Is this a fact? Does anybody know if the D2 frames are really lighter?

 

Yes they are.

 

Porsche might. The description is a little vague though. Hard to tell if they mean just the body panels or the whole thing.



http://press.porsche.com/archive/pro...e_V6_Specs.pdf

 

The 2003/4 D2a facelift was even a bigger economy they reduced the sheet steel gauge on the chassis even more, it's like paper. Hence they are even bigger rustbuckets

 

I do believe the 928 was galv bodywork and monocoque but I'm not sure whether it was pressed galv sheet or galvanised dipped post fabrication.

 

I live in Anchorage, Alaska. Finding a Disco up here is easy. They truly are all over. At one point the Land Rover dealer packed up and left the state, but I think that's when they went up to the LR3 and it didn't sell well up here.

There is an excellent independent Land Rover shop up here called Far North Rover. That's all they do. Fantastic customer service.

I picked up a 2004 Disco SE about 6 mo ago with just a slipped liner, in almost new condition for $2k. That included the tow and a new engine rebuild kit. The same week I picked mine up, there was one in about the same condition with the same issue for $1,500. They are all over craigslist most of the time.

FIND ONE WITH THE COLD WEATHER PACKAGE. Those heated seats and the heated windshield are a must. Period. Auto start and an engine block heater are your first priority.

There is nothing like knowing and trusting a car you put the wrench time into, and then having to start over. BUT I drove from GA to Alaska, IN APRIL, and let me tell you it's still full winter once you pass the border into Canada. You need to trust your car from front to back. It hit -25 on some nights I crashed in the car. You don't want to get stranded in some areas that are 200+ miles till the next gas station. Some roads will beat your car to %$#* and could swallow a Corolla whole. Wildlife, ice, rocks, STEEP downgrades, blizzards. It's an adventure for sure, but one to take seriously when it's out of the tourist season and all the little stations and shops/gas are closed. I went 386 miles once between two gas stations. With a low fuel light, a prayer, and $120 for 20g of gas to a 98yo lady at a cabin with a pump....I wont do that again.

Luckily my 4x4 07 Xterra made it OK, but those street Georgia summer tires nearly killed me.

If you have any questions about the area, feel free.

 

In the old days Porsche did a lot of galvanizing of body parts but I don't think the frames were done. They used a type of steel for floor panels, wheel arches, ect called Thyssen Steel. It was a brand of steel that had a zinc coating on both sides. It wasn't the kind of hot dipped galvanizing that frames get.

Now most German cars and trucks have body shells that are zinc coated to help prevent rust. I don't know if the same can be said of the British automobiles.

 

I think you're right there. Some cars from the UK have alloy body parts but a steel (rusting) chassis. Some LR's have their chassis replaced with new galvanised chassis as an aftermarket upgrade but as a production option I don't believe the concept was ever used.

As an aside Paul, do you remember Birmabright on the Series LR's, it reacted very badly with the carbon steel backing frames and corroded into powder with an electrolytic reaction coupled with winter road salt. A mobile battery

 

x2 IMO, why swap a known half+ sorted D2 for an unknown unsorted D2 which may become another bigger millstone. I'd patch up your existing truck rather get into deeper water and more cash.

 

Yes, I remember the Brimabright. I had an SIII and all along the sides of the rear quarters the aluminum turned to white dust wherever it had prolonged contact with steel. The same thing happened in the bed as well. I rebuilt the bed from scratch and used 3M panel adhesive instead of going for the Frankenstein look so many achieve with too many rivets. The other many area of electrolytic reaction was where the seatbelts were secured on NADA models. It was a mess.

I've been having conversations with Rover owners a lot lately over the state of DII frames. Whenever I do and I'm told that we should expect the kind of rust we're seeing I mention that an awful lot of those old Series Rovers went a lot longer before they needed the kind of attention the DII's do. And, I'm willing to bet those old Series Rovers were put through a lot more rigorous use than most DII's.