defender body on disco chassis

Hey guys would it be possible to park an defender body onto to a discovery 200 tdo chassis? my body is starting to fall apart from rust etc door hinges and etc etc the chassis is solid and fine so wonder if i could take the body off and put a second hand defender body onto that ?

cheers

It'd take a lot of messing about but it could be done. Is funny how disco chassis don't seem to rust as bad as defender ones.

ffs not again........

why why why why why..if u want a disco have a disco if you want a defender get a defender..i do have an old morris marina shell if you wanna have a go at fitting that on it

i've gorra spare 4 man tent if you wanna drop that onto yer chassis - easy to bolt down

I can see why someone would want to do it. Discos are dirt cheap nowadays. You can get a reasonably solid one that's not more than 15 years old for £500 a lot of time. Try getting a 15 yo defender in half reasonable nick for that!!

still wont be a defender tho will it

tombardier said:

I can see why someone would want to do it. Discos are dirt cheap nowadays. You can get a reasonably solid one that's not more than 15 years old for £500 a lot of time. Try getting a 15 yo defender in half reasonable nick for that!!

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and the disco is more comfy and more roomy and nearly as capable as a 90.

So why and like sean says a bitatch to bolt down, then ya got to insure it

iannotts said:

and the disco is more comfy and more roomy and nearly as capable as a 90.

So why and like sean says a bitatch to bolt down, then ya got to insure it

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a said me 4 man tent would be easy to bolt down

anything is possible if the yanks can do it surely we can do it with style
Urban Gorilla 4x4 Bodies :: Home

such negative waves, there have been many 100inchers created even Mark Evans did one. Panels for Defender bodies are relatively cheap to buy and plentiful on ebay, as has been mentioned Disco chassis's dont rust as badly as Defenders do and the one bit that does rust is cut off anyway to fit a Defender rear cross member, front outriggers and front tub mountings are different but can be fabricated easily I know as I am on with one at the moment.

biggles maybe you could add some pics. i been thinking of doing the same and any tips or advise would be of use.

rover-resurection said:

biggles maybe you could add some pics. i been thinking of doing the same and any tips or advise would be of use.

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tip 1.......dont do it
advice.......dont do it
seems people want the style and good looks of a proper offroad vehicle but wanna slap it on a different chassis..shame on you

lol, i allready have a defender, but also will soon have a spare disco chassis, (unless any1 wants to buy it???) so might as well make use of it, and as its been pointed out, they seem to rust less therefore it is a great chassis.

hi all,
this is my first post on this forum after many many years of landrover ownership and the faffing about that comes with said ownership!!

as metioned peviously many defender 110 bodies have been cut down and fitted to a disco or range rover chassis, similarly many disco/RR chassis have been cut to accomadate a swb or 90 body.

i have recentlyish completed a disco chassis cut to 88 with a swb body (this body is very similar in design and mounting pionts to a defender body)
it is possible and very achiveable as long as you have the skills and tools/equipment to complete the job succesfully and more importantly, SAFELY.
but this job isnt one to take on without plenty of forethought and planning as it is a massive job to undertake in your spare time (and if your like myself) in your own small garage or workshop.

once the disco body is removed the chassis must be cleaned and all the outriggers that are surplus to requirements must be cut off, this takes an age in itself and you soon become fed up of the grinder and/or the gas!!!

another awkward task is the positioning of the body on the chassis to allow mesuring up and tacking of your fabricated/bought outriggers that hold the body/bulkhead/fueltank etc in place, for this you must find a reference point on your chassis that corresponds with a critical body part such as the bulkhead. all theese outrigger positions are critical to ensure you have the correct alignment and levels for your body work.

when all the out riggers are on and your body is hardened down you will realise what a mamouth task it is to fit all of the ancilleries and make sure that everything is in line and all parts meet up with each other correctly. in my experience this part of the project takes the most time but makes the difference etween a job well done and a job thats just done!

the fabriction and welding required to complete a project like this is substantial, there is a big difference between sticking a patch on a chassis or sill and relying on every single one of your weld runs to hold your vehicle together. you just think of the saftey of yourself and your passengers and everyone else on the road/track/wherever you may be using the truck.

however if you feel you are capable of the job in hand, you will feel an immense sense of satisfaction on completion of the job and an even better feeling when a fellow enthusiast takes a look and is suitably impressed with your work.

i hope some of this may be of help

i have some phots of the build, if your interested i will stick some up.

good luck
rory

that made a nice change from "hi i am new and my name is Rory"

how do you insure it?...
is it a disco or is it a defender?

thats a bridge i havnt had to cross yet, its a racer so it goes most places on a trailer but i do know a few boys who have insured thiers just as a defender or swb (usually swb so they can go tax exempt) claiming ignorance and stupidity if anyone questions them.

however if you were involved in an accident and they inspected the vehicle i suspect you would be right in the poop!!

rory

i spose if u are just trailering it then yeh good on ya.but i bit more research if someone was gonna try the road legal option.intersting to see how that would work out

i did hear that there was some kind of 'points sytem' being operated by the ministry/DVLA (not sure which one) in which you gained a certian amount of points for each main part of the vehicle that remained original or was a like for like replacement.
i.e 5 pionts for a chassis, 4 points for engine, 3 points for axles and running gear etc
you then had to reach a certain figure, lets say 15, and if you reached this figure you could keep the original logbook and vehicle identity. if you didnt reach this points value you had to have the vehicle SVA tested (single vehivcle approval test) much the same as if you built a kit car from scrctch.
I have heard this test is like an all day MOT test where they check the integrity of every part of the vehicle being tested. i belive they even go as far as to make you fit plastic caps on all exposed bolt threads to prevent injury to pedestrians if you mow them down!!

i should imagine this test would be difficult to pass unless your very keen.

Note. i havent looked into this for a few years so the process and all of the figures mentioned above could be completly wrong or outdated, its just what i can remember off the top of my head

rory