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Disco Fever


mat_the_cat

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Bit of background first; we have a Discovery V8 which was rolled (not by me!) around 4 years ago. At the time, the guy who was driving bought us another, so it's been sat since then waiting, and occasionally being raided for spares. My plan as of last week is to get it back to a drivable (in not road legal) condition, so I can use it around the forest to go and collect firewood without trashing the decent one or having to take a trailer.

 

Some photos:

It was in good clean* pre-accident condition...

post-5223-0-91902800-1410548983_thumb.jpg

 

Will that polish out?

post-5223-0-21494600-1410549299_thumb.jpg

 

Brakes may need attention:

post-5223-0-81488400-1410549497_thumb.jpg

 

Windscreen chipped within driver's field of vision...

post-5223-0-61126900-1410549191_thumb.jpg

 

Anyway, earlier this week I managed to fire it up, with a bit of temporary bodgery to the gas system as I think the petrol pump is seized. The gas tanks are almost full, so should do for a while but after that I may just run it from Calor bottles.

 

 

Steering linkages are bent, as is the steering damper. Drivers door can only be opened with difficulty, so getting a replacement and straightening out the B pillar is a job to do. Not sure what to do about the windscreen, as I think the frame is slightly distorted. If I can get a cheap second hand screen I may try bending things back with a bottle jack and scaffold tube until it fits. But to be fair, I think it stood up to multiple rolls on rocky terrain pretty well. Just wish I'd been wearing a seatbelt :oops

 

It's not going to be a quick fix, but as something to tinker with for little cost I may as well give it a go!

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Are you not tempted to just take the engine out of it & put it in the Stellar to give it a bit more BHP over the 3.5 you are running at the moment?

 

Nah, that'd be too easy! Although the thought crossed my mind as I did a top end rebuild only a few months prior to the accident. It's still an option, but I'd like to build the existing Stellar engine to a nice spec.

 

First plan is to get a spare set of wheels re-sealed so they hold air, then I can move it to an area which I've cleared of undergrowth. From there it's easy to get to the main forest track, so I can keep it moving and stop things seizing up (once I have un-seized them).

 

Nobody's face hit the windscreen as far as I know, but I rattled around a bit before involuntarily making my exit through the passenger window mid-roll. Apparently I was very lucky not to be squashed as it continued down the hill, and the only damage to me was a couple of stitches needed on my back. I was doubly lucky to escape with no further injuries when I broke the news to Mrs_the_cat (she was out for the evening while I had a few mates round), as it was her daily drive at the time...

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look for one with a shagged engine/chassis and rob it for the cabin?

 

Or do these rot so much that the chassis is always left but the bodywork disappears?

 

Almost brought a V8 x plater 5 years ago still not sure why I backed out.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LAND-ROVER-DISCOVERY-2-BREAKING-FOR-PARTS-SALVAGE-CHASSIS-TD5-ENGINE-/301304723190?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&fits=Car+Make%3ALand+Rover%7CModel%3ADiscovery&hash=item46272936f6

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Yeah,. if its just for collecting firewood on private land, I would have the back of the shell off behind the front doors and make up a very basic pickup bed over the rear. 

 

Pretty much my thoughts TBH. This would be nice if it was to go back on the road, but I could buy an awful lot of firewood with £500! If I replace the driver's door I should be at least able to get in and out more easily, and all the passenger one needs is new glass to keep the rain out. I hadn't thought of simply moving the rear end forwards to close off the cab so that may be an easy solution (although I do have a possible home for one of the rear corners).

 

Maybe a rear tub from a high capacity Defender pickup? Saw one on eBay a while ago up for ~£150, so might be able to find one cheaper. Or just make my own from angle iron and rough sawn timber...

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Managed to make a tiny bit of progress on this - first of all I cleared a bit of space of undergrowth and small trees, so I could move it to somewhere easier to work on.

 

post-5223-0-00976000-1410893177_thumb.jpg

 

Then I got my spare set of wheels (one of them needed the rim cleaning up and re-sealing due to corrosion) and fitted them. Not as easy as it sounds, as the logs I'd rested the axles on had sunk into the ground, as did the jack when I tried to lift it.

 

Wheels on and ready for the first move in years:

post-5223-0-72452400-1410893236_thumb.jpg

 

And in its new location:

post-5223-0-85542400-1410893280_thumb.jpg

 

I've absolutely no need to put the headlights etc back in, but it acts as a visual motivator if it looks a little more like a car than a pile of scrap. Battery is completely toast, so I think I'll ask around next time I pass a scrapyard to see if they have anything suitable and cheap.

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Is your runner Kent Green or Bonatti Grey?

 

Neither! It's Willow Green - seems to be quite a rare colour from what I've seen but I like it. Beige interior FTW!

 

post-5223-0-46950200-1410895736_thumb.jpg

 

If its any use, Im breaking an N plate 300tdi 5 door, if you need any bits give me a shout.

 

:-) That may be very useful, I'll PM you a list. Not a million miles away, and I have a mate in Newcastle.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Update time! At the weekend I collected a pair of doors (cheers sutty2006) so earlier today I made a start on fitting the driver's side. I knew the door frame and aperture were distorted, as the window wouldn't go all the way up so the first job was to make up something with which I could try and straighten things out.

 

post-5223-0-11021000-1412638902_thumb.jpg

 

My plan was to hang the door, and adjust the roof/A pillar to suit - hopefully then the windscreen frame would be in roughly the right place when I come to put a new screen in. But first I noticed that the new door had a couple of cracks in around the top hinge...

 

post-5223-0-16956500-1412638941_thumb.jpg

 

...so I quickly welded those up:

 

post-5223-0-53966000-1412638974_thumb.jpg

 

After a bit of faffing around with the jack, I was then able to get the door roughly in the right position!

 

post-5223-0-61475000-1412638997_thumb.jpg

 

Although it highlights just how much the B pillar has been pushed in, as the door won't actually latch now. How I'm going to pull that out has yet to be decided, but I may just give it a sharp tug with the other Disco and see what happens.

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Yes, the other one has a winch but only a fairly small one:

 

Photo0509.jpg

 

Not sure if it would be up to the task or not, but there's one way to find out! TBH the main reason for getting it was to help with felling trees - sometimes, especially with a windswept tree, there's no way in the world that you can get them to fall in the direction you want without extra help. That plus a sort of insurance policy against getting stuck. I guess if I anchored the bent one to a tree, and linked the good one to the van as ballast, it might work and should be more controllable than a sharp tug.

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I did a little bit more on this today, not the passenger door yet as the weather isn't too great at the moment and once I pry that door open, I really have to finish the job otherwise everything will get soaked again. All I've really done today is remove the headlining and carpet/soundproofing. It's probably never going to be completely watertight again, so if I remove everything that will hold water against the shell, it should last a bit longer.

 

It struck me that although this shell is generally pretty good in terms of rust, there are a few strange spots. Take for example the inner wings/footwells:

 

post-5223-0-98411200-1413224408_thumb.jpg

 

It's just starting in the seam, but I've seen a hell of a lot worse!

 

Rear wheel arches pretty much pristine:

 

post-5223-0-26779700-1413224456_thumb.jpg

 

Yet there's a rusty patch right in the middle of the floorpan, which I was able to poke a hole straight through!

 

post-5223-0-72845500-1413224555_thumb.jpg

 

Boot floor is terrible, as to be expected; the green one is a lot better in this respect although rust has started in the seams so it will need doing at some point.

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If the electric winch isnt up to the pull, double it up with a wee pulley wheel.

 

Hook a pulley wheel to the bent disco, park the other one in the right spot and run the winch cable out around the pulley wheel and back to the winch, hooking it to the tow eye or other solid bit. This acts as a force multiplier. I did this to pull out the rear pillar of an Escort estate , although I was using a hand winch, but the principal is the same.

 

maximizing-pullUntitled-1.jpg

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 We have two shells going for scrap soon.. but they are 2-door 200tdi examples.

I would have thought two doors would be worth hanging on to, surely a classic in the making?

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