My First Disco

Finally took the plunge:









300TDI with 176k on the clock.

List of Jobs so far

Engine / Mechanical Jobs:
- New Battery - Done
- Good clean
- Fix rear diff oil leak
- Timing Belt Change
- Fluids Change / Service

Electrical Jobs
- Rear electric windows not working
- New driver side light (Current one works, but the bulb holder needs fixing as the bulb falls out)
- Sort out the mass of wires in the engine bay

Body
- New rear arch needs welding in
- Passenger side wing appears to be a little out of shape, so the bonnet doesn't fit quite right
- Waxoyl Inside chassis Rails
- Shultz Underbody panels & underside
- Fix body panel corrosion
- New boot floor
- Weld up rear inner wing panels

Blingy Bits

- Diff Guards
- CB Radio
- Second battery and Split charge system
- New rear bumper - current one is huge
- New winch bumper
- Winch
- Rock Sliders
- New steering Damper
- Spare wheel
- Breathers

Underside is pretty good, but I'll probably break out the waxoyl anyway

There will be more to add, but that's at least a start!

J

Nice looking car! Don't think I've seen a disco 1 in that colour before.

phil540uk said:

Nice looking car! Don't think I've seen a disco 1 in that colour before.

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Me neither, paint code is 588 which I think is riviera blue, paint is a lot more greeny blue than the picture shows.

J

JoelC said:

Me neither, paint code is 588 which I think is riviera blue, paint is a lot more greeny blue than the picture shows.

J

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tidy looking disco , where abouts in south yorks are you? im in sheffield, always out laning in the peaks when ive got the time/spare cash if you ever fancy tagging on with us all

dont take it laneing if u value the flashing orange thing and woof wack

pocketrocket said:

tidy looking disco , where abouts in south yorks are you? im in sheffield, always out laning in the peaks when ive got the time/spare cash if you ever fancy tagging on with us all

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I'm just outside Rotherham - I'd be up for an trip out laning once I've fixed a few bits. Let me know when your planning to go out next and me and I'll tag along, so long as you done mind a noob.

J

wiltshire landyman said:

dont take it laneing if u value the flashing orange thing and woof wack

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Why?

Planning on loosing the beacon anyway.

J

JoelC said:

Why?

Planning on loosing the beacon anyway.

J

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what he means is that anything thats sticking up that will get stuck in trees/branches thats not solid will almost likley get ripped off/damaged, the roof rack will prob be ok but the top spots will prob be taking a beating if you take it laning maybe just remove the whole rack for when your out laning the re-fit it on after, just to be on the safe side
no probs will give you a heads up when where out next or just keep ur eye on the laning section

Ah, I get you.

I'm unsure about keeping the roof rack anyway. Its a little bit home made and looks a little shoddy in places. I'll probably loose some of the spot lamps when I sort out the electrics, they all appear to be connected to the battery with no fuse, and the wireing is a little suspect to say the least

J

This weekends Jobs:

Planning on stripping out the rear dickie seats, rear seats, carpets so I can see whats lurking underneath.

Next weekend hopefully will be a full service, although I'm a little unsure what I should be replacing (see thread Here ) - any advice greatly received

J

Ok,

So spent today stripping out the rear of the disco. Besides the carpet being sodden though to the soundproofing (Not sure on the location of the leak as yet) and the seats being damp, its not too bad.

Carpets and soundproofing all in the skip, they stunk - bad, and some rotten bits. Seats and trim all in the office room on tarpaulin to dry out.

Boot floor isn't that bad, its corroded and there is a hole in part of the passenger side, not sure if its worth replacing the whole floor until I've given it a going over with a wire brush. I may just replace it to save grief down the line



No, I don't know what the green earth wire is for either yet - it looks bodged, I think possibly the spot lights but I'm not sure.



I have unsuccessfully tried to remove the seat belt mounting points from the boot floor, but two torx bits and a breaker bar later, they are still stuck fast. Soaking them in WD40 to see if that helps.

Both inner rear wings are rusted and will need welding - I'm not sure if you can buy replacement panels or if its just patchwork welding required:

RH Side:




LH Side



Driver side rear arch needs replacing



Fuel sender pipes are rusted to feck, and will need replacing, the plastic pretty much disintegrated on touch.



Overall, not too bad, accomplished with only minor swearing and a small amount of blood loss.

J

Checked this morning, looks like the rear sunroof is leaking somewhere, although the drain tubes don't appear to be blocked so I guess the seal is letting it in, running though the headlining and down one of the pillars.

Ordered a tarp to cover it for the time being until I can strip the headlining out.

Think I'm going to just replace the boot floor, floor mounts and the bits round the arches - it should just save headaches in the future.

There are some kits available it seems: EBay Linky

If anyone knows a good welder / body shop in the Sheffield / Rotherham / Doncaster area, let me know.


J

I've decided to have a crack at the welding myself, so just looking for a welder to buy to get me started.

This weekends Jobs:

- Remove fuel tank & sender
- Remove front seats & carpets
- Cut out boot floor area
- Remove seat belt anchor's from boot floor with as much brute force as I can manage
- Wire brush boot floor bits round the arches to see if they are good, or need replacing
- Cut out rusty parts of rear inner wings ready for new bits to be welded

J

JoelC said:

I've decided to have a crack at the welding myself, so just looking for a welder to buy to get me started.

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Every credit - best way to learn!

ouch, the tin worm is at it again.
It looked such a lovely motor, on the first post, but now I am not so sure.

How much did you give for it, if you don't mind me asking?

Gra.

Just over 1200, probably more than I should have but it fitted what I wanted, but I don't mind really chassis is good and the engine is sound. Its a project for me to do that isn't my job (I work lots of stupid hours and travel a lot and never really get much downtime).

Opportunity for me to learn some new skills and meet some new people, and have a sense of accomplishment when its all done...

J

Managed to get the towbar and bumper off. Ended up grinding / cutting off two of the bolts as the fixed nuts snapped off, one of the bolts sheared on the other side. Then a fookin great lump hammer to get the towbar off.

Looks like the towbar took a whack as the rear crossmember is bent in the middle a little. Nothing too bad, I don't think it will cause any issues

I think I will need to remove the rear quarter panels to be able to gauge where I need to cut out the bad inners.

I also found out why the diff is leaking, there is one hell of a crack in the casing, not sure if there is any damage to the diff, but it still drives ok - wont drive it until I know what damage it's done to the internals.

Tomorrow the floor is coming out, then I need to decide if I can weld it myself, or if I need more expert eyes on it.

J

Good luck with it bud.

Thanks,

Started drilling out the spot welds in the floor, what a pain in the ass. Gave up as it started raining, and I don't have a garage / workshop.

Joel

Good luck with the welding mate