Disco rebuild project

First off I have to say thank you to Mr Noisy and Green Hornet, your epic threads have inspired me to have a go myself


Have been a long time lurker on here so thought it was time to post

Have owned my Disco for 5 years now. It’s a ’93 3.5V8 Auto
This was not long after purchase with lift kit, MT’s, snorkel and rock sliders fitted



Well after 5 years of ownership it’s not looking quite as shiny lol but have done a lot more mods




However I have decided that patching up the rust holes has gone far enough.

Had a new boot floor two years ago and lots of patches to sills and wings over time

So Disco is now up on axle stands ready for cutting out and fitting the following:

Pair of complete head light Boxes inc front body mounts
Pair of complete inner wings
Battery trays both sides
Inner and outer sills both sides
A & B pillar repair bases.
Rear crossmember
Got all this lot from YRM metal solutions


As I am replacing the light boxes and they are only available for the 300 series will be fitting the 300 shape head lights and indicators

Also got a 300 shape grill and light trims I picked up at Newbury 4x4 fair and have refurbed them ready for fitting.

Will be removing rear wings to make sills and crossmember change easier so will treat the panels behind the wings to try and increase their life.

While all the interior is out will also remove rear worklights and relocate them welding up the current holes.

Got a load of red oxide and chassis black so will freshening up the chassis while its accessable and finish with waxoyl inside the chassis box section

Spent last weekend and evenings making up the inner wings and welding them together. Seam sealed and painted red oxide.
Went from this


Via this


To this (not seam sealed yet)


Finished the inner wing prep, seam sealed and over painted with more red oxide


Both battery trays primed



Both light boxes / front body mounts built and primed


Also took the time to remove rear bumper to be faced with this


Which looked even worse once jet washed and bits that I thought were crossmember turned out to be mud!


Also stuck my pressure washer drain cleaner down the chassis to clear out the mud stuck inside.

Will post up pics as I progress if anyones interested ?

nice work ... keep it up , and keep us all up dated with pics.

we love pics! This looks like mine did... or does.... still trying to get to fix mine up but other jobs insist on interfering!

keep us updated with lots of pictures

Nice one ..

Well done Rob. Keep up with the posts and pic,s.
Looking to do my 200tdi.

Thanks for the comments so far guys

Time to bring the thread up to date as the first post was what I had done up to this weekend.....

You wanted more pics so here they are.

Everything seems to take longer than you expect with these jobs

Motor up on 4 axle stands and sitting on a tarpaulin to catch the crud. Doesn’t look to bad at the moment!


Wing and headlamp off, not looking so good now


Headlamp box looking very sorry for itself


Front body mount undone


Lots of spot welds to drill out


Which eventually allowed this to happen ;D


Leaving this


Chassis treated with Fertan rust convertor


Bulkhead return cleaned up and ready


Decided to not bother trying to save the wing top rail. Ordered new genuine LR ones from the dealers for £20 each. ;D Also removed shock turret for easier access.


Chassis painted with red oxide


And then this super thick bitumen based steel paint. Designed for boat hulls.



Final pics for this installment. Headlamp box sprayed and fitted to body mount



Ready for plug welding when I get some more gas as I left the bottle turned on last time and the gas trigger was obviously pressed slightly. So one empty bottle. :-*

Stay tuned for the next episode of “a Disco is reborn”

Looking really good might have to convince SWMBO it's a good idea to do mine rust is starting to become a bit of a problem now

good write up pal. some good work done there. just helped a mate out with the same job on his 200, also did complete rear floor and wheel tubs lol. Looking good yours thou pal

Update from the weekend

Inner wing panel in and fixed / plug welded, got my new bottle of Argoshield

New wing top extension panel offered up and clamped into place to see how it looks. I think it looks




First side all done, welded, seam sealed, sprayed gloss black






Will crack on with other side which should be quicker now I know where all the spot welds are and what to unbolt and cut.

Only problem is I am now waiting for a spare part for my welder as it has given up and gone on strike!

A little tip, I repaired the inner wing, because the water comes out of the hole above the cross support from the windscreen catch area, I fitted a nipple in the hole and ran a pipe from it to the plastic inner liner, and it drains on the top of the tyre, and leaves the inner wing dry, so no rust starts in the usual places.

geoffo said:

A little tip, I repaired the inner wing, because the water comes out of the hole above the cross support from the windscreen catch area, I fitted a nipple in the hole and ran a pipe from it to the plastic inner liner, and it drains on the top of the tyre, and leaves the inner wing dry, so no rust starts in the usual places.

Click to expand...

Cheers for the tip, I dont have the plastic liners but might have a look at something similar

Next episode.

Made a start on the other side.




Looks just as bad as the near side


Support rail not able to support much


Drill out spot welds on slam panel


Undo body mount and drill out spot welds on lower support


Some more spot welds to drill out at the bulkhead end on the support rail and wing extension rail


Wing extension rail and support rail off


Leaving this.


Going.....


Going.....


Gone! Chassis painted with red oxide while I have access


There are spot welds to drill out at the bulkhead end near the body mount but I found it easier to cut the old wing off first and then drill the remaining spot welds


Also took the opportunity to replace the steering UJ while it was so easy to get to


Nearly forgot to recover the bit of angle off the back of the old light box that has the rubber seal that the rad sits against but remembered before I binned it all. Cleaned up and primed


Got myself a new Mig Welder too as the old SIP one went on strike, will try fixing it when the new part arrives
Clarke 160TM.


It’s a much more powerful machine so needed to run a new 16amp socket protected by a 20amp double pole switch



That’s as far as I got before rain stopped play completely

hi Very interested in this as i will be doing all of this work plus sills arches boot floor chassis etc myself on my dead v8 very soon
keep it up great job it will all be worth it in the end

Interesting,

I hope to learn from the information you put on here Rob.
As you have seen i'm also working on my disco but have never done this type of thing before.
Where do you get your materials from parts n paints?

Cheers.

looking good pal

THE BUDDAH said:

Interesting,
I hope to learn from the information you put on here Rob.
Where do you get your materials from parts n paints?
Cheers.

Click to expand...

All the replacement panels came from YRM excellent quality and great service too. I did have to get the wing top extension rails from my local main dealer though.

Grinder cutting and flap discs & Red Oxide i picked up 5ltrs at the Newbury 4x4 show along with the FERTAN although you can buy it via that link.

The SIGMA Vikote that I am using on the chassis I got local to me HERE in Ebbsfleet. Did me a very good cash deal.

looking good, will be watching this as i think mine will need doing soon, hopefully not to that extent, will find out when i take wing off for snorkel

Hi Rob,
You deserve a pat on the back as it's a lot of work...all for the love of it....lol

Well done.

RobP said:

Thanks for the comments so far guys

Time to bring the thread up to date as the first post was what I had done up to this weekend.....

You wanted more pics so here they are.

Everything seems to take longer than you expect with these jobs

Motor up on 4 axle stands and sitting on a tarpaulin to catch the crud. Doesn’t look to bad at the moment!

Wing and headlamp off, not looking so good now

Headlamp box looking very sorry for itself

Front body mount undone

Lots of spot welds to drill out

Which eventually allowed this to happen ;D

Leaving this

Chassis treated with Fertan rust convertor

Bulkhead return cleaned up and ready

Decided to not bother trying to save the wing top rail. Ordered new genuine LR ones from the dealers for £20 each. ;D Also removed shock turret for easier access.

Chassis painted with red oxide

And then this super thick bitumen based steel paint. Designed for boat hulls.

Final pics for this installment. Headlamp box sprayed and fitted to body mount

Ready for plug welding when I get some more gas as I left the bottle turned on last time and the gas trigger was obviously pressed slightly. So one empty bottle. :-*

Stay tuned for the next episode of “a Disco is reborn”

Click to expand...

Bloody good stuff that fertan! I must have gone through litres of that stuff when I did mine, keep up the good work itll all be worth it in the end