Tinworm & Teenage Bodges

Thanks for welcoming me in the new member section. After almost 7 years of ownership I thought it'd be best to start a project thread for my 300tdi Disco, CAP. Might be worth grabbing a cuppa...

I was 18 when I 'bought' it from a previous employer by working off it's value in overtime hours. After some festivals, camping trips and many thousand happy miles later I became attached to it.

When I originally acquired it the engine had been run dry of coolant and the pistons had melted into the bores. A replacement engine and some precautionary maintenance (skim & new HG, cambelt etc) gave it a healthy heart.

Shortly afterwards the gearbox lost 3rd so that was swapped out. I did some remedial welding including the NS floor/box section sill.

There were various mods/alterations during the 2 years I had it on the road but it was all done on a very limited budget which usually meant 'whatever was laying around'. This meant there were several frustrating breakdowns. My girlfriend at the time wasn't impressed when the OSF wheel bearing seized up on the M1 on the way home from Download Festival. It cooled down and freed off enough for me to nurse it home via B roads, with light application of the brakes to keep the wheel from wobbling (yikes).

It's last MOT was miserable but I was desperate to get a pass as my daily driver (a Reliant Scimitar SS1) had an engine failure. Just about achieved it with some grade A bodging, amazing what you can do with a biscuit tin and a tube of Sikaflex. When the MOT expired in 2017 it was left to gather dust but I refused to sell/scrap it.


5 years has now passed and I find myself in a position to look at returning it to the road. I've currently got a small van for work but I'd like to replace it with the Disco for extra towing capacity. I'll probably aim to ply line/rack out the rear to get some storage space back.

I've spent a couple of days on it so far, got it running again and identified a lot of issues. I'm aiming to fix the main electrical/mechanical faults before diving into the rust.


Recently fitted/replaced:

2019

• New battery, rear shocks and extended brake hoses - Need to check the hoses to make sure they don't bind/stretch
• Replaced the 'Download festival' fiasco wheel bearing and stub axle

2020

• 2" spring and body spacers, big wheels/tyres - I only fitted these because I kept tripping over them
• Replaced headlining fabric, ran new rear washer tube - Think the headlining's gonna have to come out again because the sunroof is now very drippy

2022

• Repaired the glow harness and replaced timer
• Replaced reverse light switch - Light still inop, they work fine when wire at switch is powered. New switch is ever so slightly shorter but I suspect there's something worn in the g'box that's not actuating the plunger? R380
• Scrubbed an ungodly amount of mold out the interior, fitted seat covers
• Replace & adjust handbrake cable
• Removed all hubs to inspect brakes, bearings etc
• Fitted alisport header tank

I've got a new starter to fit and a replacement boot floor which I acquired a few years ago. I've made a list of bits required to refurb the hubs. Bearings seem okay but the seals/washers etc all need renewing, also got a stub axle to change. There is going to be an awful lot of welding, rust report to follow. Bet you can't wait

Some more progress last week, spent a couple of hours fitting up the last extended arch. Lots of trimming to do still.

Pic of the seat covers in, might swap seats in future but it makes it a bit nicer for now


Had a bit more of a look at the rust situation to decide what panels I need. Looks like the easy on panels will sort most of it out although I'm going to have to get creative with the bulkhead and floors.
It needs repairs to front body mounts, front inner arches, bulkhead, front footwells, OS sill, g'box tunnel, rear seat base, rear floor, rear inner arches, rear body mounts/x member.

But apart from that Chassis looks OK but i will attack it with the needle gun. Hopefully won't bore you with too many pics.


Also had a look at why reverse lights were not working. Popped the top of the gearbox off and found the selector yoke has grooves worn where the reverse light switch sits. I'll build it back up with some weld when I next get a chance

You've been busy, but it's getting there.
Amazing how badly these rust, mind it's over a quarter of a century old.
How's the Scimitar doing

Cant wait to get stuck into the welding to be honest. Looks like I've finally got some workshop space secured so should be able to spend more than the current 3hr a week on it

Scims are waiting in the wings. Need to get one of them ready for the 50th anniversary of the club this year!

My GT6 is 50 this year, must get on with it.

Nice! love a GT6.

Welded up the grooves in that gear selector yoke yesterday, put it back together and still no reverse lights. Pulled apart again and manually operated the reverse switch plunger, it has to go in a LONG way before the lights will come on. So basically the new switch is too short (by about 3-4mm).

Checked the parts book and looks like I need a CDU51 instead of AMR3918, they must be slightly different lengths? Problem is the CDU51 has the older bullet style connectors whereas the AMR3918 has the correct plug (which is why I bought it). Spoke to a couple of suppliers who confirmed my VIN was in the middle of the changeover so looks like for a brief period Land Rover fitted a switch that doesn't have a part number and is therefore unobtainable. Not an issue as I just need to solder the AMR connector onto the CDU switch. Oh Land Rover, you so silly.

Nice box of bits from Bearmach. Old intercooler hoses were damaged and swollen so decided to replace with silicone, blue to match the coolant hoses. Flushed out the intercooler, may want replacing at some point as half the fins are missing. Changed the aux belt, realised there were 2 different PNs, I went with ERR3287 for the larger dia alternator pulley, fits much better. The rest of the bits are hub/wheel bearing related, I'll get to that another day.


It's been really lazy to start recently. Cranks over very slowly but fires eventually. While checking the battery/cables I cranked the engine over for about 20 seconds with the pump disconnected and the starter motor 'let the smoke out'. That was that then. While removing the old one the battery cable terminal fell out. The plastic was properly crunchy and the battery cable was a bit melty too. Looks like the exhaust has toasted it, think I'll make a heat shield up.

Cut back and repaired the end of the battery cable, removed and cleaned the earth strap, fitted new starter and it spins over faster than ever. Sorted.



Got the new reverse light switch, CDU51 on the left, AMR3981 on the right. Cut and soldered the AMR connector on to the CDU switch. Now have working reverse lights, finally!