1994 Land Rover Discovery

Then we though it would be an idea to test the fuel flap as it's electrically operated...

It works! (So it should)

Achieved today

Dash, engine and towing wiring finalised. Bumpers on including modified front to clear string guard.
All bulkhead fittings watertight
Air cleaner mounted
Cooling system filled and tested
Test drive around farm
Tightened and height checked all body mounts
Connected fuel filler and breather
Connected front fogs and breathers
Straightened steering wheel and tightened all UJ bolts.
Fitted ladder


To do list:

Roof rack *not really a priority*
Front brake pipes need securing
Tow gear needs a spacer fitting
Engine bay tidy up
I guess I need some new tyres but no hurry
Better rear bumper brackets
Air con pump and assorted engine bay componentry
It needs a wash
More waxoyl
Axle, transfer and timing case breathers
Snorkel needs adapting a bit


I am exhausted again.




Getting on for 50 hours on it.

I should probably have been doing proper work today (and yesterday)

Thanks George.

I've spent quite a lot of time contemplating it but when MrsMonzaPhil said she was going to take it off the road for July, I figured if I took it apart I'd have to do something with it. Obviously this coincided with finally getting a donor TD5. Something I've been trying to organise for ages and ages.












Actually. This isn't even my car, it's hers, and if she knew what I was doing to it she'd have my balls on a plate in a vice in a furnace with extra chilli sauce.

Hopefully she'll appreciate the "re-spray" and new seats then. Hope she likes silver

Nick

I ended up with a pile of these. ...



Due to removal from this...





They were sunburnt and loose anyway and pretty much fell off. The TDI axles are narrower so I don't need wide arches even though I already have wider wheels.


Tow gear on. .



Shields on and brackets for brake pipes too.

MrsMonzaPhil is very happy.


Phew.

I guess it drives like the old car but looks and feels like a new car. Cracking job.

That looks very tidy. Nice job, I'm not surprised she's happy.

Where to start..

I work with Land Rovers every day and have done for quite some time. I don't like the repair and maintenance costs involved in owning and running a TD5 (I've had 4 of them).

To put it in perspective, I can put a wheel bearing in the TDi for about a tenner compared to about £60 for a TD5, a TDi fuel pump is about a tenner compared to about £200, an injector is about £100 or £20 for a rebuild kit and I had to look that up because I've never supplied or fitted a TDi injector, a TD5 one is an MSC000030E and is £193.21 genuine exchange plus VAT and I can fit one in about 30 minutes including a cup of tea.

I've never fitted an engine ECU or BCU to a TDi (althought there is a danger of one of those now).

My 22 year old chassis is much better than a 12 year old TD5 chassis.

Given a 2 post lift, the body swap would have taken an hour or less.

The wiring adaptation, now we know what we're up against, would take a day including an engine bay rewire.

If a TDi blows up the engine, you can drop in a decent runner for under £500. The dead TD5 I used has shredded its timing chain guides and ruined a piston. Tdi engines don't do this.

Yes, there was an element of doing it because it looked possible but more importantly it was due to the awful grade of metal and rustproofing in the D1 shell (which they then used in the D2 chassis). I was simple fed up with welding it up.

The gearboxes are the same, the transfer boxes aside from the diff lock are the same.

Steering.....

D2 swivel joints are just stupid.

Erm...

D2 front props are stupid.

D2 autobox position switches are stupid.

I like the air suspension but probably won't be retro-fitting it unless we need a boost for towing the neddies.

A lot of how a Disco 2 feels and drives is due to the improvements in insulation and body manufacture. Having done 300 miles in the D1.5 now I can vouch for that.


I've seen some horrendous D2 Friday PM Specials but really, normally only see D1s with rust, seldom in the chassis unless they've been launching boats. I've never had to put any metal into a D2 shell, only the chassis and not just the rear end, we've done under the engine and had them pull the front anti-roll bar out of the mountings.

I wouldn't fit polybushes to my own truck next time (did this a while ago and it's a rubbish thing to do)

D1 door handles are getting expensive and scarce used in good order.

D2 seats are better

Climate control. Yay.

D2 doors are better.

D2s are quite weirdly easier to wash........ (I'm serious)

More boot space and better storage bins.

300s are one of the simplist things to work on, even by the roadside. TD5s do silly things and need recovery lorries.

The time it has taken to do this conversion is slightly lower than the total time I've spent getting covered in rust and debris and sparks and fire while patching up the old body. I spent 23 hours fixing it up one year, no thanks.

This hybrid should last an easy 20 years more (fingers crossed) as it's built for ease of maintenance, mechanical simplicity and a small dose of comfort for MrsMonzaPhil.

















Plus, we already had this D1 and the D2 shell was free.

Thanks for the explanation, I can certainly see the reasoning.