Disco-fix-upgrade

[robzki]

Heya peepholes,

Right, I seem to have amassed a lot of repair/upgrade parts for the original disco, and now have decided that they are better off being fitted than cluttering up the spare room. And also feel that enough greenery and wildlife have thrived living on and around her :/

So I have evicted the grey squirrel that has been living there, and enough spiders to star in arachnaphobia 2, or is it 3?

So I'll post a daily update here as to how the work is going(or not) depending on the weather.....

Rob

[robzki]

Day one:

started this evening, got her going, moved onto driveway, up on axle stands, stripped wings, bumper, grill, light surrounds, headlights, aircleaner, wheels etc.

found a fair few places where the rustmites have been feeding, nothing major so far. several places on the n/s inner wing to plate, o/s headlight mount needs repairing,both front body mounts, both inner and outer sills need replacing, and several other smaller holes. this may sound a lot, but is nothing more than I expected tbh. Discos seem to have their fair share of mud storage gaps.

hopefully included are some pics of before the stripdown started, she looks and is fairly clean on the surface, but hopefully the pics to follow will give other disco owners some food for thought.........


Rob

[DUNCIA]

Nice to see your a keen gardener, in fact it is something I've noticed about Landy owners they don't have gardens just minature scrap yards!!!!!

[robzki]

I resent that remark, I've never been so insulted...........theres nothing minature about my scrapyard!!

[landynutter]

landy owners do not have scrapyards at all, they are external stores on spares needing to be refurbished

[robzki]

sorry I haven't updated for a while, but work and the weather have been working against me...... :(

nehoos, have been back on the case today, the interior is now stripped out, n/s sill has been removed(think it was spotwelded in by an overenthusiastic yts lad on a friday afternoon) the inner and outer sill had to be cut in half to get it away from the bodymounts, which is troubling me as to whether I'll be able to get the new ones in as one unit

while I was stripping the interior out I decided to remove the boot carpets,extra seats and trim as well. wish I hadn't...........someone has replaced the boot floor with one hand tied behind their back, blindfolded, and with little mechanical knowledge, as it has mostly been maindealer serviced and repaired, it has me a little concerned. So now the fueltank etc has to be removed, the boot floor removed the remaining boot area needs some tlc then the floor can be replaced

ever wished you hadn't started something?.................. :rolleyes:

will up some piccies in the mornin

Rob

[robzki]

better late than never..

[DiscoMatt]

I'm confused. I thought you were doing it up? Yet in every photo you post, there is less of it than before... :D

[robzki]

I'm confused. I thought you were doing it up? Yet in every photo you post, there is less of it than before... :D


hahaha......cheered me up

gotta get worse b4 it can get better.............I hope

[robzki]

right, boot floor is out, was a new one fairly recently fitted, although not sure if 20 pop rivets and 15 tack welds was a secure way to fit it. and when it was fitted they didn't seam seal any of the joints, water and crud have got between the body and the boot floor and rotted it out :( so have a fair bit of reconstruction to do there.

The chassis looked very clean on first examination, but after lifting the boot floor there is a 10" split running lengthways on top of the chassis near the spring mount where the weld has rusted away, also a fairly sizeable hole on the other side, the rear chassis crossmember is v good.

the body crossmember is a different story, lots of previous patches that have rotted away and I'm not sure how much will be left after i attack it with the grinder :(

there are several other patches to sort, but nothing too extreme

on a good note the n/s inner and outer sill are now fitted and pillars rewelded, with just a front n/s footwell patch and the rear of the sill to rebuild
but I'm leaving these till all of the worst parts are replaced.

on removing the fuel tank I found that where the pipes senders etc plug in it has rusted fairly badly and the pick up pipe has pretty much rusted away, so this will have to be replaced, anyone know the best place to get this?

right enuff talk, more action needed :)

Rob

[robzki]

right peeps

in between the rain this last week, I've probably totalled about 4hrs work :(

been doing some major rear body crossmember surgery, the rear bodymounts attached to this crossmember had the strength and texture of a digestive biscuit, tasted better tho. and have just about finished one side.

last monday I collected a brb winch bumper, sidesteps and a 300tdi rear bumper, fitted the brb bumper temporarily and its the dogs danglies :) and heavier than a very weighty heavy thing.

I'm looking forward to the end of the welding, its getting to be a chore now, with no end in sight

will get some pics sorted 2morrow if it stops raining long enough

Rob

[robzki]

another slow week, but bought an arc welder from screwfix, ferm concept 310.£119.99, they messed me about with delivery and have sent me £80 in vouchers to apologise, so am well chuffed :)

done a lot of mig welding but have never done any arc welding, have had a play on some scrap metal and have to say its a lot easier than I thought, having about 10-15% excellent welds well burnt in and very nice looking, 50-60% ok welds and the rest welds that I'm coming up with some good excuses for :) . I figured it'll be better for the chassis welds and teach me a new skill to boot. I'll let you know how it goes

off out now to make a start on the chassis, and possibly get on with the inner wings when I get bored of layin on my back gettin burnt...

Rob

[ROB 110 HICAP]

Looks like an epic journey you're undertaking!

Nice to see people doing this to discos, rather than just series and defender.

Arc welding is easy, but will be nigh on impossible on anything under 2mm, as it will burn through. A 30 degree angle of the stick and working in small circles (puddling) will help penetration and strength on the chassis.

Good luck

[robzki]

Rob

thanx for the interest, :)

It wasn't meant to be an epic journey tbh, but as usual when it comes to a landrover it has turned into one. I would love a defender or a series but money is tight atm, and I've become a bit spoilt by the comfort in this one.

And yep, I've found that welding on anything under 2mm to be a nightmare, frost automotive do an accessory for the arc welder that enables it to weld thin sheet steel, it drops the amps and pulses it, may look into it in the future.

looking forward to fitting all the nice bits, and strangely enough I'm lookin forward to waxoiling it, think its because it'll means I've finished the welding :)

Rob