Hello Land Rover forums,

A few months ago I posted about my 2003 Discovery 2 that sadly had a coolant explosion and overheated. Heads went and engine (which was already on its way out) is no good. I replaced the coolant hose that was broken and now sadly she's now just a lawn ornament. It's an '03 Icelandic Blue S Model (which I'm told is very rare). I purchased her for $1200 in 2021 and spent about $800 on new tires. Changed all the fluids myself and brought her from 110k miles to about ~140k in the span of 2 years. Engine oil pump was already on the way when I purchased it, so I knew a new engine was coming in the future. I'm now wondering from you fellows over here on the plan of action I should take:

I should mention that the vehicle has peeling clear coat and needs to be repainted (unfortunately), otherwise body is in fantastic mechanical shape with no rust at all, some of the brittle plastic parts do need to be replaced though.

So essentially from my research I have 3 options at this point:

Option A is an Engine rebuild. I don't know how expensive this is, and I'd love to hear some recommendations for those of you in the NC/VA/SC area about any mechanics that do a good job with this.

Option B is an engine swap. I've looked up online about perhaps going with a used engine, OR an LS swap (with a conversion kit) and with that. I know that the LS swap is more expensive but from what I've heard it's a much better deal than any of the others.

Option C is... well part the vehicle out and junk her. I certainly don't want to get rid of her (I'll be honest) but if there's other options like other DII or LR3's near me, I kind of feel like getting some scrap money and putting it into a newer model or other one is a better idea.

So Land Rover Forums, what would you do in my situation? I'd love some feedback and if you want I'll even take some pictures of the vehicle for an opinion.

Thanks!

 

Contact Doc Heydary on facebook about a used engine. He has several good relatively low mile engines. LS swap will cost $3000 ish + whatever you spend putting Rover engine back in it. Paint is stupid expensive. The IB color is great, I agree. Is the clearcoat peeling everywhere or just hood and roof? Expect to spend $1500-2000 for hood and roof, $4000-6000 for entire truck. Probably better off getting a garage queen and pay the premium. Three most important things tthat set the value of a D2

1. Mileage - only think not changeable
2. Good frame - almost no one is willing to replace or repair a frame.
3. Good paint - most expensive part that is relatively easy to replace.

Everything else is relatively cheap and easy.

 

It abounds like the only rational thing is to sell it as is, good frame, blown engine and maybe someone can revive the paint.
you could get a decent D2 for what any engine swap would be. And have better paint but likely worse frame?
You certainly got your money out of it.

if it were me, I would rebuild the engine, I enjoy the work and unless the block is shot, everything else is manageable.

 

Let me know if you are interested in selling.

Thanks,
Gregg

 

IMO, I'd rebuild the motor, refresh the mechanicals and repaint. Where else are you going to get such a capable truck for that kind of money? Plus, once its done, you can drive it for another 15+ years.

 

Replacing the Rover engine with another one that is known good (ideally a 4.6 from a P38) is probably the best approach if you want to keep the truck. That will be a straight swap. Depending on the mileage, the new engine may only need a light refurb before dropping it in. Any decent shop should be able to do this, because there shouldn't be anything Rover-specific about the job. Likely a capable code reader/programmer would be needed at some point just to clear things up after the mechanical work is done.
LS swaps look like they can get pretty pricey very quickly, plus you have to install a suspension lift which adds to the cost if you haven't already done it.

 

I'm going to be holding onto it and eventually repairing the vehicle and doing a full restoration. This color and model (S) is too rare to let go.

 

So I've been going over options and it looks like a Rover engine swap like you said is the best approach!