LR Vs Frontera..... and cost.

[gregster]

Here you go
Disco same year with buy it now £1400
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1996-LAND-ROVER-DISCOVERY-TDI-AUTO-BLUE_W0QQitemZ220450109342QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item3353d9b79e&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A12|66%3A2|39%3A1|72%3A1691|293%3A1|294%3A50

There are others with "issues" from £795 in ebays classifieds...

Bit more comparible pricewise?

[paul higgi]

on a disco i would say like for like with the frontera, modify both and no return on them yet when you modify a 90 they seem to hold a good price, at the end of the day you can throw money at any vehicle to do modifications and never get it back, i do see your point on the 2" lift and a good start but the question is where do you stop, i suppose thats the beauty of each and every ones individaul idea of modification/s

[Sir-Doris]

Hmmmm...

Chunky Tires x 5: £350
Ball Joint Spacers: £10
Diff Drop: Free
Ball Joint Flip: Free
Poly Coil Spacers: £80
+2" Rear Springs: £130
+5.5" Rear Shocks: £90
Body Lift: £50
Total: £710ish (prices are approximate)

Initial purchase cost of the vehicle nearly 7 years ago: £4500
For arguments sake, say its current value now is £1000 for a standard unmodified model, then the total build cost would be £1710.

Not including impulse purchases like the braided brake lines or grooved discs etc as these dont really improve its off road capabilities as such.

Im quite happy with the performance of the truck at the moment and as a few of you know it has gone a few places that Land Rovers (even modified ones) havent at the odd pay and pray site.
Yes the IFS is a weak spot but for a small outlay it can be improved upon substantially to make it a far more capable machine. Given my usage requirements which are mainly laning it is more then enough for me and it proves its worth when I feel like having a go at a more substantial obstacle.

[Drift]

Not many a good LR can be had for £1700 ready to go off road.

[dazza]

My 2.8 has come in under £2000 including the suspension lift,pro comp shocks, tyres, winch and all the gucci add ons like lights and radios. and as sir doris says it has gone a lot of places where landies spit there dummy out
oh nearly forgot, i got leather interior, and can cruise at 70mph and get 30mpg

[Sir-Doris]

On another note I could have probably shaved a bit off that rough price I gave for mine as now I know more members and have a better idea of where to get things fabricated. But probably only by £100 or so less.

[Sir-Doris]

[alex]

If you dont have access to the information and fabricating facilities then the green oval must be tempting.

I have sat in a local LR parts place and watch guys walk in with various un numbered parts to have them recognised and replaced by boxed bits for coppers by the blokes behind the desk. They know the cars and the variations, now walk into VX with a bit you know, and where you removed it from.... stare at badly drawn images on the screen and still get the wrong part

Then go to any LR event and the parts are cheap as chips and all bolt on, great for anyone without facilities.

But then..... as Greg says, cheap and bolt on made in a shed doesnt mean it will take abuse. The bullet proof add ons for any LR arent cheap. Protection needs adding everwhere on a disco and dont start looking at the body as they rot while you look.

Also, when you have a modded Fronty you can show people what you did and how, have a working knowledge of the car and its parts. Break something on a lane and you stand a better chance to repair.

Then if you lane with other modded Fronties the group will all be made from people not blinded by a badge, discerning obviously, experienced as it takes a while to get them how you like and with a sense of humour as you do need one to spend all that time fighting mods on a truck rather than buying bolt on LR parts. Either that or we're nuts

[gregster]

Both motors have their own advantages...I nearly bought a 300tdi disco a couple of weeks a go as it was cheap and they do make a really good tow car for dragging stuff around. Being honest I would sooner tow an ifor with a 4x4 on it with a disco than a lwb fronty or the chevyfing...they just feel so much better at doing the job.

For offroading the 90 is a formidable beast, with aproach and departure angles from standard that put fronties to shame, but they are a bit fragile, and corrode well.
Later ones are tougher but carry a huge price.

For offroading discos are ok but are designed as mainly a road car like the fronty. They have silly running boards that get in the way, monsterous towbars that will ground out on a catseye and silly front valence that is lower than the front bumper on a fronty.
Modified on a limited budget, like a set of tyres, a modest lift (BL in the case of a fronty and TB tweak, hangers, or coil spacers), and removing the "get in the way" bits both the disco and fronty would be reasonably competant off road, both with advantages/disadvantages.
The discos articulation is great, but a good fronty driver could negotiate the same obstacles...disco drivetrain can be a bit weak on earlier ones without the 24spline axles, but so can fronty front diffs.

The answer is that offroading ability comes down to driver and machine...
...the driver must be competant and have an understanding of how the vehicle works in order to get the best from it...
...the driver must understand the limitations of the machine and be able to read obstacles and apply the vehicle in a way that will be successful..
...the driver must be able to feel what the vehicle is doing and be able to determine the correct reaction neccesary as the vehicle progresses
...the driver must know the limitations of the components in the drivetrain and drive so as to keep the strains applied within the tolerance of these parts...
...by the driver making stuff and trying one mod at a time really helps build the understanding of the vehicle as it evolves and gives a better unstanding of what changes on the vehicle on every step and how these changes impact on performance.

I guess we have an advantage here as mods for our marque are not so readily available, so mods tend to be done one at a time with driving time in between where the mods performance is assessed,
whereas I guess a lot of the disco lads will phone up craddocks, order a whole load of stuff and bolt it all on in one go.


As for driftys initial point about what could you build for the price of a modded 90....you could build something awesome!!
BUT
Really it wouldnt be completely fronty anymore,
but only in the same way as a tricked up 90 has only body/frame/gearbox/engine that were as solihull intended...everything else would be sourced from other manufacturers.

If you had a budget of say 5k you could...
Buy a 2.8 swb
fit TF case doubler for supa low gears
Replace axles with Landcruiser or patrol items with lockers
tune engine with bigger intercooler.
4 link the front and rear suspension with coiler overs
External rollcage
Couple of inch BL so you could run 35's or 37's
Front and rear winches

and still have a little bit of change! This is assuming that you do most of the work yourself mind...

This spec would perform as well (if not better) and be as tough (if not tougher) as any tricked 90 and would be really different.

Watch this space though as this is what is happening to my chevy and the yella fronterror (with a 350cu in V8 chevy lump as well!)
but mods will be done in stages so as to gauge each improvement and avoid having it off the road with no playing for long lengths of time.

Chevy is getting nissan patrol axles with lockers, remote patrol tf case as doubler for 2wd hi 2wd low,4wd hi,4wd low, 4wd double low and neutral tf box options!
Might fit fiddle brakes to rear also, but front is getting 4 linked first,and 2nd tf case installed, with nissan rear axle simply SOA'd on the chevy rear leafs, then the rear will be 4 linked a later date. If I 4linked it all in one go and then it drove like poo, I wouldnt know where to start in terms of sorting it, but one step at a time will make adjustment/correction possible. Gonna also build another external cage for it a bit like the one of the fronterror.Will do loads of pickies of the build like the SOA thread!!

The lessons learned on the chevy will then be applied to the fronterror, but that is getting a different powerplant for huge HP and V8 grumble!

[dazza]

some good points being raised here. suppose i better confess, until 3 year ago i was addicted to the green oval, series then classic rangies, then 110s. dont know what happened ( must of grown up) bought an l reg sport when 110 was off road, 9 months later it spat its dummy out when fuel pump went, this is a heap of s**t i thought, then realised i had realy abused it for nine months with no probs. Agh he says seeing the light, no lying underneath fixing half shalfts, diffs and numerous other weak spots. this could be the way to go, dont think i had a green oval that covered more than 5000 mile a year. My lwb has done nearly 30,000 in 15 months. No second car needed, realy reliable, (i dont count regular servicing in running costs) Think im a convert to the frontie now

ok when do you want my resignation i admitted loving the green oval

[Frenchfarmer]

I'm not for or against landys though when I was working for Bells Breakdowns in London and the Range Rover first came out we did have to put a few of them back on their wheels. More because the first to buy them had money & no brains.
However.... who wants to try to equal this in his/her Fronty???

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/highlands_and_islands/8176671.stm

[Dave_RAYNET]

i do like the look of the "real" landrovers, defenders, series etc.

I'm going to be looking into a commercial type vehicle for a business venture and i think it'll either be an ex-utility landy, or an ex-AA Brava.....

[gregster]

[Frenchfarmer]

Dave & Greg
.
See previous post.
If not I'll nick your Fronty and try it myself.
But with a parachute 'cos I'm daft but not that daft.

Your Fronty does have a sun roof doesn't it.