Been there with the rusty Defender, welder, career, house projects, young kids, etc. If your goal is to work on your LR for enjoyment, go for it. If your goal is to enjoy a Defender with your family, sell it to someone who IS in the life situation to make it better, and buy one that's solid and ready to use.
I welded my front outriggers with a stick welder which is a much cheaper option. I now own an Oxford Migmaker 180 which is inside your budget of 800. If you order from Oxford themselves you can get it set up for flux core (which requires a positive earth). I've managed to do invisible repairs on the bulkhead using gasless but I'm yet to do the chassis with the MIG. My main advice is get a welder, any welder and then as much scrap steel as you can afford and practice for HOURS before you touch your beloved landrover. Blowing through the metal is inevitable as a newbie, knowing how to fix it is the key! Good luck!
Do it once, do it right. Invest in decent tools. Once you have the welder, you can tackle all sorts of jobs. I often balk at the prices of tools, but if it does the job and you learn something through the process, all the better for you! I do everything myself and have learned so much. With welding just get loads of scrap and practice. Stitch welding is a piece of cake, but you'll need to see if that will be strong enough for what you need. LOADS of youtube videos on welding so plenty learning opportunities :)
I’m sure we’ve had many discussions on LR4x4 already (I’m snagger). I think you already recognises the reality and are facing it with whatever you can do now, but by trying to deal with some of the issues immediately, you are greatly increasing the work and cost of the project over all by having to repeat again later. I recognise is because I allowed a lot of specification creep when I rebuilt mine so that I wouldn’t have to take things apart again later, too easily tempted by the “it makes sense to add this or mod that while I’m at it” logic. Without seeing the fine details, I don’t know how bad your chassis is, but replacing the sills and B/C pillars is a crucial job to the vehicle’s road worthiness - I don’t think it’s road worth at the moment because of the detached C pillar. But it’s not worth doing that job until you have decided on which tub to go with, because the river and fixing holes will be in slightly different locations and you’ll end up with drilled holes all over the new C pillars if you switch tubs later. If you want to do this right, I think you need to bite the bullet and take the car off the road and start saving hard to buy all the big bits you need. If you think you can get good results and save costs by repairing rather than replacing the chassis, then good, but as you mentioned, you have to factor in the costs of repairs, a guy who can weld if you’re not sure about your own skills, and the finishing/protection of the completed chassis. As for the tub, do you really need those rear seats? How many in your family? If there are five of you, I’d just fix the old tub. The Puma rear seats are far better than the sideways facing type, but how often do you really think you’d use them? Buy the time you get the tub, seats and all the fixings, you’d be close to the price of a new chassis, and that has to be more beneficial. It’s tough balancing a rebuild with bringing up kids. The trick is deciding what you need, rather than good and justifiable but ultimately unnecessary mods. For what it’s worth, I rebuilt my 109 as a six seater, the rear most seats being those folding Exmoor type. I’d had those for a while prior, and didn’t like them much either, so I used four Defender front seats and relegated the Exmoor fold ups from second to third row. In three years they got used once to go out to dinner, but we had a second car and driver available, so that wasn’t entirely needed either. So I took them out and sold them. I can imagine Puma rear seats getting little more use in your 110 unless there are more than five of you, and those Puma seats ruin the load carrying ability anyway. Good luck with it, though, and well done for at least getting some of the mechanical jobs done in the interim.
Can’t go wrong with an rtech mig gas welder the 180amp version is well worth the money. If you need any info give me a shout. If you want to lend mine after the lock down let me know. It’s really about getting your settings correct, get some scraps of the same thickness and just practice.
I purchased a mug off ebay 40quid and clocked it to run gasless wire cost 7quid plus a role of wire which doesn't seem to go rusty like normal gased .6 wire its swings and roundabouts
My rear axle brackets were looking a bit err... not good, i bought a parweld arc welder (110/240v) and some brackets, the welder was an easy purchase since most of my work is now site based although i ended up swapping the axle out for a td5 salisbury since the 1997 parts did not fit. Welding is probably ok if you are working with decent metal, the arc welder will either just melt through plate or won't weld - its depends on whats left to work with.
I worked for a electric bike start up a while back, had many roles. They got me welding with a cheep stick welder to make up some benches a few jigs ect. My welding was sh*t to start with, boss didn't care said keep practising. I was surprised how far my welding skills got even after a week and a few projects. Get a stick and make a few things (like a welding cart) as practice then start on the car. The other option is do it once and do it right, take the car off the road and get a run around, and put the gav chassis in... I've seen some amazing work even in small sheds and bad work stations.
My opinion for what its worth - If you are in for the long haul and you are planning on more (or a BIG) projects, buy a good MIG welder (GAS!) if it gets windy, just buy a BIG fecking bottle of gas TURN IT UP! Learn to weld, via RUclips, don't do a college course (utter crap) For one project, and a few jobs, find a bloody good welder, have a chat on expectations. I had a chap weld up my crossmember, did a damn nice job, better than I could done after welding up two Minis and a college TIG course. If you weld yourself, prepare to be disappointed, frustrated, and concerned on quality, but when you have it nailed, there will be no stopping you.
I recommended taking a course to him but you might be right on this one. I grew up in ranching country and went to an Ag school and learned to weld from guys who forgot more about welding than I will ever know. That, and if they didn't like what you did they would just chuck it in the scrap bin, tell you how you F'd it up and make you do it over again!
My local land rover repair shop quoted me the thick end of a thousand pounds to replace the two bulkhead outriggers along with a couple of patches on the rear cross member. Like you I was unsure what to do but eventually bought a good second hand 250amp mig welder from Ebay. It cost £450 but more than paid for itself during the jobs I mentioned. I learned to weld ( not brilliantly) and yes it took the fat end of a week. In the four years since I've welded my VW polo and countless other little jobs.
I've got a b reg csw was v8 now getting a galvanized chassis then breaking my 300tdi discovery I'm using for engine gearbox and front axle use the defender rear axle. Discovery has all the correction arms and lift kit few extra bits needed but should be good new fuel tank just need to get parts needed got another year hopefully left rust wise in the discovery then all set for my rebuild project
I've tried gasless and it was pretty bad, I've got a cheap second hand gas mig now which is much better but still not ideal. I guess that's what you pay for. One day I'll upgrade but the cheap one kind of works for all the basic jobs I've asked of it. I feel your pain, I need a new rear crossmember fitted to my 110 but its not legal to do the weld the chassis yourself here in Norway, all the garages near me are useless which is frustrating.
@@lrworkshop Yep it is, especially when its £100 + vat per hour for any work you want done. Its very fortunate that I can do most of things of the Defender. I thought about a Discovery 3 recently but have realised I'd never be able to afford the repair bill!
My 2 cents worth. For probably 10 years I welded patches on my chassis for every MOT with a very cheap gas less welder. Then finally I replaced the chassis. Wish I had replaced it years earlier. If you are planning other major jobs, rear tub replacement etc, you need a good base to work from and so my advice is forget everything else you main priority for your time and money is to do the chassis.
@@lrworkshop You can always learn to weld after your chassis replacement. After all there will be plenty of things to make for you new improved defender. So if you do decide to learn to weld first don't waste money on a cheap welder, you will never get results you are happy with.
I’m in a similar position and about to buy my first welder (having only used three phase transformer based industrial units years ago during my apprenticeship). I am also unsure what to buy but probably leaning towards an inverter mig due to there size. I’ve spent a fair bit of time looking through the ‘buying a welder’ section on the migwelding uk forum and would recommend you taking a look there as there are many people buying welders for land rovers/car body repair for the first time. From what I’ve read your budget should get you a decent transformer gas mig such as a portamig or oxford (although they are fairly large so not great if you are really tight on storage or want portability). I believe Clarke do a half decent gas/Gas-Less mig which people often buy when machine mart run there vat free discount at various times throughout the year, they seem popular for car body repair. Stepping up from a transformer based unit are the inverter/synergic mig machines that are more compact. I think something along the lines of the portamig would get you all set up for around £800 (their supposed to be reliable as they are transformer based). I know a friend who bought a Gas-Less mig for around £100 and he struggled to weld sills on an mx5. I believe Gas-Less tends to run hotter which can make it harder to weld thin sheet with. I’m yet to purchase my welder so I’m only repeating stuff I’ve pick up from the forums but I think spending the money on a good welder and learning the skill is definitely the way to go.
I'll second the R-Tech vote ... I've had a go of my mates who uses his on a working canal boat. It beats my old MAC Tools 160 without any issue and that wasn't a cheap machine having lincoln internals. But if you want an honest view of repairing your tub you'll have to give me a shout. Mines upside down on the floor right now having just been through a lot to repair it and it's not finished yet. The YRM tdci panels are on the list as well. Might give you an idea of what might be best...
i spent £90 on a gas less welder but made sure i got one with infinite adjustment on voltage and wire speed it makes a mess once youve welded and not nearly as easy as good mig but im doing disco 1 body so plently of rust to practice with eventually you get the settings right get it high up on the amps and get really good penetration and welds i am confident in, ive found welding chassis to be much easier over body panels because the metal is so much thicker so you can put more power and time into the welds and get them to come out pretty and strong
Going through a similar problems I think I'm 18 months from where you are but i need to get my butt in gear now and fix it before Im left with crumbs. Ive been looking at welding up and patching myself recently and ive come to the conclusion if the patches are small enough the cycle rate of a cheapo gasless can do the job, It wont be pretty as you say but your buying time. My question to you is how come your not swapping the chassis for your Galv one? or have i missed your explanation?
Yeah I always thought i'd get round to a rebuild before it totally crumbled! I talk about not doing the rebuild around 8:30 in the video, but it's essentially time and the possibility of moving the next year
Don't know much about welding but welders always ask have you applied waxoil recently. Maybe someone could let us know why and possible hold off on waxing areas you need to weld.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, decent migs, Clarke's 135 amp 150 amp, get above that then may need new high amp socket supply, but it's not the welding machine what counts,it's the person behind the torch, that's what you pay for especially when it's structural. Think hard about this.
If you're in a decent position financially, Do yourself a huge favour whilst it's apart-anything that is steel-replace with either brand new galvanised versions of the ones that you've removed(mid cross members/rear tub floor supports etc.) or refurbished galvanised versions that you can pick up from the next load of autojumbles-whenever they re-start again that is?, If you can find a shotblasting service locally to you and somewhere like I did for getting your own steel parts galvanised after shot blasting this will not only be a lot cheaper but you have some element of control of the quality of stuff being reused, the galvanising place I used was Joseph Ash down in south wales and they did 154 items dipped in Galv-including the bulkhead for £120.00 inc VAT, turnaround was 24-48 hrs depending on how much work they had on. HTH.
All ways buy the best tools you can afford, look after them and they will last and you will get better value for money. If you are welding outside put a sheet of plywood up or something to shield the weld and minimise the lose of the the shielding gas so you can make a good weld
Hear him! Hear him! Buy once, cry once. I have tools in my box I use every time I open it that I have had for almost 50 years. And some that I inherited and still use are a great deal older than that!
No, no, NO!, on the gasless welder. It is very hard to weld over flux-cored welding with proper welding. Fixing your gasless welds later will be a PITA. You don't want to mix them. The best choice (as someone else here stated) is a mate who can weld and give you the mate rate. If you invest in a welder, get a decent one. And take a class. You will get a lot out of it. Learning to weld on a flat surface is one thing, upside down and verticle on knackered chassis in your drive is something completely different :-0 Another option regarding workspace is to rent/share a workshop. That's what I do. I split a decent sized workshop with a mate of mine on an old industrial estate. We can both keep our 110's in it (a little tight, but doable), plus tools, welder, air compressor and storage shelves. My half is 250 quid a month + 1/2 the electric. I had a shop on a local farm for 15 years and didn't even have to pay the electricity. BONUS; when you have a shop that's nearish (not your house but not too far away) you don't get any interruptions from the other half asking if you can (insert house chore here) while you are up to your elbows in gearbox. Something to think about... Best of luck!
Gas less mugs are terrible, gassed mig is far easier and better welds but others will disagree. Vehicle isn’t end of life but definitely needs money and work, Galveston chassis is a good start for sure. All part of the fun of owning a Landy
I work as a boilermaker and those cheap flux core welders are a pos. I have a little dc 160 mig at home. Happy with it was 170 ish quid and can be used as a stick welder as well
Ok. So I was quoted £1300 to do both my front door bottoms. So I bit the bullet and got some yrm frames for £19 a pop, then bought a Clarke 135TE Gas MIG kit from machine mart. Got some co2 argon mix gas, better mask and a better regulator from eBay (it's also very easy to upgrade in the future if you want to put it on a trolley and run bigger gas bottles). I think it's a happy compromise. And with no previous welding experience I did a few test runs then just got it done. I'd say don't bother with gasless. Check out my efforts on Instagram, maybe I'll tag you!
@@lrworkshop I've got the other side to do yet, but it needs the middle section replacing as well. Then the rear tub capping! Look forward to seeing what you decide on 👍
@@lrworkshop I'm watching many of your videos, but out of sequence 😂, I've now subscribed and will follow the journey of your Defender, keep up the good work chap 👍
I would keep the truck running with as little work as possible and think about replacing the chassis when the move comes about. Buy a no gas / gas welder and spend a lot of time practising before you attempt to do something serious. These cheap welders are fine but you really must get your head around the technique first. Anyone can join two bits of metal together but their not welders. Something like a MIG 130EN from Machine Mart would probably do the job. But remember practice makes perfect, welding surfaces must be clean. Buy a good electronic welding headshield so you can see what your doing. When you get your new chassis, spend twice as long washing the mud off it as you do on the rest of the truck. It will out last, you.
I am no expert, and bought a second hand welder to repair my foot wells a couple of years ago. Worked ok. But, I wish I would have gone for a bette welder. Welding is not easy, and working with an half descent machine will not make it any easier... I still have not come around buying a better welder thou...
@@lrworkshop just plan it or can you borrow one.. I bought a compressor and trolley Jack but did not need welder as I have no rust just new parts..but when finished going to sell compressor as I won't really need it when finished defender. But practice welding first on scrap metal first that's how I learnt.
£800 for a welder is half the price of a new chassis! Borrow a stick welder from a friend if you can and see how you progress. You want to keep costs to a minimum. You might find as you start to repair, the chassis is much worse than anticipated. ☹️
Been there with the rusty Defender, welder, career, house projects, young kids, etc. If your goal is to work on your LR for enjoyment, go for it. If your goal is to enjoy a Defender with your family, sell it to someone who IS in the life situation to make it better, and buy one that's solid and ready to use.
I am rebuilding mine now and it does take a long time to build back up, But I am glad i did it.
My defender 90 300tdi looks stunning.
I welded my front outriggers with a stick welder which is a much cheaper option. I now own an Oxford Migmaker 180 which is inside your budget of 800. If you order from Oxford themselves you can get it set up for flux core (which requires a positive earth). I've managed to do invisible repairs on the bulkhead using gasless but I'm yet to do the chassis with the MIG. My main advice is get a welder, any welder and then as much scrap steel as you can afford and practice for HOURS before you touch your beloved landrover. Blowing through the metal is inevitable as a newbie, knowing how to fix it is the key! Good luck!
Life with a Landrover.... is mostly spent with your head in your hands or your Hans in your wallet. But we love them
Do it once, do it right. Invest in decent tools. Once you have the welder, you can tackle all sorts of jobs. I often balk at the prices of tools, but if it does the job and you learn something through the process, all the better for you! I do everything myself and have learned so much. With welding just get loads of scrap and practice. Stitch welding is a piece of cake, but you'll need to see if that will be strong enough for what you need. LOADS of youtube videos on welding so plenty learning opportunities :)
I’m sure we’ve had many discussions on LR4x4 already (I’m snagger).
I think you already recognises the reality and are facing it with whatever you can do now, but by trying to deal with some of the issues immediately, you are greatly increasing the work and cost of the project over all by having to repeat again later. I recognise is because I allowed a lot of specification creep when I rebuilt mine so that I wouldn’t have to take things apart again later, too easily tempted by the “it makes sense to add this or mod that while I’m at it” logic.
Without seeing the fine details, I don’t know how bad your chassis is, but replacing the sills and B/C pillars is a crucial job to the vehicle’s road worthiness - I don’t think it’s road worth at the moment because of the detached C pillar. But it’s not worth doing that job until you have decided on which tub to go with, because the river and fixing holes will be in slightly different locations and you’ll end up with drilled holes all over the new C pillars if you switch tubs later. If you want to do this right, I think you need to bite the bullet and take the car off the road and start saving hard to buy all the big bits you need. If you think you can get good results and save costs by repairing rather than replacing the chassis, then good, but as you mentioned, you have to factor in the costs of repairs, a guy who can weld if you’re not sure about your own skills, and the finishing/protection of the completed chassis.
As for the tub, do you really need those rear seats? How many in your family? If there are five of you, I’d just fix the old tub. The Puma rear seats are far better than the sideways facing type, but how often do you really think you’d use them? Buy the time you get the tub, seats and all the fixings, you’d be close to the price of a new chassis, and that has to be more beneficial.
It’s tough balancing a rebuild with bringing up kids. The trick is deciding what you need, rather than good and justifiable but ultimately unnecessary mods. For what it’s worth, I rebuilt my 109 as a six seater, the rear most seats being those folding Exmoor type. I’d had those for a while prior, and didn’t like them much either, so I used four Defender front seats and relegated the Exmoor fold ups from second to third row. In three years they got used once to go out to dinner, but we had a second car and driver available, so that wasn’t entirely needed either. So I took them out and sold them. I can imagine Puma rear seats getting little more use in your 110 unless there are more than five of you, and those Puma seats ruin the load carrying ability anyway.
Good luck with it, though, and well done for at least getting some of the mechanical jobs done in the interim.
Can’t go wrong with an rtech mig gas welder the 180amp version is well worth the money. If you need any info give me a shout. If you want to lend mine after the lock down let me know. It’s really about getting your settings correct, get some scraps of the same thickness and just practice.
Thanks Stephen. Had been looking at that one
Acceptance is the first step. Good for you!
:D
I purchased a mug off ebay 40quid and clocked it to run gasless wire cost 7quid plus a role of wire which doesn't seem to go rusty like normal gased .6 wire its swings and roundabouts
My rear axle brackets were looking a bit err... not good, i bought a parweld arc welder (110/240v) and some brackets, the welder was an easy purchase since most of my work is now site based although i ended up swapping the axle out for a td5 salisbury since the 1997 parts did not fit. Welding is probably ok if you are working with decent metal, the arc welder will either just melt through plate or won't weld - its depends on whats left to work with.
I worked for a electric bike start up a while back, had many roles. They got me welding with a cheep stick welder to make up some benches a few jigs ect. My welding was sh*t to start with, boss didn't care said keep practising. I was surprised how far my welding skills got even after a week and a few projects. Get a stick and make a few things (like a welding cart) as practice then start on the car.
The other option is do it once and do it right, take the car off the road and get a run around, and put the gav chassis in... I've seen some amazing work even in small sheds and bad work stations.
Cheers, making something might be good practice
My opinion for what its worth - If you are in for the long haul and you are planning on more (or a BIG) projects, buy a good MIG welder (GAS!) if it gets windy, just buy a BIG fecking bottle of gas TURN IT UP! Learn to weld, via RUclips, don't do a college course (utter crap) For one project, and a few jobs, find a bloody good welder, have a chat on expectations. I had a chap weld up my crossmember, did a damn nice job, better than I could done after welding up two Minis and a college TIG course. If you weld yourself, prepare to be disappointed, frustrated, and concerned on quality, but when you have it nailed, there will be no stopping you.
I recommended taking a course to him but you might be right on this one. I grew up in ranching country and went to an Ag school and learned to weld from guys who forgot more about welding than I will ever know. That, and if they didn't like what you did they would just chuck it in the scrap bin, tell you how you F'd it up and make you do it over again!
Cheers. All good points. I know i'll get disappointed but it may make an interesting video!
My local land rover repair shop quoted me the thick end of a thousand pounds to replace the two bulkhead outriggers along with a couple of patches on the rear cross member. Like you I was unsure what to do but eventually bought a good second hand 250amp mig welder from Ebay. It cost £450 but more than paid for itself during the jobs I mentioned. I learned to weld ( not brilliantly) and yes it took the fat end of a week. In the four years since I've welded my VW polo and countless other little jobs.
Thanks Michael, good to hear going that route worked out :)
I've got a b reg csw was v8 now getting a galvanized chassis then breaking my 300tdi discovery I'm using for engine gearbox and front axle use the defender rear axle. Discovery has all the correction arms and lift kit few extra bits needed but should be good new fuel tank just need to get parts needed got another year hopefully left rust wise in the discovery then all set for my rebuild project
good luck Mark!
I've tried gasless and it was pretty bad, I've got a cheap second hand gas mig now which is much better but still not ideal. I guess that's what you pay for. One day I'll upgrade but the cheap one kind of works for all the basic jobs I've asked of it.
I feel your pain, I need a new rear crossmember fitted to my 110 but its not legal to do the weld the chassis yourself here in Norway, all the garages near me are useless which is frustrating.
That sounds like a pain. The UK seems fairly open with vehicles compared to some other countries
@@lrworkshop Yep it is, especially when its £100 + vat per hour for any work you want done. Its very fortunate that I can do most of things of the Defender. I thought about a Discovery 3 recently but have realised I'd never be able to afford the repair bill!
My 2 cents worth. For probably 10 years I welded patches on my chassis for every MOT with a very cheap gas less welder. Then finally I replaced the chassis. Wish I had replaced it years earlier. If you are planning other major jobs, rear tub replacement etc, you need a good base to work from and so my advice is forget everything else you main priority for your time and money is to do the chassis.
Cheers. Yes it might be a slippery slope, although the thought of learning a new skill is quite appealing!
@@lrworkshop You can always learn to weld after your chassis replacement. After all there will be plenty of things to make for you new improved defender. So if you do decide to learn to weld first don't waste money on a cheap welder, you will never get results you are happy with.
I’m in a similar position and about to buy my first welder (having only used three phase transformer based industrial units years ago during my apprenticeship). I am also unsure what to buy but probably leaning towards an inverter mig due to there size.
I’ve spent a fair bit of time looking through the ‘buying a welder’ section on the migwelding uk forum and would recommend you taking a look there as there are many people buying welders for land rovers/car body repair for the first time.
From what I’ve read your budget should get you a decent transformer gas mig such as a portamig or oxford (although they are fairly large so not great if you are really tight on storage or want portability). I believe Clarke do a half decent gas/Gas-Less mig which people often buy when machine mart run there vat free discount at various times throughout the year, they seem popular for car body repair. Stepping up from a transformer based unit are the inverter/synergic mig machines that are more compact.
I think something along the lines of the portamig would get you all set up for around £800 (their supposed to be reliable as they are transformer based).
I know a friend who bought a Gas-Less mig for around £100 and he struggled to weld sills on an mx5. I believe Gas-Less tends to run hotter which can make it harder to weld thin sheet with.
I’m yet to purchase my welder so I’m only repeating stuff I’ve pick up from the forums but I think spending the money on a good welder and learning the skill is definitely the way to go.
Cheers Andy, some good points
I'll second the R-Tech vote ... I've had a go of my mates who uses his on a working canal boat. It beats my old MAC Tools 160 without any issue and that wasn't a cheap machine having lincoln internals.
But if you want an honest view of repairing your tub you'll have to give me a shout. Mines upside down on the floor right now having just been through a lot to repair it and it's not finished yet. The YRM tdci panels are on the list as well. Might give you an idea of what might be best...
i spent £90 on a gas less welder but made sure i got one with infinite adjustment on voltage and wire speed it makes a mess once youve welded and not nearly as easy as good mig but im doing disco 1 body so plently of rust to practice with eventually you get the settings right get it high up on the amps and get really good penetration and welds i am confident in, ive found welding chassis to be much easier over body panels because the metal is so much thicker so you can put more power and time into the welds and get them to come out pretty and strong
Cheers Dee
What is the cheapest galvanised chassis you've found so far
out door welding is best avoided at the best of times. best solution is a close friend with a welder. cost of a good welder setup vs a new chassis?
Going through a similar problems I think I'm 18 months from where you are but i need to get my butt in gear now and fix it before Im left with crumbs. Ive been looking at welding up and patching myself recently and ive come to the conclusion if the patches are small enough the cycle rate of a cheapo gasless can do the job, It wont be pretty as you say but your buying time. My question to you is how come your not swapping the chassis for your Galv one? or have i missed your explanation?
Yeah I always thought i'd get round to a rebuild before it totally crumbled! I talk about not doing the rebuild around 8:30 in the video, but it's essentially time and the possibility of moving the next year
Don't know much about welding but welders always ask have you applied waxoil recently. Maybe someone could let us know why and possible hold off on waxing areas you need to weld.
I imagine it might be a fire risk?
Or maybe contaminate the weld
Caught between a rock and a hard place, decent migs, Clarke's 135 amp 150 amp, get above that then may need new high amp socket supply, but it's not the welding machine what counts,it's the person behind the torch, that's what you pay for especially when it's structural. Think hard about this.
Was an easy decision for me as mine was completely shagged so I welded up a donor chassis and had it galved
If you're in a decent position financially, Do yourself a huge favour whilst it's apart-anything that is steel-replace with either brand new galvanised versions of the ones that you've removed(mid cross members/rear tub floor supports etc.) or refurbished galvanised versions that you can pick up from the next load of autojumbles-whenever they re-start again that is?, If you can find a shotblasting service locally to you and somewhere like I did for getting your own steel parts galvanised after shot blasting this will not only be a lot cheaper but you have some element of control of the quality of stuff being reused, the galvanising place I used was Joseph Ash down in south wales and they did 154 items dipped in Galv-including the bulkhead for £120.00 inc VAT, turnaround was 24-48 hrs depending on how much work they had on. HTH.
Cheers John, it's a certainly a good route. It's always surprising how cheap galvanising can be
All ways buy the best tools you can afford, look after them and they will last and you will get better value for money. If you are welding outside put a sheet of plywood up or something to shield the weld and minimise the lose of the the shielding gas so you can make a good weld
Hear him! Hear him! Buy once, cry once. I have tools in my box I use every time I open it that I have had for almost 50 years. And some that I inherited and still use are a great deal older than that!
Thanks. It's kinda what I was thinking
No, no, NO!, on the gasless welder. It is very hard to weld over flux-cored welding with proper welding. Fixing your gasless welds later will be a PITA. You don't want to mix them. The best choice (as someone else here stated) is a mate who can weld and give you the mate rate. If you invest in a welder, get a decent one. And take a class. You will get a lot out of it. Learning to weld on a flat surface is one thing, upside down and verticle on knackered chassis in your drive is something completely different :-0 Another option regarding workspace is to rent/share a workshop. That's what I do. I split a decent sized workshop with a mate of mine on an old industrial estate. We can both keep our 110's in it (a little tight, but doable), plus tools, welder, air compressor and storage shelves. My half is 250 quid a month + 1/2 the electric. I had a shop on a local farm for 15 years and didn't even have to pay the electricity. BONUS; when you have a shop that's nearish (not your house but not too far away) you don't get any interruptions from the other half asking if you can (insert house chore here) while you are up to your elbows in gearbox. Something to think about... Best of luck!
Cheers Henry!
Gas less mugs are terrible, gassed mig is far easier and better welds but others will disagree.
Vehicle isn’t end of life but definitely needs money and work, Galveston chassis is a good start for sure.
All part of the fun of owning a Landy
Cheers!
I work as a boilermaker and those cheap flux core welders are a pos. I have a little dc 160 mig at home. Happy with it was 170 ish quid and can be used as a stick welder as well
Thanks :)
Ok. So I was quoted £1300 to do both my front door bottoms. So I bit the bullet and got some yrm frames for £19 a pop, then bought a Clarke 135TE Gas MIG kit from machine mart. Got some co2 argon mix gas, better mask and a better regulator from eBay (it's also very easy to upgrade in the future if you want to put it on a trolley and run bigger gas bottles). I think it's a happy compromise. And with no previous welding experience I did a few test runs then just got it done. I'd say don't bother with gasless. Check out my efforts on Instagram, maybe I'll tag you!
Cheers David, yes seen what you're up to. Good stuff!
@@lrworkshop I've got the other side to do yet, but it needs the middle section replacing as well. Then the rear tub capping! Look forward to seeing what you decide on 👍
I suppose this is all done now?.... R-Tech welders are top notch
Yes but no 😁 Need to sort the c post tab into tub fixing
@@lrworkshop I'm watching many of your videos, but out of sequence 😂, I've now subscribed and will follow the journey of your Defender, keep up the good work chap 👍
From my experience use an engineering firm or an on site welding firm, saves a lot of swearing and works out cheaper with a cracking job to boot.
Cheers James
I would keep the truck running with as little work as possible and think about replacing the chassis when the move comes about.
Buy a no gas / gas welder and spend a lot of time practising before you attempt to do something serious. These cheap welders are fine but you really must get your head around the technique first. Anyone can join two bits of metal together but their not welders. Something like a MIG 130EN from Machine Mart would probably do the job. But remember practice makes perfect, welding surfaces must be clean. Buy a good electronic welding headshield so you can see what your doing. When you get your new chassis, spend twice as long washing the mud off it as you do on the rest of the truck. It will out last, you.
Thanks Tony, some good tips
Buy a decent gas mig welder, dont bother with the gas less, a decent welder makes it easier to learn as well
I am no expert, and bought a second hand welder to repair my foot wells a couple of years ago. Worked ok. But, I wish I would have gone for a bette welder. Welding is not easy, and working with an half descent machine will not make it any easier... I still have not come around buying a better welder thou...
Thanks Peter
Hire a welder?
Could do actually, although it'd be nice not to have the time pressure
@@lrworkshop just plan it or can you borrow one.. I bought a compressor and trolley Jack but did not need welder as I have no rust just new parts..but when finished going to sell compressor as I won't really need it when finished defender. But practice welding first on scrap metal first that's how I learnt.
£800 for a welder is half the price of a new chassis!
Borrow a stick welder from a friend if you can and see how you progress. You want to keep costs to a minimum.
You might find as you start to repair, the chassis is much worse than anticipated. ☹️
Yes it could be a rabbit hole..
Bolt in and out 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂