I have been going through the same process over the past few years. My car was a daily but now a spare in the family. My suggestion is this: tackle one problem area entirely at the same time. E.g., do the entire cooling system at once--hoses, radiator, water pump, overflow tank (if necessary) and so on. The same applies to the exhaust system: save up, buy all the components that go from exhaust manifold down and replace.

Do not forget about the potential leaks and water ingress. I gutted my interior, inspected for issues, sealed everything back in with new plastics installed everywhere.

I am about $20K into the car now, but it is a hobby and not a bad one. I have no issues driving this car cross country or going on mild off-roading adventures. The 2" lift makes it super easy to work under the car w/o any special tools and overall, it is the last Rover that combines civility, simplicity, and off-road capability. My next car is likely to be LR4 ;-)

 

Yeah, I think that is a really good piece of advice.

One of my core issues has been my location. I live in the city and park on a narrow street. Its hard to even have a lot of tools around. For example, when I lifted the truck I drove to my in laws, if I did not finish in time I was spending the night.

Its a layer of stress working on the car that makes it pretty difficult.

When I get another car to drive, I think the this one will go live at my parents when I do bigger projects-> big drive way, more tools, and no risk of being run over when I am under the car. I think I see a well-sorted LR3 or LR4 in the future. . .

However, thus far I am super happy with everything I have gotten done to it while parallel parked in the street, but I am sure things would have gone much quicker if I had a better location.