Rebuild Disco 3.9 V8

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since1875

Active Member
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267
Location
Hawick
Hi all, well after sorting out my 300tdi after the timing belt snapped I am embarking on a rebuild from ground up of a 3.9L V8 I picked up cheap on ebay.

To be honest its is not too bad shape, usual suspects require welding however the plan is strip right down, body off, replace all bushes etc welding done basically have a brand new car that will go on for another 17 years lol. Probably going to take a while but Ill try and put a diary thing together with photos.

Basically not sure where to start - ripping out the interior which is a bit shabby and past it. Any advice on best way to remove the body from the chassis? Baring in mind I want to keep the body? Would it be possible with a squad of body's? Cheers
 
Yeah not ideal im wanting to keep both shell and chassis. Any other ideas? Im finally at a stage to try and remove it?
I just want to get the chassis clean and painted if I can afford it - galvanised. Plus with everything removed it will give good access to do any repair work. The aim is o have a brand new disco V8.
 
I think thats what im going to try. Ill have to move the body after I remove for storage untill its ready to go back on.
 
Well as I said before i finally have time to work on my V8 i got cheap on ebay a year ago now. Plan was body off clean up chassis, replace all bushes and maybe a bit of work on engine etc. However had a right good look over it yesterday and to be honest the chassis is mint, the inner wings and rear door inners need welded as usual and the sills are on there way out. There is lots of small jobs but not sure it is in bad enough condition to warrant a complete strip down, or is this the time to do it to keep it mint? Only concern abut putting it on the road is Iv only had diesels how bullet proof is the 3.9 V8? It all seems very clean but dont want to go the quick fix route only to have more problems - I get enough from my diesel disco! Other thing the breaks are really bad for such a big powerful car is there any god upgrades? cheers again
 
Could you not fit vented brakes if it doesn't have them, You would need vented calipers and discs. Also fit steel braided brake hoses, they will give you better pedal feel. If the chassis is mint, why not clean it up and waxoly it. I would recommend polybushing, makes a whole world of difference. As for the engine, its been around for over 30yrs, ok started it out as a 3.5 carb model. They are known for cracking in the bores, but when liners are fitted that fixes that problem. The engine is strong, but like most engines, if its not cared for it will end up knackerd
 
I like the idea of the brakes, I take it, its just a case of vented discs, calipers and they will bolt on fine? Will disco 2 brakes fit i seen some cheap on ebay?
Yeah think im going to go with the removal of the body and clean up chassis, if I can afford it get it galvinised. Any advice on what polybush kit?
Started ripping out the interior so found the rear floor needs welded too.
Just trying to get my head round everything to come off to allow me to try and jack the body off.
 
yep vented caliper bolt straight on, not sure is d2 brakes will fit however, think they are a different setup. For the polybush kit i got the britpart one full kit but its the split bush type ie the bush is in two halves. Makes fitting alot easier. there are beter bushes out there from the like of flowflex. i paid £64 for my full kit. With the boot floor better to replace it, and i suspect the thin crossmembers that run under it will need doing aswell. The frame that floor sits in normaly rots away aswell. YRM sell all the bits you need, and not badly priced either
 
Yeah been to YRM a few times with my other disco! Hoping to get some photos of the strip down once I get a good list of everything to disconnect first.
 
Well first merry Christmas everyone.

Well finally got round to getting on with the rebuild. Jacked the body up and rolled the chassis out - a bid dodgy but all good now. Just wondering how on earth Im going to get the body back on once I have done all the work (Ages away im guessing) was thinking about putting the chassis on 4 wheel dollys so I can move it easy to align it up.
Does anyone know of a support frame for the body? Just got it on logs just now - might make my own out of scaffold on wheels so I can move it and work on it. Ill try to get photos up soon
 
If you're going for bushes, fit SuperPro, they are markedly better than most offerings on the market, they're easy enough to fit and aren't that much more expensive than other brands. For anything that you will notice every drive buy the best you can.
 
Whats the best to paint the chassis. Would love to get it galvanized but that would eat up the build budget. It is solid with a fair bit of paint still on it but going to clean it up but can obviously only get to the outside. Thinking marine paint? any other thoughts?
 
since1875 said:
Whats the best to paint the chassis. Would love to get it galvanized but that would eat up the build budget. It is solid with a fair bit of paint still on it but going to clean it up but can obviously only get to the outside. Thinking marine paint? any other thoughts?
Click to expand...

Heard a lot of good things about por15. Not used it my self but it's meant to be good.
 
I see POR do a rubber undercoat looks great for the sills and wheel arches too. I want to go above and beyond to stop all the rust spots of the disco.
 
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