Thread: 56 series 1 body on a discovery chassis

Hi Troy
Welcome to the forums

Yep, thats gonna be a project alright, Don't know of anyone who has done this mod, but plenty of advise can be had here

Post pics of both cars and create a build diary on a thread if you go ahead
I would say that your on a huge leaning curve to put it together

Whats the Queensland laws like on car registering such builds for the road?
(first thing i would check out)

Mike

You will have to meet ADR requirements for a mid 90's Discovery - I don't think a series 1 body will meet those.

If you use a series 1 chassis and modify it for coils etc it will be easier to engineer and register as it is the chassis number that determines the year of the car and ADR requirements. Use a 95 Disco chassis then you have to meet 95 requirements - use a 56 chassis albiet modified and you will get away with most things.

Garry

Coiling a series is a bit of work, but there are parabolics which are supposed to give a good ride. PAS isn't a big issue, seats are not a big issue, fitting an 88"/109" body onto a 100" wheelbase is a big issue. Fuel tanks shouldn't be a big issue if you can fabricate either. I also thought a 200tdi was meant to be a straight forward almost bolt in conversion if you use a IIa/III gearbox/transfer...

If you pick through my tech files in my gallery you may be able to pick some thoughts out of it.

www.slunnie.com - Home > Technical

Something like this????

Send LRHybrid100 a PM, he knows more about it than I do.

Originally Posted by 56S1LR

hello all,

i have a 1956 sreies one, what my plan is. i want to get about a mid 90's discovery, rip the body off and replace it with the 56 series one body...
...thanks heaps
troy
ph 0400664178
email troyktm520@yahoo.com.au

Troy

I think that you are going to find that Garry's information is correct. To use a 1990's chassis and therefore VIN you are going to have to meet all the ADR's applicable to the date of the chassis.

Your 1956's body will fail in all the following points and possibly more:

• protruding door hinges,
• protruding windscreen pivots.
• driver/passenger impact zones.
• collapsible steering column.
• seat belt anchorages.
• seat belts.
• anti-burst door locks.
• windscreen wiper systems.
• heater demister system.
• seats
• underseat fuel filler.

The cost of getting engineering certification of those items will be prohibitative.

Slunnie's idea of parablics is worthwhile considering.

If you are committed to the idea of coils, then Garry's suggestion of using the 1956 chassis is worthwhile considering. You can still use the Discovery chassis, just you have to remove the mountings, panhards etc from the Disco chassis and stick them onto the 1956 one. Steering could come from a Defender or a Toyota as Slunnie has done. Series 2/2a/3 clutch pedal box and S2a/S3 6cyl/V8 brake pedal box hybridised with the Disco brake booster may be an option.

If using a 88" chassis transmission length will be a problem. Consider using a 2 1/4 Petrol/diesel and series 3 transmission. You could even go for LR 5 speed mated to the series transfer box using the Ashcroft's adapter.

Another alternative could be to have coil fronts and parabolic leaf springs rear.

Just some thoughts

Diana

hey thanks heaps everyone... all good points, keep them comming...

I don't have any comments other than ....make sure you take some pictures and post them here!!. Sounds like an amazing beast....Classic Looks with modern grunt!! Good Luck.

See if you can sniff out an early Range Rover chassis and go from there - that will reduce the ADR compliance list.....

Sounds like fun though Good luck with it.