Saving the defender

Made a bit more progress today:

• Front seat box out
  cut the brackets off the brush bars
  striped the front seats
  got the seat frames and other bits into a tub of 1/10 molasses
  degreased, degreased, degreased.

Given the rust, i'm going to POR15 the chassis, so a lot of attention is on getting that prepped at the moment. Also need to fabricate some body brackets, and replace the cross member under the rear of the cab - rust has won a few battles.

I'm not going to take the cab off the chassis, I'm planning to just work progressively down one side and jack the cab frame as I go.

Tomorrow is my welding course - its going to come in handy...

Hoping that next week I can get the POR15 on.

man, this is a big job...

interesting!

few observations...
1) dont park on a zebra crossing, youll never find the bugger!
2) I reckon free entry to thye Australia Zoo, theyll think youre from there :)
3) Best bit about a rescue, you can do whatever you want to this car and be guilt free!!

Are you keeping it white? (or white black white black white :D ?)

Methinks the forlorne look on the face of the apprentice is due to the fact they can see the enormity of the job!!

Have fun with it!

Hey Digger,

When I first saw it, i assumed it was from a zoo. Apparently a previous owner was a landscape gardener, but lets face it, it would not be out of place in an african safari.

Ontop of the rust, there is also the hail damage - so a strip and repaint is in order - it wont be white, but i havent settled on a colour yet.

This will never be the best looking 130 getting around as there are a few scars that are well beyond my skills, time or budget to repair. I will do my best though.

I figure that once I'm done, I'll have learned a lot and I'll have really enjoyed the process.

You're right too - this old girl was heading towards the scrap heap, so I'll do whatever I feel like :D

Sounds very similar story to my 130... Bought mine from a hippy who had plans of using it for traveling... When I went to inspect it there was still chickens in the tray.. Suspention was trashed, oil leaking everywhere, holes in the intercooler pipes and a transfer case lubricated with metal shavings ...but the price was right... 8 month rebuild and I've just did cape York via the Tele without so much as a hiccup..

Enjoy

Quite the project you have, respect.

All I would say is just be methodical in approach to restoration kind of like doing up a house. 1 area at a time and don't assume anything is fine until its checked, refurbed or replaced and move around the vehicle in stages. Seen some friends start something - realize its hard then move onto something else and so on, soon the whole vehicle was apart in some way and got incredibly daunting. Slow and steady wins the race.

Good luck and good on you! :p

Looks fine to me, I've done refurbs for customers starting with a lot worse.

The panels actually look pretty straight,most Defender have more battle scars than that!

Welcome and good luck, you will soon have the bug ......

Regards
Daz

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DazzaTD5

Looks fine to me, I've done refurbs for customers starting with a lot worse.

The panels actually look pretty straight,most Defender have more battle scars than that!

Welcome and good luck, you will soon have the bug ......

Regards
Daz

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Thanks Daz,

What do you guys do for dent removal ? There is a lot of hail damage on this truck, I was thinking about getting a glue puller, but then read that it can do more damage and warp the panels.

Any advice appreciated mate.

Completed 2 hour basic welding course, I am now ready to chop into the chassis , cut out rust and re-weld. what could possibly go wrong?

Wow....

I looked long and hard at that on Gumtree and having now seen it up close, I am glad it went to someone with far better restoration skills than me!!

Well done!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jr1983

Wow....

I looked long and hard at that on Gumtree and having now seen it up close, I am glad it went to someone with far better restoration skills than me!!

Well done!!

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Thanks JR,

This old girl is very tired. I haven't posted the worst pics, in order to preserve her modesty lol.

QLD rego does not require the same annual inspection as NSW - there is no way this defender would have passed NSW roadworthy anytime in the last 3-5 years.

Have to say though I'm really enjoying this as a project and Im hoping to make a lot of progress over the xmas break. I'll keep you all posted.