Late this year I will be embarking on the project of creating the perfect vehicle for myself. Initially I had planned on buying a Diesel wrangler 4 door, however with Chrysler announcing they have no intention of making one, I have put a few weeks of thought into it and decided that modifying an 04 Discovery would get me where I wanted to go with more space and style. As such, I am looking for a shop in the chicago/midwest area that would be interested in the job. In addition to a relative complete overhaul of the Discovery I plan to swap in an International Diesel from http://www.mdengineering.co.uk/index.php

This isn't planned as a "budget" project or a quick turnaround, so I plan on cutting no corners. My goal is to make a vehicle that will keep for most of the rest of my life. As such Im open to suggestions as to frame work/restoration as well as suspension upgrades.

I had looked into getting a NAS 110 however the interior on those is pretty rough, and to get my wife on board with this I have to provide a certain level of comfort/luxury. Plus, the last time I saw a clean NAS110 sell on ebay, it was for 35K. I see 04 Discovery's at the high end of 11K.

If anyone has any suggestions or useful information, or a shop whos interested to take on the project, Speak to me.

 

Whichever way you go I hope you document it for all to see.

Some thoughts - If you can get a clean 110 diesel for $35k I would say jump on it. I have seen a few that were less than clean with 150k miles for $45k+ lately...

I would think to get the D2 to the 110 level you would probably spend at least $35k with the price of the truck or more.

Have you considered putting some heated leather seats and a few comfort things in a 110? I actually just saw one for sale that had heated leather, 2 heaters, 2 AC units, CD player, nice headliner, Etc. Which brought it right up to the "level of comfort/luxury" that the '04 D2 will provide but much more capable, already a diesel, and just generally more heavy duty stock. Plus, and I shouldn't have to mention this, much more rare and I would think something you would want to "keep for most of the rest of my life" like you say. Also imagine what it would be worth 30 years from now??? Remember there was only 500 NAS brought to the states in 1993.



Either way good luck and let us know what you end up doing.

 

well that's just it. I envision putting at LEAST another 20-30K into the Discovery to make it perfect, and a 110 is gonna run me 35K or more to START and the ones I see for sale at that price aren't diesel. Eventually I will be doing a lot of touring with the vehicle and it will NEED to be as comfortable as a decent car inside for my wife to cooperate with the plan. I can pick a Discovery with the luxury somewhat taken care of and build the mechanics, or I can get a 110 that will probably need mechanics too, and a HUGE amount of interior work. The idea of a semi luxury vehicle that can scale mountains is something the wife likes the sound of, so it has to live up to that. First step will be finding someone to work with me. IM a do it yourselfer of sorts, but the scope of this project simply doesnt fit my available free time, and I would have to spend as much in tools and materials simply to equip myself for the job. Id rather put a good individual who knows their stuff to gainful work. I am in no way equipped at this point to do an engine swap or suspension work, and with about 30 minutes a day of free time to myself right now, it wouldn't be done by the time I retire and plan to use it.

Things Id like to do:

Would like to re-frame with stainless or other endlessly durable material.

Full skid plates and suspension lift for moderate off roading. We are partial to mountaineering so I need to be able to clear decent boulders and washouts. I don't plan on mudding or bush driving. Its all up and downhill for me. Colorado, Utah and such. This will include every possible upgrade for parts and additional components as needed to make a ROCK solid off road vehical. I dont plan on rick climbing per se, but I don't want to look at a 30 degree forestry road and say " I better not do that. Something could break".

New transfer and differentials. Best quality that can easily be equipped and maintained ( I don't need custom ground gears that cant be replaced later without a week in a machine shop, although id consider custom if the price of stocking a few sets of replacements was reasonable).

Convert to an international diesel with manual trans from above vendor. Any performance/economy improvements possible will be considered.

Best stereo system that can be incorporated into the vehicle without subjugating the cargo space for a 1200lb subwoofer( the wife and I are music fanatics and have an actual physical cd collection totaling over 3000 cds so this will include a ruggedized computer based MP3 system with at least a terrabyte of storage. This part I can handle in spades. Its what I do).

Paint: Ive been reading some about off roaders that have used extremely durable bedliner epoxy as a full body coat. The idea of an impervious bright yellow flat paint job entertains me, so I'm doing some research on the actual practicality of this idea. I think it likely that the nose will require something like a bra or teflon coating for highway travel. Dunno. IM open to original ideas. I don't care about shiney, and in fact bumpy and durable looking sounds awesome. I want it to me impervious to everything short of a fire axe.

I'm hoping all of this can be done for between 50-60K by the time I'm done. The goal is to make a vehicle that will last the rest of my off road and vacationing life, so Im looking at it as an investment. One of the things that has lured me to the rover is the flexibility of the construction. The newer LR3/4 whatever's seem to be less ruggedized and manipulatable. If all this could be done to a 110 for that price I would be thrilled, but I dont see that happening due to the scarcity of the vehicle to start with.

I would welcome opinions on what vehicle would be the best to start with for this. Initially I was looking at an 04 Discovery, but the more I learn, the more I realize that much of the benefits of that year I simply plan to gut and replace anyway, so I think maybe starting with the best interior and shell quality is more the way to go.

 

Yeah for your purpose you should go with a '03 and save some money on the vehicle price. You will have all the luxuries of the '04 with an '03.

I would also consider a Toyota Land Cruiser. I am not sure what year(s) but my buddy has a 90's and its pretty nice inside with leather and the lot, roomy, and pretty capable from the start. I am guessing somewhere in the 2000-2006 would be the way to go and not to much money upfront. I would jump on the TLC forum and/or do a little research on these to figure out what year/model and if you like them or not.

I wouldn't completely rule out the LR3. But the LR4 starts at $48k so you would be closer to $100k by the time you are done.

I hate to say it, but, what about a AM General H1? I know a guy who got a '92 with the 6.2L Diesel (50k miles) for about $20k recently. For your project I am assuming you could get a nice one for $15k or less.

But with as much work/time/money as you are talking about putting into it your project you could start with a 2000's Tahoe or Suburban or anything really.

I guess it comes down to the overall looks/theme/badges you want when you are finished...


I have to say I am lucky that my lady considers our D2 as ultra luxurious as we will ever have (w/4x4) compared to my '87 trail rig and her BMW 3series. Plus she has agreed that when the time is right and we have the money I can buy the diesel 110 of my dreams. But my dream truck and yours differ, obviously.


I will watch this thread and look forward to reading about your choices in the future. Good luck to you and your dream project.

 

an H1 is out of the question. They are just too huge and cumbersome, and wider than most of the trails I use, so I would be leaving a wake behind me. I dont find them terribly comfortable either.

As far as luxury, a Discovery will be quite enough, if not in excess. I cant say a 110 stock would be the same, so any 110 would certainly need to have better seats and such installed. Ive never driven a 110, so I'm not sure what the road noise level is either. I cant imagine much effort was put into making them quiet on the highway.

Cant say that spiffying up a landcruiser or suburban appeals to me. I like the appearance and design of Rover vehicles. Landcruisers are to lumbering and heavey for me. A landcruiser is about 1000lbs heavier than a Discovery II as well. The newest Landcruiser is actually about 400lbs heavier than last. Suburbans are even heavier.

Ideally, I would like a diesel 110 myself, but I think realistically thats not in the cards, and I can create a better vehicle for myself with the money I have allotted for the project if I go with a discovery as a base.

My father is terminal and has a few months to live. Unbeknown to us, he has amassed a moderate fortune and planned carefully for its transition. I would have been happier had he spent it on himself, but he chose not to. Ironically, he told me recently that he wanted me to spend it living and being happy, not hoarding it (like he did), so this project is one of those plans.

 

You may want to research a little more. A stainless frame will be way too heavy. If you are wanting to make a trail rig, I suggest getting a pre 99 (D1). Less electrics to mess with and a lot easier for a swap to diesel. D2's have fancy things like ACE and traction control, but if you are replacing the diffs and axles, you can put lockers in and control it manually. You can pick up a dead one for under $1K and re-build the shell how you want it. I just cant see trashing a perfectly good 2004 for a trail rig. Restore a dead one and keep it going...

 

I meant Galvanized. I can see a stainless frame COSTING 50K, let alone the weight. Sorry for the confusion.

I'm curious what people's opinions of ECR are. I've seen a pretty wide spectrum of responses when someone mentions them. They seem to do exactly what I'm looking for ( albeit 1200 miles away from me), but the only indications I've seen of their cost are that its borderline extortion and some say they are the best, some say they do crappy work. Im not exactly sure who to believe at this point.

 

Where in the midwest are you? I am sure someone could recommend a local Rover shop that you could talk to and get a range for what you want. They would be better equipped to suggest mods you may or may not want. They could build just what you want

If you just want to pick one out, ECR looks good.