Land Rover Discovery project..

[JonnyP]

Following on from this thread http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?1806-What-are-you-working-on-right-now/page6
I thought I would start a new one to show my progress on a large project..

I bought the Disco cheap, hoping it would go through its next MOT.. It didn't.. In fact I had three whole pages of fails.. :0(
I, a bit deterred I joined a Land Rover forum http://www.landyzone.co.uk where I saw loads of pictures of other people doing up old Discoveries.
This got me revved up, so I borrowed a welder and got stuck in.
I cant be bothered to load up all the old photos, but all progress to date can be seen here, if you are interested.. http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f20/hello-cornwall-disco-project-165186.html

Here is my latest post..

The Cornish Winter weather has meant I have not been able to get on with this as much as I would of liked, but here is an update..
The rear end of the car is coming on well now. I have welded (not pretty) new side strips in to take the boot floor. I have sorted out the rear chassis crossmember. I have welded in new rear body mounts, and patched up bit here and there..
I red oxided all the chassis and underneath, and painted on the black waxoyl paint.
I have sprayed waxoyl into every hole I could find in the chassis.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/001-3.jpg

I will update here as I get on.. I am hoping to have everything done by May, when the MOT runs out on my car.
I will also add, I am not a mechanic, just a hands on type of person, and I believe if you are also a hands on type, do not be afraid of doing a project like this.. Its good fun, a good learning thing, and a means to an end..

[CanadianMike]

Looking forward to your progress!

[paul standley]

Good luck with this one, certainly got your hands full there...!

[markal17]

wow nice mate i do love landys there great hope to c more pic mate

[bare grills]

hi , i'm on landyzone aswell due to owning a 300 tdi disco :)

i'm basil brush on there , will keep my eyes peeled for you ....

looking good so far by the way

[Pab101]

looks like your making good progress, last year i took on a ford capri restoration project, started with only about 2 areas of rust turned out I needed about 2 square meters of 2 mm steel plate and about 0.5 square meters of 3mm steel plate, luckily it is now complete and looks great and flew through the mot without even an advisory.

[Ben Casey]

It looks like your gonna have fun :)

[treefrog]

Looks like a fun project...good luck. (Hate to be the one to point it out, but you got the steering wheel on the wrong side:D).

[CanadianMike]

Looks like a fun project...good luck. (Hate to be the one to point it out, but you got the steering wheel on the wrong side:D).

You noticed that too, eh? Lol, nothing a roll of duct tape and a few zip ties can't fix. ;)

[Martin]

You noticed that too, eh? Lol, nothing a roll of duct tape and a few zip ties can't fix. ;)

You mean cable ties. ;)

Martin

[JonnyP]

Thanks guys.. I will get a pic every time I can get on with it..
I have fond memories of Ford Capri's Pab.. Well done on completing.. Do you have a pic..?
Steering wheel is just where I like it.. :0)

[Al21]

Looks good! I'll be following with interest. I've a S11a 109 in the project pile in need of time and cash, so maybe your posts will inspire me to greater efforts.

Al

[CanadianMike]

You mean cable ties. ;)

Martin

We call them tie wraps at work, I figured zip ties would be more familiar around here. ;)

[JonnyP]

I got a bit more done on the Landy today. I finished off a bit more welding that needed doing and I got the rear part of the chassis, and the mounts etc completely painted up in chassis paint. I will be able to get the fuel tank in now, and put the boot floor in.

Here are some pics of some of the things I need to sort out still..
The sills need a lot of welding..
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/006-1.jpg

Also the inner front wheel arches and headlight surrounds need a lot of attention
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/007.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/008-1.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/009.jpg

I had a good result on a front bumper off ebay for £5.50, so I went and picked that up this evening. I need to find a rear bumper as I had to cut the old rotten one off..

[CanadianMike]

What makes these pics foreign to me (besides the steering wheel on the wrong side), is there isn't a single can or bottle of beer in sight! Empty OR "In Use"

;)

[LandRoverMatt]

Love landrovers !

[JonnyP]

What makes these pics foreign to me (besides the steering wheel on the wrong side), is there isn't a single can or bottle of beer in sight! Empty OR "In Use"

;)

The steering wheel is on the right side.. The passenger sits in the left side.. :0p~
I bet there is some beer in a shot.. Must be..


Love landrovers !
Best you come and help then chap :0)

[jus_young]

What the hell have you taken on there! :D

I've seen fewer holes in a colander, good luck!

[CanadianMike]

The steering wheel is on the right side.. The passenger sits in the left side.. :0p~
I bet there is some beer in a shot.. Must be..


What about the backseat driver? What side do they sit on?

[treefrog]

'' I bought a new car the other day, it's got a passenger-side air bag---my wife.''

-Rodney Dangerfield.

[CanadianMike]

Pure win! Lol

[JonnyP]

Tried it the Canadian way today, but didn't get much done..

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/011.jpg

[JonnyP]

Got a good day in on the landy today. I got the rear inner side panels all welded up which took me most of the day. And I got the fuel tank back in and all connected up..

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/013.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/014.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/015.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/012.jpg

[rich290185]

properrrrr jooooooob!!!!! T^

[Fletching]

Nice bit of welding Jonny! :)

Steve

[JonnyP]

Nice bit of welding Jonny! :)

Steve
No its not mate, its awful. Thats why I painted it up quick to hide it a bit lol. Its doing the job, but I am having problems with the welder spitting and spattering. I can't weld in a straight line very well because I cannot see too well through the visor, so its loads of little welds joined up.

[CanadianMike]

Excellent, made it lok like a camping trip!

[JonnyP]

Got the new boot floor in..
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/016.jpg

[jus_young]

Looking better T^

How are you finding the cold at the mo? Welding must be fun!

[JonnyP]

Looking better T^

How are you finding the cold at the mo? Welding must be fun!

Loving the cold mate.. Its actually stopped raining :0O
Not done any welding for a bit.. Does the cold affect welders or something..?

[CanadianMike]

Looks great! Funny you guys and your boots, which seem to be mostly centered around auto parts, which would be an 'auto boot', which means something totally different over here! Lol

[JonnyP]

Looks great! Funny you guys and your boots, which seem to be mostly centered around auto parts, which would be an 'auto boot', which means something totally different over here! Lol

You guys call it the trunk, don't you Mike.. We call that something else over here lol..

[CanadianMike]

Ya, we do, and we also call a hardshell luggage (steamer trunk I guess it's called?) trunk a trunk. The french over here are funny though, the franco-Ontarians (my girlfriend) call it a coffre, the Quebecers call it a vallaise (spelling), and argue about it, claiming one is the trunk and the other is where the trunk goes into the car. I forget which is which.

Then you guys say bonnet, we say hood, yet both are headwear and unsure where either came from...... what do you guys call the roof?

I think the commonly known boot over here and over there is the device some jurisdictions put on the wheel of a car to force a car owner to pay his outstanding tickets.....

[JonnyP]

Got some more done today.. I cut out sections of the floor soundproofing for access and treated up and primed both footwells.
The sound proofing holds moisture and if it ever gets wet again I don't want the floor rotting, so I am going to get a few layers of paint on there and wax it up. The under side of the floor all seems ok, so it seems to prove its the wet soundproofing that causes the rust.
I also made a start on both sills. I cut out all the old rot and treated any rust with krust and primed it all with red oxide. I am going to use 100x60mm box section and weld it in place.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/002-2.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/003.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/004-1.jpg

[jus_young]

Coming on good there. Love the picture of your new water feature, these have kept me busy for the last few days.

[JonnyP]

Coming on good there. Love the picture of your new water feature, these have kept me busy for the last few days.

I was just looking back through the pics looking for what could be the water feature lol. You must mean the pipe burst on Janies blog.

[jus_young]

I was just looking back through the pics looking for what could be the water feature lol. You must mean the pipe burst on Janies blog.

T^

Thats the one :D

[JonnyP]

I had to put on a new wheel stud as the previous owners had a little accident.. Their mechanic started taking off the n/s front wheel to do some work. Then he realised he was on the wrong side and put the wheel back on, but he only put back one wheel nut. The Landy got taken away and a few days later the wheel came off while they were driving round a bend. It had snapped the stud and knackered up the wheel.
I had to take off the hub to get the new stud in, which was a bigger job than I thought it would be. I had bought me a special socket for undoing the inner nut, but found it was loose and easy to undo anyway.

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/001-4.jpg

While I am waiting for the sills I carried on rust treating and making up patches to weld on over the holes. Any holes are given a rust treatment and then red oxided. The patches are being red oxided too. When I am ready to weld, I pencil mark around where the patch goes and then grind back to bare metal where the weld will go. This way most of the metal inside the patch will be red oxided. I will also be painting over the red oxide with under seal too..

New wheel stud on, and rust treatment done around the n/s front..

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/007-1.jpg

[GlenM]

Comming along lovley there JP!......................But it's not quite GREEN enough for me mate..........you know what I'm talking about..............

Glen

[JonnyP]

Comming along lovley there JP!......................But it's not quite GREEN enough for me mate..........you know what I'm talking about..............

Glen

Just for you then Glen..

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/landypopps010.jpg

Oh how I miss it.. :0(

[paul standley]

I just bought some shares in red oxide - looking to make a killing :-)

[JonnyP]

I just bought some shares in red oxide - looking to make a killing :-)

I got through 1.5 litres and a spray cans worth so far. I am gonna need me another litre tin at least..

[GlenM]

Fantastic!!!

[JonnyP]

The more you look, the more you find.. This car really should of been scrapped. I keep finding more work to do..

This was what I found underneath the battery..
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/005-2.jpg

And behind the front light..
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/008-2.jpg

Underneath the air filter..
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/007-2.jpg

And an MOT fail with rust 30 cm away from the brake master cylinder..
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/006-2.jpg

I took the o/s front wing off today and found some more holes and a load of dirt..
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/004-2.jpg

I also got the n/s front arch welded up.. I took the photo from back a bit, so my welding doesn't show up too much.. Its holding ok, but its not pretty.. I cannot seem to weld in a straight line..
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/009-1.jpg

[CanadianMike]

I can see the bottles of beer adding up now! Lol, you are making a great run at keeping this from the bin, keep it up, I want to see it MOT approved and you smiling at the camera from behind the wheel (whichever side you keep it on) when you do! ;)

[JonnyP]

I can see the bottles of beer adding up now! Lol, you are making a great run at keeping this from the bin, keep it up, I want to see it MOT approved and you smiling at the camera from behind the wheel (whichever side you keep it on) when you do! ;)

I want to say, bring on that day. But I am really enjoying the experience of doing it up.. Cheers Mike

[JonnyP]

Just to the right of the headlight in this pic, is a body mount. You can see all the rust and holes around it.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/008-2.jpg

This is another MoT fail, so I started work on this today..
I had the sheet metal to do the sides, but I had trouble finding something thick enough to do the base of the mount. I eventually found an old RSJ off cut, so I cut that up. I don't know how I am going to drill the holes needed in it yet. One is a big 30mm ish hole. I have some hole cutters, but I dont think they will do steel this thick..
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/011-1.jpg

I had to bend the sheet steel sides, so I did this by holding the steel over the open jaws of an old vice, and wacking it with a bolster.. Like this..
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/013-1.jpg

It will go together like this, with the sides being welded in place..
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/012-1.jpg

I am not too sure how I am going to get on welding the thin sheet to the thick base.. Any advice..?

[Ben Casey]

It looks really cool :)

[JonnyP]

It looks really cool :)

Cheers Ben.. Its an old dog and I have not gelled with it yet. Maybe once I get it on the road and start doing up the insides I will. I have a camper conversion in mind.

[Ben Casey]

Sounds cool I normal gell with things Im doing once I have bleed on it after bashing or cutting myself when working on it :) But it looks really good how your getting on with it there and it is great looking at your pics :)

[JonnyP]

I got on well today.. I welded up the front body mount supports and got one of them fitted in..
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/001-5.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/003-1.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/008-4.jpg

I got both sills welded up.. This took most of the day..
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/007-4.jpg

I had got all the dash back in last week too..
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/006-4.jpg

And the n/s front wing can now go back on.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/005-4.jpg

Its all starting to come together..

[JonnyP]

Not posted any updates for a while, but I have been busy on the disco..
The second hand 300tdi bumper had to be washed, de-rusted, primed and painted, but I am happy with the result..
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/029-1.jpg

All the welding has been done now (at last). All the exterior panels are back on (but need tidying) except the sill trims. I still have a load of interior panels to put back, plus seat belts.
I found that the heavy duty tubular front bumper from a 300tdi, that I won on ebay and spent ages doing up, does not fit my 200tdi without hacking off a lot off the front end of my car, so I ended up putting all the old bumper back on.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/031.jpg

I won a set of steel rims and ok ish tyres on ebay for £3.20 (result), and I will be doing them up and sticking them on, as my alloys are two different types.
Gonna just concentrate on getting the car on the road for now, and work on the small stuff as and when.

[JonnyP]

Its now ready for its MOT..
I am not putting in for MOT yet cos I have been off work for a bit and am worried incase I get a big bill on things it may fail on that I don't know about..

Here she be all (hopefully) sorted..

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/009-3.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/008-5.jpg

I tried to get some shots of the underneath all painted up, but my camera phone does not have a flash..

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/004-4.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/005-5.jpg

I still need a new front wing for this side, but its ok as it is for now. I will wait until one comes up on ebay or I find one in the scrappers..

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/007-5.jpg

I am really pleased with how the wheels (I won on ebay for £3.20) turned out.. I did not have enough gloss or matt to do the whole lot, so I did a matt inner and a gloss rim.
The next major job will be to paint the car. I still don't know what colour yet, and I am going to try and get the dents pulled out and the new wing on first.
It fires up instantly and seems to drive ok, going up and down the drive, but I am still yet (after all this work) to see if its going to be a good car for me or not..

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/010-1.jpg

[Fletching]

Lookin' really good mate - hope it passes! :)

[jus_young]

The life of an old Landie continues on. Well done Jonny

[AL...]

Looks great Fingers crossed that she sails through the MOT


Cheers
AL

[JonnyP]

Cheers guys.. Hopefully I will get it in for an MOT soon..

[GlenM]

As for what colour, Lime Green springs to mind!.................... well done JP a silk purse from a sow's ear :happy-clapping:

Glen

[Hushwing]

I've seen fewer holes in a colander, good luck!

Great project - respect to you - if it doesn't all come to plan it looks like it might make a good wood gas stove ;-)

[Hushwing]

obviously done great guns since the holy photos! - well done mate - wouldn't have thought it was the same vehicle.

[Kernowek Scouser]

Good effort fella, hope it gets through the M.O.T.

[JonnyP]

Cheers guys :0)
I don't think lime would work on this one Glen. It hasn't got the stance of a Defender..

[andrewbrian]

Good luck, i'm sure it will turn out well. It looks like a fun job!

[JonnyP]

Its now ready for its MOT..
I am not putting in for MOT yet cos I have been off work for a bit and am worried incase I get a big bill on things it may fail on that I don't know about..


That turned out to be the case.. :mad: I just had me a £500 bill to get the MOT certificate :eek:
I had a lot of hassle with the garage, with every small job that needed doing taking loads more time than I thought they would..

I now have me a Land Rover with an MOT though.. :0) They complimented me on the welding and said they never expected to see this discovery again..

Now I have loads of work to do painting it and converting the back into a camper and saving up for all the bits I want to put on it..

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/010-2.jpg

[rich290185]

nice one mate shame about the bill but at least it on the road T^

[AL...]

Good to see her on the road Congrats on all yer hard work.
Sucks about the bill though

Cheers
AL

[CanadianMike]

Good job, looks great!

[JonnyP]

Cheers chaps :0)

[aman]

Well done with the Landy
I know what it is like. We had an old series 3 landy and we put it in for it's first MOT since we got it and it was like the tester had just copied the index from the Haynes manual onto the failure sheet. It took weeks to sort it all out. I don't think it had had a proper MOT for years. I think the previous owner must have bunged the garage a wedge of cash to pass it

I would love to get another Landy

Keep up the good work

[JonnyP]

Well done with the Landy
I know what it is like. We had an old series 3 landy and we put it in for it's first MOT since we got it and it was like the tester had just copied the index from the Haynes manual onto the failure sheet. It took weeks to sort it all out. I don't think it had had a proper MOT for years. I think the previous owner must have bunged the garage a wedge of cash to pass it

I would love to get another Landy

Keep up the good work

Thank you.. Labour of love, aren't they..!

[Tony1948]

Well done Jonny,shame about the £500.T^

[jus_young]

Ouch!!!

I take my hat off to you sir for completing this worthy cause and saving another Landy from the scrap heap in the sky.

[paulthefish2009]

Well done mate,I hate mot time,always feels like they got you by dangley bits! Paul

[Martin]

Well done JonnyP. I'd love a Disco but funds don't quite stretch that far for me. :(

Martin

[Martin]

Well done JonnyP. I'd love a Disco but funds don't quite stretch that far for me. :(

Martin

[Basha72]

Well done on getting it through, at least now you know what she is like underneath having got intimate with it lol let's hope it gives you many years of wild camping.

[JonnyP]

Thank you for you're words everyone :0)

[JonnyP]

Been very busy on the Disco. Replaced the main and crankshaft bearings, put in a new timing belt, tensioner n idler and I have just painted it.
After uming and ahing over what colour to paint it, a mate of mine found some cheap chassis paint that he was impressed with, so I went with that.
It was a bit too cold when I painted it and I got more runs than Brian Lara, but I managed to sort most of them. I will re-do it again when it warms up (if it ever warms up :rolleyes:)

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/2012-12-17135411_zps2f5844cc.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s188/jonpickett/2012-12-17135502_zpsd7ab6181.jpg

I also have a 2000 watt 7 speaker sound system fitted, which I bought from the proceeds from selling my old air rifle.
Loads more stuff to sort on it, like the front bumper needs tidying, the interior needs sorting. I still have the oil light flickering on idle, and its leaking a bit of oil from the head gasket, so will sort that at some point..

[Silverback]

and its leaking a bit of oil from the head gasket.

Yup its a landrover ;)

[BJ]

Really good workhorse and it's looking good, I killed mine with 100,000 mile of motorway driving. But for normal road speeds they appear to last forever.
BJ
:)

[Silverback]

Job well done Jonny

[JonnyP]

cheers chaps :0)

[CanadianMike]

Love the stealthy paint job and the bumper sticker! Lol

[JonnyP]

I never found out what was causing the low oil pressure in the engine and so the landy came off the road for the last 10 months or so..
Every now and again when time allowed n I could be bothered, I potted about with it, but the time has now come for her to be on the road again. She flew through the MOT today.. I am off to Redruth tomorrow morning to pick up another engine, which I will replace the one in the car that has the low oil pressure..
Nice to be back in the old girl again :0)

[treefrog]

Glad to see there's a gearhead or 2 here on the forum, Jonny. Good luck with the engine swap, buddy.

Years ago I had a Landrover...I never in my life saw a vehicle with such an ability to weep oil and grease from every
imaginable gasket, fitting and orifice....
And I won't even bother ranting about it's cold weather performance (or lack thereof)....

''The only reason the British don't make computers is they couldn't figure out how to make them
leak oil''....;)

Just kidding guys, I'll get my coat......

[Whistle]

Years ago I had a Landrover...I never in my life saw a vehicle with such an ability to weep oil and grease from every
imaginable gasket, fitting and orifice.............

Roger that Treefrog ... My brother had an ex army series 2 ....

Swore by it ... Every day !!!!

Called it " Exon Valdez " ha ha ha

Cheers Whistle

[Peaks]

To test the effectiveness of the sealing of their 4x4s, Japanese manufacturers were known to lock a *cat in the car overnight. If, in the morning, the cat had suffocated, they knew that they had an airtight car.

On hearing this, Landrover attempted the same with their defender, popped a cat in, went home, came back the next day and the cat was gone.
:happy-clapping:

* No cats were harmed in the telling of this yarn

[JonnyP]

Land Rovers do not leak oil.. They are just marking their territory :0p~
Cheers Jack. I will be taking photos of the swap to bore every one with