Another Newbie

Hello chaps,

I stumbled across this forum whilst doing a Google search for green lanes in Derbyshire, and I liked it so much, I thought I'd say hello.

So what do you want to know about me? Well, the boring stuff first. I'm in my early 30's, married, no kids, just two cats. I sell machinery for a living, and I currently drive a Rover 75, (daily hack, soon to be for sale once its done 100'000 miles), a TVR Chimaera, (off the road after a full body off chassis re-furb, as it now has a slipped bore liner), a Skoda Felicia, (the wifes), and my 1996 300tdi Discovery.

Right, now thats the boring stuff out of the way, the Discovery.....

Having previously having a Frontera, I thought that I would soon get bored of the Disco, but owning a Land Rover was on my list of cars to own.

I originally bought it to replace my previous daily driver, (a Saab 93). I didn't plan to do anything to it, just keep it standered, but, well, you guys know how these things go?

I've never spent a lot on my daily hacks, with the mileage that I do, (40'000 p/a easy), I just cant see the point in losing so much in depriciation. Then the wife decided to crash it through the neighbors garden wall, so I had to replace the front bumper with a Gaurdian one. Then the rising fuel costs meant that it just wasnt economicly viable to keep running the Disco, as it wasn't unusual to use a full tank of diesel in two days. As the car didnt owe me much, I decided to keep it as an off-road plaything.

Since then I have firmly got the off-road bug, dipping my toes into the water at Sibbertoft, then green laning with Buxton & Distrct LR club, followed by frequent trips up to Frickly Pay & Play centre.

Further modifications have included Guardian steering guard, Guardian rock sliders, diff guards, spot lamps, and replacing the Pirelli Scorpians with Insa Turbo Saharas.

I got the rock sliders from the wife for Christmas, so off I went into the garage on Boxing Day to fit them. Removed all the plastic trim and noticed that the paint on my sills was bubbling a bit. Thought it best to sand them down first. I'm sure that you can guess the rest. By the time I'd finished sanding them down, I had no bloody sills left, or seat belt mounts either.

Fast forward six months and were moving house. Upon removing a coffee table from the boot of the Disco, the boot carpet folded forward a bit, exposing just a little bit of rust on the boot floor. Fearing the worst, I removed all the carpets and sound proofing, (still soaking wet from were I sunk at Frickly), only to find that the only thing holding most of my floor inplace was several years worth of compressed mud. Another session with the angle grinder left my welder, (RT Racing in Sheffield), very little to actually weld onto this time.

Further investigation and picking also brought to my attention rotten inner front wings, rotten driver / passanger footwells, and some rust holes around my windscreen.

The vehicle is currently down at RT Racing being made solid again. Hopefully I should have it back within the next couple of weeks. At least it is in good company down there, being on the ramp right next to a TVR Cerbera Speed 12 race car!!!!!

Now this might seem like an awfull lot of effort to go through on an old Discovery, but to me, even though the car is covered in dings, scrapes and scratches, I really like it. Unlike my old Frontera, which I hated after a couple of weeks, the Discovery has a real charactor about it. Besides the rust issues, it still feels tight as a drum, even with 171'000 miles on the clock. Just like our Chimaera, it may be flawed, but we just cant ever imagine getting rid of it, hence all the effort in getting it tip top, relativly speaking.

Other issues with the Disco have included a tempermental boot door, (sometimes it locks, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it un-locks, sometimes it doesn't), two replacement header tanks, before I had an alloy one made up, and head gasket failure.

Once the vehicle is solid, future plans will include off-road spec rear bumper, tank guard, snorkel, wading kit and full 2" suspension raise.

I'm going to be running it without carpet as well, as all that and the soundproofing do is act like a great big sponge. I've been thinking of doing something to help waterproof the ECU and wiring looms, (but not quite sure what yet, maybe a battery box sealed with sealent for the ECU?), and painting the floor with some sort of rubberised paint with tailered rubber mats / load bay liner over the top? Any suggestions are welcome.

Well, thats about enough of my waffling on. All I meant to do was pop in and say hi.

When I'm not on here, you could proberly find me over at Pistonheads.com, if any of you chaps frequent that forum too?

Hello, and welcome to the funny farm. Interesting first post, bet it took you ages to type all that. Sounds like you're having a lot of fun with the Disco. You should have some fun on here aswell. Just remember to be able to laugh at yourself 'cos we have p--s takers without comparison on here.

Cabbie said:

Hello, and welcome to the funny farm. Interesting first post, bet it took you ages to type all that. Sounds like you're having a lot of fun with the Disco. You should have some fun on here aswell. Just remember to be able to laugh at yourself 'cos we have p--s takers without comparison on here.

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Hi.

No worries. I expect most of the **** taking to be self inflicted anyway.

Cheers.

Fokin ell,,,, wit a first post,,, Cant undersand why having a disco after havin a frontera wid be borein?? cos there a pile a crap,,,

But anyhoo, Welcome tae the Loony Bin,,

Pics??? welcome btw.

badadj said:

Pics??? welcome btw.

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Do you have an idiots guide to posting pictures?

ere you go.

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f38/picture-posting-dummies-47795.html

Easier than I thought.

Some of the previous motors I've owned first...

The old V12 XJS. With a range of about 160 miles to a tankfull of super unleaded, dropping to under 100 miles when pressing on, it stops being funny after a while. Much more of a cruiser than a sportscar. Decieded to sell when I saw Gallons per Mile on the tip computer.


My old Saab. Comfy, big boot, reliable, but poor on fuel.


My old Nissan van. Quite a giggle to drive. Easy to get sideways when wet.


The TVR T350T that we rented to use on our honeymoon. This was just before we bought the Jaguar. Nice progressive handling and quick, just not as quick as TVrs power to weight figures would have you believe, (320bhp/ton).


The current daily hack. TBH, its a bag 'o' ****e. Its only saving grace is its decent(ish) fuel economy. I cant wait to get rid.


The TVR Chimaera 400. Ever since a friend of my Fathers took me out in his 350i when I was about 8yrs old, I have always wanted a TVR. I wasn't left dissapointed, except for.....



The ridiculus chassis protection on them. Just what did TVR powdercoat these things with? Salt water? When buying a used car, waxoil and hammorite can hide a multitude of sins. Here she is at RT Racing after a new chassis had been fabricated, built up and painted.

Since I got her back, she has decieded to drop a bore liner. Currently saving up for a John Eales built supercharged 4.6 complete with intercooler. Aiming for a proper 350bhp+, whilst retaining everyday driveability.

My wifes Skoda Felicia 1.3. I bought her a cheap snotter wwhen she passed test, just incase her inexperiance caused her to crash. She didn't let me down. Thanks dear.

Its actually quite a laugh to drive. No power steering, very little power, and very little grip, coupled with an engine that just loves to be revved and pedals perfectly placed for heel & toeing. Reminds me very much of my first car, (a 1.2 Nissan Micra).

What is it with me and buying rusty British cars? This is what was left of my sills when i thought that the paint looked a little "bubbly".


All fixed now, including new section welded at the bottom of the door piller, seat belt mounts, sills and some floor sections.



Boot floors rotten as well, just like the inner front wings, parts of the roof, and driver / passanger footwells. These are being done now at RT Racing.



Sibertoft, not long after I bought the Disco.


Green laning with Buxton & District. Thanks for a good day out fellas. Hope to join you again soon.



Cement works at Hope.


Grounded at Frickley.


Dirty at Frickley.

The current fleet.



Since these shots were taken at frickley back in May, the vehicle has been off the road with expansion tank failure, ( I had to wait a while to get an alloy one made up), then head gasket failure, and now the rust issues. Really cant wait to get her back and get her dirty again.
I'm sure that the wait will be worth it.

wow good piccies , you know how to spend dosh tho .....

keep the piccies comin .....

lrb2 said:

wow good piccies , you know how to spend dosh tho .....

keep the piccies comin .....

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I haven't had a day off work since September 2001, (my last holiday), and that includes every Christmas day. I even worked on my wedding day.

Its either the cars, or a coke habbit. Sometimes think that the coke habbit would be cheaper

Welcome to the loony bin DM, longest 1st post I've read on here.....
Got similar rust horrors to sort on mine as and when, glad to know I'm not alone.
Good piccies by the way.

Disco Moneypit said:

I haven't had a day off work since September 2001, (my last holiday), and that includes every Christmas day. I even worked on my wedding day.

Its either the cars, or a coke habbit. Sometimes think that the coke habbit would be cheaper

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dont like coke ..... i'm a pepsi man .....

like the jag .... i always wanted one when i was a kid .....

my boss just got rid of a XKR supercharged thing .... stunning looking car it was ....

lrb2 said:

like the jag .... i always wanted one when i was a kid .....

my boss just got rid of a XKR supercharged thing .... stunning looking car it was ....

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XKR Nice. They were a little out of my price range though when i bought the XJS. Plus the XJS had pretty much finished depriciating, whilst the XKR's hadn't.

Being a child of the 80's, I always wanted a V12 XJS after watching The Saint as a kid, and seeing the likes of Tom Walkinshaw kicking BMWs ass in the ETCC and at Bathurst.

Sometimes though, its better not to meet your heros. The Jaguar was too big, too heavy and too soft to be anything but a cruiser, and even with just over 300bhp on tap, it still wasn't that quick, even in a staight line.

Boot space was poor, so too was interior space. You almost feel like your nose is pressing against the windscreen.

For a summertime blast down to Monte Carlo their sublime, (if you can ignore the dreadfull fuel consumption), but in everyday life, their really not all that in my opinion.

The wifes currently doing her IAM, and I want her to do some trackdays too. Once her driving is up to scratch, I'd like her to have something nicer, and another XJS was on the cards, (with the 100 or so miles she does a week, fuel consumption isn't really an issue), but with terminal rust on these, I have decieded it would just be another moneypit. I'm just glad that i got rid of mine before the really big bills started to roll in. Never did figure out how you changed the plugs on the rear most cyliners without taking the engine out though?

Don't get me wrong, if I had mega money, I'd have another in the stable in a flash, but I don't, so I won't.

Crackin pics.
That little stunner in the tvr your missus?

badadj said:

Crackin pics.
That little stunner in the tvr your missus?

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Yes

Tell you one thing. Having got rid of my Frontera for a 300 Disco (& subsequently drove into the back of a UPS van and bought another Disco), I only wish Landrover could make the bloody things as reliable as Vauxhall manage. 6 years, 90000 miles one alternator and one fuel pump. Finally sold it to an Irish farmer who ripped out the 2.4 petrol and put in a diesel. Disco's much more fun though!

diver said:

Tell you one thing. Having got rid of my Frontera for a 300 Disco (& subsequently drove into the back of a UPS van and bought another Disco), I only wish Landrover could make the bloody things as reliable as Vauxhall manage. 6 years, 90000 miles one alternator and one fuel pump. Finally sold it to an Irish farmer who ripped out the 2.4 petrol and put in a diesel. Disco's much more fun though!

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It's difficult to put my finger on why I thought the Frontera was such a bad car.

Prior to that, I'd had a Nissan Micra as my first car, superceeded by a whole load of hot hatches. Perhaps at the time the Frontera was too different, too much of a shock to the system compared with what I had owned beforehand.

It was bought on a whim, never really taken off-road, too slow, and far too heavy on fuel, even for a 2.8 diesel.

I especially didn't like the almost laying down driving position, something which is far more suited to a Caterham than a 4x4. It didnt stick around long, and I sold it for pretty much what I bought it for, only really losing out on the price of 6 months tax. IIRC, it got replaced with a V6 Vectra SRI.

I had simular doubt when I bought the Disco. A Defender had always been on the cards of vehicles to own, but one of those was far too impractical for me to use as a daily driver. A Range Rover Classic would have been great, but finding a nice one is becoming harder and harder, and in my opinion, they really must be equiped with a V8. Again, for high mileage use this would have been impractical, so I settled on a TDI Disco.

What I love about it is it's honesty. It could never be described as being a pretentious motor, in fact, it's almost classless, (but not lacking in class if you know what I mean?).

I was gobsmaked at it's comfy ride, it's "waftability". Seats that you can sit in all day without getting back ache. Decent performance considering it's size and barn-esque aero dynamics. It just does the job. No more, no less.

Thats why I am spending all this money keeping it going. I'm not meaning to brag, or to show off, but I have been fortunate to own some nice cars in my time, and this 170'000 mile, 12 year old Discovery is one of only three 'perfect' cars, (the others being a trackday prepped 309GTI and the Chim) that I've owned. It's a vehicle that will remain a part of the family for a great many years to come.

I mean, just what could replace it?

Whilst ever I continue to do high mileages, it will never be a daily driver. I consider it to be like an old Labrador, an old faithfull. Always working, always ready to serve, ready to carry out whatever task I ask of it.

They are simple to work on.
Parts are cheap(ish) and plentyfull.
15 minutes with the spanners and it doubles as a small van.
You could leave it almost anywhere without worrying about it, (communist, tree hugging hippy parts of London occupied by champagne socialist ****-wits excluded).
And a run out along Derbyshires wonderfull array of green lanes is a perfect stress buster.

Many people spend many years and a whole load of money trying to get better and better cars, trying to keep up with the Jones's and win the car-park politics game. Perhaps if they looked at the used market, looked at the sort of vehicles many so called experts say to keep away from, they could find, (what I consider to be) motoring nirvana for less than the price of a brand new Ford Fiesta.