Land Rover Repair: 1998 SWB Defender Repair, side doors, two answers

Question
Hello,

I am planning to buy a salvaged defender in order to repair it
myself. I'm confident that I have the know-how to be able to,
and thankfully I have a well stocked workshop which has all the
tools I will need.

I am hoping you will be able to tell me whether it is a feasible
job. The Defender I have my eye on  has been quite heavily
rolled with the result that anything above the window sill needs
replacing, along with the side doors. I thought that with
Defenders, replacing all this was a matter of unscrewing the
right bolts and lifting the top off but a friend tells me that it
could be more than that. He reckons that the pillars either side
of the windscreen are structurally integral and would be difficult
to replace.

Some pictures of the Defender in question can be found here:

http://www.simpsonsalvage.com/site/pages/item.php?trans=%
25&t=S&catcode=
&makemodel=L-
Rover&trimlevel=&fueltype=&pics=pics&orderby=MakeModel&t
=S&
date_filter=3&value=168778

Thank you. Any help or advice you have will be more than
welcome.

Archie

Answer
I thought I answered this yesterday, pardon me if you get two answers.

Anyway, the vehicle was declared a total loss because the cost to repair was more than it's worth.  If you think of your own labor as "free" there may be an opportunity for you, otherwise if you are paying to fix it you've probably got a loser.

Expect to find the bulkhead and every major panel bent or twisted.  That's what happens.  The bulkhead might be repaired or replaced, whichever is easier.  It's a big job.

This is far more than a "bolt on - bolt off" project.  Expect to spend several hundred hours.