Shed Of The Week: Land Rover Discovery

Shed readies the camo and rigger boots for a cheap taste of green laning

Somebody once said that under every Discovery there's a Defender bursting to get out. Actually, they didn't say that, but they should have done, because this week's Shed is about as near as you'll get to that tempting-sounding hybrid without spending a fortune.

Let's off-road! No, really, let's!

The 300TDI is one of the best Discovery 1 options. With sensible maintenance (cambelt changing is important and potentially DIY-able) they'll chug along for a good old while without invoking financial meltdown. No Disco 1 is a spring chicken any more, so the list of potential consumables extends from the usual wiper blades and headlamp bulbs to more substantial items like turbos, injector pumps, radiators and steering boxes. Gearboxes and axles will go before the engines - recon 'boxes are £500 plus fitting - but the straightforward tone of this ad and its specific mention of a healthy trans gives us cause to feel comfortable. The mechanicals are claimed to be in good order. The mileage is low for the year and it all matches up nicely to the MOTs.

Of course, the effects of mileage are considerably magnified if those miles have mainly been done on terrain better suited to the Mars Rover, but with the best part of a year's MOT still to run, this Discovery looks a bob-on choice for a novice getting into the sport of off-roading. Bung some contraband red diesel in it and spend all this year getting pally with the beardy boys. Use their hard-won knowledge to pinpoint and mend stuff like worn suspension bushes, exhausts, wheel bearings and door locks. Parts are wonderfully available, and cheaply so if you look in the right places.

Patchwork quilt bodywork adds to ... charm

From an internet-sized distance, this one seems straight. We can't see or smell the interior, which is probably for the best, but the shutlines look even (assuming the driver's door has simply been left open, oo-er) and in this context the harlequinesque nature of the body panels is a good thing, suggestive of an ongoing programme of maintenance over the years. Can't quite see if it still has the sunroof: if so, it will hopefully have been gummed shut by now. Weller wheels and motley tyres are more trailer trash than trailer queen, but they complete the image of a no-nonsense machine that looks more than capable of being whanged up hill and down dale, or any other of your mates, without much thought for the consequences.

The winch has been taken off the front, which in one way is a shame for the virgin dirtbuster. After all, this is the archetypal go-to vehicle for hauling other mugs out of the mire. Willingly setting yourself up for this sort of duty by parking next to a bombhole the size of Birmingham, sparking up a Lucky Strike and looking like you drove the Darien Gap before they put the road in is a quick and fun way to make yourself popular among your fellow beardies. If all this appeals, you've got a towbar at the rear and bashplates at both ends to (a) replace the standard road car's cosmetic clingons and (b) boost your entry angles, which is a cool way of saying get into bigger trouble.

Better yet, removal of these haemorrhoidal and frankly unnecessary exterior parts gives you a nicely uninterrupted view of the more crucial Disco underparts, a handy feature in a vehicle whose bodyshell will rot nearly as quickly as the contents of a pot of strawberry jam. Chassis-wise, Discos are actually not bad, but rust from the lower body and floorpans (notably the rear wheelarches and seatbelt mounting points) can and will infect the rear crossmember. If the rear door catches on the frame, you've got a soggy body or at the very least knackered hinges: those tailgates are heavy, especially with the spare wheel on them. Whose idea was that?

It's fashionable to smirk at the off-road boys, but there's no doubting the cheap fun that's on offer to anyone with the right approach, and the right car. Is this that right car? There's always the chance that the vendor has done a creative Jackson Pollock job here with a bucket of bog water and a Wickes Value paintbrush, but Shed says 'stay thy cynicism': this has all the markings of a decent wagon at a very decent price.

Here's the ad.

SELLING A LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 300 TDI.
MILEAGE IS 103000.
MOT MILEAGE ON THE LAST MOT CERTIFICATE READS;
19/01/2011 92250.
17/01/2012 94941.
12/01/2013 97079.
05/02.2014 104691.
THIS IS NOT BY ANY MEANS MINT.
IT'S A 1994 DISCOVERY THAT'S BEEN USED FOR WHAT IT WAS INTENDED FOR. PLEASE VIEW THE PICTURES.
FULLY HPI CLEAR WITH NO HIDDEN STORIES.
ENGINE AND GEARBOX REALLY SMOOTH WITH NO KNOWN FAULTS OR ISSUES.
TRANSFER BOX OK AND HI LO BOX IS FINE.
PRIVACY GLASS.
TESTED UNTIL FEB 2015.
TAXED UNTIL AUGUST 2014.
HAS SNORKEL FITTED £120.
WHEEL ARCH EXTENSIONS FITTED £110.
WELLER WHEELS WITH BFG TYRES AND GENERAL TYRES.
HEAVY DUTY SUMP GUARD FITTED.
HAS ONE SEAT IN THE REAR.
HAVE TAKEN THE WINCH BUMPER OFF THE FRONT SO COMES AS IN PICS.
GREAT BIT OF KIT TO GO OFF ROAD AND TO GREEN LANE.
LOADS OF TEST WITH IT SO READY TO GO AND PLAY.
CASH ON COLLECTION.

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SuperHangOn

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