Discovered a nasty crack.. 1972 P6 2000TC

Wilfred Oldtimer

Wilfred Oldtimer

Active Member
Good morning all,

After I changed the rear exhaust silencer yesterday I also ask the garage owner who was kind enough to let me use one of his ramps to do a check on the suspension, sort of small MOT. All ball joints and rubbers are still ok, so that’s good news.

However, he discovered a nasty crack in the front construction on the right side as you can see in the picture. The left side is solid though.
It looks like it has been welded in the past, perhaps not well enough which may be the reason now.

So, this has to be repaired obviously. Cleaning the surface thoroughly to see the actual damage and then hope it can be repaired by new welding. But I’m wondering if this kind of crack happens more often on the P6, so whether it’s a weak point or not, or is this just bad luck or even caused by a car crash in the past?

Let’s hope for the best :rolleyes:

Cheers,
Wilfred

IMG_1506.jpeg
 
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doesn't look too good. i'd guess and say that's been caused by the suspension movement or lack of it. It certainly doesn't look associated to corrosion. quite a crucial area there and would need repairing asap.
 
Hi,

That’s true, it wouldn’t pass any MOT at this point I reckon. It’s free of it anyway due to the age luckily, it may not even be allowed welding in this area, not sure.

I only wonder how long this has been going on and if the previous owner knew about it. That would really be a scandalous action and should be punished.

I’m sure it can be fixed but it’s not a job I can do myself unfortunately.

Thanks anyway,

Wilfred
 
Hmm, so it could be damage after all. Must have been some serious one I guess.
(Looked up kerb first in the dictionary ;))

Good thing though that’s is not a structural corrosion issue, then the other side would probably also have this crack and it would also be more difficult to repair perhaps.

Anyway, nice job for the winter period.

Thanks,

Wilfred
 
There's a road in Dorset where badgers tunnel under. It left a deep depression once on a corner, and I dropped the front wheel of my old Monza P6B into it. It did handle very badly after that so I got it up onto the ramps and found that the bracket had been torn away from the inner structure, and the box section had split from the front to the rear meaning the front suspension could be pulled around 3" out from the car.
 
Maybe get a pair of JRC1109 and see if they might fit in there? Colin Gould, Kingsdown garage might be able to help. These were intended to brace the rear link against cracking there, but they might help at the front also.
 
Thank you all,
This repair is planned for December probably, in the meantime I will focus on other things as the car will be hardly used.

Cheers,
Wilfred
 
Those cracks are due to a bad weld. Can't say why it was welded without removing all the gunk covering everything up. You may find the plate has rusted out at some point. Don't use a power tool to remove the gunk. The original underbody coating is full of asbestos so wet chemicals and paint scraper are best. Given the location I suggest you use a professional repairer as that isn't an easy weld to do successfully. Check to see if the rubber bush is poly or Metalastic rubber. The poly is normally stiffer and can overload the bracket as it needs to deform in use. You also need to tighten the bolt only after the suspension has been settled at its ride height otherwise the bush will be permanently loaded
 
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I believe this why the Australian club developed the chassis reinforcement kit. It might be partially corrosion but the front is known to be weak in more extreme application.
 
Good afternoon all,

This afternoon I made a start with cleaning the surroundings, as it looks now it is definitely a corrosion issue, not an ideal situation when you also hit a curb (I believe that’s the English word for our “stoeprand”)
This might have happened in the past after which the corrosion begun, who will tell ?

Anyway, it doesn’t look encouraging to me. The other side of the car might have the same issue, although it looks ok.

Next step is to find someone who will and can fix this

Cheers,

Wilfred

IMG_0028.jpegIMG_0029.jpegIMG_0030.jpeg
 
Ooof!
@Wilfred Oldtimer , that looks pretty bad. I think you'll need to enlist the help of a very experienced specialist. Fortunately, these cars have always had a keen fan base in the Netherlands. I humbly suggest you get in touch with the folks at www.classic-rover.nl . Not that I have any connection to their business, but judging by the restored vehicles pictured on their webpages, they definitely know what they're doing! I think your man is Johan Löwik.
Also, as PeterZRH has said, the Australian Rover Club did indeed design a reinforcing kit to strengthen exactly that part of the base unit. It was once available from a UK company called Classeparts in Leighton Buzzard. I had this fitted to my car over a decade ago now, to stiffen everything up at the front. Perhaps they still have a set of the laser cut steel panels they could provide you? I understand the former proprietor, Alan Ramsbottom, has now retired but that the business is still trading under a new, younger owner.
I wish you the best having that critical structural section of your car made solid again.
 
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Wilfred Oldtimer said:
Good afternoon all,

This afternoon I made a start with cleaning the surroundings, as it looks now it is definitely a corrosion issue, not an ideal situation when you also hit a curb (I believe that’s the English word for our “stoeprand”)
This might have happened in the past after which the corrosion begun, who will tell ?

Anyway, it doesn’t look encouraging to me. The other side of the car might have the same issue, although it looks ok.

Next step is to find someone who will and can fix this

Cheers,

Wilfred

View attachment 24642View attachment 24643View attachment 24644
Click to expand...

yeah, I wouldn't be driving that :oops:
 
mrtask said:
It was once available from a UK company called Classeparts in Leighton Buzzard. I had this fitted to my car over a decade ago now, to stiffen everything up at the front. Perhaps they still have a set of the laser cut steel panels they could provide you?
Click to expand...
Looks like they still make them.
www.classeparts.com

One Set 4 Rover P6 Reinforcing Plate Rear MTG Bracket Front Base Unit

Country/Region of Manufacture: United KingdomUnit Quantity: Set 4.Intended Use: New upgrade panels.Brand Type: CLASSEPARTS LTDManufacturer Part Number: IQ/JRC1109.Classic Car Part: YesReference OE/OEM Number: JRC1109 Rover.Placement on Vehicle: Lower front base unit near damper...
www.classeparts.com
 
The full chassis stiffening kit from Classeparts comprised quite a few more plates than just the 'boomerang' shaped pieces that Stephen has linked. If I can unearth the fitting instructions from the engineers at the Australian Rover Owners Club who devised it all, which I have stashed somewhere, I'll post them, but don't hold your breath!
 
mrtask said:
The full chassis stiffening kit from Classeparts comprised quite a few more plates than just the 'boomerang' shaped pieces that Stephen has linked. If I can unearth the fitting instructions from the engineers at the Australian Rover Owners Club who devised it all, which I have stashed somewhere, I'll post them, but don't hold your breath!
Click to expand...
If we have a reference photo of them fitted I can make as a kit. Shouldn’t be too hard to remake if classeparts no longer produce them. Obviously, if they do still make them support their business and buy there!

This isn’t a completely selfless offer, I want to fit them to Beryl seeing as I’m throwing her around more than I used to.
 
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Thank you all,

I already contacted Johan for this and sent him the same pictures I did here, awaiting his response.

Geoff from Wins International might have these reinforcement plates ?
I’m going to the UK again in the first week of March and can collect them there, who knows.

Wilfred
 
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The link below contains a photo of the parts to strengthen the base unit. The base unit needs to be in good condition when using these parts.
Given the severity of the rust in your base unit, Wilfred, potentially cutting out and replacing all of the rusted sections might be the only option.
Once that has been acomplished, the strengthening pieces could then be welded into place.

Australian Reinforcement Mod

Just got my kit from the Club - dont need it yet (AFAIK?), but wanted to have it available just in case. 2 sets of 8 laser cut plates, 11 page manual on how to fit on the car. Designed by a professional engineer. Very strict notes on the sequence of fitting and welding to avoid stress raises or...
classicroverforum.net

Ron
 
Good evening all,

I’m not driving my P6 anymore for a while, at least not till this problem is resolved. I don’t want to take any risk. Not sure yet when it will be repaired, so it might get silent for who knows how long. Thanks anyway for all the support and I hope to post some good news soon.

Cheers,

Wilfred
 
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