Discovery desires - rot replacement

[brickwall]

I find the tdi easier to pulse without losing traction. The 3.9 just wants to blast its way through.

[dollywobbler]

Not fail laning. I STILL really like this car. Desperately in need of radius arm bushes I feel - getting a bit clonky now. 

[dollywobbler]

The sill replacement project has finally got underway. Removing the sill covers revealed this - all hidden from the MOT tester.

 

Drilling out the spot welds allowed us to lift the side panel to gain access. The shit way to do this is to just cut through the panel, then slap a load of chequer plate over it. I like my side graphics too much to allow that.

 

This revealed more rust, but not an alarming amount. We have had to start stripping the interior out though to allow access from inside and prevent fires.

 

I like finding stuff like this, on the rear of the interior panels.

 

Time to get serious.

 

As I left things this afternoon. Some fabricating to do around this body mount.

[purplebargeken]

Could always be worse. At least you are finally tackling it and will reap the benefits of a solid Disco. Great stuff.

[dollywobbler]

Well, my mate Dave is tackling it! Chuffed to be getting this part underway though. It's a commitment to the vehicle. I've owned it since May and astonishingly, haven't even thought about selling it. 

 

Meant to be going greenlaning in it on Saturday. Nowt like a deadline!

[Rusty_Rocket]

Looking good.  I daren't remove the sill covers on my current one 

I've seen much worse- will be a good solid example when you're done!

 

ps- Marley Automotive Components are still there, I pass the factory every day on my way to work.

[dollywobbler]

Thanks. It'll need the boot floor sorting properly at some point, and the front inner wings remain on the to do list, but it really isn't too bad. Previous repair work has been done to a fairly good standard (if messy with welds not ground back) which has helped.

 

Yet I struggle to justify why I love this car so much. I really liked my Range Rover, but the Disco is on another level. 

[brickwall]

I just left the sill finishers off after I sorted me sills. I found it just trapped water and a general nuisance

[dollywobbler]

Yes, but I like factory look. It'd be odd without them.

[scruff]

Nice work DW. It'll be worth a bomb one day. (I'm not kidding)

[dollywobbler]

Not sure about that Monsieur Scruff. When you look at Rangies, it's only immaculate early ones that seem to be silly money. I would have to spend a small fortune getting mine nice enough to attract enthusiast attention. Mind you, there's a fair ol' clamour for G-WACs already, so maybe you're right.

 

Excellent. I can justify any further expenditure with the 'investment' argument then!

[cort16]

At least you know once it's done you've got a rot free Mk 1 Discovery, which has to be a pretty rare thing.

That's neat work drilling out the spot welds I'd have just blundered in and cut out a big lump of  quarter panel then made an arse of welding it back in.

[dollywobbler]

Pffft. Rot free? That might take a bit longer to achieve. I'll settle for 'not that rusty.'

 

Can't claim credit for the spot weld idea. Internet research yielded that little nugget. The good thing about Land Rovers breaking a lot is that there's no shortage of info out there. Daihatsus by comparison seem to be annoyingly reliable! (and much rarer of course)

[cort16]

Unless it's a fourtrak, which came out the factory born rusty.

[John F]

Early Discos do need quite a bit of attention, but it's worth it. They're ace.

[brickwall]

I think I have developed a way to put the sill finishers back on and also let plenty of air in behind to keep it dry. I'll test it today and post back.

[Rusty_Rocket]

^^^ sounds like a good idea.  If there was a gap, you could hose it through every time you wash the car; as long as the panel is painted properly, it should last well.

My old crock is going for its MoT next week, think it 'may' scrape through rust-wise but it's always a lottery with a 20yo LR   

[Lukas]

How is the frame? I´m a Pajero-guy and the biggest problem on every one are frames with rustholes. Is the frame on your Disco solid? Must be, otherwise you wouldnt repair the body if it were weak.

[Rusty_Rocket]

Lukas, Discovery chassis/ frame are normally very good, it's the body that fails first.

I've never really understood it because the Defender chassis rot badly, long before Discovery ones do and they're basically the same design & construction, albeit in a different length.

I can only assume they were made in different factories with different steel suppliers/ painting techniques?

[dollywobbler]

Chassis is indeed good. What I find astonishing is that on the later Disco IIs, the body is less likely to rot but the chassis is actually more likely to corrode!

 

I suspect more Defenders get used off-road. It's failure to clear icky mud off that really does the damage.

 

Sill trims will be screwed on, so they can easily be removed for cleaning. I suspect I'll use far more anti-corrosion stuff than Land Rover ever did too! Have been to see it today and new metal is now being attached.

[scruff]

I can only assume they were made in different factories with different steel suppliers/ painting techniques?

 

That's it. Two different GKN plants IIRC.

[HMC]

Nice to see you rescuing the bodywork properly. I recon in a few years the purity of design of these early 3 door discos will push up their values. I scanned e bay the other day and was stareing open mouthed at the prices asked for 3 door early rangeys these days. If only we knew etc

[dollywobbler]

ARSE!

 

On the plus side, I may have talked my wife into buying a ropey old Maxi. AND a Wolseley 18/85...

[Rusty_Rocket]

Oh crap! At least it's nice and simple to repair.. no tricky curves or pressings on a LR!

[dollywobbler]

No, but finding good metal is proving a struggle. To make life easier*, the front seats don't seem keen on being removed. Think I've found another sound deadening mat that needs binning though.

[Rusty_Rocket]

It's probably pretty thin all the way to the transmission tunnel..  Obviously it's the sound deadening that has caused it.. soaking up the water from the leaking window seals! All part of the fun*. She'll be reet.

[dollywobbler]

She will. Big expense was always likely to appear at some point with a £450 Land Rover. Just annoying that finances are tight at the moment. Annoyingly it's taken two months to get this work started. Starting to dread what we'll find on the other side...

[dollywobbler]

Time for an update. My mate has done some sterling work and it's almost finished!

 

This is the panel in front of the rear wheelarch, where a door would be on a sensible Discovery. Outer is ally, the inner is steel. No need to tidy the welds here. 

 

The front floor from beneath. Eep.

 

Again, obvious welds not an issue for the sills as they'll be covered. First coat of zinc primer applied here.

 

Front floor. Dave fabricated a new outrigger.

[

 

Paint Heritage. Tobacco Leaf. 

 

This will be seen by no-one once the outer panel is fixed in place again. Still makes me happy.

 

Just before I started putting the interior back together again. Freelander needed a wishbone.

[HMC]

Great fabrication work. Our old '92 disco was similar in that the ally exterior hid well what was creeping through the inner shell. Nice to see proper repairs happening rather than the VOSA quilt that most of these have been getting for years.

[phil_lihp]

That hole in the floor was a bit of a surprise, it looked pretty tidy on top!  Good to see it getting some decent repairs, it'll be worth it to keep a fairly rare car on the road/mud.  I haven't seen an early 3dr in a long time.  Even less so a van.  Fingers crossed the other side is less scary!