Pimping my ride
 

I spent a couple of days working on my car, AKA the money pit. It's a 2003 Land Rover Discovery II and when I am not making costly repairs to keep it on the road I waste money on improving the off road experience.

The head liners in Land Rovers are crappy and never last more than a few years. Must be out hot summer compared to the UK. Anyway the headliner board is a molded piece of fiberglass and then covered with the typical cloth. I opted to do a more rugged but practical recovering and after removing the last of the cloth and foam backing and any glue residue I painted it with color matched paint. Much more functional and won't ever sag again.

While the metal ceiling was exposed I ran my CB radio antennae cord from the dash to the rear door. I also installed a USB outlet above the rear view mirror for my new Tom Tom GPS. I hated the cord hanging down to the cigarette lighter, now it is coiled behind the mirror and can easily be removed for traveling.

Here's the new CB radio antennae on the tire rack. It's a 4' tunable Firestick. I also put on my Australia plate. As you can see I put a lot of stickers and junk all over from my travels.

Got one of the whole truck?

Yeah, are you the guy who was talking about the snorkel? I'd like to see that. I think they are cool.

Edit: Found it.

search hella and missed jokes, you'll find it.

Here is one from when I got it in 2008. Just a stock model with a 2 inch lift on the springs. I later removed the lift blocks and replaced the stock spring with Old Man Emu ones that were taller and stiffer. Then came new bumpers, the roof rack, rock sliders and lots of other mods.

The last 3 are from 3 years ago before I got my new rear bumper thanks to a small Ford that rear ended me. He cracked the skin on my bumper and just about totaled his car. The insurance settlement for a new bumper and lower lights bought me a new off road model as the stock one from LR is expensive.

I had a friend who did custom monogramming and I asked her to monogram my tire cover since it seemed so Africa like and I had done those trips to South Africa.

This was the first brush guard mounted on the stock bumper. I had Hella 550 fog lights but didn't put them on the new ARB bumper but got LR ones to go in the holes provided. No snorkel or winch yet! I ended up selling the brush guard on ebay and got more than I paid for it!

Thinking about putting the Hella fog lights on the either side of the roof rack for some added light while 4 wheeling at night.

Have you seen Troll Hunter?

Ha! I looked at the trailer, reminded me of Blair Witch Project. Yes, that's a lot of lights.

Attachment 44054

Cool truck, chris. Thats mine^
Cept, jinx kept the roof basket, so I put the kayak carriers on instead.

Him's bringing back some very nice driving lights he had in Australia - I think (I hope) he's planning on kitting out Bertie with em :)

Need to replace my roo bars - the mounts kinda rusted ... and I should like to add a roof rack and ladder. But all that'll have to wait for some exhaust work and a recheck on a wheel bearing and then MOT inspection and the new plates

heh... I will say yours is a much cleaner interior than mine LOL - the newf transporter looks it :)

http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/ocean...291338_600.jpg

That's a heck of a security system, but do you really need "roo bars" in Canada? ;)

If that dog was mine, I'd name it "Spot"

We did when we lived in Newfoundland .... dem moose are a serious hazard...

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.n...10132910_n.jpg

LOL - he already came with the name when we got him, and I don't much like changing their names on them ... and 'Buddy' really did suit him, it's a very Newfenese sort of name :)

Buddy fits, he's beautiful. You need a very big cat for those meeses. ;)

If you need repair when you're visiting Seattle, I give Lamorna Garage five stars. The guy only does Rovers, and he does a LOT of them. There are seven or eight IN the shop on lifts and in the passageways, and another half dozen in the parking lot just out front. Sometimes there's a row of them on the median at the end of the block. He repaired our Disco back in the day and he was competent, honest, and compassionate. If I (lost my mind and bought another Rover as a daily driver or won the lottery and bought a Defender 90 for grins that) needed repair, I'd go to him and NO shopping around. He's the best in a wide area.

Repair shops are a problem for me. There are 2 Stealerships here in Houston and only 2 independent shops specializing in LR and both are 30 miles or so from my home. I do a lot of my but go to the independent for more difficult things.

Right now I am troubleshooting an issue. My M and S lights flash and the tranny goes into limp mode. If I restart it goes away but may repeat itself. Typically happens in the morning or if the car has sat for awhile but can be worse after heavy rain or using the AC. I need to get a load test done on the battery and alternator as this can cause the issue (especially in my case of it happening when the car is cold and the battery may be weak). Depending on the outcome I will replace as necessary the battery and alternator if indicated. The other issue is the XYZ switch that is on the side of the transmission. It can get water in it after a period of years thanks to LR putting the AC drain above it. The switch costs $700 new but I can find a used one for $125. I've also seen a primer for rebuilding the switch and sealing it up.