Please be aware that ECR is now a Defender repair and modification shop only.
We no longer work on Range Rovers, Discos or Series Rovers.
These pages are from work we did in the past and left up for your enjoyment.
1994 Discovery
Major accident damage, 4.6 install, R380 5 speed and more
This Discovery has come to us from MA with a long list of problems. Originally this project was going to be just a 4.6 engine install to replace the high miles 3.9, but unfortunately the customer had an incident with a mini-van so we have to dig deeper. The LF fender and front end got mashed in the accident and the front section of the body shell needs to be replaced. The first step is to remove all the damaged panels and start for there.
While we are working on the body shell damage the paint department is hard at work getting the new body skin panels ready for epoxy primer and paint. Here you see the new fender and grill assembly that are being prep'd for install onto the Disco.
This image shows the extent that we had to go to to find undamaged body shell parts. The entire front section and the entire LH extension have now been removed and will be replaced with new factory panels.
The new panels will be strong and rust free, but during the tear down of this Disco we found substantial rust on the body shell. The image above shows the RH extension, as you can see it has a good size hole rusted through it.
The driver's floor panel had substantial rust as well. The area circled in yellow is a large hole directly into the driver's area. That is floor mat you see, not metal like it should be. These areas will need to be cut away and new steel will have to be put in its place to make a correct repair.
If you are thinking about buying a used Disco make sure you look in these areas, and around the rear door latch for rust.
In this image you can see we have removed the damaged body shell part from the rusted floor area. The repair is tricky because welding is required, but as you see the holes extend into the original hole for the main wiring harness. Land Rover doe not make panels for this area, so we will custom fabricate panels to repair these areas and weld them in very carefully.
Here you can see the new driver's floor panel that we have fabricated and welded in place. The welds will be ground down for a smooth finish and a factory look to the repair. The area is now rust free and ready for some more MA winters.
Looking from the inside out you can see how bad the rust was. The entire upper footwell panel was missing, These repaired areas will now be epoxy primed and painted in the correct color so that corrosion won't come back anytime soon.
On the RH fender extension we have removed the rusted section back to good metal and will now fabricate a patch panel and install it to stop the spread of the corrosion.
Here you can see the repair panel welded in place. Once the welds are further ground and the area is painted it will be as good as new.
This image shows the new factory front body shell panels installed and welded back into the shell. These panels have to be correctly installed so that the hood and fenders will fit correctly and line up nicely. The front end will now be primed and painted. You'll also notice that we have removed the engine and gearbox to make it easier to paint the panels. We are installing a new R380 5 speed and a new 4.6 engine anyway, so it was a good time to pull the motor.
After the prime and paint process the front shell of the Disco looks great again, as seen here just after a bake cycle in our spray booth. Notice in the image above we had to pull the ABS pump and junction block to get paint in all the steel areas. We do this for a long lasting repair.
Now that the body shell repairs are complete it is time to start on the engine and gearbox.
Here you can see the nasty high miles 3.9 from the Disco. It was still running, but had very little compression and lots of leaks. Its dumpster bait.
In its place we'll install what should have been there in the first place. The cross bolted and balanced ECR 4.6 that you see above. This will really wake up the Disco and will even give it better fuel economy when driven easy. As you can see the ECR 4.6 comes already set up to install into the 14CUX distributor system of the 1994 Disco. It also comes with the needed computer chip, oil pan and crank spacer for a direct bolt in fit.
Here you can see we have built up the engine and it is now ready to drop into the Disco. As the engine is built up each cross over piece is evaluated and replaced as needed. Once it is fully assembled it is ready to be installed.
The 5 speed in this Discovery was suffering from some major wear, and the fluid we drained out of the old 5 speed was full of debris and water. The solution to this problem is to replace the 5 speed with the latest generation R380 5 speed. In the image above you can see that we have removed the old unit and have set up the new R380 onto the cleaned up LT230 transfer case. The entire gearbox and transfer case assembly is now ready to go back into the Disco and be mated to the new ECR 4.6 V8.
Here you can see that the engine and gearbox assemblies have been installed into the Disco and are being hooked up system by system. The accident damage took out the radiator, AC condenser and a number of other front end mechanical parts, so we will be replacing those items to get the Disco back up and running correctly.
This image shows the engine bay nearly complete. The engine and gearbox are full connected an all the accident damaged mechanical parts have been replaced. You'll notice that the ECR 4.6 looks at home in the 3.9 engine bay and it will give the Disco more power, better fuel mileage and longer engine life. In this photo you'll also see the attention to detail in ECR's crash damage work. You'll notice that we have installed new decals on the radiator support. These decals are only a few bucks and they give the Disco a nice factory finished look. When we are done we'd challenge nearly anyone to find the traces that tell this Disco had nearly the entire nose cut off. Isn't that the point of repairing your Rover? Making it as good, or better than before your accident? It is to ECR.
In the image above you can see that we have started to put the exterior bodywork back together. The new headlight, fender and such are all installed and correctly lined up for a better than factory fit. While we had the wiring for the nose of the Disco apart we made a change so that the front marker lights will turn on inside the turn signal. We did this because this Disco will be getting a Safari Gard front bumper, and to install the SG unit you delete the plastic bumper end caps that hold the side marker light. Our modification will still give the Disco an amber front marker (or parking) light so it can be seen in a parking lot, and it will look bone stock, and it is all done with factory Land Rover parts.
Here you can see the Disco really starting to look complete. The new Safari Gard bumper and Warn 9000 winch have been installed and we are working on installing the front skid plate. Next we'll move on to curing some of the other small bugs with the Disco so that the owner can enjoy his 4.6 powered Disco.
This image shows the Disco getting buttoned up and ready for delivery back to MA. We've had numerous work orders to complete from a bad radio antenna to wipers that only work some of the time and all of those small items are now being hunted down and repaired as required. The 4.6 in this 5 speed Disco is lightning quick and will even get better MPG and is a long term fix for this Discovery.
Here you can see the completed Discovery, looking good and ready to head back to MA. The Disco has been repaired as required and given a world of new performance with an ECR 4.6 V8 engine and a new R380 gearbox. The Rover is now ready to serve and looks better than it did before the accident with its new winch and Safari Gard front bumper. If your Land Rover has accident damage or needs a new engine, feel free to call or email ECR. We'll be happy to get your Rover ready for action again.