A tale of three discoveries (4x4 and V8 content)
Discussion
Alright guys, had a good days progress today 
Started off by getting the block on my stand and removing all the casting flash. Basically the raged edges left from the casting process.
Before:
After:
Highly unlikely to have caused any issues (hence why it's not removed at the factory) but I couldn't put up with knowing it's there. :lol:
Next up was a lick of paint. Starting with masking off all mating faces.
Then a few coats of high temp paint.
And masking removed
Very happy with how it came out so onto the next job which was to prep the heads for refurb.
Stripped down.
And cleaned
Marks on the underside suggest it was still on it's original head gaskets.
Backed up by the head dimensions showing they've never been skimmed :nod:
So all done and ready
Heads are now with Scholar Racing Engines for a light skim, new valve guides and re-cut valve seats. :thumb:
Have a 4.6 crank and rods on the way which should arrive tomorrow, then I can do some more building
Started off by getting the block on my stand and removing all the casting flash. Basically the raged edges left from the casting process.
Before:
After:
Highly unlikely to have caused any issues (hence why it's not removed at the factory) but I couldn't put up with knowing it's there. :lol:
Next up was a lick of paint. Starting with masking off all mating faces.
Then a few coats of high temp paint.
And masking removed
Very happy with how it came out so onto the next job which was to prep the heads for refurb.
Stripped down.
And cleaned
Marks on the underside suggest it was still on it's original head gaskets.
Backed up by the head dimensions showing they've never been skimmed :nod:
So all done and ready
Heads are now with Scholar Racing Engines for a light skim, new valve guides and re-cut valve seats. :thumb:
Have a 4.6 crank and rods on the way which should arrive tomorrow, then I can do some more building
bobby_vimto said:
You're one of those neighbours who'd have me twitching at the curtains wondering what the heck you were doing to the car now .... then I'd spend all day engrossed as the build progressed!
thanksMy driveway playing used to attract a lot of "Is it broken AGAIN?" comments. Mainly from the "cars explode after 3 years" types, and almost always followed by a blank look when I told them I just enjoy taking cars apart.
Most of the neighbours are used to it now though. So it tends to be "Can you look at XYZ" or "My car needs XYZ changing, can you help me do it" which is kind of nice.
Another update for you guys, big one this time 
So yesterday morning I was still waiting for my new crank to arrive. To that end I decided to get on with de-ringing and cleaning up the old pistons so they could be reused with the 4.6 rods.
Then it came, definatly the right one this time
Also with it was a set of 4.6 rods and pistons. The rods I needed, but the pistons I didn't. Due to the longer stroke of the 4.6, the pistons have a much larger dish on top to keep the compression ratio the same at 9.35:1. Here's a couple of pictures.
I could have used them no problem but a common route is to keep the 4.0 pistons, this lifts it up to about 9.75:1 compression. The gudgeon pins are pressed into the rod, and I'm not paying for the Land Rover tool, so I needed to make something to get them out again.
The larger one supports the piston on these two flat parts, the same place the genuine tool does.
I don't have my own press so off I went to the engineering bay at work, armed with my box of pistons and a packet of chocolate Hobnobs for the guys that work there
All apart
Here's the difference in the rods. Visually identified by the number of dimples on the side, the 4.6 are slightly shorter to match the longer stroke crankshaft.
So after leaving the gudgeon pins in the freezer over night to make installation easier, I went back into work this morning to carry on.
Before starting I took the opportunity to check my torque wrench was calibrated for the build later. All good
Then I spent some time weighing and matching the pistons and rods. All 8 sets are within 3 grams of each other now.
With all that done I could come home and crack on with the build. First job was to take the main caps out of the block.
New shells in
Crank in.
Out with the Plastiguage to check the main bearing clearances.
Acceptable clearance is between 0.0004" and 0.002". Plastiguage showed a little over 1 thou so all good.
Crank back out to add some assembly lube.
Back in and Hylomar blue added to the rear main cap as per the Land Rover rebuild procedure.
Cap on along with the rear crank seal.
All torqued up.
Including cross bolts, remembering to fit the sealing washers
And here's one bit people forget. Checking for, and removing any sealant that has squashed out from the rear cap. You don't want it falling off, finding it's way into the oil system and blocking something.
Next job was fitting the pistons. First the new rings needed checking for gap which were all within limits.
I also checked the ring clearance in the piston grove, and the skirt to cylinder clearance, but didn't get any pictures. With them all fine the pistons could go in.
All done.
Big end bearing clearance checked. A touch bigger than the mains but no issues, still well within tolerance.
And all torqued up with new stretch bolts.
Finished up today with fitting my ARP head studs, ready for picking up the heads from Scholar tomorrow.
Thanks for reading.
So yesterday morning I was still waiting for my new crank to arrive. To that end I decided to get on with de-ringing and cleaning up the old pistons so they could be reused with the 4.6 rods.
Then it came, definatly the right one this time
Also with it was a set of 4.6 rods and pistons. The rods I needed, but the pistons I didn't. Due to the longer stroke of the 4.6, the pistons have a much larger dish on top to keep the compression ratio the same at 9.35:1. Here's a couple of pictures.
I could have used them no problem but a common route is to keep the 4.0 pistons, this lifts it up to about 9.75:1 compression. The gudgeon pins are pressed into the rod, and I'm not paying for the Land Rover tool, so I needed to make something to get them out again.
The larger one supports the piston on these two flat parts, the same place the genuine tool does.
I don't have my own press so off I went to the engineering bay at work, armed with my box of pistons and a packet of chocolate Hobnobs for the guys that work there
All apart
Here's the difference in the rods. Visually identified by the number of dimples on the side, the 4.6 are slightly shorter to match the longer stroke crankshaft.
So after leaving the gudgeon pins in the freezer over night to make installation easier, I went back into work this morning to carry on.
Before starting I took the opportunity to check my torque wrench was calibrated for the build later. All good
Then I spent some time weighing and matching the pistons and rods. All 8 sets are within 3 grams of each other now.
With all that done I could come home and crack on with the build. First job was to take the main caps out of the block.
New shells in
Crank in.
Out with the Plastiguage to check the main bearing clearances.
Acceptable clearance is between 0.0004" and 0.002". Plastiguage showed a little over 1 thou so all good.
Crank back out to add some assembly lube.
Back in and Hylomar blue added to the rear main cap as per the Land Rover rebuild procedure.
Cap on along with the rear crank seal.
All torqued up.
Including cross bolts, remembering to fit the sealing washers
And here's one bit people forget. Checking for, and removing any sealant that has squashed out from the rear cap. You don't want it falling off, finding it's way into the oil system and blocking something.
Next job was fitting the pistons. First the new rings needed checking for gap which were all within limits.
I also checked the ring clearance in the piston grove, and the skirt to cylinder clearance, but didn't get any pictures. With them all fine the pistons could go in.
All done.
Big end bearing clearance checked. A touch bigger than the mains but no issues, still well within tolerance.
And all torqued up with new stretch bolts.
Finished up today with fitting my ARP head studs, ready for picking up the heads from Scholar tomorrow.
Thanks for reading.
Edited by JordanTurbo on Thursday 25th June 20:23
Edited by JordanTurbo on Thursday 25th June 20:38
Playsatan said:
One question, what is that mark on the bore?
Looks like a blob of assembly lube that dripped off the crank when the block was upside down.All the bores were cleaned, checked and lubed with engine oil before sliding the pistons in (rings also oiled)
You still made me go out to the garage and double check this morning though
Hi guys,
Didn't make as much progress today as I'd hoped because couldn't pick up the heads until this afternoon. Got some more done all the same though
Two finished heads, wrapped up safe
Very happy with Scholar's work. Clean, skim, bulleted valve guides and re-cut seats as requested. Told them I'd do the valve lapping myself but the guys forgot and did it themselves. Didn't charge me the extra though which was cool. Also while talking I mentioned my ARP studs didnt come with lube, he went straight out the back and grabbed a sachet free of charge too!
Here's some pictures.
Standard valve guides (Took picture before I dropped them off)
New "bulleted" guides for better flow.
Like I said, very happy. Next I cleaned up the valve gear ready for the rebuild.
Valve springs free length checked. All good.
Stem seals fitted.
Springs in.
Masked up and a few coats of silver.
That's as far as I got today, left them to dry overnight and will fit them to yhe block tomorrow.
Didn't make as much progress today as I'd hoped because couldn't pick up the heads until this afternoon. Got some more done all the same though
Two finished heads, wrapped up safe
Very happy with Scholar's work. Clean, skim, bulleted valve guides and re-cut seats as requested. Told them I'd do the valve lapping myself but the guys forgot and did it themselves. Didn't charge me the extra though which was cool. Also while talking I mentioned my ARP studs didnt come with lube, he went straight out the back and grabbed a sachet free of charge too!
Here's some pictures.
Standard valve guides (Took picture before I dropped them off)
New "bulleted" guides for better flow.
Like I said, very happy. Next I cleaned up the valve gear ready for the rebuild.
Valve springs free length checked. All good.
Stem seals fitted.
Springs in.
Masked up and a few coats of silver.
That's as far as I got today, left them to dry overnight and will fit them to yhe block tomorrow.
Bit late but here's an update from the weekend.
First job was to get the heads fitted with new elring composite gaskets.
Torquing them up was nerve racking as there is a lot of stories on the net about the threads pulling out of the aluminium block when using studs. Some people say the 80lb-ft torque specified by ARP is too high for the block and to only do it to 65/70lbs-ft.
I decided to put my engineering head on, along with a few brave pills, and trust the manufacturer. Went with the full ARP torque loading but first ensuring the threads were spottless and giving a good settling time between each tightening sequence. All torqued up fine with no stripped threads, so IMO anyone pulling them out is either doing something wrong or has a damaged block to start with.
Anyway, with the heads on it was onto valve train. First with the new Kent H180 "high torque" camshaft.
Fitted along with plenty of cam lube.
Retaining plate fitted.
Timing gears with new chain
New cam followeres with more cam lube.
New pushrods in
Some may remember one of the reasons leading to a rebuild was the damage found on the rockers.
To sort this I bought a used but in good condition rocker shaft. I then stripped my two old ones, inspected them and chose the best parts to rebuild one good shaft.
New pair together
Fitted
Next the lifter preload needed to be set up, this is the distance between the spring loaded center of the tappet and the circlip that retains it. Needs to be 40-60 thou, measured when the cam lobe is at it's lowest point (valve closed).
It's a pain in the arse to measure so common practice is to make a "go no-go" guage. My weapon of choise was the hook from an old coat hanger.
Straitened and then bent at right angles both ends.
Each end filed to the corresponding tollerance
This can then be poked under the circlip to check clearance. When the small end fits but the big end doesn't the preload is within spec. Easy peasy :thumb:
Adjustment is made by placing shims under the rockershaft pedestal.
With that setup and torqued it was time to sort the front cover.
Cleaned inside including inside the oil pump housing and removal of the oil pressure valve.
New oil pump gears fitted. Packed with vaseline to help with quick priming on first start.
Cleaned and painted outside with new crank seal, Oil filter fitted loosly to keep crap out.
Fitted.
New water pump
Moving on, vally gasket fitted.
Lower manifold fitted, cleaned but not painted to save time as it's not seen once the upper manifold is fitted.
Engine turned over to fit oil pickup and sump. Also not painted, occasionally have to remind myself this is a Landrover that goes off road a lot
And with some freshly cleaned and painted rocker covers, there you have it. One high compression 4.6 rover V8 built and ready to fit
Thanks for following guys
First job was to get the heads fitted with new elring composite gaskets.
Torquing them up was nerve racking as there is a lot of stories on the net about the threads pulling out of the aluminium block when using studs. Some people say the 80lb-ft torque specified by ARP is too high for the block and to only do it to 65/70lbs-ft.
I decided to put my engineering head on, along with a few brave pills, and trust the manufacturer. Went with the full ARP torque loading but first ensuring the threads were spottless and giving a good settling time between each tightening sequence. All torqued up fine with no stripped threads, so IMO anyone pulling them out is either doing something wrong or has a damaged block to start with.
Anyway, with the heads on it was onto valve train. First with the new Kent H180 "high torque" camshaft.
Fitted along with plenty of cam lube.
Retaining plate fitted.
Timing gears with new chain
New cam followeres with more cam lube.
New pushrods in
Some may remember one of the reasons leading to a rebuild was the damage found on the rockers.
To sort this I bought a used but in good condition rocker shaft. I then stripped my two old ones, inspected them and chose the best parts to rebuild one good shaft.
New pair together
Fitted
Next the lifter preload needed to be set up, this is the distance between the spring loaded center of the tappet and the circlip that retains it. Needs to be 40-60 thou, measured when the cam lobe is at it's lowest point (valve closed).
It's a pain in the arse to measure so common practice is to make a "go no-go" guage. My weapon of choise was the hook from an old coat hanger.
Straitened and then bent at right angles both ends.
Each end filed to the corresponding tollerance
This can then be poked under the circlip to check clearance. When the small end fits but the big end doesn't the preload is within spec. Easy peasy :thumb:
Adjustment is made by placing shims under the rockershaft pedestal.
With that setup and torqued it was time to sort the front cover.
Cleaned inside including inside the oil pump housing and removal of the oil pressure valve.
New oil pump gears fitted. Packed with vaseline to help with quick priming on first start.
Cleaned and painted outside with new crank seal, Oil filter fitted loosly to keep crap out.
Fitted.
New water pump
Moving on, vally gasket fitted.
Lower manifold fitted, cleaned but not painted to save time as it's not seen once the upper manifold is fitted.
Engine turned over to fit oil pickup and sump. Also not painted, occasionally have to remind myself this is a Landrover that goes off road a lot
And with some freshly cleaned and painted rocker covers, there you have it. One high compression 4.6 rover V8 built and ready to fit
Thanks for following guys
Hi guys.
Got back home on Friday night so made some more progress.
First job was flywheel and flex plate which needed a locking bar knocking up.
While the crank was locked I also tightened the front pulley bolt up to the correct torque loading of "Oh-my-f**king-god-I-think-I-popped-a-rib-tight"
Then it was finally time to put it back in the hole.
Sorry for the lack of pictures, I was on a roll. Got all of the ancillaries and plumbing fitted.
Currently waiting for my ECU to come back from Tornado systems. On Mark Adams' recommendation, I've got a new Bosch AFM for a 4.6 P38 range rover.
This will suit the map better as it is slightly larger than the standard Discovery one. (New top, old bottom)
While I'm waiting for the ECU, I wanted to make sure the engine will be well looked after. So a new rad and thermostat have been fitted.
I also picked up some gauges to keep an eye on things. Oil pressure, water temp and voltage.
Picked these as they match the standard clocks.
They will sit on the dash here. Just in a cheap universal pod for now but I'll make a more factory looking one later, somthing dash coloured and shaped to suit.
The small packet in the first picture is full of green LEDs. These have been used to change the illumination to match the rest of the dash at night. Nice and factory looking
Not long until the first start now.
Got back home on Friday night so made some more progress.
First job was flywheel and flex plate which needed a locking bar knocking up.
While the crank was locked I also tightened the front pulley bolt up to the correct torque loading of "Oh-my-f**king-god-I-think-I-popped-a-rib-tight"
Then it was finally time to put it back in the hole.
Sorry for the lack of pictures, I was on a roll. Got all of the ancillaries and plumbing fitted.
Currently waiting for my ECU to come back from Tornado systems. On Mark Adams' recommendation, I've got a new Bosch AFM for a 4.6 P38 range rover.
This will suit the map better as it is slightly larger than the standard Discovery one. (New top, old bottom)
While I'm waiting for the ECU, I wanted to make sure the engine will be well looked after. So a new rad and thermostat have been fitted.
I also picked up some gauges to keep an eye on things. Oil pressure, water temp and voltage.
Picked these as they match the standard clocks.
They will sit on the dash here. Just in a cheap universal pod for now but I'll make a more factory looking one later, somthing dash coloured and shaped to suit.
The small packet in the first picture is full of green LEDs. These have been used to change the illumination to match the rest of the dash at night. Nice and factory looking
Not long until the first start now
.Edited by JordanTurbo on Tuesday 21st July 16:53
cheers guys.
Update from yesterday............. It's alive.
ECU arrived Wednesday but I didn't get a chance to fit it due to work. Plugged it in yesterday, turned the engine over without the fuel relay to prime then put the relay in to go for a start. Fired first time without any hesitation and runs nice and smoothly on the new map, very pleased.
Went and got a 20ltr jerry can of V-power and Insured it last night ,so I can take it for a run today and see how it goes.
Update from yesterday............. It's alive.
ECU arrived Wednesday but I didn't get a chance to fit it due to work. Plugged it in yesterday, turned the engine over without the fuel relay to prime then put the relay in to go for a start. Fired first time without any hesitation and runs nice and smoothly on the new map, very pleased.
Went and got a 20ltr jerry can of V-power and Insured it last night ,so I can take it for a run today and see how it goes.
Edited by JordanTurbo on Sunday 16th August 09:22
Hi guys, sorry for the lack of updates but I've been busy moving house since after I got the V8 running. Here's the few updates that have happened in the meantime.
Before it could be driven too far I needed to sort the airbox out to match the larger P38 air flow meter. This is what it looked like to get it running in the first place.
Obviously not good enough so I sourced a P38 airbox.
The box itself is totally different to fit the range rover body, but the top covers are interchangeable with just the outlet size being different. (old one at the top had all the clips cut off so I could get a good seal when bodged)
Fitted to the Discovery box along with a fresh filter. Much better.
With help from the house move from Suffolk to Surrey, the running in miles went by nice and quick.
Which meant a swap from the Millers running in oil to the classic sport 20w50 it will live on.
With the running in over I could also start running the engine on gas. 49.9ppl, don't mind if I do.
Some may have noticed that I refitted the old aux belt when I rebuilt the engine. At the time I hadn't decided whether I wanted to reinstate the "ACE" hydraulic anti roll bar system which would have needed another pump and larger belt. With some miles on the disco it feels fine on the standard steel bars so a new non-ACE belt was bought along with new idler pulleys.
Fitted. You can also see the location for the water temp sender in this picture. It's not ideal but it works - I'll make a new T-piece that can house both the bleed crew and the sender at some point.
Also fitted 8 new plugs to keep the ignition system tip-top for running gas.
So with the engine running nicely, I turned my attention to the exhaust. Ever since the I got the disco it had a rattly right cat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qUzAW7ZpP8
Seeing as LPG burns clean, the Disco will pass the MOT emissions test easily without the cats fitted. Decided to Gut them instead of a straight removal, just incase I get a difficult MOT tester in future. Cut open, remove catalyst, weld shut, job done
Unfortunately, there wasn't much left in the cats to remove. Most of the cat had migrated into the centre silencer. With the baffles in the box it couldn't just be tipped out, so some extra surgery was required.
just needs welding back up now, although I'm planning to change the pipe work inside slightly to make it a little louder.
While it's off I'm currently running the straight pipe from my old TD5 as the exhaust is the same from the Y-join back.
It sounds great, if a little anti-social.
So that's us up to date with changes, just been enjoying the V8 while we set up the new house. had an escape from unpacking the other day and went to play in the mud on Sailsbury plain for an afternoon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh5wdOH53NA
And the result at the end of the day
thanks for reading
Before it could be driven too far I needed to sort the airbox out to match the larger P38 air flow meter. This is what it looked like to get it running in the first place.
Obviously not good enough so I sourced a P38 airbox.
The box itself is totally different to fit the range rover body, but the top covers are interchangeable with just the outlet size being different. (old one at the top had all the clips cut off so I could get a good seal when bodged
)Fitted to the Discovery box along with a fresh filter. Much better
.With help from the house move from Suffolk to Surrey, the running in miles went by nice and quick.
Which meant a swap from the Millers running in oil to the classic sport 20w50 it will live on.
With the running in over I could also start running the engine on gas. 49.9ppl, don't mind if I do.
Some may have noticed that I refitted the old aux belt when I rebuilt the engine. At the time I hadn't decided whether I wanted to reinstate the "ACE" hydraulic anti roll bar system which would have needed another pump and larger belt. With some miles on the disco it feels fine on the standard steel bars so a new non-ACE belt was bought along with new idler pulleys.
Fitted. You can also see the location for the water temp sender in this picture. It's not ideal but it works - I'll make a new T-piece that can house both the bleed crew and the sender at some point.
Also fitted 8 new plugs to keep the ignition system tip-top for running gas.
So with the engine running nicely, I turned my attention to the exhaust. Ever since the I got the disco it had a rattly right cat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qUzAW7ZpP8
Seeing as LPG burns clean, the Disco will pass the MOT emissions test easily without the cats fitted. Decided to Gut them instead of a straight removal, just incase I get a difficult MOT tester in future. Cut open, remove catalyst, weld shut, job done
Unfortunately, there wasn't much left in the cats to remove. Most of the cat had migrated into the centre silencer.
With the baffles in the box it couldn't just be tipped out, so some extra surgery was required.just needs welding back up now, although I'm planning to change the pipe work inside slightly to make it a little louder.
While it's off I'm currently running the straight pipe from my old TD5 as the exhaust is the same from the Y-join back.
It sounds great, if a little anti-social.
So that's us up to date with changes, just been enjoying the V8 while we set up the new house. had an escape from unpacking the other day and went to play in the mud on Sailsbury plain for an afternoon.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh5wdOH53NA
And the result at the end of the day
thanks for reading
Edited by JordanTurbo on Sunday 16th August 10:59
Thanks, It's been a while so here's another update for you.
The 33" Pro-comps are AWESOME in mud, but the large block design makes them a bit loud on the road for daily duties. The D2 has therefore spent some time back on it's standard 18's while I chose a new set.
Decided to go with a set of Cooper ST Maxx.
Same 285/75r16 size so still working out at 33", but slightly less aggressive. I read very good things about their road manners while still performing well off road. I was a little worried they wouldn't be aggressive enough with the STT also available from Cooper, but its safe to say pictures don't do them justice - they are very chunky for an AT tyre!
compared to the old Pro-comps
Had them fitted to a new set of 16X8J steel wheels to widen the track a little compared to the previous alloys.
Fitted along with a quick jet wash to remove the blue protective spray, makes me itch when people roll around with blue wheels.
And some final pics. Well happy with them
Thanks for reading.
The 33" Pro-comps are AWESOME in mud, but the large block design makes them a bit loud on the road for daily duties. The D2 has therefore spent some time back on it's standard 18's while I chose a new set.
Decided to go with a set of Cooper ST Maxx.
Same 285/75r16 size so still working out at 33", but slightly less aggressive. I read very good things about their road manners while still performing well off road. I was a little worried they wouldn't be aggressive enough with the STT also available from Cooper, but its safe to say pictures don't do them justice - they are very chunky for an AT tyre!
compared to the old Pro-comps
Had them fitted to a new set of 16X8J steel wheels to widen the track a little compared to the previous alloys.
Fitted along with a quick jet wash to remove the blue protective spray, makes me itch when people roll around with blue wheels.
And some final pics. Well happy with them
Thanks for reading.
Edited by JordanTurbo on Saturday 3rd October 13:11
Cheers buddy.
Spent some time yesterday sorting out the spare wheel situation.
Started with the standard 18" alloy and tyre. Obviously no use if I ever get a flat on the other four!
It's a common modification to flip the spare mount upside down, this lifts the attachment higher and gives room for bigger tyres.
Took the carrier off and center hole has to be redrilled so it will fit back on the other way up.
Unfortunately the flip alone didn't give enough room for a 33" tyre.
So the carrier came off again for a bit more modification. I ended up raising it another 25mm which was enough for the spare to clear the bumper with the tailgate closed.
So I now have a 33" spare to match the rest. I've left one of the old Pro-comps on there for now but once they have sold I'll buy a 5th Cooper and modular wheel to fit
Spent some time yesterday sorting out the spare wheel situation.
Started with the standard 18" alloy and tyre. Obviously no use if I ever get a flat on the other four!
It's a common modification to flip the spare mount upside down, this lifts the attachment higher and gives room for bigger tyres.
Took the carrier off and center hole has to be redrilled so it will fit back on the other way up.
Unfortunately the flip alone didn't give enough room for a 33" tyre.
So the carrier came off again for a bit more modification. I ended up raising it another 25mm which was enough for the spare to clear the bumper with the tailgate closed.
So I now have a 33" spare to match the rest. I've left one of the old Pro-comps on there for now but once they have sold I'll buy a 5th Cooper and modular wheel to fit
Thanks guys.
There are several spots where chips and scratches have revealed red paint underneath the green, but I have the original bill of sale which shows green and there are no changes noted on a HPI check.
There are also differences all over it compared to any other D2s I've seen. The brown leather from earlier in the thread, many looms don't match the colour codes in the workshop manual, fastners are different and brackets are different shapes.
Personally I reckon it was a pre-production test vehicle that was repainted and sold as new with the first batch in 1998.
Cfnteabag said:
I'm sure the S***VOA discoveries were used for the press and marketing when the Disco 2 was released
That's interesting. We're pretty sure it has some sort of history TBH.There are several spots where chips and scratches have revealed red paint underneath the green, but I have the original bill of sale which shows green and there are no changes noted on a HPI check.
There are also differences all over it compared to any other D2s I've seen. The brown leather from earlier in the thread, many looms don't match the colour codes in the workshop manual, fastners are different and brackets are different shapes.
Personally I reckon it was a pre-production test vehicle that was repainted and sold as new with the first batch in 1998.
Edited by JordanTurbo on Tuesday 6th October 15:31
Finished work early today so grabbed some time on the Disco.
One of the height sensors on the rear air suspension went recently which led to the N/S/R corner lowering to the bump stop every time the ignition was turned on. As a temp measure I manually filled it and removed the fuse while I waited to get a new one but have since decided to remover the system completely.
I like the SLS and it's not a complicated system to keep going at all, but with the D2 being the family daily I don't want the risk of it leaving the wife stuck if I'm away with work.
Here is the spring conversion kit, still 2" lift.
And here is the standard rear air bag.
Removed along with the previous 2" spacer, and spring seat bolted in place
Spring fitted. Nice and easy on the back, don't even need to take the wheels off.
You may have noticed there were 4 springs in the box. That's because the front Terrafirma springs were looking sorry for them selves after 2 years and I decided to replace them too.
The shocks on the other hand still look like new with a wipe down, very pleased on that front.
Old and new springs, TF one had sagged a little too.
And all fitted up with new bolts.
Happy days
Next Job was to sort the footsteps for the wife, she's only short bless her. They had to be removed because the extra offset of the Modular steel wheels meant the tyres rubbed.
To fix it I removed the front mud flap
And trimmed down the step by just over an inch
With the mud flap refitted the steps could go back on.
Plenty of room now
That was it. Good days work TBH.
Thanks for reading :thumb:
One of the height sensors on the rear air suspension went recently which led to the N/S/R corner lowering to the bump stop every time the ignition was turned on. As a temp measure I manually filled it and removed the fuse while I waited to get a new one but have since decided to remover the system completely.
I like the SLS and it's not a complicated system to keep going at all, but with the D2 being the family daily I don't want the risk of it leaving the wife stuck if I'm away with work.
Here is the spring conversion kit, still 2" lift.
And here is the standard rear air bag.
Removed along with the previous 2" spacer, and spring seat bolted in place
Spring fitted. Nice and easy on the back, don't even need to take the wheels off.
You may have noticed there were 4 springs in the box. That's because the front Terrafirma springs were looking sorry for them selves after 2 years and I decided to replace them too.
The shocks on the other hand still look like new with a wipe down, very pleased on that front.
Old and new springs, TF one had sagged a little too.
And all fitted up with new bolts.
Happy days
Next Job was to sort the footsteps for the wife, she's only short bless her. They had to be removed because the extra offset of the Modular steel wheels meant the tyres rubbed.
To fix it I removed the front mud flap
And trimmed down the step by just over an inch
With the mud flap refitted the steps could go back on.
Plenty of room now
That was it. Good days work TBH.
Thanks for reading :thumb:
Wow. Over 6 months since I last updated this. 
There has been a few changes since then, and a few more coming. So I best get this up to date.
So first up was to get a matching modular and tyre for the rear.
Then the Starter decided to pack up. to be fair, it was pretty much the only part on the engine that I didn't refurb or replace during the rebuild, so a new one was sourced.
Old vs new
With her working 100% again, the next little mod came in the form of an LED rear work light.
Which is controlled by a rocker switch just inside the boot door on the pillar trim.
And is also wired up to automatically come on with reverse for some more light.
That's not it. More updates to come once I've sorted out the pictures on my Photobucket account
There has been a few changes since then, and a few more coming. So I best get this up to date.
So first up was to get a matching modular and tyre for the rear.
Then the Starter decided to pack up. to be fair, it was pretty much the only part on the engine that I didn't refurb or replace during the rebuild, so a new one was sourced.
Old vs new
With her working 100% again, the next little mod came in the form of an LED rear work light.
Which is controlled by a rocker switch just inside the boot door on the pillar trim.
And is also wired up to automatically come on with reverse for some more light.
That's not it. More updates to come once I've sorted out the pictures on my Photobucket account
Edited by JordanTurbo on Saturday 4th June 11:46
aspirated said:
Looking forward to the updates
Thanks. Here's the next batch of pictures to catch up with. Shortly after fitting the new tyres, I found that they now rubbed on the arches off road.
They are the same size as the old 33" tyres, which had been fine as they were fitted to standard alloys and would tuck up inside the arches when the suspension articulated, but the extra offset of the steel wheels means they sit out further. Looked lots better, and meant I got my standard turning circle back, but rubbed as below.
More lift required!
I decided to go for a 2" body lift in the end to go with the 2" spring lift already fitted. This was because apart from the arch rubbing I already had decent ground clearance, so didn't feel I needed more. It also keeps majority of the heavy stuff (Engine, Gearbox, Transfer box, Chassis, Fuel tank etc...) in their original position, so the centre of gravity is better than an equivalent full 4" spring lift. lastly it avoided me getting into more issues associated with going much past 2" of lift, like prop shaft angles, axel caster angles etc....
First thing I noticed when shopping was how expencive body lift kits seemed to be. £100 for 14 spacers and some high tensile bolts.
Refused to pay that so decided to make my own. Measured up and ordered some HT bolts in the correct length, and ordered some UHMW PE (Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyurethane) Rod to make the spacers. Exactly the same as the ready made kits, but cost me less than £50 all in. :tup:
Fitting was very easy, and the weather was worse than the job itself TBH (was January at this point) but a makeshift cover fixed that. Just undo all 14 body mounts and the steering shaft, jack up one side at a time to fit the spacers, with some wood to spread the load along the sill.
Body mount spacers fitted.
Once they were fitted, it was just a case of tightening everything back up, adding some new holes 2" lower in the front slam panel for the upper rad mounts, and that was it. :mrgreen:
The next issue to sort was the front and rear bumpers. Because they attach to the chassis, they had stayed in the same place and there was now a 2" gap at both ends.
This was easily sorted using by making some new brackets from some spare 4mm steel strap I had in the garage. Here is the rear one, but I didn't get a picture of the front unfortunately.
Both gaps fixed.
You may have noticed that in most of the above pictures, the side steps were missing. That's because like the bumpers, they mount to the chassis so didn't move up with the lift and meant that the moulded mud flap at the front no longer matched the body. I toyed with moving them up 2" like the bumpers, but decided I like them in the lower position for the family, in particular the kids (3yo and 5yo) climbing in.
I thought for a while about how to make them look better where they were. I tried a few things, but in the end I found the best fit was to remove the mud flap totally, cut them down further at the front end, then fit them on opposite sides left to right, so they are technically now backwards.
I'm quite happy with how they look now - they start just before the front door with a curved end, and the run all the way to the back.
You can see here what I meant about them being better in the low position. The gap between floor and step, then step to the floor inside, is much more even than if I'd raised them and much easier for the kids to get in and out.
I'll finish off this update with a couple of pictures of how it then looked at the time. Againced my Daily BMW e36 328i....
....and a standard Discovery 2 friend I found on my travels.
Thanks for reading, still plenty more to come once I get the next batch of photos together so keep checking back.
Hi guys,
Only a small update this time. Got a bigger one coming but I'm trying to keep this in some sort of chronological order as I catch up.
Next job was to remove the big land anchor tow bar and rear step.
To fit my Genuine NAS 2" box receiver hitch.
Which meant I could have my big angry recovery hook back!
Working back there highlighted how crusty the chassis was getting.
Unfortunately, I seem to have lost the progress pictures, but here is what It looked like after being stripped back, repainted and wax oiled. I also took the opportunity to fit a larger 90L LPG tank in place of the previous 80L one, due to the extra space provided by the body lift. Much better.
While I was there I sorted out a new mount for my tow electrics next to the receiver hitch and decided to also relocate the ugly looking LPG filler from the rear wing (Why to installers always insist on putting them there?!
). I think it looks nice and subtle where it is now, and when the cover is fitted it just looks like another tow plug.
Obviously, that left a filler shaped hole in the wing which needed to be filled. In a wing that is made of aluminium, so couldn't weld a blank into it with the kit I have. Luckily being an aircraft engineer by trade has it's advantages, and I was able to spend my lunch break in the metal work bay, knocking up a quick flush fit aluminium patch panel to glue and rivet in. This will be filled over and painted green to match the rest of the panel.
And I'll finish off this little update with a couple more pictures of another friend I found.
As always, thanks for reading. Comments welcome .
Only a small update this time. Got a bigger one coming but I'm trying to keep this in some sort of chronological order as I catch up.
Next job was to remove the big land anchor tow bar and rear step.
To fit my Genuine NAS 2" box receiver hitch.
Which meant I could have my big angry recovery hook back!
Working back there highlighted how crusty the chassis was getting.
Unfortunately, I seem to have lost the progress pictures, but here is what It looked like after being stripped back, repainted and wax oiled. I also took the opportunity to fit a larger 90L LPG tank in place of the previous 80L one, due to the extra space provided by the body lift. Much better.
While I was there I sorted out a new mount for my tow electrics next to the receiver hitch and decided to also relocate the ugly looking LPG filler from the rear wing (Why to installers always insist on putting them there?!
). I think it looks nice and subtle where it is now, and when the cover is fitted it just looks like another tow plug. Obviously, that left a filler shaped hole in the wing which needed to be filled. In a wing that is made of aluminium, so couldn't weld a blank into it with the kit I have. Luckily being an aircraft engineer by trade has it's advantages, and I was able to spend my lunch break in the metal work bay, knocking up a quick flush fit aluminium patch panel to glue and rivet in. This will be filled over and painted green to match the rest of the panel.
And I'll finish off this little update with a couple more pictures of another friend I found.
As always, thanks for reading. Comments welcome .
Jimmy Recard said:
I like it a lot, but I think it's a pity you changed the plates. The old font on the original S-reg plates was a bit different and nicer for it.
Thanks.I actually did like the old plate TBH, more so because most of the "S....VOA" plated Discos were used as press cars at release. Not this one though - we believe it was a pre-production tester that was repainted, registered and sold as new to meet demand.
It got changed though, as this is technically the family runaround that the wife uses (The BMW being my daily) and she wanted her private plate on it.
Edited by JordanTurbo on Monday 6th June 22:56
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff