So if you did all this research how did you come up with a price point of 40k on a Disco. I think that if you built Defenders then you would be near that price range with a non Nas D90. But Discovery? No chance.
ECD sells built Defenders for upwards of $100K. And they're not even ECR who I imagine is easy to get north of $100K with. I took a shot in the dark at $45K to see if there was interest.
Here is a quick breakdown of how you'd do a $45000 fully rebuilt 95 D1 with a TDV8
$2500 Donor D1 5sp rust free truck
$1000 Donor D1 for Interior
$2500 Paint
$4500 Dismantle and Assembly labor
$2000 Fabrication Labor
$1800 Suspension & Chassis parts
$2500 Armor
$6500 TDV8 w/ Adapters & Programming
$3000 Drivetrain Upgrades
$1400 Tires
$2500 Misc Wear Parts
$1000 Consumables
$2500 Shop & Misc Overhead
$33700 Total Estimate
$37070 Total cost at 10% budget over-runs
$40440 Total cost at 20% budget over-runs
$4560-11300 profit spread for something like this.
This rough cost estimate uses rates with enough cushion in them to avoid getting upside down. I think if you were to offer this build spec at a rate less than $40K you would be foolish. Your typical hot rod shop would surely have your invoice over $60,000 for this hypothetical build. Doing everything in house at $100+ /hr bill rates.
I think doing something like this can be done cost effective using a lot of local outsourcing and essentially functioning as a parts assembly operation rather than a custom shop. Most custom hot rod shops outsource lots of work as well and mark it up. All of those vendors will take anyone's money so long as you don't seem like a potential time suck for them.
All things considered someone would be getting what is essentially a brand new D1 that is substantially better than factory at a cost near what the factory charged when new.
Had the UK not lost its will to live and let Land Rover get acquired by Indian shuttle bus manufacturers the Discovery might still look like a utility vehicle with some grit and character. A resto-mod type D1 would struggle to find demand if it was merely a used vehicle in a consistent and current model lineage. Think 1995 Jeep Wrangler resto-mod. No Way. A real Discovery isn't made anymore, someone might want one for their vacation home instead of a $45K wrangler.
If the brand wasn't totally decimated I wouldn't ever think a $45K rebuilt original Discovery would sell. But this is 2018 and globalism has ruined enough heritage to get those checkbooks out.
