Thread: Saving the defender

Why don't you disassemble the body as well and check for rust between the panels. I am pretty sure the roof un screws as does the firewall and the rear window panel. This is where the rust will be hiding and the firewall is notorious for rusting as there is a hidden panel in the floor area. Not sure exactly where it is but someone who has repaired one will tell you.

Flush out the chassis with heaps of water before you start painting and make sure you coat the inside of it as well as the outside. POR15 has a silver paint, if you do the chassis in this it will look like a gal chassis :-)

Good luck and have fun learning about you new truck.

Hi 'CC' - It would be logical to do a complete body off rebuild, but I made the decision that to strip the body off the chassis, or take down the firewall etc was going to be a bridge too far given the limited time I have.

I've got this garage for about 6 weeks until the end of january - less than ideal for a truck in this condition, but I've stripped back to the images you can see.

The firewall does appear to be in ok conditon, with rust at the footwells that I can re weld with the floor and seat box removed.

I will flush the chassis with water and plan to treat the inside of the rails with a rust preventative - probably penetrol.

So as the rear crossmember was rusted out and the bolts all sheared, or had to be hit with the angle grinder to remove, the whole lot has to be replaced.

I was able to get a sheet of 3mm folded ( which, somehow I measured 15mm short- good one, genius ) but this close to xmas I could not get it fully fabricated- So i've seen this as a good chance to practice some metal work and welding.

I've used the old cross member as a template, drilled out and then filed the bolt holes. I've also got the angle grinder and a 1mm disc and cut out all the bits for the welding of the end caps and two main brackets that sit over the chassis.

Got the wire into my new welder ( with a trip back to bunnings to get a .9 nozzle - as the welder came with two .8's and a 1.0) and the next task will be the welding - hopefully I'll get to that before xmas.

Is the rear crossmember different on the SWB from the LWB?
Nathan.

Pretty sure it is the same Nathan. I probably could have hunted one from a wrecker and also Paddocks sell it as a replacement part - but i wanted to have a crack at it myself.

Looking good so far
Chris

Originally Posted by cafe latte

Looking good so far
Chris

Cheers Chris,

good luck on your search too mate.

Now that i have stripped this down, i've learnt that when I do the next one, I will strip it right back to chassis, sandblast it, galvanise it and do a complete nut and bolt rebuild from the ground up.

As it stands right now, I'm working in sections across the chassis prepping for the KBS coatings rust and chassis paint - with the cab still on its a slow process - ironic that I don't have the time to do a complete chassis strip.

Originally Posted by Andy130

Cheers Chris,

good luck on your search too mate.

Now that i have stripped this down, i've learnt that when I do the next one, I will strip it right back to chassis, sandblast it, galvanise it and do a complete nut and bolt rebuild from the ground up.

As it stands right now, I'm working in sections across the chassis prepping for the KBS coatings rust and chassis paint - with the cab still on its a slow process - ironic that I don't have the time to do a complete chassis strip.

Thanks Andy, I will be following this thread with interest as I want to restore mine whatever I get, I just hope it wont need quite as much work as yours
Have you decided what colour yet? I imagine it wont be stripy
Chris