Sold 1994 Land Rover Discovery 300tdi ES. (Sold)

[Mrcento]

1994 Disco 300tdi for sale, Black, 5dr, Manual gearbox. ES model.

MOT expired Feb 8th, Of course, being an old Disco it needs welding. Being totally honest, it needs the rear crossmember done, likely both front inner wings, Sills tidied up, probably door posts, rear arches to c pillar etc, usual Disco places. Great project for someone who can weld themselves, i don't have anywhere to do it and thanks to the ridiculous rates of Units, likely never will. Labour costs to pay somewhere to do it make it uneconomical for me to have done.

Mechanically, it's good. Engine excellent, (Has had EGR blanked, decat and i believe a fuel pump tweak, so pulls well) Clutch, gearbox etc fine (slight whine in 4th + 5th on partial throttle, all seem to do it with age and go on forever not getting worse, been like that for 3 years with me, had oil changed on gearbox and T box, levels all good and never gotten worse). Steering etc all fine. May need rear shocks for next MOT, Recently had 2 new tyres, New larger capacity battery, New rear diff, new rear prop doughnut, New rear exhaust section brand new rear calipers and discs + pads at last MOT, also comes with a box of spares, some belts, tensioners, gaskets, mudflaps, servicing filters, wheel bearings etc.

Mechanical issues? not much to speak of, Usual Landy oil droplets at Transfer box and engine, Front half shaft a little clonky if you pull away sharply, that's about all. Starts first turn of the key, holds temperature all day long, doesn't smoke.(bar a grey puff at start up, likely weak glow plugs, starts fine and clears instantly)

Body is tatty, as is interior (grey leather is worn, centre console is cracked and window switch pack is kinda just wedged in) but ideal workhorse or weekend toy once welded. Only 1 key, no remote (has had spider delete to lock and run off only key)

I wouldn't be selling if i had somewhere to DIY it. Comes with large folder of receipts including for HG work, previous body repairs etc (but a lot of that needing redone, lived in Arbroath before i got it, so sea air + Land Rover = accelerated problems)

 

Will sell @450 for a shitter. Worse is going for 700+ on Ebay with no spares or history and usually a lot more wrong and a lot more rot.

 

Located in Dundee, Scotland.

[lesapandre]

I think the band Soft Cell had this in mind in the early 80's:

 

"Isn't it nice 
Sugar and spice 
Luring disco dollies 
To a life of vice…"

[drum]

At the risk of being a time waster, I might come for a look at the weekend.

 

I'll see how I get on getting the omega ready for its retest.

[Tickman]

I'm being realistic and avoiding this thread from this point on

Good luck getting it shifted.

[Exiled_Tat_Gatherer]

Tickman - how much would it cost me to get this welded up? 

[John F]

I don't do spannering for a living, but fabricating a new rear body crossmember & plating up the floor in my old 300 TDi took me about 200 hours all-in...!

 

I'm sure a proper fabricator could do it quicker, mind. And I did some gearbox work while I was in there.

 

Also, you can get pre-fabricated crossmembers and panels, that would save a lot of time. I only used a pre-fabricated boot centre panel when I did mine.

 

http://autoshite.com/topic/18001-john-fs-discovery-300-tdi-thread/

[mrbenn]

Lovely. I haven't been in one of these since I did work experience years ago. Had quite a charm about it. Diesel auto so no ball of fire but sounded alright!

 

Sadly, the guy had traded a 24v Senator for the Land Rover not 2 weeks before. Was hoping for a few runs out in that!

 

Apols for useless post.

 

GLWTS.

[John F]

I absolutely love the Disco 300 TDi.

 

I'd have another like a shot but I've got limited use of my spannering facilities at the moment. If I still had regular use of the unit I'd never have sold my old one, I still miss it.

[Tickman]

Tickman - how much would it cost me to get this welded up? 

 

You would need to find someone with time, space and skill for that and I know of no one that meets that criteria!

[Mrcento]

No takers?

 

I genuinely don't think i can take much more of the Gumtree fuckwits, starting to strongly waver towards taking the stuff that can easily be sold on off and scrapping the rest.

 

Although i "may" have somewhere who "may" be an option for repair (but is probably more likely to tell me to GTF because Discovery).

[Rod/b]

Stick it on classifieds.not2grand.co.uk, it’s free and relatively fuckwit-free too.

[sierraman]

Go on tell us what Gumtree corkers you’ve had!

 

Even to someone who wasn’t going to weld it up it’s worth the £500. Someone with land or a farmer would have it. Or more likely somewhere like a campsite, gr8 for shunting caravans.

[drum]

If you do break it, I'll buy the engine.

[sutty2006]

I’d buy the gearbox and transfer box if it got broke, and it made its way south down the autoshite express.

[DodgyBastard]

Tempting... And it's payday tomorrow but do I need another welding project?

[Wingz123]

If you were further south I’d know someone who’d buy if from you (he breaks them) but you would be 400+ miles from him if not further. Its a shame because he very much like I would simply come along, load up and get going again!

[Mrcento]

Tempting... And it's payday tomorrow but do I need another welding project?

 

I'd say you do.... But i'm obviously biased!

 

(being honest, if you took it as a project, welded it up and decided when it was back on the road that you were bored of it/wanted rid for whatever reason, i'd likely be very interested in buying it back down the line, obviously at a price more fitting for a solid, tatty but MOT'd one!)

 

If you were further south I’d know someone who’d buy if from you (he breaks them) but you would be 400+ miles from him if not further. Its a shame because he very much like I would simply come along, load up and get going again!

 

Aye, i've had a few "wish it was closer" things, folk are (comparatively) throwing money at these, even not for welding, purely because they want the engines and bits for Defenders etc, but up here.... not so much. It's been a hard sell to say the least.

[DodgyBastard]

I'd say you do.... But i'm obviously biased!

 

(being honest, if you took it as a project, welded it up and decided when it was back on the road that you were bored of it/wanted rid for whatever reason, i'd likely be very interested in buying it back down the line, obviously at a price more fitting for a solid, tatty but MOT'd one!)

 

 

 

How bad is the rust? any photos? Or am I best coming to look at it myself?

[Mrcento]

How bad is the rust? any photos? Or am I best coming to look at it myself?

 

The rear crossmember is the worst thing i know of tbh, it has collapsed so would need replaced or a new one fabricated. The boot floor has one small crunchy patch at the front but i reckon may be salvageable with just that bit cut off and replaced. Both were done a few years back but it spent time in Arbroath, so i'm guessing sea air and the fact it was a brit/shitpart replacement crossmember played the biggest role in accelerating another failure.

 

The sills themselves i think could be treated and cleaned up,, again these were done a few years back and seem to have stood up ok.

 

The B pillar bottoms do need attention, particularly the passenger side one, and the C pillar to wheelarch seam has gone on both sides.

 

Front inner arches, i reckon passenger side may be salvageable as is, drivers side is holed and was plated up from the underside to get it through the last MOT so really i'd recommend replacement.

 

All the parts are the common areas and repair panels are all available, like i said, if i had a unit do it myself and personally, i'd get the repair panels, but my skill level of welding/confidence is very basic at best so would be me relearning on the job so to speak and i'd be trying to keep fab work down to a minimum. And as usual with a discovery, there's always more when you get into it, so i'd be factoring that in.

 

I did a video a while back when i was doing more youtube that probably gives a better idea of general condition where i point out other areas needing tidied etc

 

 

 

 

 

The failed crossmember,

 

I'd probably say it's better to see in person to get a better idea of the various bits, though. But personally, compared to some of the absolute shit tips you see on Ebay, my personal opinion is that it's nowhere near as bad as many of them and more on the side of saveable than breaking.

[Mrcento]

Now on Ebay, Dealing with folk offering £150, £250 etc is driving me potty.

 

If it's not sold by this weekend, it's up to my lockup, a few parts pilfered off it, all the scrap metal, spare Fiat engine i have in my garage will go in it and it'll all be weighed in together.

 

http://ebay.us/mdHMoS?cmpnId=5338273189

[Dead_E23]

If you were to remove that tow ball and take it to a place that understands Land Rovers, you might find that'll earn a fresh MOT.  Dud body mounts aren't a fail as long as the body is secure overall, and without a towball the crossmember doesn't fall in a prescribed area.

 

I got my Defender through several MOTs with a really ropey rear crossmember and only replaced it when the rearmost exhaust hanger finally  disintegrated and I couldn't be assed to fabricate a bodge repair.

[Mrcento]

If you were to remove that tow ball and take it to a place that understands Land Rovers, you might find that'll earn a fresh MOT.  Dud body mounts aren't a fail as long as the body is secure overall, and without a towball the crossmember doesn't fall in a prescribed area.

 

I got my Defender through several MOTs with a really ropey rear crossmember and only replaced it when the rearmost exhaust hanger finally  disintegrated and I couldn't be assed to fabricate a bodge repair.

 

It would likely still fail on the front drivers side inner wing, that was plated up for the last MOT, failed in the prescribed area due to the location of the brake servo and has only got worse again over the last 12 months!.

 

Should also add, the rear crossmember isn't just holed, it has entirely collapsed!, The Bumper is sitting higher than it's meant to as a result, (well, body is sitting lower technically) it could be argued as it has the 2 seats in the boot (which i could be removed if so i guess) that the fact the rear door doesn't open properly (it will open and close if you lift it over the bumper step plate) that it fails on access too.

 

The garage that does my MOT's are Land Rover nuts and have a good understanding of them, they used to run 3 modified Defenders as their company vehicles until fairly recently.

[Dead_E23]

Sounds a bit like what happened to the rear body of my Range Rover, which assumed a 'broken backed' appearance as a result.  That earned its last MOTs with the rear seats removed due to rotten seat belt mounts, but I eventually decided that although it was technically MOTable it was in such a shit state that it would have been taking the piss to present it!   It then spent a few years being used as a shed in a corner of Mum's garden and when it eventually went for scrap it was in a very poor state indeed.

[Mrcento]

If you just casually look at mine, it doesn't look like it has a partially collapsed behind because it sits dead level, but if you then look at one that's as they came originally (or repaired to that condition), it's a bit clearer, the non rotten ones almost look like the rear is too high in comparison!

[Mrcento]

Auction on this ends tonight, currently sitting at £300, only bidder is the guy who was messing around with £250 offers. At this rate he's getting an absolute steal. If he takes the engine and box out, he's up a few hundred £, then scrap money for the shell, wheels, tyres, battery, interior, spares... probably slightly over double your money territory.

 

http://ebay.us/mdHMoS?cmpnId=5338273189

[Mrcento]

New plan for this seeing as the buyer has seemingly done what 99% of ebay and gumtree buyers of cars under £1500 do, vanished off the face of the earth.

 

I'm taking it on Monday down to a welders for him to have a poke around under it and see if he thinks it's worth taking on and get a rough estimate (knowing what Discoveries are like, rough estimates for welding usually double), and if it's a no go for whatever reason, I'll remove what's easy to and it'll be weighed in along with an old Fiat engine, old batteries, Honda Del Sol exhaust, various cylinder heads, cinq gearbox and whatever else metal i have lying around that needs shifted.

 

I'm genuinely done with the Ebay/Gumtree crowd!.

 

I had to move it tonight as it had sat for 3 weeks and the neighbours starting to get a bit pissed off at it taking up space, it started instantly at the first flick of the key.

[Dead_E23]

I wonder if people who buy 300Tdi engines on Ebay are any more reliable than people who buy shagged Discos?   Not that it's exactly going to jump out onto a pallet by itself.

 

Is it the body crossmember that has gone, or the chassis?  I wouldn't fancy tackling a body crossmember much - needs more time, energy and patience than I could muster.  I'd take the back seats out and see what can be done with that inner wing (which can't need to be all that strong, can it?).   Only problem is, you would still have to sell it once it was fixed.

[Hawkeyethenoo]

Handy that it starts first flick, that'll make it so much easier to drive to the SCRAPY !

[sierraman]

This isn’t like me... I’d get the fucker welded up and keep it.

[John F]

New plan for this seeing as the buyer has seemingly done what 99% of ebay and gumtree buyers of cars under £1500 do, vanished off the face of the earth.

 

I'm taking it on Monday down to a welders for him to have a poke around under it and see if he thinks it's worth taking on and get a rough estimate (knowing what Discoveries are like, rough estimates for welding usually double), and if it's a no go for whatever reason, I'll remove what's easy to and it'll be weighed in along with an old Fiat engine, old batteries, Honda Del Sol exhaust, various cylinder heads, cinq gearbox and whatever else metal i have lying around that needs shifted.

 

I'm genuinely done with the Ebay/Gumtree crowd!.

 

I had to move it tonight as it had sat for 3 weeks and the neighbours starting to get a bit pissed off at it taking up space, it started instantly at the first flick of the key.

 

I really hope it can be saved, the Disco 300 TDi is a truly ace vehicle & fettled ones are already starting to fetch decent money.

 

I can't do any more than wish you the best of luck unfortunately, I don't have the space or time for another project