Discovery II
Our 1999 Discovery II project started as your everyday pavement pounding suburban Discovery II… with a blown engine. The appeal of starting with a completely stock vehicle is the remaining rigidity in the chassis and overall integrity of the suspension bushings/components, transfer case, axles, differentials, etc. Our DII received a 4.0L motor transplant and then a host of hardware to give it the off-road credibility it deserved.
Modifications:
- Limited slip rear differential
- Central diff-Lock enabled
- OME 2′ lift springs and shocks
- Columbia Overland aluminum fuel tank skid plate
- Columbia Overland rock sliders
- Columbia Overland SS rear door panel
- HD front driveshaft
- Modified front cross member
- Land Rover factory front axle/tie-rod guard
- Land Rover factory rear differential guard
- SS extended length brake lines
- IPF Fat Boy headlamp bulbs
- SafariGard front bumper
- IPF 900XSD spot lamps
- Pierce HD 9000lb winch w/in-cab controls
- Steel wheels with BFG 265/75-16 Mud Terrain tires
Once the off-road modifications were completed we turned to the cabin. We desired a 7″ touch screen monitor so that a proper windows based navigation unit could be fitted. Unfortunately, the Discovery II’s have very little room to properly mount a monitor. We resolved this dilemma by relocating the climate control ECU/Display to the overhead console. We then modified the dash console to accept the monitor. The coin tray was replaced by three factory Land Rover switches that provide in-cab winch controls. An Alpine head unit directs the audio from a multitude of inputs to the upgraded speakers. Finishing off the treatment, we added a ScanGauge II to keep an eye on fuel economy, coolant temperature, battery voltage, and more.
Adding weight, larger diameter tires, and increasing the overall height of the DII left the stock 4.0 feeling even more anemic than normal. We decided the best route to increase the power would be to remap the ECU. Before the remap, we took the DII to Cobb Tuning to be dyno’d. Stock HP at the wheels was a mere 129HP with torque coming in at 176Lb Ft. The remapped ECU was then configured to our truck and it was back to the dyno. The ECU yielded 143Hp and 190Lb Ft, an increase of 14HP and 14Lb Ft. Although the ECU did help with drivability, we are still hungry for more power. Stay tuned for details on the new motor, being built from the block up by our own technicians.
Discovery in action:
