Is it Possible

[moodhair]

Is it possible to transplant a Series III 109 Station Wagon Body on a Military Series III 109?

[o2batsea]

If you weld on the correct outriggers and body mounts to the mil chassis, then yes.

[SalemRover]

Stop talking about my rover! I did this exact thing about 5 years ago. The 2nd row footwell requires several tabs that need welding to the frame, and there *may* be radio supports that need to be cut off to allow the tub to set properly. There are 2 supports that run along the outside of the chassis rail to support the 2nd row tub support. That should about do it.

[moodhair]

If you weld on the correct outriggers and body mounts to the mil chassis, then yes.

Now I know I need a new chassis - see below. Just a question of a qtr or a whole.

Rust and More Rust

Posted on May 29, 2013 by barry

What’s it about a pictures say a “thousand words” The back end of my Land rover at the moment.


Wondering if a new rear qtr chassis has been installed in the past. Not sure what a stock chassis looks like underneath. I’m thinking the weld there is hinting at a repair anyone?

Another view

A shock that has seen better days and some sort of cut??? in the metal?

More rust



The real winner the rear crossmember – shot ….

From underneath…



Make’s me want to go hum…
What was I thinking.. seriously.

[SalemRover]

Replacing a rear crossmember and some of the chassis rail is infinitely easier than swapping a chassis out. I would grab a ball peen hammer and do some percussive investigation of your frame. I am willing to bet your front frame horns are hiding some rust too, but even they are easily fixed (in a relative sense). Your shocks are looking a tad on the worn side. Cheer up, if we were all thinking rationally you'd be posting in Prius forum about how driving is such a bore and when will autopilot come about.

[o2batsea]

What you show appears to be surface rust. A little flaking but not too awful. As mentioned the rear cross member can be replaced without taking the truck apart. It doesn't look that bad tho.
I would suggest some quality time with an angle grinder fitted with a wire wheel. Get the loose stuff off and see what's left. When you have the crud stripped off, you can treat the chassis for rust and mop on some satin black.

[moodhair]

Here’s what I completed last weekend; (Click on the Pics for a slide show with bigger photos).

Day 1


I’ve already removed the bumper.





Wasn’t easy though.





The bolts came out easy on the left side above, but the right side had to be ground out. And this is what came out.





Yikes!!





Time to clean and grind rust and check for any gaping holes in the chassis.





Front chassis cleaned and painted with Rust Kill/Preventer. I found some bondo in the bottom left of the grill area – something else for later.

Final pics of Day 2 later.

[o2batsea]

OK here's the deal. You have to decide how in love you are with this thing. If you REALLY love it, then you will want to replace the chassis with a galvanized one. During the swap process, all manner of other issues will be revealed. This leads to what we call ship fitters syndrome. This is manifested in the desire to replace and repair every little thing which bogs down the whole process. Can end up spending thousands more than you planned and taking years instead of months. Payoff of course is a truck you will never ever part with that will last until you die.
If you don't love it that much, you can do what you are doing now and spot treat the rust with the idea that you only need it to not get worse until you sell it. This is probably what I would do in your position. Have the undersides looking good with all the rust treated, the chassis painted and the springs, shocks, axles refurbished. That will make potential buyers happy to see that all that has been done and will add significantly to the value.
Try to hit the areas on the top of the chassis.

[I Leak Oil]

Take the time to really check the fame out well. You can wire brush, scrape, sand the outside, slobber all the rust preventer and shiny paint you want on the outside but the real gremlins lay inside the frame. If it's flaking and rusting badly on the inside then your frame is on borrowed time. That frame has already had patches welded to it so you may or may not be OK depending on the quality of the work.

A rear cross member is one thing but I don't think a 1/4" chassis is worth the effort in my opinion.

[o2batsea]

Yep a wee tiny camera with LED lighting shoved into the frame rail would be on my to-do list.