Discovering the Discovery... Basic Rebuild...

Hello one and all,

Before I start just let me say I have never, threaded, tweeted, squawked, poked, liked, posted, looked, nudged, elbowed, shouted, and any other computer jargony thing you can think of, before. This is my first time on a forum and like a lot of first times I may find the concept a little slippery and difficult to hold on to but I will try and hopefully it will be a happy ending :drum:...

Now I know there are a lot of rebuild threads (Right word???) but I thought I would share mine as well. Like a lot of other people I have drawn great inspiration from several of the other forum members and their builds. Notably Mr Noisy, Green Hornet and Robp... Although mine will be a slightly more boring build as I don't have the money for all the lofty high bits hopefully you can still draw some pleasure from watching all my mistakes.... and pointing fingers..... and laughing..... :hysterically_laughi

So the story so far :bored:

I brought my Landy just over a year ago it is a Disco 1 200 TDI. I went for the 200 Tdi because I like the fact its simple and everything is mechanical. I just wanted a toy for rolling round the woods in and throwing the dogs in, and it didn't matter if it got banged and scratched... When I brought the Landy it only had one months MOT left and my thought was bang it in see what happens after all it only cost me 700 quid. It passed only needing a bulb and front light reflector repair. SO instead of doing any work I have run it for the year and only now taken it off the road to fix it up. However in that year I have fallen completely in love with this motor. More so than my last one a Disco 1 V8, and although originally only planing basic work, I have decided to give her a proper job, as best I can. I have never welded before or done any major engine work. Hopefully by the end of this I will have done both

So here is how she looked when I brought her... pretty much... I fiddled with the bumper a bit....










I hope these images come up ok??? The big change I am going to make to the look of the vehicle is the wheels. I like the black modular ones on paddocks website. I will run them with my current tires as they have a lot of tread on them 205 - 16 then change for either 225 - 75 - 16 or 245 - 70 - 16 price dependent. I am also planing to take a little bit off the rear quarter panel just to lift the rear end silhouette a little. I am fitting new springs and shocks, new brake pipes, new floor, chassis is being cleaned down then cold galvanized, primed and black enameled. I intend to over haul the brakes, remove the rear seats for more room, service the engine change the cam belt and probably do a million other things which I can't think of right now..... :crazy:

So if this works I will post again shortly with the photos of the work I did this weekend.....

Ok, so it looks like I've figured the photo thing thanks to Photobuckets help page about what you can and can't embed in certain places...:smash:

Well this weekend my best mate Stallion Steve came over and helped me basically destroy the rear end of .........the car.... :doh: Here are the photos of my progress so far
















Hope you like it.... just ordered some of the bits I need. Also contacted a local metal fabrication firm who can hopefully supply me with some sheet metal. I will keep you updated with photos as I go. I will also let people know when I'm doing specific jobs so if people want detailed photos I can take as I go. Let me know.. This week I hope to start getting rid of the rust and start priming....

Welcome to the forum, good luck with your rebuild.

Cheers mate.. Still smiling at the minute... Although that might be the odd bag of white power I found stuffed down behind one of the panels.... Seriously though thanks very much..... I did find 5p!!!

Hey, thanks for the mention in your intro. Just like you before starting my rebuild I had never welded before so don't worry the disco body is a forgiving simple beast to develop your skills on.

You have already past the first test by getting the rear quarters off for better access. Its the only way to do the job right :amen:

Looking at your pics there is nothing there that isn't found on just about any disco of that age. At least Land Rover build quality was consistent they ALL had the full rust pack factory fitted:hysterically_laughi
Don't know what parts you plan on fabricating, replacing or patching up yet but looking at that cross member I would highly recommend the YRM replacement one as your rear door pillars still look good and drilling out a few spot welds with all the outer panels off like they are can be done easily and provide a good solid starting point.

Keep the pics coming and don't be afraid to ask for advice

iv got one of them wheel covers !!!!!!!!!

good luck with your project

I love the pre-facelift ones

Looks like a standard Disco with the rusty bits.

Looks good, seen a lot worse. Any questions just ask, loads of us have been there before. When I did my Rangy suspension I found a 2" lift on offer cheaper than staying standard hight. I would highly recomend using Argoshild gas over co2.

Good luck and take as many pics as you can and put them up.

RobP said:

Hey, thanks for the mention in your intro. Just like you before starting my rebuild I had never welded before so don't worry the disco body is a forgiving simple beast to develop your skills on.

You have already past the first test by getting the rear quarters off for better access. Its the only way to do the job right :amen:

Looking at your pics there is nothing there that isn't found on just about any disco of that age. At least Land Rover build quality was consistent they ALL had the full rust pack factory fitted:hysterically_laughi
Don't know what parts you plan on fabricating, replacing or patching up yet but looking at that cross member I would highly recommend the YRM replacement one as your rear door pillars still look good and drilling out a few spot welds with all the outer panels off like they are can be done easily and provide a good solid starting point.

Keep the pics coming and don't be afraid to ask for advice

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Lol.... ound: Yeah they certainly do seem to come with rust... I was discussing this with my mate Stallion Steve, I was questioning why Landrover didn't do the job properly in the first place. He made the obvious points that A: They didn't want the cost and B: Basically the car is 20 years old and really that must be the expected life as Landrover. At the end of the day they want to sell more. However I'm a thrift master so I'm not prepared to let go of her yet will keep the pics coming...

Cheers mate.... I think there are a few about....

lorri789 said:

I love the pre-facelift ones

Looks like a standard Disco with the rusty bits.

Click to expand...

Yeah me to... A few years ago I wasn't that keen, and if I had been doing this then I would have changed the lights, this model has clearly been put together from British Leylands parts bin!! However having had it for a year I've come to love the old look.:biggrin1: the agricultural feel, it has character.....

stutab said:

Looks good, seen a lot worse. Any questions just ask, loads of us have been there before. When I did my Rangy suspension I found a 2" lift on offer cheaper than staying standard hight. I would highly recomend using Argoshild gas over co2.

Good luck and take as many pics as you can and put them up.

Click to expand...

stutab said:

Looks good, seen a lot worse. Any questions just ask, loads of us have been there before. When I did my Rangy suspension I found a 2" lift on offer cheaper than staying standard hight. I would highly recomend using Argoshild gas over co2.

Good luck and take as many pics as you can and put them up.

Click to expand...

Thanks mate... I'm probably going to get a torrent of rage and hate filled mail for this :mil68: but having looked on the welding forum, talked to several welders at work and done some test welds..... I'm not going to use gas :jaw: ..................... :behindsofa:

The fact is, yes its a little messier and not so easy to see the pool but I am welding everything outside which means wind, and the final weld is just as strong using flux wire. If I find it really isn't working I will make the purchase and convert the SIP weldmate to use gas but as it stands the first welding I'll do will never see the light of day again.... hopefully!!!

I stand ready to be mocked and placed in the forum stocks but I'm going to suck it and see....

I have carefully considered the lift thing and weighed the arguments for and against. I think the guys on here who have done it are amazing and have produced some awesome machines. However in my case I can't justify the cost and I think the the standard Landrover is, in its own right, a pretty amazing machine. You only have to look at the Camel Trophy vids from the early 90's on youtube to see how good they were in standard trim, ok they carry extra gear, winches etc but the basic set up isn't changed I believe.

The only mods I intent to do are to help entry and departure angles and slightly larger tyres to give my diff a little more clearance. Portal axles would be an awesome mod but again its cost. For my usage the lift is not really necessary regardless of how quality it may look..... :smokin:

Thanks for your comments and if I do gas up I'll def go for Argoshield ... Will also make sure I put plenty of pictures on...

Ok as promised I would try and alert people before doing a job so if people want exact pics I can take them. :5bsifone:
So the next things I intend to tackle are removal of rear suspension, removal of rear brake calipers + pipes to be cleaned and reconditioned, and lastly the removal of rear body mount bolts. If you have any questions about where bits are bolted on, please ask I'm happy to take pics for reference.... every little helps :amen:

Lots of work there mate, btw I did 90% of my welding outside with no real issues, shield the wind with the other hand.. jobs a gooden! I've yet to do a good weld with gassless!

If you need any help or advise I am not a million miles away from you.

discomark10 said:

Lots of work there mate, btw I did 90% of my welding outside with no real issues, shield the wind with the other hand.. jobs a gooden! I've yet to do a good weld with gassless!

Click to expand...

No worries mate... Thanks for the advice.. I will see how it goes and put up pictures for your mockery and as I say if its awful I will go get a bottle of argoshield...

matthew2riches said:

If you need any help or advise I am not a million miles away from you.

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Hi mate :tea: cool have you done any of the local Forest routes? Not really very challenging but quiet fun.... I have seen a few people about on them.. Any way thanks for the offer I will certainly seek you out if I run in to trouble :attention:

Looking good, an your 100% right bin them alloys ASAP!

If you are happy welding with oxy acett then go for it, I never managed to get the coordination right when I tried. Welded with arc on the farm for years with good results but decided to switch to mig when I started the Rangy, firstly with Gassless, that went badly as the welder was ****e, got a better welder and Gassless was still crap, switched to co2 then Argoshild, still not getting as good a weld as I get with an arc.

You should get good welds as you will melt the metal more and should drive out any oxidation that remains.

I put a standard 2" lift on mine with correction arms, no dislocation cones or extreme bits, cost £600 for the springs, dampers arms and polly bushes. If you are fitting bigger tyres you may need to think about rasing it a bit so you don't catch the body.

Looks like alot of work but good luck with it