Land Rover Monthly – October 2019

120 LANDROVERMONTHLY In association withDOUBLESEXHAUSTSLTD Tel:0188433454

WRITERS’ ROVERS

but,ofcourse, itwas worth much more

tome.

Plus, I just happenedtohavea pair of

new inner and outerpassenger sills. I’d

bought a fullset for both sides acouple

ofyears ago,but it hadturned out that

only the driver’s side had needed

replacing. Sure thereweresome pillar

andfootwell repairs needed doingtoo,but

Nigelwas anexcellentfabricator.

Andsowhat if itcostme £1000to get

it roadworthy again?Thatwas the priceof

a service onsome moderncarsI could

mention. Annual depreciation on most

carsamountstoa lot more than that.

Inotherwords, I bottled it. Iwas

lookingfor everyexcusetokeepmyDisco

on theroad and Ireckoned I’dfound

enoughtoreprieveit from Death Row.

The following morning I phoned Norfolk

Nigel withmyconsidered opinion – and

he laughed. “I thoughtyew wouldsay

that,” hesaid.

Andsoheset towork. Iwasn’t ableto

get acrosstoNorfolktosee the project,

but his wife, Sally, kindlysentmeregular

photoupdates with her phone as Nigel

1996 Discovery 1 in hiscapable handsto

get itreadyfor itsturnatthe MoTstation.

I left believing itwouldn’t needtoo

muchwork...

The next day, Nigel phoned with the

bad news: the rustwas terminal, he

reckoned.The passenger side sillswere

shot and therewas rust elsewhere, too.

“Thecostofrepairs will befar more than

it’s worth,”was hisconsidered opinion.

It was asad moment. I’ve owned that

Discomore than 13years. It’s been

reliable andcapable andrepaid all the

abuse I’vethrown atit.The thoughtof

abandoning itfor scrap was deeply

saddening. Itwas more than just acar, it

was my faithful friend.Ye s, I knowyou

shouldn’tget attachedtoa car, but I do.

It seemed wrongtocondemn it. Behind

that rustyexterior(andtatty interior)was

a 300Tdi engine and automatic

transmission that didn’t miss a beat. Nigel

was right in his assertion thatrepairs

wouldcostmore than itwas worth, but

thatwas because itsvalue, onpaper,was

probably lessthan £1000.That’s how

much itwas worth if Iattempted tosell it,

DAVE

PHILLIPS

CONTRIBUTOR

DISCOVERY1

YEAR: 1996 MILEAGE: 170 ,000

MPG: 25 POWER:111 bhp

TORQUE195 lb-ft

DEFENDERNINETY

YEAR: 1984 MILEAGE:168,000

MPG: 30 POWER:111 bhp

TORQUE195 lb-ft

More testingtimes

Following lastmonth’s extensive rust repairson Dave’s Ninety , surely his Discovery

would breeze through theMoT...

T

HEstorysofar. .. Last monthI

reported howmy1984 Ninety

had neededsomeextensive

repairs – including newfootwells

• to get it through its MoT, thanksto
  ravages ofrust. My mateNorfolk Nigel did
  therepairs and I picked it upfor the drive
  hometoNorthamptonshire, leavingmy

New sills and

fl oor patches

welded in

Not muchof the

nearside left

after rustcut out