You have probably seen articles on footwell repair before. However, simple functional repair is normally the aim of such articles rather than acheiving a detailed, correct original appearance. The firewall is the main weakness of the series land rover. Its rust prone and new ones are not readily available (yet). Rather than tell you how impossible it is to repair a bulkhead unless you are a master fabricator, we are going to show you how anyone with a drill and a welder can execute professional quality repairs to your rusty firewall. Not only will you be able to repair your firewall's problem areas with ease, you will be able to do a better job than those shops who claim perfection and charge thousands of dollars. We'll cover the typical footwell repair (top, bottom or side) as well as door posts and upperbulkhead rust. While this project can be successfully completed by any hobbyist, you will need to be familiar with basic tool use, welding technique, and basic seetmetal working. A careful eye for construction details is essential to a good result.

TOOLS Required: Hammer, Drill, 7/32 drill bit, selection of chisels and punches, die grinder, welder and a good selection of clamps

A Word on Preperation:

Preparing your bulkhead for repair is essential to quality repairs. The two most common methods for paint/rust/scale removal are sandblasting and chemical stripping. Sandblasting is a more agressive process and quickly removes rust, scale, paint and other coatings. However, sandblasting cannot reach the inside surfaces of enclosed areas so those areas will remain untreated in this process. Care must also be taken because sandblasting generates friction and thereby heat as the particles colide with the surface. Agressive blasting media can warp flat surfaces and create thin spots on otherwise healthy metal. Chemical stripping normally refers to phosphoric acid baths which eat away scale, rust, paint and coatings leaving clean metal. This immersion process is less harsh but is very effective at cleaning steel parts. It has the advantage of cleaning enclosed surfaces and the component is left with a coating of iron phosphate which prevents the flash rusting that occurs with sandblasted parts. Since this process is not as agressive as blasting it can leave small bits of stubborn undercoating or other coatings. For this project we chemically stripped the firewall and were very pleased with the results. It removed all the factory adheasive for the original hardura trim with ease. If you've tried to remove it with a wire brush, grinder or scraper you know how tenacious it can be.

A Word on welding: The footwells are welded into the firewall using resistance welding (AKA: spot welding) in addition to a few tack welds. Most hobbyists do not own a spot welder, so for this article we substituted spot welds for rosettes. When done correctly, rosette welds are as strong or stronger than spot welds and match the original appearance very well.

Upper Bulkhead Rust Repair:

This is typical upper bulkhead rot. Hearsay will tell you this is a difficult repair when in reality its quite simple to make a quality repair here. The key is the removal of the hood hinge and drip rail and support bracket. Then an effective repair can be made with a conventional replacement panel. Measure and record the placement of the hinge and support bracket on the firewall and then carefully grind away the welds securing them to the firewall. Then drill the spot welds securing the drip rail to the firewall being careful not to drill all the way through the firewall. Drill just enough to detatch the spot welds. This is best done with a sharp 3/16 or 7/32 bit at low speed. Take note of how these items are attached so that you can reproduce the welds when reattaching them.

With the drip rail, hood hinge and support bracket removed, the extent of the perforation can be noted and a suitable area marked for removal with the die grinder.

The rust perforated area has been completely removed and a patch panel cut to fit and then tacked in place. The tack welds have been ground flush in preperation for final welding. A good fit for the repair panel is important to a quality result. Make SURE the surface of the repair panel is even with the surface of the firewall. Without a proper fit it will be very difficult to make a subtle repair. Time spent test fitting the patch panel and making sure the surface is even is time well spent!

With the finish welding complete and ground flush, the hood hinge, support bracket and drip rail can be reattached. Refer to the mesurements you made earilier to ensure a good fit for the hood. The completed repair will be difficult to spot and once coated will be extremely durable.

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