Thread: Aluminium Or Not?

Originally Posted by isuzurover

What rock have you been under??? - that was in all the press releases when the D1 came out - I did some tapping on the panels at a motorshow to verify.

To be honest I have not so much as laid a finger on a Freelander 1 or 2 I don't think.

The only person I knew directly who even owned a F1 sold it almost as soon as he bought it due to it's shocking fuel economy (V6) as he came from a 300Tdi Disco and then Td5 Disco. Can't remember what he went to after that.

Does it mean you can get hit in the guards and the dents just pop out? That would be handy.

Originally Posted by Utemad

Does it mean you can get hit in the guards and the dents just pop out? That would be handy.

Sure does. You can put your knee into one & they spring right out.

I gave a few TNT drivers a big scare when I did that when they first came out .

My brother-in-law bought himself an X-Trail.

That thing has plastic front guards too. They hit a massive roo, just out of Alice Springs, and apart from the damage to the front bumper, you wouldn't know. The guards just spring back out into shape.

pop up landrovers how cool would that be

You could stack 20 in a shipping container when they get delivered get one out give it a shake and bobs your uncle and fannys yeh aunt!!! LOL

Shame Mazda didn't do that!

They got a little too rigorous with 4,700 of their shipped cars...

I can tell yeah for a fact that the rear corner and quater are Al because mine is damaged RRRRRR

Originally Posted by p38arover

I thought it was due to problems with the deep draw when pressing the aluminium. Steel stretches more easily on deep pressings.

It is quote interesting, some of the late Phase 1 RRc had aluminium for the bonnet front reinforcing (the bit that has the post for the bonnet catch) while all the later ones were steel. How do I know - because the current bonnet on my 1985 came off an earlier car and I have to adjust the position of the bonnet catch post regularly when it bends.

I have also seen and held a rear tail lamp panel from a very early RRc made in aluminium which on most later models is steel.

Out of interest the early series Land Rovers were made from an aluminium/magnesium alloy called "Birmabright" this was supposedly Alloy grade 5251 although some others have suggested it was the 6061 alloy.

It seems that the aluminium used in later Defenders has either less magnesium or none at all and hence the very soft aluminium panels these cars seem to have.

Diana

Originally Posted by Frenchie

Isn't the D3 all steel?

Bonnet and rear tailgate doors are aluminium on a D3.

Chris