foxmurderer

New Member
Hey guys I'm new to this place and also very new to the world of landys!! I've got to the stage in my life where anything other than a 4x4 is impracticle so I. Fancied a land lover over every other manufacturer. I'm looking at the disco 1 300tdi. I have been told that these can serriously rust out. And I know I have to look in the following areas:
Boot floor,
Wheel arches
Chassis
And door especially the rear.
Obviouslly as I'm all new to this I don't want to be fobbed off and buy a complete shed!
Car deffinatly has to be a manual ,auto-spastic would drive me nuts and I have been looking at es models! Now I am going to use this for a few off road stints but mainly this is a road car that I can use to take shooting. Roughly I have 3k to spend and I'd like to pick up a standard car inside that money and then spend the rest on a set of all terain tyres and 2 inches of lift. Also is it possible to see 30mpg out of these beasts??
Any input from you guys would be brilliant as I could do with all the information I could get.
Hope you can help me to find a nice one and ill be looking forward to meeting you green laning or on pay and play days etc!
Many thanks. Tom
 
Well you have a choice between one that has rusted, one that has rusted and been repaired and one that is going to rust. Personally I went for the rusted but not repaired version so I can be sure that it is done properly. You should be able to find something good within your budget. If you can weld you can save a ton of money as well.
 
Hey guys I'm new to this place and also very new to the world of landys!! I've got to the stage in my life where anything other than a 4x4 is impracticle so I. Fancied a land lover over every other manufacturer. I'm looking at the disco 1 300tdi. I have been told that these can serriously rust out. And I know I have to look in the following areas:
Boot floor,
Wheel arches
Chassis
And door especially the rear.
Obviouslly as I'm all new to this I don't want to be fobbed off and buy a complete shed!
Car deffinatly has to be a manual ,auto-spastic would drive me nuts and I have been looking at es models! Now I am going to use this for a few off road stints but mainly this is a road car that I can use to take shooting. Roughly I have 3k to spend and I'd like to pick up a standard car inside that money and then spend the rest on a set of all terain tyres and 2 inches of lift. Also is it possible to see 30mpg out of these beasts??
Any input from you guys would be brilliant as I could do with all the information I could get.
Hope you can help me to find a nice one and ill be looking forward to meeting you green laning or on pay and play days etc!
Many thanks. Tom


Hi Tom, find yourself a '97 or '98 TDi 300 manual, then give it a full service and a few cheap mods and you'll easily get 30mpg - unless of course you drive like a twât !

Pay no more than £1500, less if poss then you will have loads of dosh left to get it fully sorted.

TDi 300's are really epic vehicles - I took my last one, an auto btw, to the Sahara Desert and right through Morocco. I did 16,000mls in her and overall she achieved 33mpg.

Good luck in your search, don't worry too much about the oily bits, the body rust is the killer,

Dave
 
I'm quite handy with a spanner, also a fully qualified sparky and can do most things never welded in my life but will be buying a welder if I have a landy as I seem to put everything into what I do and go at it 110 %. Ideally I'm looking at one that has not rusted out and then when it does I can repair it myself. Mods wise all I want to do is tyres on modulars and 2 inches of lift!! Then it will just be turned into a shooting truck really. Also I'm sure the wife to be will want me to tow her horse box haha. I have seen a few nice ones around the 1700 mark. Engine wise they are suposed to be bomb proofe arnt they?? Thanks for your help guys it means a lot. I drive to sussex twice a week which is 80 mile round trip and then also I use it for shooting a few nights a week. So mainly it will be a road cars that's very capable off road for my shooting trips. I don't want to climb mount everest in it lol.
 
To be 100% honnest with you all the slower the better I have had track cars in the past and I have done my fair share of fast driving I now want to be sensible. And to see someone driving like an artsehole in a 2 tonne truck would annoy me so I won't be like that. I want a plodder but with decent mpg I'm used to 18 mpg so will be nice
 
thebiglad gives sound advice.

You can get an MOT failure (basically on everything you have already listed) for not too much at all and if you can weld, then youre golden.

I brought a small welder for £100. I have rewelded most of the Hornet and made all sorts of bits and pieces over the last 2 years. I have spent £32 on wire, £90 on gas and the odd bit of steel and thats it. A lot cheaper than getting someone else to weld for you.

Remember that a lift will only give ground clearance for the chassis so the limiting factor is still the diff to floor distance. Taller tyres will help but then you may have to camel cut the rear arches.

The std disco is a very capable machine off road without all the common changes so dont get suckered into them unless you need them.

Personally I wanted a certain 'look' and achieved that but TBH it is unecessary in most cases when I go off road.
 
I have those size tyres and a 2" lift and needed to do a small trim to the rear arch. I know others don't have to. Just a word of warning really. Not all Disco's are the same :0)
 
I have those size tyres and a 2" lift and needed to do a small trim to the rear arch. I know others don't have to. Just a word of warning really. Not all Disco's are the same :0)


They werentthe same from the factory - the chassis had a tolerance of 12mm in either direction lol Oh and the body isnt square either
 
Thanks for the help guys and. Yer I was told that maybe have to make a slight trip on the rear end!! Are they good tyres??
 
Special tracks are about as extreme as you can get and still be road legal. Great tyres in mud but a serious compromise on road manners.
 
Like I say as much as mainly it will be a road car I don't do that much road driving anyway. I've been restricted in where I can take the car when shooting this is why I'm having to get a land lover! But I do like the look of nobblys and abit of lift!! I like the idea of welding. And I like to play with my cars I'm always taking things apart and rebuilding them.
 
I'm looking at insa turbo. Special tracks. Probably 245/70/16 is that ok to go straight on a standard disco??

Hi Tom Insa Turbo remoulds are very good for remoulds but to be honest they are not as cheap as they used to be so I wouldn't recommend them.

As you have stated the new aquisition will be mainly a road car I would be recomending either either BF Goddrich AT or General Grabber AT² & AT. They are all really great tyres, a little more expensive perhaps but really great grip in all circumstances and they last forever!

When I referrred to mods I was meaning more like De-EGR, De-Cat, stuff that makes the vehicle run better.

I'm not a great fan of lifts and bigger fatter tyres because both of these things are negative for use as a road car. But you will choose what you like.

My advise would be, buy yourself the very best std TDi300 that you can find for about £1500-ish, then go through from front to back replacing all fluids and filters, brakes all round, etc - really make it a great std Disco, put a set of the suggested tyres on, then see how it does the job you want done.

These vehicle are truly great, even in std trim.

Good look

Dave
 
Thanks dave very helpfull indeed!! And yes the insa turbo's were just a thought I was actually looking the the grabbers!! Also engine wise then I already have got some bits, even though I haven't got the car haha!! Brand new egr blank plate, and a snorkul and air filter. Will also be having a whole new exhaust system as I like the idea of a side exit. And an ali sport cooler. The idea is to have a clean landy that can also be used off road! To be as reliable as possible and to deliver good mpg with reasonable performance. I was looking at the bell auto vnt turbo too.
 
Thanks dave very helpfull indeed!! And yes the insa turbo's were just a thought I was actually looking the the grabbers!! Also engine wise then I already have got some bits, even though I haven't got the car haha!! Brand new egr blank plate, and a snorkul and air filter. Will also be having a whole new exhaust system as I like the idea of a side exit. And an ali sport cooler. The idea is to have a clean landy that can also be used off road! To be as reliable as possible and to deliver good mpg with reasonable performance. I was looking at the bell auto vnt turbo too.


Well it sounds to me like you have a very clear picture of what you want and how to get it, but if I may offer a thought on the intercooler and the VNT turbo?

These are expensive to VERY expensive items.They together will cost more than the car and whilst the performance will improve - let's face it, it better!!! - I just could justify the cost:return ratio at all.

The performance can be improved so much for just peanuts money with the mods I mentioned, plus a FREE pump mod that I can see the justification.

Let's face it, this is a 2.2ton permanently four-wheel drive tranmission vehicle that sucks the life out of the engine power. It has the aerodynampics of a brick and truly are not stable at speed.

As I said before, get your new TDI to optimum std trim, then do the few cheap mods mentioned, then see if YOU can justify £500 for a new intercooler and £1300+ for the VNT ???


The very best of luck to you, just remember that the Disco is not a hot-rod,


Dave
 
Like I say I have done my fair share of fast driving and an old plodder doesn't bother me attal!! I like a healthy engine and I'd like it to breath as good as possible. So new rads and cooler regular services etc etc will happen. I'd love a vnt but it all depends on funds at the time as its not massivly nessesary!!
 

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