I don't know how I missed this thread, just now catching up - dude, incredible that you decided to keep this on the road. Well done. Reading some of the other posts encouraging you to ditch it was building this story arch, and then at the end to see that you got the motor and now a new frame. Awesome.

About your paint question - it's of course up to you. I think the galvanized look is sort of a badge of honor. Sort of a visible way of showing that you value this thing enough to get a new frame for it. Paint might offer better protection but that's totally speculation on my part, I have no idea if it actually does.

 

I would have the frame painted. Doesn't have to be black if you want to show it off a bit.

 

Black!

 

Unpainted! (Unless there's some protection/benefit from painting.)

My new cars have galvanized frames and they're unpainted. I think it's cool to see it.

 

I'd leave it as-is. Since it's galvanized, painting doesn't add protection from rust.

But if you decide to paint it, what color is the truck? Paint it to match? Just for fun? Or maybe some other fun color? That way on your trips under the truck to maintain it or fix something you'll have at least a momentary smile. But come to think of it, an unpainted, galvanized frame will do that too!

 

This is (still) a great story. That's one of the coolest pics on the site! Curious how much it weighs. Would you care to divulge the cost and the source? I think I would paint it black, perhaps matte. As dirt and grime accumulate (gasp) over the years the galvanized look may not be as appealing. It goes look awesome as-is however. Are you doing the swap yourself?

 

After the reading and watching countless websites and videos, there is no clear answer. The best video I found on the topic was the following:


What I got out of all these discussions was that successfully painting a galvanized frame is a pretty involved process, and the decision to paint the frame or not is based on the use case for the truck. If the frame will be used in inclement weather or if you are going to be wheeling in the mud, it makes sense to add the additional protection paint will offer. Since most of the restored Defenders in the UK will be work trucks or used for green laning, it is not surprising that most of the people who insist on painting the frames are based in the UK. For my use case, once completed, the vehicle will likely do minimal miles, it won't be used in the snow or rain and any wheeling will likely be in the Rockies or further west. Given that the frame will not be exposed to the same corrosive environment in the next 20 years as it did in the first 20 years, I decided to leave the frame bare. If I lived in Vermont, I would have made a different decision.

To answer some other questions, I purchased the frame through Rovers North. They source the frames from the UK and the price fluctuates during the year due to exchange rates. The ordering process is such that they take a deposit and hold your order until they have enough to warrant a manufacturer's run, and when they get enough, they build and ship the Disco frames over as a group. I was the third person to place a deposit, so there are some other idiots out there doing the same thing. In my case, it took nearly 9 months between the order time and when it showed up. You might get lucky and Rovers North might have one that a customer ordered and then declined. Also, AB started carrying the frames on their website so that is another route.

A local shop is doing the swap. The shop specializes in maintaining classic cars and the owner was a certified LR tech so they know their way around the vehicle.

 

they have been available for quite some time:
https://www.roverparts.com/body-chas...ame/KVD000960/

 

Where are you located? If you end up swapping out the motor, I might be interested in the bad motor.

 

The bad block is long gone.