Restorations
THE OBJECTIVE
To put it simply - High Value Restoration. Creating a high level of value in a classic restoration is always challenging. The restorer can't just replace every part on the vehicle without the cost soaring to unaffordable levels, so the restorer needs to have the experience and knowledge to know which components are critical for replacement or restoration and which are good for another 100k+ miles. Our objective is to bring value by addressing anything that can be an issue in the next 100K+ miles without adding un-necessary cost by replacing components that will make it to 300k with no problem.
STARTING POINTS
Selecting the right starting point is of the utmost importance to creating a High Value Restoration (HVR). Not every vehicle is a good candidate for an HVR. The starting point has to be evaluated and the appropriate balance of work needed versus value brought to the starting point. Disco condition is primarily impacted by mileage, environmental exposure, and previous owner care.
The Mileage
The only thing that cannot be changed during a restoration is the vehicle mileage, so that is one of the most important factors in establishing the vehicle value. For high value restorations the mileage can't be so low that the starting value is significantly above market, and not so high that even after restoration the value is limited. The mileage affects the components whose life is affected primarily by mileage will need to be replaced. The components that wear out with mileage and usage generally fall in to two phases with the first phase beginning around 120k miles and the 2nd phase beginning around 200k. We believe the value sweet spot is achieved by addressing the 1st phase thereby giving the owner significant runway until the 2nd phase. Most of our restorations are with mileage between the 100 and 150k mark as starting points.
Additionally Exterior, Interior, Powertrain, Suspension and frame all factor in to how much work is required and how much value can be added.
Paint
Paint can be the single most expensive part of any restoration, and Land Rover Discovery 2 are known to have clearcoat fading issues if not properly cared for in their first 20 years. Factory paint in excellent condition however can add thousands of dollars of vehicle value by preventing the need for paint.
Frame condition
As the third most important factor affecting Disco 2 is frame condition. Unfortunately environmental conditions in the winter in much of the US can create significant frame rust issues. The Disco frame is an extremely strong fully boxed, corner reinforced frame that that can accumulate winter road salt inside and create rust in the lower weld seam overlap. The two worst sections are the lower arc behinds the rear wheels (collects road salt) and the flat section next to the catalytic converters (heat accelerates oxidation). Fortunately if the rust is not too severe the rear section can be replaced without decreasing the vehicle value significantly. Extinct motorsports preferred method if this needs to be done is to replace the complete rear section with a factory donor, taking the opportunity to preventatively coat the new and remaining sections both inside and out.
ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS TO FACTORY ISSUES
Although some restorers take the path of bringing the vehicle back to factory specifications, Extinct Motorsport Engineering believes in bringing engineering solutions to modify the most significant factory issues that cause problems for Disco owners.
- Inline Thermostat Mod
The single most significant factory design issue on the D2 has to be the factory thermostat system design. The factory used a bypass thermostat design to get the engine to operating temperature as quickly as possible and keep it at the upper end of the safe range to achieve the increasingly stringent California emissions test requirements. Unfortunately the design is known to be marginally reliable even if the diesel version lower temperature thermostat is used. The result is the #1 killer of D2's - overheated engines resulting in blown headgaskets, walked cam bearings, slipped cylinders, and even completely blown engines. Our inline thermostat modification using components from our sister company www.inlinethermostats.com keeps the engine comfortably cool and beyond the improved reliability offers the ability to service trailside with minimal coolant loss if necessary.
- Sunroof mods
The majority of D2's shipped to the US came with sunroofs and 100% of those leak due to a poor design of the sunroof pans. On top of that the leaks cause the internals of the sunroof motors to rust and seize up and the headliner to deteriorate. Extinct motorsports has developed a system of modification that not only eliminates the factory leaks and prevents the others issues but we incorporate a radiant barrier insulation for a quieter, cooler interior. Of course all the trucks get refurbished headliners coated with stainblocking paint, so even if you do forget to close the sunroofs any rain that gets in won't stain your headliner.
- Coil relocation
The Extinct Motorsport Engineering coil relocation modification is our latest engineered modification to address the factory design issue. The factory design puts the coils behind the upper intake manifold sandwiched between the firewall where you cannot change a spark plug wire or ignition coil without removing the intake manifold, not impossible trailside but definitely not for the faint of heart. Anyone who has had a coil fail knows it almost makes the truck undrivable on the street, much less on the trail. Our relocation kit is better than the competition in that it not only enables you to replace a coil or spark plug wire in 5 minutes, it also uses all factory spark plug wires instead of $300 custom wires.
- PCV Mod
Land Rover's have a legendary reputation for leaking oil, interestingly the root cause for this on most of the vehicles boils down to a poor engineering decision on Land Rover's part. General Motors invented the PCV valve back in the 50's and made the patented technology freely available to every automotive manufacturer to use, but despite that and the fact that the Land Rover V8 is a licensed Buick V8 design they chose not to implement it in their version of the V8 instead using a non-valved baffle. This baffle tends to plug over time, resulting in positive pressure in the crankcase resulting in a leakage from every seal available as the pressure seeks to relieve itself.
- Turning back the clock - Plastics restoration and UV protection
Unfortunately Land Rover saw fit to equip the D2 with various quality levels of plastics both inside and out that range from more brittle than glass to virtually indestructible but subject to UV degradation. Any existing D2 owner can tell you about the bumper covers that will crack if you look at them sideways or the fender flares that get pebbly due to the UV exposure. Some are repairable, some just require replacement. Some are critical, like the underhood cooling system plastics and rubber that can crack and empty the cooling system before you have time pull over to the side of the road if you are driving down the interstate. We have the knowledge gained from experience to know which ones are critical to replace (cooling system), which ones can be refreshed (fender flares), and how to protect the ones that are still in good shape (cowl panel). We replace all of the cooling system parts made of polymer as those degrade from age and miles. All of our trucks get refreshed fender flares, and all of our trucks get the cowl panel and other exterior plastics (rear bumper) coated in bedliner material to protect against further UV degradation.
Age and Wear Related Issues
Of course every truck has all the known issues address and each truck is a little different but there are some very common issue areas that need correction and restoration after 20 years to enable another 100k miles of trouble free operation. These basically fall in to two categories; age related and wear related (miles). All of our restorations have all of these listed issues corrected.
Age Related Issues
Some of these were discussed above in the modifications section, where we not only correct the issue that has occurred due to age but correct the original design issue as well, however there are many others that just require correction back to factory condition. These age related issues that get corrected include:
- Brake master cylinder reservoir leakage
- Plastic Cooling System Components - reservoir tank, radiator, plastic lines, hoses
- Ignition coil failures
- Spark Plug Wires
- PS Pump Gasket Leakage
Wear Related Issues
These are the issues that crop up strictly because of the amount of miles on the vehicle, the more miles, the more usage, the more wear and the closer the component is to the end of its life. Every truck gets the items below replaced as preventative good measure.
- Idler pulley bearings
- Starter motor
- Water Pump
Some get other wear related components replaced as needed, those might include:
- Door lock actuators
- Wheel Hubs
- Alternators
- HVAC Fan
- AC Compressor
- And others
Of course all the work done is documented and shared with the new owner using a complete restoration history document included a photo and video library. If you have any specific questions regarding our restorations please reach out to us directly for more information!