Lucky8’s Project Discovery 3

nwoods

Expedition Leader
I’m sure if I looked back at some of my posts from 2005 I would find a slew of things saying why the Disco 3 is not going to be a good off road choice. Unfortunately for me but fortunately for the Land Rover community I may need to retract some of those old post. Watching what people like Nathan Woods, Adam Spiker and Gerald King have accomplished with their trucks has not only proven me wrong but made me want one of my own. Please except this as my apology and lets get started with the project!

Apology accepted..LOL! Now get out there and go wheeling!
 

roverandom

Adventurer
No. There is a ton of things that need to come off when you pull the body on an lr3. We have done this in the shop and I don't think it is a DIY job for some one looking to put a body lift on.

Ha, I can remember when folks thought that messing with the newfangled Lucas EFI was not a DIY job!

I've seen the body come off an LR3 as well. The LR book time on a V8 LR3 is 6.30 Hrs to totally remove and refit the body last I looked. Apparently some slick LR techs have got that down to a little over 3hrs? LRM even did a spread on a DIY body removal some time ago. Granted, all these scenarios involve a proper vehicle lift and mechanics that are in possession of the workshop manual so that is not going to be the case for the average driveway installer. However, I'm not sure if you would even need to totally remove the body anyway depending on the design of a body lift kit? You don't on any other body lifts I've seen and those go on vehicles with bodies that were never designed to come off at all. Much would depend on the length of the various harness connections etc. I suppose?

But if nobody is interested...............

What else do you guy's have in the works?
 

Fivespddisco

Supporting Sponsor
Lucky8's Project Discovery 3 Update : 17's on my feet.

Why 17s you may ask? When you flip through a tire catalog you can not help but notice the unbelievable selection of 17 inch mud tires. Now consider the additional half-inch cushion provided by the sidewall. Those two factors alone made it a no-brainer to pursue a 17in rim option for the Disco. Putting 17in rims on a V8 is not as easy as bolting the wheels up and driving away. First off there is the rim selection or I should say lack there of it. I could not find any 17in aftermarket rims for the Disco 3. The next logical step was to try and make some.

First we had to find the right combination of parts to allow the rim to clear the break caliber.





The next hurdle was contending with the off set. We definitely wanted additional offset to help compensate for the narrow stance on a lifted truck. The stock offset is 6 3/8



The minimum offset we could make the rim without compromising the strength and clear the caliber was 4 3/8.



The end result was this bit of magic.





Picking the tire size was the next issue.

With the added offset the truck gained a more powerful stance. Unfortunately there was a downside to the extra offset. The tires wanted to rub the molding in front of the doors when the wheel was turned. Our first try was a 33/12.50/17 Mud Grappler. We could not turn the wheel with out it jamming into the side molding in front of the doors. Just for reference the front bumper had no chance of survival with these wide boys on. Next up was a more reasonable choice, 285/70/17 Trail Grappler. This size rubbed a little in hi mode on the molding in front of the doors and again the bumper had no chance of survival. When it is acceptable to take a sawsall to the fenders this is the tire size I will probably go with. Finally we were able to sneak by with a 255/75/17 Trail Grappler. They clear the molding in front of the doors and just touch the bumper. Knowing that the front bumper is on the way out the 255's became our new tire. I was hoping for a true 33 but had to settle on the 32s.



This is the only rubbing we are getting and could easily be avoided with a little smaller tire.



This is how the truck sits in high mode



A stock D2 for reference.



The extra offset is about spot on for a 2 1/2 inch lifted truck in my opinion. Here are some side-by-side pictures of the truck in high mode . As you can see the stock tire is tucked way inside the fender well.



Here is a picture with the Lucky8 wheel tire combination and it sitting almost flush with the fender flare.



Let me know what you think about this set up.

And finally the poser pic, Boriana on ice.

 

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