Refresh Time - 1996 Disco

AU_88

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2006
1,949
47
Atlanta
Took delivery of a 1996 Discovery with 95K miles out of Waco Texas tonight. Truck is in fairly good condition and has quite a bit of service history. Over the next few months I’ll be taking this truck back to mostly stock and selling some parts here and there. I welcome any comments, tips or suggestions along the way.
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Frobisher

Well-known member
Dec 27, 2012
200
68
Pennsylvania
Noticed the rear door is not sealing at the top, does anyone have any tips or know how to adjust?

View attachment 62263
To adjust the pitch of the door, you need to work with the hinges. It looks like you may need to move the hinges inboard a little bit, more at the top than the bottom. It's a really heavy door, so be aware of that. I actually used some thick fender washers behind the hinges to help get my door more in line. The washers move the door more to the left, the hinges move it in/out.

New seals are a real bonus. I got a set from Will Tillery.
 
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AU_88

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2006
1,949
47
Atlanta
Just ordered a new DS front turn signal, clock, cup holder, rear view mirror, DS seat switch, cargo mat, D2 door seals, glove box cover, fuse box cover and window switch plate from Will. He is awesome.
 

logan_gibson

Well-known member
Dec 20, 2016
258
47
Alabama
I've got a pretty good white hood, and the rocker covers - over in Gadsden,AL if you need some parts. I've got some LSE Bumpers, but not the regular black ones.
 
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AU_88

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2006
1,949
47
Atlanta
I’m going to keep diving into this truck, may take you up. Will is getting me a complete front bumper, dash and sills, but the hood is appealing.
 

AU_88

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2006
1,949
47
Atlanta
Made some progress over the weekend… the sliders are off and sold and the rack came off to get the truck in the garage.

With the truck in the garage I took care of the some of the easiest things.
Replaced the broken window panel:

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Then replaced the black cup holder with a tan one so I don’t have two different colors:

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Finally, changed out the broken rear view mirror for a D2 mirror:

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AU_88

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2006
1,949
47
Atlanta
Got a nice replacement grille from Will T, unfortunately one of the tabs had broken off… took it to a body shop and they worked their magic.
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Also had Will send me some new seat switch plates and a clock. Getting the interior back into shape.

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discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
Noticed the rear door is not sealing at the top, does anyone have any tips or know how to adjust?

View attachment 62263
A lot of times when the rear door gets tweeked like that it's because those hinges are binding. I was looking for a set recently and it looks like aftermarket is all thats available now. If you go that way just replace one at a time, the other should hold the door while you bolt the other one on.
Nice looking truck, looks real clean, rust free.
 
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AU_88

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2006
1,949
47
Atlanta
A lot of times when the rear door gets tweeked like that it's because those hinges are binding. I was looking for a set recently and it looks like aftermarket is all thats available now. If you go that way just replace one at a time, the other should hold the door while you bolt the other one on.
Nice looking truck, looks real clean, rust free.
I’ll see what I figure out. Unfortunately this truck spent part of its life in the Hamptons, there’s a little rust, but I’ll be fixing it.
 

AU_88

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2006
1,949
47
Atlanta
Got the front end fairly straightened out, transmission cooler lines are done, replaced the support bars and changed out a lot of crusty bolts to stainless…

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I’ll be taking the wheels/tires off this weekend and delivering to Alabama and then the new wheels are off to be powder coated. Putting stock springs back on as well.
 

Blueboy

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
3,205
459
Back in the USA; Rockwood, PA
Made some progress over the weekend… the sliders are off and sold and the rack came off to get the truck in the garage.

With the truck in the garage I took care of the some of the easiest things.
Replaced the broken window panel:

View attachment 62303
View attachment 62304

Then replaced the black cup holder with a tan one so I don’t have two different colors:

View attachment 62305
Finally, changed out the broken rear view mirror for a D2 mirror:

View attachment 62306
View attachment 62307
Can you elaborate a bit on the mirror replacement? Mine is failing as well on my ‘96 D1. Thx.
 
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AU_88

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2006
1,949
47
Atlanta
Can you elaborate a bit on the mirror replacement? Mine is failing as well on my ‘96 D1. Thx.

I ordered a D2 mirror from Will T, to remove the old mirror it will either have a retaining screw on the side or won’t, push down hard along the slope of the windshield, you may feel like you’ll break the mirror, but you wont. There are three wires to each mirror. I think the wiring was like below, but test before you solder or crimp:

D1 White - D2 Red
D1 Black - D2 Brown
D1 Grey - D2 Grey

Give yourself plenty of wire to work with.
 
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Blueboy

Well-known member
Apr 20, 2004
3,205
459
Back in the USA; Rockwood, PA
I ordered a D2 mirror from Will T, to remove the old mirror it will either have a retaining screw on the side or won’t, push down hard along the slope of the windshield, you may feel like you’ll break the mirror, but you wont. There are three wires to each mirror. I think the wiring was like below, but test before you solder or crimp:

D1 White - D2 Red
D1 Black - D2 Brown
D1 Grey - D2 Grey

Give yourself plenty of wire to work with.
Thanks!! Appreciate the info.
 

AU_88

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2006
1,949
47
Atlanta
Finished up the rear suspension along with new bolts, and got the old tires off to deliver to the new owner this weekend. Had to run by Lowes and get some pipe to extend my breaker bar for the lug nuts. Didn’t have a lot of time to clean and paint, so when I do the rear brakes I’ll give everything a good wash.

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