Land Rover Discovery Custom Pickup Off Road Overlander

Here we have for sale our beloved Daphne, a 1989 Land Rover Discovery 1. We’ve spent the last 14 months (~6000hrs between us…) converting her to a flat bed pickup and building a demountable camper pod, with the idea of living in her long-term off grid. Unfortunately our plans have changed so we now need to recoup our investment (>£20k excluding labour). Having worked on prestigious classic cars professionally over the last 10 years and an avid motoring enthusiast, I naively thought this was the last one, hence such thorough works carried out as you’ll see below. She is our absolute pride and joy and we want her to continue to be looked after well in her next home.

The base vehicle was purchased as a running MOT’d Mk1 Discovery with only 89k miles on the clock. We stripped her back to the bare body, bracing where necessary and cut away the rear section. We used this opportunity to future-proof our investment by replacing and restoring what was now easily accessible. In summary: we took the chassis back to bare metal and painted and replaced the sills/floors/front inner wings. Then, as part of conversion to a pickup, the roof was fabricated to marry with the back (those with keen eyes will note this is the original roof panel complete with alpine windows). The original sunroof aperture lends itself perfectly to a bit of branding (we have now removed ours in replace of a plain resin plaque, ready for yours!). The bed structure is constructed from steel and thoroughly braced but is removable as it is polybush-mounted, not welded, for ease of servicing. The outer wings were adapted to fit the new shape. We decided the square headlights weren’t for us so we fabricated a new four lamp headlight grill as well as a rear light panel to house the LEDs. Other steel fabrication includes side/rear steps and front bumper. The bed surface is made from 18mm birch ply finished with fibreglass and resin to enhance strength and durability. This also houses the unwin load tracks which are bolted through to the flatbed frame. We also carried out extensive mechanical work which is easiest seen in the list below.

Vehicle main features:

– 1989 Land Rover Discovery 1
– 3.5l Rover V8 Twin SU carbs
– 91,000 miles
– 12 Months MOT (no advisories)
– Petrol/LPG
– Manual
– Blue dash & matching trim
– Raptor finish ‘Chestnut Brown’
– Custom built flatbed pickup
– Fibreglass & resin-coated marine plywood bed & matching rear panel/sill trims/arch storage doors
– Unwin rail securing system
– Lockable arch storage hole

Exterior parts new/less than 1000 miles old:

– All wheel bearings
– Thermostat
– Viscous coupling
– Water pump
– Oil filter
– Swivel hubs
– Swivel pins & bearings
– CV joint kit
– Rear diff pan
– Extended stainless brake flexis
– All new copper brake pipes
– Four new rebuilt callipers
– Handbrake shoes
– Discs/pads all round
– Brake backing discs all round
– Four prop shaft universal joints
– Drop arm ball joint kit
– Track rod ends
– Steering shaft
– Steering damper
– 2” lift kit Terrafirma – springs & shocks
– Suspension bolts
– Polybush all round
– Bump stops all round
– Front shock absorber turrets
– Fulcrum bracket & ball joint
– Clutch master cylinder
– Clutch slave cylinder
– Clutch flexi pipe
– OMVL R90 LPG reducer
– SU carb rebuild inc. needles & springs
– Four Bulldog wheel spacers
– Yuassa battery
– Magnicore leads
– NGK spark plugs
– RPI Engineering dual fuel ignition amplifier
– Ignition coil
– All new Gates drive belts
– Custom built stainless 4-1 sports manifold
– 2 ¾“ exhaust system
– 5 x 265/70R16 Insa turbo ranger tyres
– Fuel pump
– Fuel filter/pressure regulator
– New windscreen
– Wiper blades
– 4 x headlight units – super bright LED main & dipped beam
– LED side, brake, indicator & fog lights
– Flip out towing wing mirrors (from Dodge Ram)
– Petrol/LPG pipes & fillers

New/custom metalwork using galvanised steel (structural) & aluminium (outer skins):

– Front grill & four lamp headlights
– Rear arches
– Rear light panel
– 2 x Frogatts galvanised front inner wings
– 60x100x5mm box section sills
– Floors & footwells both sides
– A pillar repairs
– Reconstructed B pillar
– Chopped roof
– Steel framed polybushed & removable flatbed
– Steps all round
– Front bumper with inbuilt tow points
– Reconditioned parts:
– 5 x wheels
– Gravitexed chassis/underbody/engine bay/interior
– Suspension components
– Front & rear diffs
– Inlet manifold
– 2 x 35L 4 hole LPG tanks
– All new fluids

New interior parts:

– Fabric covered panels all round
– Custom storage bags
– Pioneer speakers
– Bluetooth amplifier
– USB charging
– 200W inverter
– Rear view camera
– New door seals & window rubbers
– LED interior lights
– Noico sound deadening
– LPG changeover switch
– Fire extinguisher
– Also included:
– Nato hitch
– Ball hitch
– Dropper plate
– Hi lift jack
– Land Rover Discovery 1989-98 Haynes manual

The pod construction is primarily 18mm birch ply jointed into a ribcage structure with steel composite floor and aluminium lateral supports. This has all been adhered using 2k polyurethane glue and bolted where necessary. The outer skins where the body has single curvature consist of flexible birch ply reinforced with closed cell polyurethane foam. The double curvature panels are formed from wheeled aluminium, which also encloses the leg sockets for when the pod is demounted. The door is also constructed of aluminium and uses Discovery handles and latches with a like key to the vehicle. The pod can be removed using the Hi Lift jack, neatly mounted under the rear panel, and aluminium stage legs, both included. We intended for it to be a camper and therefore designed in supports/surfaces for a sofa/bed, kitchenette and shelves (surfaces are not yet fixed down), but as it’s still an empty shell we envisage a multitude of alternative uses such as a catering/coffee pod, a marketing unit, works van, weathertight adventure equipment storage, the options are endless!

Pod main features:

– Demountable unit originally designed to be an off grid two-berth self-contained camper
– Custom designed birch ply rib cage structure
– Secures to flatbed rails with ratchet straps
– Fore & aft fixed bed location
– Self-supporting on 4 x adjustable stage legs (only for storage)
– Steel composite floor
– Aluminium lateral supports
– Flexi ply sides
– Aluminium double curvature panels
– Aluminium door drain tray
– 2K polyurethane glue
– Closed cell insulation – walls & floor
– Quick release unwin load rails on pod exterior
– Sofa/bed & kitchenette surfaces cut but not fixed
– Custom aluminium up-and-over door with locking latches (same key for vehicle)
– Inbuilt high-power extraction fan & controller (requires wiring)
– Stiff enough to stand on only three legs!

To top this all off we’re including our Sankey wide track military trailer that we’ve been using with Daphne as a mobile workshop. We’ve carried out a light restoration on it including the conversion of an Ifor Williams pickup canopy to make it secure, insulated and weatherproof. Brakes are all in working order, tyres are almost new and LED bulbs all round. It’s a dream to tow as they were originally intended to be used behind a Land Rover.

Trailer main features:

– Sankey wide track military trailer
– Nato hitch
– Hydraulic brakes
– Land Rover Wolf wheels
– Good tread tires, not perished
– Leaf springs
– Cabled handbrake
– ¾ ton payload
– LED bulbs
– Rewired 7 pin trailer socket
– Ifor Williams aluminium canopy – custom solid front & back door, also closed cell insulated, black Raptor finish
– Dropdown tailgate
– 2 x rear levelling legs

Snags that come to mind:

– Slight surface rust under the Discovery and trailer due to a Winter on the salty UK roads!
– Filler neck has been shortened to accommodate the cap position in the bed and therefore it has to be filled more slowly than usual
– Although all surfaces have been finished it has been used and therefore are not entirely free from minor scratches/chips
– Door pockets could be better fixed to door card
– Pod sides aren’t dead flat but could be remedied with filler work
– We re-rollered the front of the pod which resulted in a slightly different texture
– Not really a snag but pod door is currently propped open with a wooden pole as we haven’t got round to sourcing stays yet

This really is a unique, one-of-a-kind vehicle with accessories and has been the most challenging project we’ve ever done. The completely clean MOT carried out this week, and the fact our Insurers (Adrian Flux) have covered us for an Agreed Value (vehicle alone) of £15,000, hopefully demonstrates her worth to you too.

Apologies for the essay, if you’d like any more information or to arrange a viewing (we’re based near Plymouth) please message us or call Teds on 07943 717838.

Lastly we have been maintaining a Google Photos album (>1400 photos!) since the start of the project which can be viewed here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/RzLYsgFLhka5gugr5