For Eddie Halling & his broken subframe.

[theroveringmember]

Whew!... That's nasty. Hopefully the car hasn't distorted. Once again I post this reply to offer some hope & encouragment. That frame is obviously well beyond saving but good secondhand ones are reasonably straightforward to obtain in my experience.
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Yes it (subframe replacement) was pretty straight-forward, not least as we're renting a nice workshop (well, nice to me. at the moment. Took the interior out to reduce weight (the front seats weigh a ton), disconnected gearbox rods, fuel & reserve, propshaft from inside the car. Once all connections under the bonnet disconnected (you have the pull the steering column into car too, not hard), I slung a rope around the front valance (through the holes & over the top) & lifted the car away from the subframe assembly with my engine hoist then supported the body on a plank resting on ramps, under the jacking points. As the hoist was in front of the car it was hard work dragging it out the side but when I put it back I lifted the car & supported it on the sills (a really big pair of axle stands under the jack points would have made this easier), then lined the assembly up in front & put the hoist back in place under the subframe. Much easier though of course, you must be confident in the strength of your sills. It's a bit nerve-racking but we replaced mine when the car was restored. Lowering the car onto the frame was surprisingly easy & the bolt-holes lined up nicely. Don't tighten any bolts until they're all started, leave it loose so you can still raise/lower the body which I had to do to get the last bolt started. When you raise/lower, don't put the rope under the bottom of the front valance as it will bend under the weight.....as mine did when I replaced the frame. Don't know why I did it wrong the second time. I think the expression is....Doh! ;D
The benefits of access with the frame out are obvious even if you don't need to change it. Space & shelter is the name of the game I think, unless you've got nice weather & I did the whole job myself so it's perfectly possible.

[Phil Nottingham]

As I have mentioned before that sort of failure is not unusual although tell-tail signs can be seen before its get that bad. MOT inspectors are not likely to spot it though. I have had 2 subframes rust out but not gone so bad to render them scrap

It never fails to surprise me how fast some apparently minor corrosion can in just one year go so fast as to make extensive repairs essential.

I had this 2 years ago with the front jacking point and have just had it with the bottom D post - both on the same side.

Once rust gets in it can move very fast in the right conditions

Subframe rot will become more frequent as our cars age as well. they are ful of condensation/mud-traps and stress fatigque cracking from the torsion bars quiclky progresses it.

There are however plenty of good secondhand ones out there and steps can be taken to reduce this happening as fast again.

It not to bad a job rebuilding a subrame either and dismantling gives full opportunity to replace the suspension bushes and subframe mounts which is a lot easier than doing on the car.

[theroveringmember]

Ebay:- 350001018117
A bit expensive but along at the right time.

[Phil Nottingham]

Not really worth that money IMHO but it just shows what is out there - it something I have never seen new before

[harvey]

No matter how rare that is, (and I doubt that it is "the last one in the world") I'm going to be very surprised if it actually sells for that. Subframes do need replacement, but I wouldn't say it's a common occurance.
It'll be interesting to see how many times it gets listed.

[PatMcCoy]

Speak to David Green

[glennr]

I agree with Pat. Purchasing a Subframe from DG should be no problem....Hopefully

[Smallfry]

£500

There is at least one other new one out there...........and its sitting in my garage.

Bought it from a Land Rover parts dealer, who had aquired it amongst a massive job lot of redundant stock from a dealer closure. Luckily, he didn't know what it was.

Had to drive all the way home with it tied to the roof of me missus Corsa...................No roof bars.

[Phil Nottingham]

Now you know what it may be worth?! Or not

[dorsetflyer]

Yeah.... almost as much as an old Corsa.

[Kev]

I cannot understand if the car is mot'd every year or regulary used how this rot got so bad.I (maybe it's just me) give my car a complete check over once a year,looking for rust,leaks,general bad points.
Maybe some people just polish there cars?
Big Kev.

[dorsetflyer]

When looking at the pics in the Magazine it must have been relevant at least a year ago. They won't go that bad in between one MOT and another.

[Colin McA]

Has anyone ever had one made?

I am thinking about the many manufacturers of Landrover chassis. Wouldn't be too difficult for these guys given the correct dimensions or a good subframe to copy.

Colin

[Phil Nottingham]

They could be fabricated without too much difficulty but it would be costly as the original was built up of pressings by Rovers chassis makers. The Land Rover one used the odd pressing but was otherwise a much simpler welded channel affair.

I doubt there would be a market for them as long as secodhand ones can be sourced

[Colin McA]

very true phil but agood to know that then can be made. I have seen videos of the L/R chassis being made, Interesting stuff.

Colin