Thread: Hi All, have I bought a yellow citris fruit?

With all that rust would that not that be a roadworthy violation?
John

correct.

unless the inspector didnt find it..

I dont regret buying the Landy, past my first defender today gave him the wave... special moment that!

I'm prepared to put the hard yards into it, it will just be a question of how I go about it. Fold up my own sheet and weld it in, or buy a replacement panel from the wreckers. Dont really want to tackle replacing the entire fire wall. I think I can put a stop to it, by fixing whats there and monitoring it.

Paid less than 9K for the car and with the extras I think it was a good deal. I've bought some fish oil so i'll get that into any areas prone to rust.

Hi Paul, this is the 3rd time I've typed this. Get near the end and then hit the wrong button; damn!. I reckon your buy sounds quite good! By the time you finish reading this you'll feel better. I didn't want a project car but in August I paid $13k for my first Def; a 95 110 300TDi with 200k on the clock. Extras were, big steel roof rack (that upon closer inspection either needs ditching or some serious cutting and rewelding), alum full length side steps, big alum bull bar, old spot lights, recovery hook and obviously tow bar. Wheels are 31 x 10.5 R15 Sunraysia's. Circumference is too small giving lower economy and wrong speedo reading. Replacing those. It also came with RUST! Some in the front passenger footwell and some bad rust along the bottom of the front passenger door and other doors showing stains. At first I panicked but have consoled myself with the thought I can cut it out faster than it can form. As the guys say it is repairable. I was planning on cutting it out and as I don't yet have a mig welder riveting (with good quality rivets ) a piece of bent gal steel in place (with some sealant to fill the gaps) for both the floor and doors. Also little bits of alum corrosion here and there. Cheap Defs in Sydney are like hen's teeth.
Oh, I've also spent $1100 (much to the disgust of the Minister of War) on a new timing belt kit ($450 fitted), new ball joint to rear diff ($130 ish fitted), new booster pump for brakes ($400 ish fitted), new overflow bottle for radiator ($75 ish fitted) and other assorted bits and pieces. Still need new front brake disks, pads and hub seals ($250 supply only on ebay), shocks ($$$$), probably steering damper and probably other suspension bushes and sound proofing. And I also still have the clunk so that'll probably be the rear axles and hubs considering I've done the ball joint, hopefully not the diff, t/case or g/box; skill level with the clutch to reduce the clunk has risen though! Feeling better????
A workmate has a 2000 Disco and he said they become like family pets. We grow to love them despite the fact they bite us occasionally. So I know exactly how you're feeling but you can do it. And yeah, hey the WAVE - cool eh? I'm obviously older than you; we used to do it in Kombis in the 1970's. It's an elitist cult club we're in. Enjoy
cheers Gerald

Paul good news

Give me a call at work tomorrow but leave it until after lunch.

I got in contact with Karcraft, however they do not have foot wells for defender's only series vintage.. I'm thinking it may be worth my while just buying some 2mm plate, cut out the rust and fab up kick plate myself rather than trying to buy a replacement Defender one.
Alternatively cut out the rust and do all the prep work before taking it the panel shop to get done.
What are your thoughts on fabing up a kick plate as opposed to trying to buy a replacement one?

Did take a bit more of the matting off and found a gremlin in the bottom of the door frame
In the process of removing the rusted bolts and screws holding the floor pan down, had to use the hacksaw to cut a groove in the heads to get them out.
Attached are some pics of the rust up against the trans tunnel and also the lower portion of the door support.
Also a pic of the passenger side, no way near as bad. will still clean it up and put a stop to it though.

From the photos I'd invest in a mig welder and get stuck into doing it myself. A panel beater will cost a fortune and it's all going to be covered up anyway so doesn't have to look too pretty. Have you seen the photos (County firewall and pillar rust) in the tutorial section showing pretty much the same problem? It's the pillar that's of real concern. The floor panel should really be a doddle cos as far as I'm aware it's not taking any real loads ( I stand to be corrected )
cheers gerald

Had this with a '96 defender and symptoms started on an '00 model. On the '96 just cut out the bad bits and weld in a good bit. I think we used 3 mm and an arc welder. Car is a lego set what are you worried about?! Seriously though it is a fairly straightforward repair and you don't notice it. Two things though - first the rubber soundproofing mat that lies against the firewall? Ditch it. The thing has a water absorbent foam backing lying against the firewall and just lies there providing moisture long after the rain has gone. Second thing is that it may be likely from the damage that your windscreen does not fit tightly on the rubber between the screen and the firewall hence the wet. Whilst you are at it see if that needs the screen brackets loosened, the roof pushed down (possibly with a new rubber strip) against the bulkhead and the windcreen brackets tightened up by your nearest gorilla...