Defender Source Forum banner

Building new frame?

746 views 7 replies 8 participants last post by  Vedrover 
#1 ·
I see the option to purchase a new frame fully galvanized, but it still seems like people even go further to protect that frame from corrosion, but really little can be done for the internals because of all the holes in the frame itself. Has the topic ever been brought up, or attempted to build a fully boxed frame with no holes in it? Much like people do for custom hot rods or classic American vehicles? Any downsides to this? My thought would be to replicate the dimensions of the frame rails and cross members with fully boxed steel, and simply swap over the body and suspension mounts.
 
#2 · (Edited)
A fully hot-dipped galvanized chassis will have few corrosion problems and examples have been around for decades despite all the holes. Or perhaps because of them.

Downsides of what you're describing:
1. Limited resale value
2. Extremely high cost for labor and materials.
3. Large initial expense to reverse engineer the rover chassis.
4. Limited utility.
5. "Fixing" a problem that doesn't exist
 
#3 ·
All frames have holes and water is sneaky. I like the holes to let the water out more than in. There are plenty of products designed to rustproof and protect internal cavities. Most come with applicator wands that will fit through a 3/16” hole, are 18 to 30 inches long and spray a 270 degree sphere. Eastwood actually makes a really good internal frame rustproofing coating. Also, the holes allow galvanizing to coat the inside of the frame, so without them you are bare steel. Finally, while galvanizing is a great way to protect your investment, IMO it is just the first step. I would not leave it bare.
 
#6 ·
Eastwood chassis spray comes with a wand, just watch the over spray it's a bitch to remove, when I first started using that stuff it only came in green. Now they have black as well. I did write asking for clear but not seen that yet.

I used it on my new galv chassis on old red. The S1, FC101 and the D1 all been done.
 
#8 · (Edited)
I might start a Holy War here, but: If you want to go down the design route, then, perhaps, design a C-channel (or a combination boxed/C-channel-Toyota-style) frame instead of a fully boxed one?

Otherwise, existing frames last longer than most modern vehicles, especially with Waxoyl/Dinitrol, and galvanized ones are even better.

My frame, for example, is part 1988, part 1993, acid-dipped, galvanized and Waxoyled inside.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top