1. Disco is at the bottom of the value curve right now. Remember when defenders were affordable? And the common thread between my boat, house, and truck is that I love them all. It's not all about the dollar value.

2. Sorry, but I just don't believe you. Literally every one I've seen around here is rusted to ****. I bought this truck 2 years ago for $1500 and have spent another few thousand getting all the bugs worked out. There may be $1500 rovers out there but at this point I'd much rather change a frame than chase vibrations and weird electrical problems for another 2 years. Ever heard the saying "better the devil you know than the one you don't"?

3. What do you suggest a disco is best for, a daily driver? No thanks, I put 35k/year on my daily driver, the disco wouldn't stand a chance. However, I don't like taking my $55k truck in the woods so I have the rover to play with. What would you suggest I have as a project car, a defender? Ya, that would be cool if I had an extra $50k+ to spend on a project car
..

4. Being "worth it" is completely in the eye of the person doing the project. I'm sure my wife would agree that it's not worth it, but that's why I'm talking to you guys about it and not my wife. I really figured people on here would understand why I'm doing this. People regularly spend $50-100k building old muscle cars that end up being worth about $15k at auction in the end, but they do it because they enjoy it. It's called a hobby. I am never planning to sell this car so dollar value is completely irrelevant. The only question is does my desire to still have my rover in 20 years and be able to show my kids what cool trucks used to be like warrant the amount of work in going to put into it? For me, the answer is yes!

5. I'm just going to have it undercoated inside and out. Not sure what you mean by "go in with other people." I don't know anyone else doing a project like this so that is highly unlikely.

6. Wow, you said something positive!

7. People pretty much rebuild these engines every 100k miles anyway. With the 4.0 you're less likely to slip a sleeve so I don't see why you couldn't keep changing the head gasket and keep it going forever. Also, I put less that 3k miles/year on the rover, it is strictly for fun!

In the end, it sounds like I just have way more motivation than you had to keep what I think is a very cool truck alive and well. Sorry you gave up on your disco

 

I will support your decision to swap the frame. All Day.

I will support just about any decision you want to make with your rover that doesn't leave it looking or running like a 73' Pinto.

I will not support you ripping on other forum members because they didn't give you the answers you want.

ZGPhoto, While he may have given up on his Disco as a lot of members have, has given a lot to the community. With these trucks, there is only so much you can do before it goes into the realm of hopeless, unless you have bottomless finances or you are a tech.

I am a tech. Fixing Mercedes Benz products is what I do for a living, and I don't offroad my truck. Hence the survival rate for my truck has gone up exponentially.

The advice he gave about have the frame Galvanized is much better than undercoating. You say you take your truck in the wood from time to time. All it takes is for the undercoating to be damaged (rock, fallen tree, sasquatch) and your rust free frame will start its journey towards a rusty death. Galvanize the frame and if you really want to go for extra security, then have it undercoated.

Can't roll in here with No post and think you are gonna tell upstanding members, they haven't contributed to the community. Not gonna gain alot of friends that way. And definately not gonna get any help.

NOW that's over with, lets be adults and continue this conversation like men.

 

I just don't see why anyone would be so negative about saving a rusty old rover. Whether or not it's "worth it" is completely up to me. All I'm looking to do is discuss the actual process of the frame swap and ideally get some info from someone that has done it. I take it personally when someone essentially tells me my project is stupid.

I do appreciate your galvanizing tip. In order to galvanize, don't they first need to get all existing paint off? How can they get inside the frame to do that? Any idea what I could expect to pay for galvanizing? Thanks!

 

That's a question the Galvanizer can answer. Maybe an acid combination, I really don't know.
As far as cost, No clue.

As far as people giving negative advice about you saving your rusty rover, I don't know man. I just live on this planet. People say negative **** everyday. I'm positive if you posted a picture of a bunch of kittens, puppies and penguins in a basket, there is at least one person that would say something negative. Its an opinion. Just say thank you and move along.

 

Solid point. I just expected this project to be met with excitement by other enthusiasts, but I guess negativity is the way of the world these days. Hopefully I can get this project done and possibly inspire others to do the same.

 

People said RRC and D1s weren't worth the time and effort either. Seen the prices on a clean RRC lately?

Take your time take pictures label and organize

 

Thanks for the words encouragement!

The way I sold this project to my wife was I said "think of how cool this car is now, and now think of how much cooler it would be if we still have it in 20 years and it's still in good condition." Someone who said that to their wife about an RRC 20 years ago is probably very happy right now.

 

Dont let anyone tell you how to spend your time and money. These are great trucks with their quirks and horrible engines, but compared to Defenders, amazing bargains. If you have the skill, the time, the money and appreciate a great challenge, don’t let anyone talk you out of it. If cars were purely rational decisions, everyone here would be driving a Toyota Corolla or VW Golf.

 

I'd be interested where you end up with frame coating. Seems like it would be difficult to get it to a galvanizer and dipped unless you have a truck you could use to do it.

I've seen galvanizing primers, but no idea if they are effective.

 

Thanks guys!

This discussion has made me realize I need to at least get a quote on galvanizing. I'll let everyone know when I do.

My daily driver is a GMC pickup and I have a flatbed trailer that can fit a Disco (just barely) so transportation is no issue.

I am also going to look into the DIY galvanizing stuff. Probably not as good as the real deal but an interesting idea.