1996 Disco 5 Speed 4.3l Vortec engine

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For sale my 1996 D1 SD 5 speed, with custom engine swap 4.3l Vortec. I am posting with a heavy heart. I will regret this. My wife made me do it. Full driveway, new babies in the house, you know the story..

I bought this Disco late 2010 from a fellow forum member. I am using his original posting description below with my added comments. Current mileage is 84,000 & engine 21,500. Swap done at 62,500 chassis miles.

New Price $5800 firm

Original posting: "The intent of the truck is to take the very capable chassis of the Land Rover Discovery, with its classic looks, and replace the powertrain which is the weakest point. The engine chosen is simple, powerful and reliable. A particularly important feature is the ease of sourcing parts. Many parts on this engine can easily be found at most auto parts stores for repair when far from home. Also this engine has proven reliability in a long list of trucks made by General Motors. Lastly all modifications were done with the intent the truck would be around for a long time and require minimal upkeep.

I have over $24,000 invested in this project and that does not include my labor where I did at least 95% of the work. I feel confident in the quality of my work and have experience building vehicles from street cars to rally cars to race cars. I have worked in the automotive industry as a powertrain development engineer and have a masters in automotive engineering and mechanical engineering. I hate to sound like I am bragging but I want to assure you this is not a hack job engine swap or sloppy modified vehicle.

Vortec Engine came from vehicle damaged during shipment and was purchased with almost no miles. Engine currently has about 6,000 miles on it over 3 years and has been reliable since installation.

Truck was also painted Sand Glow Yellow (Camel Trophy color) in February of 2010 with Sherwin Williams Genesis single stage for durability. With all the different interior and engine bay coatings on this vehicle it is very hard to find the original red color anywhere.

I have all records of my modifications and maintenance along with electrical diagrams. Additionally the truck comes with maintenance manuals for the truck and engine"

Engine:
• 2004 General Motors 4.3L Vortec V6
• 2004 GM engine management system custom programmed for this application
• Cast iron block and head
• 200hp / 260 ftlb torque (way more then the 300tdi)
• Gets about 12mpg city and 18mpg highway
• Runs smooth and starts every time just like the factory engine
• Engine bell housing adapter kit sourced from Marks Adapter in Australia
• Custom made engine mounts
• Centerforce clutch pressure plate with Land Rover clutch disk to easily mate to factory Land Rover 5sp manual
• Centerforce flywheel
• Sanderson block hugger exhaust headers with ceramic coating
• Custom made exhaust Y-Pipe with catalytic converters
(new cat converter 2012)
• New exhaust system from Y-pipe back all painted with high temp black
Flex-A-Lite dual electric fans thermostatically controlled
• S&B open air intake system with custom bracket
• Perma-Cool power steering cooler
• Custom made AC and power steering lines
• Davis Unified ignition wires
• Scan Gauge II mounted in gauge cluster used for engine diagnostic and tachometer

Suspension and Tires:
• 235/85R16 BFG AT tires with roughly 24,000 mi on them
• OME Heavy Duty Shocks (N73HD Front and N25HD Rear)
• OME Heavy Duty Springs (751 Front and 762 Rear, ~2” lift)
• Rover Tracks heavy duty steering damper relocation kit with OME steering damper
• Rover Tracks heavy duty rear trailing arms
• Rover Tracks front heavy duty tie rod
• Expedition Exchange spring retainers
• Staun tire deflators
• Longer stainless steel brake lines for greater flex

Protection:
• ARB front bumper coated with urethane bed-liner
• Rovers North heavy duty steel rear bumper coated with urethane bed-liner
• Frame mounted rock sliders made by BlackFoot coated with urethane bed-liner
• Front and rear Safari Guard differential protectors
• Rubber floor mats

Recovery:
• Warn M8000 winch with WinchLine synthetic line, safety thimble and aluminum fairlead
• Rear receiver shackle bracket for rear recovery
• Two weld on shackle brackets on ARB front bumper
• Recovery kit included with Pelican 1600 case
• Hi-Lift jack mounted on front bumper
Update: Added ARB compressor in engine bay for on-board air. 100ft & 50ft hoses included with fittings. Switch wired in overhead console (see photos
Camping and Storage:
• Eezi Awn 1200 Roof top tent with LED reading lights (2013 update: new tent cover March 2013)
Hannibal aluminum roof rack
• Dual battery system with battery isolation when ignition is off
• Stainless steel rear cargo door panel with flip down aluminum table
• +750W 115v power inverter
+12V power strip
+Two Pelican 1600 cases (one filled with recovery equipment, other empty but great for tools and spares)
+Two Pelican 1430 cases
• Rear ladder to access roof rack
• Fire extinguisher mounted with Quick Fist
• Spare Tire mounted bike rack
• Axe and Shovel mounted with Quick Fists to roof rack

Electronics and Interior:
• All interior removed and Elemental Designs E-Dead v3 sound deadening applied
• Alpine CD player with iPod controls (old iPod included)
• Four Eclipse 4” coaxial speakers
• Replaced headliner
• Code Guard security system

Rust Prevention:
• Chassis and frame from firewall forward have been coated with urethane bed-liner
• Bottom of chassis is treated by Zeibart
• Inside of interior doors have been treated by Zeibart
• Common rust found in C-Pillar has been patched and treated with rust preventatives
• No other rust!

Known Problems (I don't want a detail missed):
• When the brakes are hot they squeal even though they have been recently replaced and have plenty of life left. They just need to be removed and cleaned. I have lived with the noise thinking, if I clean them they will just get muddy again.
• Hole in rear trim where a small fire started when patching the body at the rear door C-Pillars. Easy fix if you can find the part at a junk yard.
• Power side view mirrors do not work so mirror has been rigidly mounted
• The person who replaced the headliner drilled a screw through the roof, right under the roof top tent. I didn't even notice this for months and thought it was just a bug when I first saw it while washing.
• Rear door power locks were slow and sometimes did not automatically lock with alarm. I have disconnected the locks and manual operate the two rear door locks when needed. Very easy to reconnect.
• Not really a problem but due to the ARB front bumper airbags are disconnected

• 2013 update: recently picked up a leak in the AC. I have not yet had it looked at.
• 2013 update: power steering pump has a leak. $45 o-ring kit fix if you have the time to do it yourself, otherwise $400 part swap for a refurbed unit (I simply top it up right now)
• Due to low usage the batteries have drained a few times. I will get them serviced or replaced prior to selling
• I originally registered this vehicle in Louisiana and moved to Houston last year. When trying to pass inspection I found the OBDII does not provide all info so will need to take it to a reputable mod shop who can correctly configure the outputs. This has been a headache for the last 3 months while leading up to this posting. If this is something you think you can resolve yourself or do not need OBDII in your state OR if your state allows a sniffer test in the absence of the OBDII it will be a negotiating point to reduce the asking price
• I picked up a leak on the left bank exhaust manifold collector, inside joint on the Summit headers' collector. Truck comes with two new summit racing block hugger headers, not installed yet.($400 value).
 
Last edited:

Herbie

Rendezvous Conspirator
Pretty sweet rig. I assume it's in Texas?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 

Rovertrader

Supporting Sponsor
Not sure as I thought I had it purchased but seller came up missing- though he does travel a good bit....
 

matttahoe53

New member
Not sure as I thought I had it purchased but seller came up missing- though he does travel a good bit....

Thanks for the info. I used to live in NC and drive through marshville all the time. I always loved the trucks you have. I actually had RTE welding build a bumper for my 2dr tahoe. They did a pretty good job.
 

matttahoe53

New member
I think a lot of us would like to buy this. Right now I would like to find a clean discovery with a 5 speed manual so I could do a conversion myself.
 

MikeCG

Adventurer
Wish I could afford it. Got a lot of changes coming up and can't afford to make any big purchases yet. I'm retiring from the military, moving from the west coast to the east and need to find a house before I can by myself a vehicle.
 

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