needed a galvanized chassis. It has gotten to the point where a new galvanized chassis is de rigueur. Sure it is nice to have but come on, not every LR automatically needs a brand new chassis.

[thixon]

I can't believe I'm doing this, but I just couldn't stand it. I'm posting on the Rovers North board again after swearing I'd never come back.

Yorker, I just couldn't let you hang.

To everyone who has argued to the contrary on this thread, Yorker is right:

GALVANIZING A CHASSIS THAT'S IN GOOD CONDITION IS NOT MORE EXPENSIVE THAN BUYING A NEW GALVANIZED CHASSIS!

[thixon]

Hell,

I go even further. Why not right?

I'll wager that I could take a chassis that needed some repair work, buy a cheap wire welder, the metal needed for repair, do the work, have it dipped when I'm done, and still come out cheaper than buying a brand new galvy chassis.

[jopa]

On my project 109...I had to source a frame. Good used frame was $300. Needed some minor repairs- and I made some mods for power steering and engine conversion...$100. Sand blasting everything- chassis, bulkhead, door frames (yes I peeled the skins from the doors), radiator panel, Rims, etc. came to $150. Hot dipping galvanizing- totat was $400...so add it all up- $950 and I had a galv frame set up for power steering, galv bulkhead, galv door and hood frames, regalv cappings, galv radiator panel, etc. I actually did several vehicles worth of cappings and misc items that I sold on ebay and to friends that paid for the galvanizing. $950 is less then one third of what a new frame costs. It takes a little longer then simply buying a new frame and begining to reassemble...however no matter which way one goes it all has to come apart anyhow. Plan it out and the down time is not much different. I rebuilt my axles while the chassis was being dipped- so when I got it back I had a roller in a few days.
Dipping a used repaired chassis is no more risky then Marsland/Designa/Richards dipping a newly assembled one...make sure there are no trapped air spaces/that the liquid molten zinc can enter and leave all cavities. You will have a little work cleaning it up afterwards- retaping holes, clean up slag/drips, but no big deal. It gives you peace of mind for longterm use...its not going to rot out from under you any time soon. John

[o2batsea]

I can't believe I'm doing this, but I just couldn't stand it. I'm posting on the Rovers North board again after swearing I'd never come back.

Yorker, I just couldn't let you hang.

To everyone who has argued to the contrary on this thread, Yorker is right:

GALVANIZING A CHASSIS THAT'S IN GOOD CONDITION IS NOT MORE EXPENSIVE THAN BUYING A NEW GALVANIZED CHASSIS!

Well, maybe. If you have the tools, the skills to use them, the time to do the work, the space to do the work, tolerant wives, girlfriends and neighbors, no kids, and the means or physical ability to hump around a chassis to the galvanizer's assuming there is one near by. Not everyone is like you in that regard. There is no question that it is easier to just have it delivered all done, ready to bolt up. Also there is no question whether you will have rot you didn't see or treat inside the frame rail. Not having to deal with refurbishing the chassis will always leapfrog the project ahead. In the grand scheme of things that may easily worth the three large for the chassis. It's called "spending wisely"
You are mistakenly not including the expense of your own time and effort, which is a substantial amount. If it takes you twenty hours of work to get the chassis done and you consider your time at a very conservative $40 an hour, plus the supplies, wear and tear on tools and other consumables...you're pretty much there.
What if you had spent all that chassis time on other areas that show more like the interior or painting the body?
Don't attack with broad statements that only apply to your own particular situation. If spending money on a new chassis makes sense for another person they should not be ridiculed or lambasted for that decision nor should any of us who offer that option as a suggestion.

[thixon]

And now I remember why I stopped posting here.

o2batsea,

1) two people can move a chassis.
2) its cheap to rent a Uhaul.
3)If he can't weld, professional welders with portable setups will actually go to him. Really, I'm not joking.
4)Everything I just mentioned above will cost a lot less than buying a new galvy chassis.
5)I have a new galvy chassis, so stop trying to make it seem as if I'm bashing you for buying your new galvy chassis.
6)A monkey can figure out if a frame is bad.
7)Trying to account for his labor hours is useless in this situation. Its a hobby, don't ruin it for us by trying to apply fiance/accounting to the equation.
8)Sweat equity = savings/money in his pocket.
9)You have no idea what the definition of the word "wisely" is. (Notice I removed the "spending" from the phrase)
10)I included 9) just to get a rise out of you.
11)He'd need money to spend on "other areas that show more like the interior and painting the body." Not dropping 3G's on a frame he doesn't need would save him a ton of cash to put into a fore mentioned "other areas." Again, sweat equity = $. He can save money if he fixes/galvanizes the frame he has.
12)I'll lambaste who I please, when I please.
13)Your JB coldweld repair advice is unsound
14)Posting on web boards is supposed to be fun. If someone doesn't agree with you, don't get angry or frustrated.

[albersj51]

Travis is dead-on here!

My frame had been repaired several times and needed more. In my opinion, it was more than I wanted to put into it. So, I bought I rust free, repair free chassis from Ike that required a little work (cutting off random things the PO welded on). Ike had it chem stripped and shipped it to me. Including shipping, the frame, chem stripping and galvanizing I came out about $1500 cheaper than a new chassis...so I used that towards a rust free/repair free bulkhead from Ike, which was also chem stripped and galvanized.

If you want to buy a new one, go for it; there's nothing wrong with doing that. However, in this particular instance, John's chassis is solid and requires little or no work. What would be the logic in scrapping it and spending $3K on a new one?

I can't believe I'm doing this, but I just couldn't stand it. I'm posting on the Rovers North board again after swearing I'd never come back.

Yorker, I just couldn't let you hang.

To everyone who has argued to the contrary on this thread, Yorker is right:

GALVANIZING A CHASSIS THAT'S IN GOOD CONDITION IS NOT MORE EXPENSIVE THAN BUYING A NEW GALVANIZED CHASSIS!

[stonefox]

You don't often get to hear lambaste used in a sentence.

[yorker]

A good friend of mine put it well "This whole attitude whereby a Series MUST have a galvanized frame is silly. Its also a sign of the modern disposable society. Why fix it when you can just bolt a new bit on? I view it as rather lazy."

If you have half a brain you can tell if a chassis is good or not with some reasonable inspection. Its not rocket science but it requires some thought and common sense.
The frames I mentioned I've seen scrapped were generally in good solid shape outside and the owners, once they cut them apart realized how well preserved they were inside. A good inspection and perhaps some minimal repairs would have easily made them as good as new. But this obsession with galvanized frames apparently compelled them to junk a perfectly good chassis and plunk down big bucks for a new shiny one. Frankly someone who junks a perfectly good chassis does deserve to be ridiculed or lambasted for that decision. Sure it takes time, skill, and thought to actually assess, refurbish, and restore what you have. Any damn fool can open a checkbook order a bunch of brand new parts and assemble them.