Almost decade with a Discovery 3
Discussion
After almost a decade of owning my Discovery 3, it may as well get a readers thread.
It’s went through a few changes, has happily trundled vast the 100, 150 and 200,000 milestones and survived almost being sold to a breakers after being left riddled with faults thanks to a useless specialist and unfortunate circumstances.
It went from this.
Back on the 29th August 2012.
To this.
18th December 2019 on its 15 birthday and having passed the big 200k
And after stripping and selling off parts.
It ended up like this
A shadow of its former glory, what parts didn’t sell are stored in the garage ready to be refitted.
It’s waiting for spring to start it’s body off chassis restoration back to its full and former glory and to finish a project I started when I was 25.
It’s went through upgrades and changes to exterior, interior, engine, brakes and suspension along with a lot of maintenance to keep it in top fettle.
It’s went through a few changes, has happily trundled vast the 100, 150 and 200,000 milestones and survived almost being sold to a breakers after being left riddled with faults thanks to a useless specialist and unfortunate circumstances.
It went from this.
Back on the 29th August 2012.
To this.
18th December 2019 on its 15 birthday and having passed the big 200k
And after stripping and selling off parts.
It ended up like this
A shadow of its former glory, what parts didn’t sell are stored in the garage ready to be refitted.
It’s waiting for spring to start it’s body off chassis restoration back to its full and former glory and to finish a project I started when I was 25.
It’s went through upgrades and changes to exterior, interior, engine, brakes and suspension along with a lot of maintenance to keep it in top fettle.
I sold my 08 plate last year having owned it for nearly 10 years. It had 170k on it when I sold it and was without doubt one of the best all round cars I’ve ever had. I would’ve bought another Disco without hesitation if LR hadn’t completely missed the point with the new one and the latest Disco 4 is getting on a bit so ended up with a FFRR.
So.
After a far longer wait and timeframe than hoped or expected for.
Last month this finally got kicked into life.
The car got jumped started and pressure washed to clean it up as it was stored at my parents house, but needed cleaning up so it was nice to blast away the filth and grime.
It was loaded onto a friends trailer and while heading to the Land Rover show at Belvoir castle, I had arranged for the car to be dropped off at the specialist I’ve chosen to do the recommission work as it’s been sat on SORN for 3 years now.
We had discussed the lengthy work needed to be done and it’s better for them to fully inspect the car before giving a quote.
So with the shopping list size of work needed done.
I got a call last week with the quote for work needed.
It’s expensive, but not as expensive as feared so the green light has been given to it.
All going well, it should be done for the end of the month or start of next month.
After a far longer wait and timeframe than hoped or expected for.
Last month this finally got kicked into life.
The car got jumped started and pressure washed to clean it up as it was stored at my parents house, but needed cleaning up so it was nice to blast away the filth and grime.
It was loaded onto a friends trailer and while heading to the Land Rover show at Belvoir castle, I had arranged for the car to be dropped off at the specialist I’ve chosen to do the recommission work as it’s been sat on SORN for 3 years now.
We had discussed the lengthy work needed to be done and it’s better for them to fully inspect the car before giving a quote.
So with the shopping list size of work needed done.
I got a call last week with the quote for work needed.
It’s expensive, but not as expensive as feared so the green light has been given to it.
All going well, it should be done for the end of the month or start of next month.
Well…
Life has a novel way of throwing plans out the window.
But, after a few months of sorting other areas of life out.
We can finally get on with this project.
So how do you bring a car back from being off the road for over 3 1/2 years..
With a big list, a brave garage and an idiot of an owner who frankly should know better..
The list of items I had wished to be sorted, got trimmed down a little due to needing a full bathroom replacement 5 weeks after my son was born..
But there’s still plenty to do.
So. Step 1.
Remove body from chassis. Remove engine and automatic gearbox from chassis.
The engine is getting a lot of work done to it.
It’s got 203,946 miles on it which is respectable for a 2.7 tdv6 but there’s some areas where it needs some love.
New glow plugs, new copper washers for the injectors, new timing belts, oil and water pumps, new thermostat along with a full service.
The chassis is getting a full treatment of hot pressure wash and degrease.
Then nailer across the full frame to remove all rust.
Any welding needed done will be taken care of, at this stage I believe the chassis is solid but has a lot of surface rust on it.
Then it’s coated with a rust converter and then a full inside and out treatment of Dinitrol.
The bodyshell isn’t quite in good condition.
There is a lot of surface rust in areas.
Along with some badly rusted outer sills, rear arches and inner sills.
So. The welder is going to be VERY busy with this.
You can buy replacement full outer sills. So that’s not a hassle, the rear arches are coming from a written off Discovery 4 and will be welded into mine.
The inner sill repairs will be made up and sorted.
The bodyshell is also going to get the same treatment as the chassis for rust removal and then dinitrol treatment for future protection.
I’m rebuilding this car so I can keep it for as long as I can.
It is not a financially viable vehicle for the work needing vs the value of the car.
But I want my car back.
Life has a novel way of throwing plans out the window.
But, after a few months of sorting other areas of life out.
We can finally get on with this project.
So how do you bring a car back from being off the road for over 3 1/2 years..
With a big list, a brave garage and an idiot of an owner who frankly should know better..
The list of items I had wished to be sorted, got trimmed down a little due to needing a full bathroom replacement 5 weeks after my son was born..
But there’s still plenty to do.
So. Step 1.
Remove body from chassis. Remove engine and automatic gearbox from chassis.
The engine is getting a lot of work done to it.
It’s got 203,946 miles on it which is respectable for a 2.7 tdv6 but there’s some areas where it needs some love.
New glow plugs, new copper washers for the injectors, new timing belts, oil and water pumps, new thermostat along with a full service.
The chassis is getting a full treatment of hot pressure wash and degrease.
Then nailer across the full frame to remove all rust.
Any welding needed done will be taken care of, at this stage I believe the chassis is solid but has a lot of surface rust on it.
Then it’s coated with a rust converter and then a full inside and out treatment of Dinitrol.
The bodyshell isn’t quite in good condition.
There is a lot of surface rust in areas.
Along with some badly rusted outer sills, rear arches and inner sills.
So. The welder is going to be VERY busy with this.
You can buy replacement full outer sills. So that’s not a hassle, the rear arches are coming from a written off Discovery 4 and will be welded into mine.
The inner sill repairs will be made up and sorted.
The bodyshell is also going to get the same treatment as the chassis for rust removal and then dinitrol treatment for future protection.
I’m rebuilding this car so I can keep it for as long as I can.
It is not a financially viable vehicle for the work needing vs the value of the car.
But I want my car back.
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