21j Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Does anyone know if it is possible to fit coil suspension from a disco to a series chassis and in conjunction to this fitting the disco diffs? I will also be moving my engine 4" forward a fitting a five speed gearbox. My other option is to fit the disco diffs and 5 speed box to the existing leaf sprung chassis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamish Grundy Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Does anyone know if it is possible to fit coil suspension from a disco to a series chassis and in conjunction to this fitting the disco diffs? I will also be moving my engine 4" forward a fitting a five speed gearbox. My other option is to fit the disco diffs and 5 speed box to the existing leaf sprung chassis. hi, you best bet would be to shorten the disco chassis. how ever i this isnt an option you can buy all the nessecary parts as weld on items that are needed, such as spring seats etc. id take the time to strenghten the chassis where the spring seat is welded on, as series chassis arnt biult to take load on the side in the same way a coiler is. the diffs are a simple swap, unless you have 24 spline. in which case it would be easier to swap the whole axle. hope that helps. hamish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 21J, if you are in the UK(and probably the rest of civilised europe) then by converting to coils, or shortening a disco chassis to fit your 88 you will invoke the wrath of the SVA, and leave your vehicle worth only it's scrap value. You can, however, fit the disco axles to your series on it's leaf springs -this has been done to death on here, I suggest a quick trip to the search function is in order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21j Posted October 18, 2008 Author Share Posted October 18, 2008 Have a disco chassis, nearly a full disco bar the engine. How and where would I shorten it? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 Have a disco chassis, nearly a full disco bar the engine.How and where would I shorten it? Thanks Did you read my last reply? Or just fail to understand it? Or is it an off-road-only vehicle? Sorry if I am being short, but I feel a bit ignored right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 Sorry if I sound jaded and sarcastic, but I am so that's how it comes across. First off, if you have to ask how and where to shorten a chassis you probably shouldn't be doing it. Being able to work a tape measure is an oft-overlooked pre-requisite of such work. Next up is what are you ultimately aiming for - what do you want the vehicle to do or be? You really need to decide what you want to end up with before you get the grinder out. Unless you absolutely must have an authentic-looking Series that absolutely must have coil springs, there is no point whatsoever - sell the Series unmolested to someone who appreciates high class vehicles and buy a Defender. They're as cheap as Series these days and all the stuff is already there without having to trouble the nice man from VOSA. Dropping a Disco 200TDi in becomes much easier, swapping axles becomes a nuts-and-bolts job. If you're using the Disco engine & box, you will probably have to lose the inset Series front end in which case you may as well have bought a Defender. Adding coils & Disco axles will mean you have to SVA it too. If you shorten the Disco chassis or weld coil seats to the Series, by the time you're done either way round it'll need an SVA. If you try to keep the Series front end, you'll need a Defender gearbox & bellhousing and surgery to the transmission tunnel, front panel, probably bulkhead too. Basically you'll end up chopping up a perfectly good Series, wasting an awful lot of time, and spending as much on bits as if you'd just bought a Defender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 Glad it wasn't just me FF.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty_wingnut Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 well said FF there seems to be more of these "clowns with a welder" who produce an abomination that last 10mins and then is worthless when it's rotted out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21j Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 Oh, insults flying there. I do own 3 series vehicles. I was just considering creating a coil version for off road as I have a discovery there doing nothing. Measuring is not a problem, I was hoping I would get some advice on where to make the cut as this would be of great importance in relation to prop shafts internal gear lever location etc. Not to worry Ill sort it out. SVA does not apply. No room for "clowns with welders" on this forum? Sorry for wasting your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rusty_wingnut Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 You never said it was purely an off roader, it does beg the question then why not keep the disco as is and chop that about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Oh, insults flying there. I do own 3 series vehicles. I was just considering creating a coil version for off road as I have a discovery there doing nothing. Measuring is not a problem, I was hoping I would get some advice on where to make the cut as this would be of great importance in relation to prop shafts internal gear lever location etc. Not to worry Ill sort it out. SVA does not apply. No room for "clowns with welders" on this forum? Sorry for wasting your time. I don't think anyone called you a clown with a welder, if you post half the story then people will fill in the blanks and assume you're talking about an average Series 3 and an average Disco which will be used in the normal way, EG on the road with an MOT. If you'd been specific then we could've been unhelpful in a much more accurate fashion As for advice on where to make the cut, surely that's why you have the tape measure unless you want specific measurements (which would be rather tricky given that it's a one-off build) the only real guidance you're likely to get is "cut it in the middle, and try to make it so that as much stuff as possible lines up OK afterwards". There are many different ways of executing the "LR panels on a RR/Disco chassis" formula so, as I said in my first post, you need to decide a bit more about what you actually want. It does still beg the question why cut up a Series when you may just as well use the Disco, if you want less bodywork have a look at Nick's Rogue Vogue in the members' vehicles forum. If it's purely for off-road & trials you'll find that even Series bodywork is not the best idea, most of the specials that look like Series have very little actual Series in them, body panels are usually flat ali stuck to a cage or such like and only the front grille or light layout is actually anything to do with Land Rover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Not that I know much ( I Know nothing - your honour), but I once saw a cut down range rover chassis where, instead of cutting straight down, the guy cut the chassis in a dove tail, sort of, so that the weld was much longer, and thus stronger. God, what a rubbish way of describing it. Right. Imagine that the cuts on the top and the bottom of the chassis rail were, say, 4 inches behind the cuts in the sides, with the joining cut along the corner. Does that make sense? Anyway it was neat. Anyway please don't cut up the series, scrap the body work of the disco (you'd get paid for that!) and buy new panels from one of the parts suppliers and make up your own bulkhead and front panel. MUCH better, as you can do what you like for engines and radiators etc. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21j Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 Thanks for that. I understand what you mean with the welding of the chassis. it would greatly reduce the sheering force on the weld. The Disco I have does not have much of a body left. Right I think Ill just go for 5 speed box from Disco ( Changing Bell housing and pinion of course ). Then the Disco axles with the existing parabolics. Think this requires: Moving the engine 4" forward Replacing bell housing and pinion gearbox should remain where it is Dont know about cross member changing prop shafts Alteration to disco axle to mach parabolic springs. May look at the 1 ton shackles. Do they just go on one end of the spring? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Thanks for that. I understand what you mean with the welding of the chassis. it would greatly reduce the sheering force on the weld.The Disco I have does not have much of a body left. Right I think Ill just go for 5 speed box from Disco ( Changing Bell housing and pinion of course ). Then the Disco axles with the existing parabolics. Think this requires: Moving the engine 4" forward Replacing bell housing and pinion gearbox should remain where it is Dont know about cross member changing prop shafts Alteration to disco axle to mach parabolic springs. May look at the 1 ton shackles. Do they just go on one end of the spring? I thought it was a lot of work changing the input shaft on a disco box to allow a shorter belhousing, and isn't the gearstick much further back? And isn't there an issue with the track rod on the disco axle hitting the propshaft too. The 1 ton shackles replace the normal ones (on the back of the spring). G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21j Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 Talking to Ashcroft tranmission they didnt seem to indicate that. Yes I believe I will have issues with the track rods alright but the 1 ton shackles might help somewhat with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Yes I believe I will have issues with the track rods alright but the 1 ton shackles might help somewhat with that. Unless my geometry is all off, I don't believe 1-ton shackles have any bearing whatsoever on the clearance between track rod & spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
21j Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 No, but there is more space for modifications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 No, but there is more space for modifications. Modifications to what? I'm struggling to think of anything that would benefit from 1" longer shackles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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