Thread: Rust in 110's

I to am dealing with a rusty 110 at the moment, i dont think its that theres no non rusty 110s out there more so that people dont want to part with a good condition 110. With that being said i have seen plenty of rust free 110s, and no i dont think there more likely to rust then a patrol or cruiser, actualy less likely to rust due to being mainly aluminium, just that the kind of driving your average 110/defender driver does compared to a patrol or cruiser driver i.e more offroad/beach work compared to soccer mum type driving. I dont think i know of any 110 drivers that dont go offroad but i can definetly name alot of nissan/toyo owners that dont.

Rust in the 110s seems to be most usualy in the doors/door bottoms in all doors and in the firewall, Rust in the doors is easy enough to fix if you get it before they fall appart but the firewall is not so easy. I looked at a few that had chassis rust, which can be fix in alot of cases but unless you are planning on removing the body from the chassis for some reason its way to much hassle...

I have seen a few 110s with no rust - depends how well they are looked after and if they are left to sit with sand/mud in the nooks and crannies.

110 countys sold in very low numbers - and most people who have a good one don't want to sell it.

My 110 had apparently never been on the beach, but the guy lived inland from Ballina, so who knows. The chassis is fine, but the bottoms of 3 doors will need looking at at soon.

It isn't really a big deal to replace a section of door frame if that is all that needs doing. You just need to fold back the frame, chop off the rusted section, and weld in a new section - looks like new afterwards if done properly. If the landie is cheap enough, get a quote from a panel beater to fix the frames, and factor it into the price.

My 110 has only got a small amount on the floor near the drivers side door just behind the rubber seal. Must hold water there or something. I have checked out the other ones and no sign of rust.

I just sanded back to metal and fish oiled it. The guy I bought mine off was a fanatic with the fish oil. Makes it great when working on the red terror. Took me hours to find the body number and rub it back to read the bloody thing when I had to transfer the rego.

Must work OK as he used it on the beach a bit and apart from the drivers door no rust in the old girl.

The door design is out of the dark ages, and the aluminium sheeting creates some of the problem.

I can't speak for where the water gets in with a Defender door, but assuming it's the same as the 110 (County) then the main problem is the seal against the bottom of the glass. The design allows any water that succeeds in running down the window to pool in the bottom of the door, or to sit between the aluminium skin and steel frame. The rust can be cut out, but it's a bit of a hastle with the sheeting.

On the older (series) vehicles, rust was equally likely, but largely confined to the upper part of the door - because the window's didn't roll down. It's easier to deal with, esp in the front, by replacing the upper 1/2 of the door, which unbolts anyway.

All land rovers rust in the firewall. It's part of the brand mystique

As for comparisons - it isn't that easy to find a 30 year old Toyo or Nissan which isn't motheaten with rust, or had its panels replaced wholesale, possibly with fibreglass. The 15 year old one with no apparent rust is, IMHO, a ticking bomb. Of course, it may not go off while you own it.

That said, I have a 15 year old Pajero (yes, I do know what it means) which has no body rust I can find. It's a country car with logbooks - I bought it in a yard but know the original owner. But there are spots, like the sunroof frame, which are on their way out.

In short - I think there are design faults with the Defender/County doors but provided they are in reasonable condition and you keep an eye on them, they'll last well enough. And you can always replace with newer doors and onsell yours to some poor Series owner

Gents,

When I had my 110, I had rust in all doors (including the rear). I took it to Land Rover in Perth and complained as they were 'meant to be unrustable etc'. I complained as the 110 was bought by me after much consideration given to the advertisments by Land Rover regarding the vehicle. Land Rover took photos, investigated and replaced all doors without expense to myself. I had bought my 1993 Defender second hand in 1998.

I did take the doors without them being fitted to the vehicle (my plan was to hang onto them until really needed).

I have found that the movement of the stell frame within the alloy doors can errode them quickly as well. I did end up spraying the inside of my doors with a silicon based spray and anti-rust paint etc.

Hope this helps.

My 110, just reached its 21st, has virtually no rust anywhere. First owner was in Alice Springs, second owner briefly in Melbourne, hardly used it, and I live inland. I think that is the secret!

Water will get into any door with a windup window - the secret is to get it out - and all cars with windup windows have drains, and rust when the drains are blocked. The drains on the 110 are fairly easy to block, and in addition should have tabs to stop their being blocked by the bottom seal. I've never looked at how Defenders treat the problem so can't comment.

John

Every 110 ten that I looked at prior to buying the Disco had rust in doorframes, and some had rust in firewall like Clarkie's Grommet.

That was part of the reason we decided to steer clear of them in favour of a Disco (this time! )

Thanks for all the info guys.

Hopefully I'll be able to find a 110 that's been taken care of.

Cheers

Sean