Ok. He normally buys ex military, mot’s and sells them on. I know he has some ex BNFL l/rovers too.

I will be seeing him tonight in work, so i will ask.

Steve.

thing is …..
if you did those mounts…..

would it be solid for a few years yet…. ill bet the bits you did are still solid….theres only a finite of welding it can need – once its all solid again you should get another 10 years out of it 😉

I was thinking that Terry.

The rot looks localized near the rear sill body mount. There’s a repair panel that is made for that section without having to replace the whole sill.

I’m going to take it in for the MOT test and see what else it throws up. The shame is that the chassis is perfect.

check the door frames/b piller VERY carefully they are scary expensive when they go…. ask stoner…

They’re not that bad if you shop around. I just got a pair from britcar for £360, genuine LR.

kenneth… housings too cheap in dundee if 360 is considered “not bad”.

Moonter, spoke to my friend last night, he has just sold his last restored one, but he has an ex military 110 2.5 petrol. He has only just bought it and it does need work. It’s lpg but the lpg system is faulty.
Sorry.

MOT of doom results ?

MOT of doom results ?

It’s got until the end of the month. I was oot harvesting today. Luckily the trailer tow ball is bolted to the chassis and not the body. 😯

Cheers Monkeysfeet.

Does it have to be a land rover? As a relatively recent ford ranger devotee, they are definitely worth a look. Not as capable off road, but for towing capacity they are as good – of course there are niggles which will have to be sorted, but they are cheaper to buy for a similar spec, and possibly more practical.

MOT of Doom sweepstake. How many fail boxes can a twenty year old Discovery fill. I had to use an exfoliating sponge to remove the accumulated tree sap to find the blue paint underneath. The drivers side sill is toast at the passenger door body mount. I wonder just how devastating the mot tester’s hammer will be. I think mechanically, hydraulically and electrically it’s ok.

Geoff I have a pal that rates his Ranger too. I been checking out 90s and 100s but it looks like a TD5 Discovery might be a viable replacement. Again I’ve got a pal who uses one off road and it has survived reasonably well. I should be able to find a decent one for between £2-3k. I think they’d be better value than a comparable Defender.

Update

I was less optimistic than Private Fraser going in for the test.

It only failed on the rear sill body mount. The tester said it was well worth replacing the whole sill as the rest of the truck was in good shape. The parts are cheap and a couple of afternoons should see it fixed.

no brake pipes ….. **** sake i lost the sweepy !

Result! And a clean car too…

McMooter, is passing a good thing or a bad thing? How much did you want the Defender?

McMooter, is passing a good thing or a bad thing? How much did you want the Defender?

The thing is, mechanically the Discovery is really strong, the chassis has so far been unwelded. It does everything a Defender could with a little more comfort. So if I make good the sill, it should be good at least for another MOT.

I’ve looked online a dozens of Defenders and 300tdi and Td5 Discoverys and it looks like a minefield. I will keep an eye open for something locally in future. Buying something blind would be foolhardy. I think Td5 Discoverys represent good value for money for the limited mileage I’d need one for.

just do the repairs well

keep her painted like a ship on the clyde

as the aussies would say sheee be reeet.

A stay of execution. I cut out and welded in a new sill and floor section on the drivers side. These include the new body mounts. An advisory said the rear brakes although meeting the meter requirements were just at their limit, so I replaced them too. I swapped a headlamp bulb that was giving a strange beam pattern.

A few afternoons work in the shed and the old Discovery is legal for another year. Job satisfaction rating? Off the scale.

Looking at the new MOT, I only did 1800 miles in it last year.

😀