Practically Classics Forum

That is more than enough information Rich!
This is my bargain carpet. You can tell it came out from someone's off-road toy: Today was slightly disappointing. I have shampooed the new carpet (brushed the mud off with a stiff broom, chucked a bucket of hot soapy water over it and brushed it again, pressure washed it then put 18l of carpet cleaning solution through the carpet cleaner in to it and the water is still coming out brown but it looks good so I will fit it and keep shampooing it every week or so until it is properly clean). It is slightly "bluer" than I thought and not a perfect match for the carpet in the car but it is way better than a burnt one.

I went to put my sound deadening back in, so hovered the car out only to find a puddle on the drivers side. ARGH! "Fortunately" it appears to be coming in around the frame that holds the peddles, steering column and various other bits in so tomorrow I will be working out how to jiggle myself 5mm of clearance then run some sealant around it. I used hylamar on the passenger side which is still dry as a bone but forgot when I put the drivers side back together. I have also found the inner wing is a bit worse than I had previously thought (pics tomorrow when I cut it out)

Between SWMBO's jobs and a couple of rain showers I have managed to get some work done on the old rust bucket

This is what 2 layers of bodge patches looks like: this is what they were hiding: I then got a bit carried away with the grinder. I thought how boring it was having floor pans without holes in so I made one. When I started removing the wheel arch / inner wing I found the metal where it met the bulkhead was very thin and pitted to the point that I was able to push a screwdriver through it with very little force so the grinder made an appearance. I did check the other side just in case but it is fine.
I think the rot here was caused by the only factory drain hole being filled with crud. As it us under the brake master cylinder / fluid reservoir 19 years of drips when topping up must have taken the paint off and let the water in. When I have finished adding new metal I will be adding an extra drain hole and making both it and the factory one large enough that they won't get plugged up easily. I have already done this to the passenger side.

One hole filled a bit of metal back in the arch I have started welding in a large panel before I was told my presence was required so this needs finishing tomorrow. This is where I am up to. The arch is scrap all the way around. I am not impressed as I paid for them both to be replaced about 2 years ago. This side of the car has things in the way of just welding it up like the ABS pump, charcoal canister (no idea what that is for) fuse box and battery box. Because of this I have had to unbolt lots of things before I could start work. They are all out of the way now and I have ordered replacement mountings for the ABS pump as all 4 of them fell apart as soon as I touched them with a spanner.

TerryG wrote: charcoal canister (no idea what that is for)

I think it's connected to the fuel tank to allow it to breathe without emitting hydrocarbon fumes to the atmosphere.

suffolkpete wrote:

TerryG wrote: charcoal canister (no idea what that is for)

I think it's connected to the fuel tank to allow it to breathe without emitting hydrocarbon fumes to the atmosphere.

Thats the general idea, stops VOC's being emitted, or evaporative loss.
There should be an air pipe from it attacehed to the inlet manifold. The idea is that any fumes lurking in the filter then get drawn into the manifold and burnt as per the usual method.
If you're welding near it, best pop it off out of the way as a combination of charcoal and fuel fumes isn't the sort of thing you want to be sparking up around or burning a hole into.

I disconnected it and bunged it in the garage. No explosions fortunately

This is what happens when I am left alone with power tools for too long. Lots of rusty crud. what appeared to be OK when the under seal was removed was thin and pitted so I removed almost the entire top panel, the front side was not as bad, just the edge few inches to replace. While welding that in I found another thin patch on the side so replaced that too (which is why there is a gap in the welding in the first pic) top replaced a couple of pics missing as they were blurry but this is the side completed and primed After primer and a couple of coats of stone chip it looks quite good All the welding on the drivers side is now finished (I hope) for now. Once I am gainfully employed I will be ordering both light boxes so will do a bit more then.
I still have to drill new mounting holes in the inner wing and paint the inside. I will be doing that with a brush so need to get some brush on stone chip tomorrow.

I have some more to do on the passenger side wheel arch which I should get some done on over the weekend if SWMBO lets me outside to play. Then I have to work out what has sprung off from my column controls and get the interior re-assembled.

Great stuff Terry - and I have to say your welding has improved no end - and it wasn't bad to start with!

Keep it up, you must get there eventually!

Cheers mate

Luxobarge wrote:Great stuff Terry - and I have to say your welding has improved no end - and it wasn't bad to start with!

Keep it up, you must get there eventually!

Cheers mate

Practice makes perfect, and with the products of Lode lane, you get plenty of practice

Thanks muchly It is not my favourite activity but it is getting easier. If anybody else is thinking of giving it a go the thing that makes the most difference (in my opinion) is clean metal. When you have ground back what you think is all the paint / under seal from both sides go over it again as you will have missed some and it makes a smelly, spattery mess when you hit it.

It's a Land Rover, it's like the automotive version of the Forth Bridge but with welding rather than painting

Once I have finished with the front I have a list of things I know about to fix which will almost certainly pop up some other things:
remove outer sills and replace them properly, remove rear arches and weld them in properly as they appear just to be tacked at present, remove rear wings and repair seams on the inner wings, repair the edge of the panels that are to either side of the tailgate, move the tailgate hinges as my replacement cross member appears not to be fitted centrally so they need moving over about 1/4", remove LPG tank and rear seat to repair rust damage to the floor underneath.

I have also got to create new mountings for the side skirts as mine are long gone so I will have to be a bit creative and see if I can fabricate something to hold them in place.

I will do the skirt mountings, rear panels and hinges in the next week or so as they are making the car look tatty but the rest can wait until I have been out for a drive and reminded myself why I like Land Rovers.

That's a fair list Terry, I'm almost surprised that the glass doesn't need welding too!

I think most people would agree about the need for clean metal with MIG welders: I suspect that's a rare thing on a Range Rover!

I keep looking for a classic on eBay, then check your thread and remember why I restore tractors! Mind you, changing hoses every time I use the digger is starting to get boring! Five down, fifteen to go!!

SirTainleyBarking wrote:

Luxobarge wrote:Great stuff Terry - and I have to say your welding has improved no end - and it wasn't bad to start with!

Keep it up, you must get there eventually!

Cheers mate

Practice makes perfect, and with the products of Lode lane, you get plenty of practice

I'm agreeing with every word of the quoted posts there, but must add that no amount of practice can guarantee that kind of consistently good work unless said practice is backed up by raw talent. Terry, you're born to it!
Here's the thing; you want to earn a living and you can weld like that. Why not sell your classic soul to the devil and put an ad up to your local free ads paper offering MOT-standard (and clearly far beyond) welded repairs to the tatty old motors of the general public? People will always pay for quality and the going rate is around £120 per hour for typical repairs to sills, jacking points and sundry patching. Five hours of that per week and you'd have yourself a viable business.