The DiscoDavis Discovery 3 Build Thread

[sunrisehiker]

Yep...
I am a living proof that properly maintained Hitachi can last more than 10 years of everyday usage.

 

[DiscoDavis]

Bruce replied;

I guess being referred to in that manner is a very positive comment; it kind of makes the effort worthwhile.

The compliments aside, he's a good source of help and information for the LR community. FAR TOO MODEST IF YOU ASK ME TODD

Regarding the Faskit, the reality is I came to the conclusion that the stock LR air system is more reliable than I initially thought it would be. It really does not need much help.

I also think that once the initial Hitachi compressor reliability problems got worked out, it is not a bad compressor, and I am yet to be convinced the AMK is really better.

The weak link on the Hitachi is the air dryer. It is too bad that replacement of the beads was never spelled out as a routine maintenance item. It sure would be cheaper than a new compressor every few years.

I would agree. I worried for months and months about leaks and breakage but now that I am busier at work it remains a work-truck and has not let me down. Just kinda goes.

RE: the Hitachi I too have a 10-year old compressor now, with the original dessicant just waiting for the right moment to strike...

 

[DiscoDavis]

More yellow paint

While I have nothing fantastic or wondrous to report, I did still have a lot of the gloss yellow paint left over from doing the recovery points. And since the black finish was not in great shape after a decade on the road, I decided bright yellow armor plates would be interesting. I did try the hottest of hot fluorescent pink... but that's another story. It was almost too-bright. The yellow was, again, that Rustoleum 2x yellow gloss stuff. Really nice finish when it dries... good coverage too.

this is one of the pictures from the other page, when the front point was painted. You can see what they looked like before.

They each had rust issues around the bolt holes, so they got sanded down some and then primered in white (this was for the pink paint, which needed primer)

This was in the shade, should give you a sense of how bright the pink was. Both plates flipped after the first coat of paint on the opposite side.

I am still toying with the idea of bright pink plates. It looked great on shayne's 130's bash plate...

 

[DiscoDavis]

Buddy of mine was kind enough to print a label for the F26E switch.

 

[unseenone]

Confirmed the hitch fit to the LR4 and LR3 with TR bumpers. Also did a Kaymar, which required expanding the hole by about 1/4"

 

[Victory_Overland]

More yellow paint

While I have nothing fantastic or wondrous to report, I did still have a lot of the gloss yellow paint left over from doing the recovery points. And since the black finish was not in great shape after a decade on the road, I decided bright yellow armor plates would be interesting. I did try the hottest of hot fluorescent pink... but that's another story. It was almost too-bright. The yellow was, again, that Rustoleum 2x yellow gloss stuff. Really nice finish when it dries... good coverage too.

this is one of the pictures from the other page, when the front point was painted. You can see what they looked like before.

Pirated your idea and went bright gloss red on my recovery point. Bash plates remained black but I did some corrosion prevention while I had the bumper off for the TR bumper install.

 

[Victory_Overland]

Confirmed the hitch fit to the LR4 and LR3 with TR bumpers. Also did a Kaymar, which required expanding the hole by about 1/4"

Happen to have any pictures of that hitch on a TR rear? I'm starting the install on mine hopefully tomorrow night. Gonna be a bit since I have to install the trailer wiring kit though.

 

[perkj]

Confirmed the hitch fit to the LR4 and LR3 with TR bumpers. Also did a Kaymar, which required expanding the hole by about 1/4"

Awesome news! Any pictures?

 

[unseenone]

He's going to snap some and send them.

 

[The Rover Shop]

If you go with the bright pink...be prepared for the constant questions like...what's the story on the pink plate......are you going to leave it like that.....lol...
Really love your build thread, if I was staying I would be stealing a bunch of your ideas to kit out the wife's LR3... We have a 2006 and it really is a great truck...loooove driving it...not as much as the 130... But just in a different way...

 

[DiscoDavis]

Confirmed the hitch fit to the LR4 and LR3 with TR bumpers. Also did a Kaymar, which required expanding the hole by about 1/4"

Nice . Now you mustn't tempt me with that, the disco doesn't need to be towing any new toys...

 

[DiscoDavis]

Pirated your idea and went bright gloss red on my recovery point. Bash plates remained black but I did some corrosion prevention while I had the bumper off for the TR bumper install.

The red looks good! Nice install!

 

[DiscoDavis]

If you go with the bright pink...be prepared for the constant questions like...what's the story on the pink plate......are you going to leave it like that.....lol...
Really love your build thread, if I was staying I would be stealing a bunch of your ideas to kit out the wife's LR3... We have a 2006 and it really is a great truck...loooove driving it...not as much as the 130... But just in a different way...

Shayne,

That's precisely what I was thinking. The oil cooler plate got one coat before I realized how mind-bogglingly bright the pink is in person...

Too kind. The 06 is really a diamond in the rough. Don't blame you for preferring the other. If I could I would too, trust me. Steal away . Keep up the excellent anti-theft schemes. Planning a fuel pump cutoff "a la Shayne" at some point.

 

[DiscoDavis]

Rack layout

Call me childish but as a kid I always loved the idea of walking around on the roof, using it for activities, etc. The decking has been very nice, the small bars that form the floor of the baja are almost the perfect size for slipping and breaking an ankle, or 5. Hence the decking. It's just fun to have a large platform on the roof that you can sit on.

One thing I rarely see discussed with these is that with stuff like polymax (or aluminum panels like the OEM, prospeed, racks), it acts as a screen that absorbs most of the heat on the roof. The roof glass, after sitting in the sun all day on the jobsite, is only slightly warmer than ambient air temps. The tinted windows on the sides of the vehicle... will burn you. If you've ever been in a hard-top pinzgauer in 90-degree heat, you know not to put your hands or appendages on the ceiling... So a rack can also make a pretty good safari roof. Does wonders getting into a vehicle that is not quite roasting you to death after a day at work/play.

Second bonus is I live under many large and heavy oak trees. Falling limbs happens fairly frequently, rack hasn't gotten a dent yet. At least for all the NAS trucks with the alpine glass, a rack is great insurance. A very expensive roof repair otherwise.

Hows my feng-shue? Am I missing the the golden layout?

 

[Ray_G]

Def digging the flooring, and that is exactly why I'll end up doing the same when I mine back to CONUS. I've been using that on my D1 for damn near a decade and it has done great. I can't see anything in particular that is off base...except that you need a set of maxtrax up there!