REBUILD & REFRESH
Refresh: Get rid of corrosion across bodywork
2007 Land Rover Defender Refresh
On this occasion the customer got in touch with us regarding some spots of corrosion around the vehicle that he was unhappy with. Some on the bulkhead, windscreen frame, rear tail panels, cappings & rear cross member.
However, upon inspection a lot more corrosion was found. The front seat box ends were badly corroded, and when removing the rear carpet & seats to lift the roof to replace the cappings the technician found the most badly corroded rear tub he had ever seen on a Puma Defender.
With the customers authorisation we then proceeded to replace the entire rear tub, using galvanised steel parts where possible in order to ensure longevity & seal/bond all panels into place.
Along with mechanical repairs, an MOT & service our Specialist Technician Pete with 36 years of experience spent 204 hours giving this Defender a loving refresh.
Work completed February 2023
Before
Before
Before
Bulkhead, windscreen frame & windscreen block corrosion
Bulkhead, windscreen frame & windscreen block corrosion
Headlight rings corroded
Corrosion on cappings
Vehicle strip down in progress, roof, windscreen frame, cappings, doors, rear seats & carpet removed.
Drivers side rear tub bench removed, a lot of corrosion can be seen here
Seat box ends corroded & holed.
Seat box end panel removed
Corrosion can be seen around bulkhead removal bar mounts
Corrosion under bulkhead removal bar plate
Rear seat bracket corrosion
Corrosion on rear tail panel
Corrosion on bulkhead.
Corrosion cleaned off of bulkhead.
Drivers side bulkhead corrosion cleaned off
Drivers door prepped for paint
Rear tub removed, floor & supports next
Rear end bodywork removed
Bulkhead prepared for priming then painting
Rear tub panels being bonded together to prevent any water ingress.
New rear tub supports in galvanised steel, this will provide a much longer life span than the originals. With full rebuilt rear tub benches.
Starting to rebuild. New threshold panel fitted
Tub crossbearers corroded
Rear tub cross bearers cleaned and painted, support rails to be done.
Rear cross member corrosion cleaned off.
Passenger side quarter panel bonded & secured on
New panels bonded & secured into place
Rear tail panel bonded on, excess to be cleaned off
New quarter panel & supporting panels fitted
Rear tub floor replaced, quarter & tail panels fitted.
Quarter & tail panels fitted, front doors also temporarily fitted in order to align these panels properly
New panels and rear crossmember primed
New panels and rear crossmember primed
Rear quarter panels primed
Bulkhead primed
Bulkhead primed
Seat box end panel painted, hinges painted
Rear tub painted
Rear end painted, and part reassembled
Rear end painted
Finished vehicle
New Strathearn Engineering logo design on a spare wheel cover.
Finished job
Rear end finished, showing off the new Strathearn Engineering logo wheel cover
Customer opted for a new wheel cover showing our older logo