A while back I found a nice looking 96 D1 SD on Facebook for sale in Northern, CA. It was appealing due to the price ($1500) and an almost complete lack of rust. (Under the alpine window seals there was a bit, nothing horrible)
The person selling it had stripped the interior as it was in really bad shape. It was the photos of the inside that made me decide to buy it as all the areas where rust hides under interior trim were exposed. I had been picking up nice interior parts when and where I could find them for a couple years, with plans to use them on just such a D1.
Here is what it has needed so far. I haven’t gotten into the suspension or brakes yet.
1. Injectors
2. Catalytic converters
3. Upstream O2 sensors
4. Water pump
5. Fan clutch
6. Radiator
7. Valve cover gaskets replaced (very dirty valve covers cleaned… crankcase vent on passenger side cover was completely clogged)
8. Coolant temp sensor
9. Trans pan gasket
10. Rear driveshaft sourced from Will Tillery (used but I installed new u-joints, it replaced a driveshaft with a rotten flex joint)
11. 10AS programmed to replacement key fobs (didn’t come with fobs)
12. 3 out of 4 window regulator rollers
13. All door lock / latch springs
14. Just about the whole interior from the dash back to the rear door (dash itself was/is nice)
15. Speakers and head unit
16. All power steering hoses
17. All radiator and heater hoses.
18. Battery
19. Headliner recovered
20. T-case output flange and seal
21. Parking brake cable
22. Parking brake shoes (oil soaked due to leaky output flange seal)
23. All fluids replaced (t-case, trans, diffs, coolant, power steering)
24. All engine hoses that don’t carry fluid
25. Exhaust gaskets
26. Will Tillery sourced D2 door seals to replace the original shredded door seals
27. D2 rear view mirror, also Will Tillery sourced
28. Headlight mounts
Things I know it still needs addressed…
1. Alarm randomly sounds if I lock the doors. (I will get to that after more pressing concerns.)
2. Cargo area and rear door window seals (I will put that off while I decide if I am going to get it repainted.)
3. Most likely panhard bushings (next on the list)
4. Brake pads all around (hopefully not more than pads as it stops well, no pulsing, just a bit more pedal travel than I would like)
5. Swivel housing grease
6. Rain gutter trim
7. Maybe a repaint if not now, someday for sure.
8. I need to drop the fuel tank to replace a rotten hose(s).
8. Other things that I haven’t found yet.
I paid $1500 and it cost me about $1000 to get it home. I haven’t kept track of the cost of all the parts I have replaced. Some things are just better unknown. I do all my own labor.
The previous owner only had it for short time. He gave up when he couldn’t figure out why it was getting hot on long uphill drives. Aside from that, it was running seemingly well when I picked it up. Nice guy and could not have been more honest about it. However, it was obvious very little repair and maintenance had been done over its lifetime. I had a pretty good idea it was going to need a lot to be made reliable and run right.
So, the point of my story is that unless you know you are buying a project and want that, be sure to get a service history. I wanted a project and got pretty much exactly what I wanted.
Also, if I paid someone to do the work, what I have done and will do would be thousands of dollars not counting a possible repaint.
A well cared for rust free D1 is well worth the prices they are commanding nowadays.
The person selling it had stripped the interior as it was in really bad shape. It was the photos of the inside that made me decide to buy it as all the areas where rust hides under interior trim were exposed. I had been picking up nice interior parts when and where I could find them for a couple years, with plans to use them on just such a D1.
Here is what it has needed so far. I haven’t gotten into the suspension or brakes yet.
1. Injectors
2. Catalytic converters
3. Upstream O2 sensors
4. Water pump
5. Fan clutch
6. Radiator
7. Valve cover gaskets replaced (very dirty valve covers cleaned… crankcase vent on passenger side cover was completely clogged)
8. Coolant temp sensor
9. Trans pan gasket
10. Rear driveshaft sourced from Will Tillery (used but I installed new u-joints, it replaced a driveshaft with a rotten flex joint)
11. 10AS programmed to replacement key fobs (didn’t come with fobs)
12. 3 out of 4 window regulator rollers
13. All door lock / latch springs
14. Just about the whole interior from the dash back to the rear door (dash itself was/is nice)
15. Speakers and head unit
16. All power steering hoses
17. All radiator and heater hoses.
18. Battery
19. Headliner recovered
20. T-case output flange and seal
21. Parking brake cable
22. Parking brake shoes (oil soaked due to leaky output flange seal)
23. All fluids replaced (t-case, trans, diffs, coolant, power steering)
24. All engine hoses that don’t carry fluid
25. Exhaust gaskets
26. Will Tillery sourced D2 door seals to replace the original shredded door seals
27. D2 rear view mirror, also Will Tillery sourced
28. Headlight mounts
Things I know it still needs addressed…
1. Alarm randomly sounds if I lock the doors. (I will get to that after more pressing concerns.)
2. Cargo area and rear door window seals (I will put that off while I decide if I am going to get it repainted.)
3. Most likely panhard bushings (next on the list)
4. Brake pads all around (hopefully not more than pads as it stops well, no pulsing, just a bit more pedal travel than I would like)
5. Swivel housing grease
6. Rain gutter trim
7. Maybe a repaint if not now, someday for sure.
8. I need to drop the fuel tank to replace a rotten hose(s).
8. Other things that I haven’t found yet.
I paid $1500 and it cost me about $1000 to get it home. I haven’t kept track of the cost of all the parts I have replaced. Some things are just better unknown. I do all my own labor.
The previous owner only had it for short time. He gave up when he couldn’t figure out why it was getting hot on long uphill drives. Aside from that, it was running seemingly well when I picked it up. Nice guy and could not have been more honest about it. However, it was obvious very little repair and maintenance had been done over its lifetime. I had a pretty good idea it was going to need a lot to be made reliable and run right.
So, the point of my story is that unless you know you are buying a project and want that, be sure to get a service history. I wanted a project and got pretty much exactly what I wanted.
Also, if I paid someone to do the work, what I have done and will do would be thousands of dollars not counting a possible repaint.
A well cared for rust free D1 is well worth the prices they are commanding nowadays.
Last edited: