I need help! This Discovery was my first new discovery purchase. she is in pretty good condition however, I live in the Northeast and have a lot of body rust. Would like to preserve and repair what is needed does anyone out there have any suggestions as to were to start?

 

Depends on what is rusted start with the priority type items. Like floor boards as an example

 

Thank you Army Rover.
this started the week before Thanksgiving. I drove her and the driver's door lock stuck and I couldn't open. had to have a tow and because it was so close to the holiday I had it take to the landrover dealer (money pit). Well, they wanted me to pay for a door lock part that was I thought had been done by them about 3 years ago. They (dealer service say it was a different lock). However, once they got the door lock unstuck the truck started straight away. and I quickly got out of the dealer. I have now taken her to another repair shop and got the diagnoses that it is badly rusted and unsafe to drive, but had to drive it to Springfield, MA to his shop. I want to save this vehicle it runs great, rust is eating it away. want to stop the rust now and move forward with maintenance.

 

Is the frame still good?
Sounds like you need to start looking for someone who restores rovers. Fortunately body panels are still available from Europe.
I am at that cross roads myself - lower portion of B pillar is rotted out, some bits in the bed etc.... do I restore it and keep it or send it off - - still undecided as its not unsafe yet.

 

Hi Whiskeynipple0088
Thank you. I love being on this forum because I get so much hope when it comes to my Discovery I love this vehicle and well and other ones. This one has the most sentimental value, I've had this one from the beginning.
Where, who do I contact just in case I do need body panels from Europe?

 

just google 'land rover discovery body panels' - theres a few that will come up immediately. I have no expereince with any of them so I cant speak as to quality or fitment. I know there was a thread a few months back where someone listed a bunch of places in Europe but I cant find it now.
That being said thats under the assumption that you will either perform the work or source all the parts to have a body shop do the welding and body work. Otherwise, (and if the finances are there) you may be best off finding a place that restores rovers and just have them handle the whole thing. I know there are plenty of Defender restoration places not sure about discovery's but its where I would start.

 

https://yrmit.co.uk/yrm-parts/

This is the only one I could find. looks like they handle just about everything but are located over in UK. I have plans to start rebuilding my D1 once it gets warmer out... 6 degrees out right now...

 

The shop you took the truck to in Springfield, was it J.E. Robinson's? If he said it was unsafe to drive did you ask him for specifics? Did he show you where he felt the dangerous issues were? Rust issues could mean a bad frame, bad floors, bad brake lines. Basically, you need to get to the bottom of what specifically is the problem that would have caused the owner of a repair shop to tell you the truck was unsafe. You need to get to the bottom of this before you drive the truck much further because you could be risking your life or someone else's.

 

If a mechanic was concerned enough to say it was unsafe to drive, I would make sure you know why and what components made them concerned. These trucks are a lot to handle when a brake line ruptures from rust, or a frame comes apart and it becomes uncontrollable. Not a position you want to be in!!

 

My point exactly. If the shop was John's, a veritable fixture in Land Rover repair here in New England, I would be shocked if he didn't provide some detail into what was unsafe. He can't stop you from driving out of his shop but I would be shocked if someone like that didn't give you some idea of what you were, specifically, facing.