Land Rover Discovery 1 300Tdi budget overland build - it runs! A look a what's been done so far

[@oldskoolchevy1593]

Hey mate, nice build. Great to see the young Fulla is into it too. Only thing I’d say is to switch his seat around so he can see where you’re going. You’ll be able to communicate better and have a much more rewarding experience to share.

[@OverlandNZTV]

Cheers mate! Yeah he's sort of into it - picks his moments as any three year old does. He gets to ride up front/forward facing with me when we're offroad - makes it a heap more fun for both of us!

[@craigshannon1395]

I have a 1997 300TDi Discovery in Australia. Bought it with 245000Km on it and now has 408000km on it. The engine is not using any oil between services. I service every 7000km. It's been all over including the old Telegraph track and I have not had one issue with it. Just general maintance as with any vehicle. It is my daily driver. The V8 petrols has some electrical issues. Diesel has no electrics. Also had a 300TDi in NZ before moving to Aus, and that one was just as reliable.

[@OverlandNZTV]

That’s an awesome run out of it - the 300tdi seems to be one of the best Land Rover engines. That’s awesome though! Of course, old cars need a bunch - mines been all good since I sorted the main issues - though haven’t really driven it much this year. I have a Japanese import - so I have the computer controlled injector pump, has been all good so far though

[@CaMae86]

They're definitely cool rigs. Reliabilty comes from what kind of life theyve had. You jist need to tune into what goes wrong. Same as with any brand really :) Enjoy!

[@OverlandNZTV]

Very good point! Guess the same with any old car eh

[@GavinEarnshaw]

The Disco takes its air from 3 slots on the lhs between the wing and door. Was designed that way to reduce dust intake. There should be a small plastic elbow pointing backwards between the inner and outer wing that feeds the airbox. Spend the money on sound deadening mats. They will also keep it a little cooler. I love these old Discos and actually teach 4x4 in one here in the UK. For reasonable offroading they are almost a cheat code. I spent quite some time recently driving/teaching in new Hilux, Ranger and Isuzu pickups. While they are good, once the track gets a bit more iffy they are harder work than the Disco floating along. Definitely can feel the pain from hard anti-roll (sway) bars in the modern stuff. Rough track feels like being punched in the shoulder all the time 😂

[@digthisnz1943]

Older 4w4 are just more fun!

[@rockabillyrebel9207]

They probably are the most affordable good 4wd in NZ atm, Good articulation and a shortish wheelbase

[@OverlandNZTV]

Have to agree there! Never realised how cheap there were/stayed till I started looking around last year. Only spot I’ve found it doesn’t like is soft sand - doesn’t have quite enough grunt

[@rockabillyrebel9207]

@@OverlandNZTV That jump in tyre size wont be helping you in that respect. Those motors are pretty bullet proof and a dyno tune might be a good idea

[@OverlandNZTV]

Defo doesn’t - noticed it when I fitted them, fully expected it. Being an EDC engine there’s not a heap you can do with the ECU to get anymore power, be better to chuck a manual pump on… but then $$$

[@rockabillyrebel9207]

@@OverlandNZTV Was piggy back plugins for them iirc back in the day, the auto's already had more hp from the factory than the manuals

[@CaMae86]

Manual pump won't be too horrific to find and slap on. I had a 200tdi and it was mint with a wee bit more fuel and removed centre muffler. Was a manual so you just had to be a bit onto it in sand and deep mud where you might need some instant power. High power Commonrail diesels have spoilt us ha

[@richardwalsh5570]

Thinking of getting a V8 one for a project here. Have Fortuner too. The Series 1 fit big tyres and go well offroad. Mate has had his around 1000 dollar track a couple of times, goes well twin locked, heaps wheel travel.

[@OverlandNZTV]

They’re great fun! They’re all defo projects these days, worth it though. Twin locked would make them unstoppable - I’m amazed how well even a basic setup flexes. I struggle to recommend anyone buy one - but I do love mine

[@andrewwilliams9771]

Got to love the comments about "Toyota Reliability". Have had plenty of Toyotas over the years, and can say that my honest opinion is that reliability is directly proportional to the maintenance applied. Doesn't matter if its a 20 something year old land cruiser or land Rover, your going to have the spanners out. I have a 98 Disco 300 TDI with 500,000 klm on the clock, is used daily and have no hesitation in jumping in and driving it from one side of the country to the other on whatever roads we choose. It had issues when we bought it, including a cooked motor the the previous owner had just spent $$$ having it rebuilt professionally, but all of the issues we found were a result of poor modifications or workmanship of non land rover competent mechanics - ie cooked motor from overheating because the Radiator "Specialist" decided that the thermo fan switch was the best place to install a second water temp sender... and didn't install a metal bung in the radiator rather then the plastic one supplied. The Disco is now a comfortable, reliable and capable vehicle - and much cheaper to purchase and repair than an Toyota or Nissan. Our other car is a 2021 Isuzu dmax - again supposedly legendary reliability- and with under 100,000klm on the clock recently come home on a trailer because the front diff exploded. Go figure. Enjoy Disco Life!

[@OverlandNZTV]

It's always interesting seeing the comments around reliability eh - I know Land Rover have made some less than good engines, but the 300Tdi is basically bullet proof assuming it's been looked after. Mine's had a gearbox rebuild too, so not even worried about that. And as you say, it's an old car, things are worn out and need work - it's just Land Rover parts are way cheaper than Toyota ones and they're super easy to work on which is nice. 500,000kms is going well though! That's awesome. I just got back from a 1200km round trip in the Disco with zero issues at all, aside from being a touch slow in a 120kmph headwind - but hey - what's the rush, right‽

[@richardwalsh5570]

Nice mate 👍

[@gwilymrees8597]

Got the Land Rover bug.😂 . Got disco 4 myself

[@OverlandNZTV]

Sure have 😅 oh nice! I keep (semi) seriously looking at them - amazing cars. How do you rate it?

[@gwilymrees8597]

@@OverlandNZTV love it. Few things planned. Done couple of trips with wellington cvcc and surprised me. Can’t wait too he’d over devils gate, if it opens again

[@lownslowz]

Looks great we'll done! What camping spot is that?

[@OverlandNZTV]

Cheers! Out at Stonewall - next video will be the trip I was actually doing when I shot this 👍

[@ExploreNZadventure]

I like your stuff man, its good to see this stuff in NZ, but you need to slow down your speech when presenting so it's easier to understand.

[@vidnz-n2i]

Looks good. Are getting a winch? Or maxtrax are enough?

[@OverlandNZTV]

Cheers! Maxtrax are generally enough for the stuff I do - but yeah, going to do a winch at some stage

[@jorgemarques8708]

Niceeee! No engine upgrades?

[@OverlandNZTV]

Cheers! Na not at this stage - goes well enough for what it is, just going to leave it alone for now

[@emorty1703]

Hi mate is the battery tied down?

[@OverlandNZTV]

It wasn’t on this trip - was wedged in. Not ideal, I know, but was a temporary thing. Need to figure out a better plan for it

[@mrme982007]

I’m kinda of the opinion that once something has high mileage like 250k plus - then it’s probably ok. It hasn’t blown up before then, then it’s probably not going to.

[@OverlandNZTV]

I’m almost with you there - in terms of core engine. You do have turbos, injectors, diesel pumps and in this case, dodgy British electrics to compete with as they get older though 😅

[@edithnganga585]

I would rather Toyota any day because they're much more reliable than Land Rovers

[@OverlandNZTV]

Maybe mine's a good one - but it's been no less reliable than any 25 year old Toyota I've owned. Has been a pleasant surprise based on what you read/hear about them on the internet