SLROC Forum

Hello,

  throwing caution fully out of the window, I bought a galvanised chassis plus various bits (an abandoned project, basically) off eBay.

  The chassis was advertised "as new" but I'm not so sure now it's turned up on the back of a truck   The chap driving the truck wasn't too impressed with it...

  The galvanising job obviously isn't great, but it's passable - the problem I have with it is it looks to me like rust had already got into the rear cross-member before the galvanising was done:


I paid £1500 for all this splendour - what do you think?  I think it's just been sat out for a long time, "waiting" to be done, but I really don't like the look of that rear cross-member...

Any opinions would be welcome - brutal as you like

Thanks...

I am no expert having only ever owned the one galvanised chassis for the last 16 years.

Looks to me that someone has sent a dirty, rusty, and bent chassis to be hot dipped, then when the zinc has fallen of the rusty, crud infested nooks and crannies that some one has then applied copiuos amouts of silver paint to try and make up for the lack of preparation.

If that was advertised to me as 'as new' the seller would be getting it back! Galvanising is awesome but it won't magically heal an already-crusty chassis.

Have you spoken to the seller about it?

to be honest thats not too bad , looks to be a new chassis that has been lying about then galvanised, galvanising a chassis that is not meant to be galved in the first place often leaves bits like that or warped areas witht the heat, we have fitted a few chassis that came galved new from richards or strathearn and they have had more holes in them to let the galvanising flow about better. considering you paid £1500 and it has springs axles etc and a new bare chassis is £2000 i would get some cold galve spray and touch up the bits. personally i would waxoil and paint the whole thing anyway, i have now welded two galve chassis at around five years old, next club meet go have a wander round the landrovers and look at the state of some chassis that have been swapped.

Hello chaps,

  thanks very much for your expertise - the problem with bl**dy eBay is you're committed to what you've bought once it's come half way across the country on the back of a lorry and cost you a fortune...

  In the cold light of this morning, it maybe doesn't look as bad as I thought it was - the galvanising's pretty thick  all over - it's only the rear cross-member where, like you say, it's just not been cleaned properly before it's been dipped - makes you wonder who'd go to all the effort of galvanising it but not cleaning it properly, first!

  I haven't gone back to the seller yet - I wanted some more experienced eyes on it, first...

Thanks

Hi,
I’m no expert, but I’ve just asked my mate who is a Welding and Galvanising inspector. His impressions from the photos are not good. Welding looks very poor and suspects the chassis was rusting prior to a poor galvanising process.
Recommendation is to contact the seller for more info on where he got it from and the galvanising specification used.
That said, you should be able to return the chassis to the seller via ebay guarantee, if the item is not as advertised

I certainly would not be using it

A brand new galv chassis is only a couple of hundred quid more.

I'd be sending it back

From those photos, that ain't new!

Hello all,

  thanks for your input on this - I'd be quite interested in getting a professional opinion on just how bad this galvanising job is, to be honest - can anybody recommend somebody who can appraise a galvanised chassis and would be willing to put their opinion down in writing?

  Thanks...

Hi
I would contact Highland Galvanisers and ask them if they would take a look.
Try them at http://www.higalv.co.uk