with a Disco 2 twist

Restoring Range Rover Classics is a full-on industry for a few high-end specialists and a small army of private individuals who just love the vehicle. This one is a bit unusual – it’s been revovated alright – but instead of keeping it original in the hope of making a buck, its builders have given it a heart transplant to try and keep it as relevant as possible to people who just want to drive a good Land Rover

Words: Tom Alderney

Restoring a Range Rover Classic is never less than an honourable undertaking. It’s not exactly notable for its uniqueness as an art form, however.

Similarly, replacing major components with better ones is a fine thing, but not a rare thing. But when you see a vehicle that’s been given basically all the vital organs from a different model, that’s more worthy of a raised eyebrow. This is what happened to this particular 1991 Rangey. It’s had a major

Pics: Ken Watson From refurbishment – but in addition, it’s had the engine, gearbox and transfer case from a Discovery Td5. Not the axles or suspension, though, which is good if you like the articulation that comes from having your rear end pivoting about a good old-fashioned A-frame. The story kicks off with a Range Rover that had suffered the ravages of time. Its chassis was crusty and its lower body was rotten, as they so often are. We don’t know whether its drivetrain had been stripped out, or if it was just knackered, but with a full Disco 2 set available a project clearly presented itself.

Step one, obviously, was to take the whole thing apart and get the chassis sandblasted and treated. On went a new rear crossmember, too, because it’s not just Defenders that can do them. After that, the guys in the workshop had something to hang a vehicle on – which they did using a full set of 14 new rubber body mounts. The worms had obviously been making a meal of it,

The chassis has been blasted and treated (and fitted with a new rear crossmember), and now you could eat your dinner off of it. Suspension and steering follow the original format, but both have been sorted out with everything from springs, shocks and bump stops to swivels, bushes and PAS box seals all being renewed because the vehicle is now made up of a new boot floor, including crossmembers, new front and rear arches, new battery trays and new outer floors.

In addition to all this, the inner and outer sills were also renewed and dressed up with new side steps. Above these, on went four new powder-coated door frames. The rubber windscreen and boot window surrounds were renewed, too, as were the upper tailgate gas struts and latches.

Underneath, the vehicle got all new springs, shocks and bumps, along with four drop link arms and Polybushes everywhere. The brake calipers were replaced, along with the discs (with vented and grooved jobs), pads and pipes, as were all four wheel bearings.

Up front, the front axle got new swivels and seals and the steering was renewed as thoroughly as the brakes –using new heavy-duty units for the drag link and track rod as well as a rebuilt PAS box with all new seals.

You’ll have sussed by now that this wasn’t a five-minute job, nor was it a cheap one. And it certainly wasn’t just cosmetic. In fact, while this is certainly a very smart Range Rover, you could say that it hides its light under a bushel somewhat for something that’s been so thoroughly restored.

Under the bodywork, as we’ve already mentioned there’s a Td5 engine, R380 manual box and LT230 transfer case from a Discovery 2. The latter turns the axles via a pair of new heavy-duty propshafts.

The clutch and flywheel were both replaced, as were the master and slave cylinder, water pump and thermostat, and the exhaust manifold was skimmed and fitted with upgraded studs. Under the driver’s seat, meanwhile, went an extended standalone wiring loom to integrate the new hardware with the vehicle’s existing electrical system.

Under the bonnet, the engine runs new fuel lines and silicone intercooler hoses. The coolant hoses are new, too, as is the heater matrix.

By now, the guys were well on their way to building a good-as-new Range Rover with the heart of a Discovery 2. Or a Discovery 2 clad in the clothes of a good-as-new Range Rover, take your pick. Either way, finishing touches included new bumpers and front bib spoiler, plus new mudguards, headlamps, fog lamps and side rubber trims. To give it a real period feel, the Rangey also gained a powder-coated ball bar, which is about as 1991 as it gets, and a set of clear plastic wind deflectors. The latter were all the rage back then

–though looking at it from side on wouldn’t necessarily transport you straight back to the days of John Major and Gazzamania, because there’s a pair of Td5 badges on the front wings – as well as refurbished alloys from an altogether more modern era.

The result? A handsome looking motor, for sure. If you’re into authenticity, you’d blanch at the mashing-up of Range Rover and Disco 2, and if you’re into off-roading (or any other kind of dedicated use) you’d perhaps be frustrated that its builders didn’t spec it with taller suspension, or a high-angle A-frame joint, or rock sliders, or heavy-duty bumpers, or whatever combination you prefer out of a winch, snorkel, bash guards and so on.

What it comes down to is that the original Range Rover was built to be an everyday car – and this one was rebuilt for exactly the same purpose. It’s still as classy as ever, in a nicely matured sort of a way, and after everything that’s been done in the restoration it’s well set to last another 30 years.

To us, it looks like the perfect blank canvas. Superior work truck, superior family wagon, superior off-road machine – it could be any of these things, the ‘superior’ part clearly being the constant within its future.

And someone will have the chance to prove us right, because it’s currently for sale in our classifieds. At £22,000, it’s somewhere between the takeyour-chances Range Rovers you see being punted around, and the sell-yourchildren variety you also see if you set your search sliders with a little too much optimism. It’s based across the water in Kilkenny, which sounds like a good excuse for a weekend away, and you’ll find it in the small ads towards the back of this issue of The Landy