Send me the lights and let's get you some projectors in there! I just finished redoing the set on our green one, really sharpens the look as well as the obvious lighting upgrade...

 

Absolutely! I’ll send you a text. Sorry for the late response, but I’ve been back east again as I think we’re in the final stages for my dad.

 

The barn continues to progress and we’re getting close to where I’ll need to build the Dutch doors for the horse side and order the big garage doors. I’ll also be building a slider for the divider wall between the horse and car sides.





Believe it or not the barn is not only for cars, but we are preparing to bring the horses back to the house FINALLY with the hay run a few weeks ago, and now getting the pasture and loafing shed all set up. The Disco was on farm truck duty as the mobile tool chest for stuff to make some simple repairs to the structure.





A neighbor was very kind and let us borrow a tractor to do some manure spreading (one of our tenants while in Euroville basically did none of it- shaking head) and it sat long enough to where I’m sure it’s going to make good compost. After spreading it around, we drove around the pasture in the Disco and did some grass seed tossing. The birds will probably eat all of it but maybe we’ll get lucky and get a few rain storms to help get things started.

Today will have the Disco on tow pig duty again for some more hay as the boss wants to stock up in the midst of the fun and games going on the world, and half of KS being on fire.

And here is some totally loony news: I have a flight booked for the boy and I….

My addiction and proof of the hilarity of this thread continues to grow…

 

Once you get it, you get it. "Hey, I've fixed it once, I know what I'm doing. Next time will be a breeze." Looking forward to the next project.

 

So it can’t be said I’m not a total nut for these things and am not dedicated as such.

First and foremost @XRAD is a gentleman and a scholar. Regular readers will be familiar with his thread and the crazy amount of work he did and know what’s coming. For those that don’t, I’m taking over the reins of his project and the tenure of that machine and the treasure trove of spare parts he had collected. He couldn’t be a nicer guy in telling me everything and is just as meticulous as I am. It was just a wonderful experience to meet him and keep the ball rolling for all his efforts.

Pick up.





Of course on the way home we had to pick up a bunch (1600 lbs worth) of stall mats for the boss.





Amazingly with the absolutely horrific roads going through IN, nothing got broken in the truck.



We got home and immediately unloaded (I’m completely knackered after the cross country drive and then unloading) just in time to beat the hail that just passed over. Thankfully they finished the barn the day before yesterday, so everything is in there. Now we just need the garage doors installed to be fully sealed up.



Hanging out with it’s new buddy.





And it’s other buddy.



I’m off the chart excited. Xrad was pretty sure the motor has slipped a liner, and sure enough, when warmed up, it doesn’t sound too healthy and I do smell some burnt oil. The exhaust gas test is the first order of business, but I might get a video of it running and post it for those who have had engine issues before. I can’t stress enough, xrad was totally upfront on all this and I knew exactly what I was getting into.

My current plan as long as it doesn’t use too much oil or coolant is going to be to just send it. If/when it blows up, I’ll do an engine- and this one is nice enough to get one in there.

I’ve changed tack also based on how well equipped it is, that even with motor issues the plan is now to take it to the Land Rover National Rally.

I’m pretty smitten right now and actually think I might make this one a bit of my off road Disco and see if in fact it is in the same galaxy as the Jeep.

Stay tuned as this is going to get good….

 

I think you'll be wildly surprised with some decent bumpers (esp rear bc it's gonna drag) these are in a different world than the jeep but many bc it's comfortable and the driver position imo is far superior. Now add a locker or two and some 255/85/16 mts and you'll comfortably handle just about anything in CO and Moab (within reason of course, holy cross or pritchett probably not). Some RTE 3" springs coupled with some Bilstien 7100s and you'll be extremely pleased (aside from the cost of the shocks these days)

 

I think it will be fun to see what I can get into with one a bit more prepared. Comparing the Jeep to the Disco is silly as they are very different machines with very different purposes and strengths/weaknesses. But seeing what a Disco can do first hand should be fun.

I agree completely on the comfort and visibility (unless the top is down and doors off) are far superior in the Disco, and I’ve always wanted to roam around CO and do some mild trails in one. In Moab, I think one could do Hells Revenge pretty well, but would obviously drag the rear bumper a good bit, but now with bumpers and sliders, I’m a decent bit there. Ironically I recently watched a YouTube video of a ridiculously modified D2 on Pritchett. He beat the snot out of it and I’d bet had 40s on it. The thing was gorgeous (I think it was on Lost Cause Ranch).

The silver D2 has spacers and mild springs. I’ll probably pull the spacers eventually and do springs. But I have a lot to do prior to getting to suspension and lockers.

The plan right now is to get the silver one to a good running state- or just see how long the current engine lasts- then finish the Alveston (resolve the stutter issue that I’m sure I have a solid plan to address), and then get the Giverny to a useable state. Based on how much there is to do, I suspect it will be winter before I get all that done. But therein lies the fun in this whole journey.

 

Can confirm that hells is a joke except for the run out in a disco (may have been filled in since I ran trail all the way through vs just kind of out and back. My white one has done just about all of the main ones in Moab with minimal issues and it's not huge by any means (moab rim is maybe where I draw the line on where I'd not take my white one. It would do it but my classic is so much better suited for it and made short work of it). Top of the world is probably one of the more brutal trails as it's a ton of ledges but if you go slow bashes are minimal...trailer hitch takes the brunt of the beating so long as you're straight on.

absolutely right they are totally different animals and did not mean it like that they are comparable like that but the disco on 33's with good suspension will go a lot more places than you might think

 

Congrats, on the new rig.

 

So I’ve driven the new hotnesss a few times, and sure enough something is amiss. I did an exhaust gas test and it kinda looks like it failed, but it kept pulling coolant up.



I did it a couple times, but it doesn’t look great. I also took a quick video. Sorry I’m no good at embedding videos, but I’m all ears for input. I may know the platform well, but this is my first foray into engine stuff.

https://longtallsallygs.smugmug.com/...ry/i-f2gGsqH/A

Methinks it is in fact a slipped liner for a couple reasons:
- Tapping doesn’t start until up to temp
- The coolant wants to push out of the expansion tank

Of course I don’t really care, but the question comes if I should in fact just drive it until it blows up. More importantly will it make it to Ouray and back for the rally, or should I err on the side of caution and plan on the Alveston and stick to more mild trails? It does not get hot AT ALL based on the temp gauge xrad put in (it’s not gone over 197F). A mild concern is the condenser fan comes on and more or less stays on once it is around 194F with no AC and 40s to 50s F ambient, so something is amiss there. I might get another Ultragauge just as a comparison for temps (and it’s what I know).

I don’t think it’s just the head gaskets so I don’t want to roll the dice and pull the heads and such just to discover the block is likely toast- I’d rather just enjoy it here and there until I get an engine built up (remember, I now have one on a stand to get going on). Power really is just fine, and I VERY rarely rev the engine over 3k RPM in any of the Discos I have (had).

As such, I’m going to drive it here and there to get to know it better while I finalize plans. In the immediate, I’ll do the typical T6 oil and Lucas treatment and see if things get worse. I suspect with how I drive my D2s like a grandpa, I’ll get by just fine for the occasions I drive it with the only longer/harder exercise to be getting over to Ouray and back. The boss is going to come and bring her car, so if I blow it up while there, I’d just need to get a trailer to bring it home.

It’s funny as I was doing some simple math on mileage I put on vehicles for insurance and such. I have put only 3k miles on the Alveston in the last year (and not much more on any of the other cars as well I guess because I spread the wealth a good bit). I have a hard time thinking the silver one won’t last until I get the engine done.

I really am kind of excited as I have wanted for years to build an engine on a stand and do a swap as that is one of the very few things I’ve not touched in detail in this whole journey. It seems kinda silly to have bought an entire vehicle and such just to do that, but now with the space and parts and such, I can take my time and feel zero pressure to get it done, which makes it a stress free and genuinely fun exercise.

In my usual ridiculous philosophical anecdotes I add, quite a long time ago I started saying “Disco is life”, meaning it really is a great analogy to life in general with the highs and lows, challenges and victories and inevitable losses. As I get back into this whole thing with a much clearer head, it is actually helping me with my “regular” life with family and career as it makes me think and solve problems. This is fun.