Yeah I feel like this is going to be the only way, don't fancy a complete rebuild but I don't mind doing a few small repairs and then cleaning it all down and protecting it. I just don't think my time/budget will cover replacing panels :(

Any tips on finding a pretty rust free one? or is it just a case of seeing as many as possible?

Apart from the obvious rusting problem, any other common faults to look out for? What sort of mileage do the 300tdi engines reach if looked after?

I think I'm leaning towards a 300tdi but I'm going to have to hold out for a great condition one (structurally at least because the inside will be ripped out) as I don't have the funds to start replacing panels. Maybe it would be a good idea to avoid any that have been used off-road for a start...

oops sorry missed that I meant Disco 1 :p

Hi mate, the £3k is just for the base vehicle, total budget is around £5-6k. £4-500 sounds like a seriously low price, especially if I'm to get a solid reliable one for 12-24 months travel. I presume come April-May time £2k would buy me a really decent one then?

Well out of the detailed blogs/videos I have counted 5 x 200/300tdi, 2 x Disco2 Td5s and a couple of Disco 3s. Maybe that isn't very scientific but it appears they have been used a few times to do this and I believe the 300tdi was also used for the camel trophy in '97

Originally I had planned to get a defender for conversion into an overland vehicle but after a change of heart I've decided that a discovery would be much better option on a smaller budget. It seems I can get a fairly heavily modded disco + roof tent and other bits for less than a battered...

Thanks Ian, will have a good search for his posts could give me some ideas even if he had a lot more money to throw at his project :)

Wow thanks mate, the details are really good, helps me pin down stuff a little better. I'll digest this and hopefully get back to you if I have any questions. Cheers!

Thanks for that mate, gives me a few more ideas! Cheers man, they could be helpful as I'm only I'm Leeds so really close. Thanks for the link!

Hi mate, as I say I'm fairly experienced traveller so I won't be doing this on a whim. I've trained in first aid and survival already and was actually planning on doing conflict zone training at some point for other work which would cover a lot of these things. This is why I wanted to get some...

Thanks mate, I suppose all I need now is a car to get working on :p

Cheers man, I kinda got that after the first post, it's quite hard to distinguish banter on the web but now I know the game, I'm all for playing it :p I agree that this site is full of great info just from my last couple of hours browsing and so I hope I can get involved and hopefully push this...

Yeah I have read that an older good condition car is actually better for this than a newer one because they are more complicated with electronics etc and hence more to go wrong. Thanks Steve! Thanks for the detail mate, appreciate it :-) I was definitely leaning more towards a 110 and yeah...