Chassis Help

[Steve in Cairns]

I am planning the next step of my 2a project for when the wet season is finished andam going to start work on the chassis. My plan was to strip all thecomponents off, treat any rust and then repaint.
Ihave read a lot of posts on here and I was wondering what is the best approachto take? Any advice would be most welcome. Also should I do anythinginside the chassis whilst I have easy access??

My second problem is the rear cross member, there isn't one!!!!!
Itseems that sometime in the past the rear cross member has been removed and thetwo end of the chassis joined with some box section.

Should I order a new rear cross member with extensions from the UK ? Cost,quality, time!!!!

I do have a series 3 that I intend to use as a donor for other parts of the renovation,could I use the rear member from this?


I am very new to all of this so any help/advice would be greatly received.

Cheers
Steve

[Ozdunc]

Before you order anything, go over the whole chassis with a hammer and a screw driver and work out how much rust damage the chassis has.
Then work out whether you think you're capable and/or willing to weld it all up.
If you can weld its not that hard to sort out, but it can be quite confronting when you realise how much you need to do.

If you're going to replace the rear x-member and be replacing past the rear most spring hangers I'd be suggesting fabbing up a jig to make sure you get the alignment for the refit right prior to cutting off the old rusty part of the chassis.

As for cleaning you can get a drain cleaning attachment for a pressure washer which I found very handy to get the old crud out (you might need to drill some holes to get the head in, but if you're cutting of the back off the chassis you'll have plenty of room :)

[Mathernet]

Ditto all that
I had what appeared to be a small hole in my x member and I did manage to patch it but it was touch and go by the time I had removed all the crud (worse on the inside - a rust Tardis)
Check the dumb irons behind the bumper and fuel tank outriggers before you order anything from the uk as postage will be you worst enemy.

When replacing the cross member, the tub mounting holes and spring mounts are the areas that need to match up. There are a few manufacturers of replacement panels and often the more you spend the better they match. When I repaired mine it was with the tub off, exhaust off and axel out. I made for a much more comfortable experience as far as the welding and painting went.
If you are very lucky the 3 series x member may be ok. But it may just look ok and be quite rusted inside.
As suggested by Ozdunk I bought the drain attachment for my Gernie and it made a reasonable job of blasting the chassis interior. There is a large hole in the bottom of the chassis rail and it amazing how much you can get out. I have not yet done anything to treat the inside of the chassis and am torn between a wax or a converter followed by penetrol. There are not as many choices for chassis protection in Australia as there are in the uk.
One last thing - because I wanted to do the best job possible and have the car off the road for as little as possible I elected to do it in two stages. I have done the rear up to the bulk head, and next after the summer I will tackle the rest. This means wings off, engine out and I may replace the threadbare loom too.

Good luck

[JDNSW]

The only thing I have to add to the above advice is to be aware that the chassis number is on the LH back rear spring hanger - and if you replace this, you are likely to have issues with your registration people.

Series 3 crossmember is interchangeable, but as suggested, it may not be in good condition.

John

[Steve in Cairns]

Themore I am reading the less I think using the cross member off the series threeis a good idea, leaving me with two options.



1)Get someone to fabricate me one, concerned about needing an engineers report?and strength for towing.

2)Buying a new one with extensions, where from and how good are they?



Iwill be able to leave the rear spring hangers/chassis number in place of theexisting chassis looks good at that point.



Cheers

Steve

[JDNSW]

New crossmember will be available from most if not all of the independent Landrover suppliers, but most will probably have to order one in. I woulod be a bit surprised if a few phone calls did not find one already in the country though.

John

[NQSeriesRover]

Hi Steve,

I have 2 or 3 IIa's laying around that I'm happy to cut bits off. Some of the rear members may be okay or at least reasonably easy to recover. Let me know if you are interested and I'll check them out this weekend.

cheers,

matt

[Steve in Cairns]

I'll have a good look at the series 3 I have to see if it is usable, if not it would be great if you have something I could use. Hoping to get on with this job over the Easter break.