| Author | Message | ||
     Mike Haun (Redrx7) New Member Username: Redrx7 Post Number: 1 Registered: 04-2003 |
Hey all! I have been looking for a D1 for a while now, and think I found the one I intend to purchase. It is in Montgomery, AL; and is a 1995 D1 Se7, White over Beige. With the new purchase, I have TONs of questions, which this site is answering by just browsing through the archives, etc. But, I do have a few immediate questions in regards to the decision of the purchase, etc. 1) I am unfamiliar with the towing capacity with the D1. I have read a few places describing the GCVWR, but haven't really found the "golden" number of what is in SAFE limitations. In particular, I have a 2000lb (dry) open racecar trailer. When loaded (car, tools, etc), the weight is approx 5100 lbs. Can the D1 safely tow this to and from track events at normal speed (travel distances of 200 miles)? 2) Does anyone live near the Montgomery, AL area? Because I am purchasing this vehicle out-of-state, I would like someone to "review" its condition. Speaking to the owner, the nearest Land Rover dealership is 1.5 hours away. Anyone? 3) The particular D1 I was looking to purchase does not have a brush guard, and outside accessories. I have been browsing a few websites that sell these items, but I was looking for public opinion on low prices, excellent service shops which can provide the parts I need. I am familiar with racing shops online, and they are a dime a dozen. You can have the most horrid experience, and I am looking for proven clean purchases. Please provide links. 4) Besides the outside items (mostly for aesthetic looks), is there any items you would strongly recommend to be purchased? I live in KS, and there are no emission laws here; thus giving me more options to have performance oriented items. I guess it is important to note the trucks primary usage... It will be a daily driver to and from work, with the occasional play of transporting my racecar. Due to living in the Midwest, we often get snow in the winter months. Off-road usage will most likely be limited, until the novelty has worn off. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 5) Any other word from the wise? Links to n00b sites that can answer all my grand questions? Wonderful tips like 'never eat yellow snow'? Thanks! Mike | ||
| Andy Thoma (Andythoma) Member Username: Andythoma Post Number: 128 Registered: 01-2003 |
A good place for LR genuine parts for repairs and such is roverconnection.com. Good guy and good prices. For upgrading parts for improve offroad performance, try great basin rovers or expedition exchange. Also for parts rovers north or atlantic britsh isn't bad. Some complain that there prices are high, but they do a good job getting out the right part and in a timely manner. I'm afraid that for improving the performance, well besides adding nos your not going to get tons of power out of a discovery. Most parts are made for making your truck better offroad. But check RPI for parts to make improvements. Also check East Coast Rovers or ECR. All of these have links for their sites in the vender section of the resources part of this board. As far as towing, I think a disco is rated at 5k lbs, so you might want to check it out before you get it. If this truck hasn't been offroad, expect the diff lock to be jammed, don't worry lots of lube on the links and just working the lever for a while will get it to work again. These are complicated trucks and need maintence, without it they will have lots of problems. Get that truck check out first. If its a clean truck and looks good, do all the maintence that is suppose to have been done already. | ||
| Robert Sublett (Rubisco98) Senior Member Username: Rubisco98 Post Number: 785 Registered: 04-2002 |
"A good place for LR genuine parts for repairs and such is roverconnection.com. Good guy and good prices." Surely you mean http://www.discountrovers.com Nathan will take care of all of your OEM needs, and some aftermarket mods as well. Discoweb has been a great place for many a new owners to dive in and get their feet wet. If you race cars then surely you'll be able to do alot of the work on your Disco yourself. Don't bother with OEM brushguard, etc. Go ahead and upgrade to a new front bumper, TJM, ARB or Rovertym. Definitely for stock parts be sure to check out Nathan, for other stuff frequent www.expeditionexchange.com , www.thatchedroofgarage.com and www.rovertym.com All of the above will treat you the way customers are supposed to be treated. | ||
| Carter Simcoe (Carter) Senior Member Username: Carter Post Number: 2184 Registered: 04-2002 |
I've ordered from both nathan and roverconnection and they were both possitive experiences. Roverconnetion has some of the genuine accessories nathan doesn't but he will be fulfilling all my parts orders from here on out. | ||
| Andy Thoma (Andythoma) Member Username: Andythoma Post Number: 130 Registered: 01-2003 |
Actually I mean roverconnection.com, he has done a great job for me. I really haven't dealt with discount rovers, but people here seem to have had good experiences with him. But I give my nod to roverconnection. Go with a genuine rover brush bar if it something you want on your truck. I have arb front bumper, if your not going off road a new bumper isn't something to spend money on. But bilstein shocks and ome heavy duty springs in the rear and medium in the front, could help while towing and loading it down with race gear. | ||
| Brian Leonard (Brian425) New Member Username: Brian425 Post Number: 19 Registered: 02-2003 |
Mike, I have towed my car on the open trailer with the Disco plenty of times. With the open trailer, it towed just fine. I also have a 24ft enclosed trailer for the car. The Disco will tow it; but, it is a handful. If you are looking to go to an enclosed trailer in the future, you will also be looking to upgrade the tow vehicle. In snow, the Disco is hard to beat. It's a dependable rig for a daily drive. I will say one thing, a Disco will leak. Some things I have done are a leaking power steering pump, an oil pan gasket, and a front pinion seal. In general, the Disco is pretty easy to work on. Most major items seem to be designed to allow for in the field servicing. If you can work on the race car, the Disco will be no problem. I will say my Disco has never left me stuck. I have dealt with Atlantic British and I was very happy with their service. You can find them at AtlanticBritish.com As far as performance mods, I chose to leave my rig alone. It works just fine as is. It has plenty of torque and enough HP to merge into traffic. They are not fast trucks. If you are looking for fast, get a Chevy or a Ford and bolt on a Paxston or a Procharger and be done with it for the same $$$. Brian | ||
| Mike Haun (Redrx7) New Member Username: Redrx7 Post Number: 2 Registered: 04-2003 |
Thanks for all of the input! In regards to the performance of the truck, anything can, and will help. Reading through discoweb, I have read a number of posts regarding that the truck isn't a racecar. And, by no means, do I expect it to be quick either. Rather, the performance modifications was geared toward the assistance of towing the trailer, etc. I will check out all the sites listed above. I am still trying to find someone to verify the vehicles condition; then I will complete the deal. Anyone know Anyone in Montgomery, AL area? Mike | ||
| Alyssa Brown (Alyssa) Member Username: Alyssa Post Number: 54 Registered: 01-2003 |
As far as official numbers, Towing ratings are: Trailer w/o brakes: 1650 lbs. Trailer w/brakes: High Range, 5500 lbs. Trailer w/brakes: Low Range, 7700 lbs. Off-Road: 2200 lbs. You should be FINE towing the trailer you describe. Most likely, you'll need to be in 3rd gear for much of the trip. | ||
| Jerrid Hyche (Jerrid) New Member Username: Jerrid Post Number: 6 Registered: 02-2003 |
Hey Mike, I live in Auburn, AL - about 30 mins from Montgomery. Where is the truck you are looking at located? If you need any help let me know. Jerrid hychenj@auburn.edu | ||
| Mike Haun (Redrx7) New Member Username: Redrx7 Post Number: 3 Registered: 04-2003 |
*ACK* I have just attempted to post a message 3 times, but it seems the webserver was under some load; which caused the posting attempt to fail. Anyhow, Thanks for all of the information thus far. It has been very useful! Jerrid- Thanks for the offer! I did just find someone to look at the truck, and they are doing it as we speak. I am excited to find out the condition from a 3rd party. He is going to send a lot of pictures too. Once confirmed, then off to the aftermarket support for the D1 I go...  Mike | ||
| Jerrid Hyche (Jerrid) New Member Username: Jerrid Post Number: 7 Registered: 02-2003 |
No problem Mike, if it doesnt pan out I have a 96 Se, 70K for sale Stock except for the BFG's. Silver with grey interior. Jerrid | ||
| Dan Armbruster (Dan_armbruster) New Member Username: Dan_armbruster Post Number: 33 Registered: 04-2003 |
dumb question:does it matter the mileage of discos (within reason) or are they long lasting 4x4's if you take good care of them? | ||
| Ronnie McKinney (Ronnie) Member Username: Ronnie Post Number: 62 Registered: 08-2002 |
Mike, sorry I didn't see your post sooner. I also live in Montg so if the other person isn't able to go take a look, let me know. Are you buying it from an individual or a dealer? | ||
| Mike Haun (Redrx7) New Member Username: Redrx7 Post Number: 4 Registered: 04-2003 |
Ronnie- It is a wholesaler, named Joseph. The guy who looked at the vehicle for me said it was in 'Mint' condition. One thing I was disappointed about, which I just assumed it had, was leather interior. Rather, the interior is the cloth. I have only seen one picture of the cloth, and it was 'ok'. Most Disco's have leather from what I have seen. I am trying to find the available options on these. Here is what it is: 1995 White over Beige, 106k Miles. Dual Moon roofs, cloth seats, pl, pw, ps, rear ac. It does not have leather, nor a brush guard on it. Would this be an SE7? I found a link which listed the available options for a 1996, which indicated that it was not possible to have cloth and dual moon roofs. http://www.fourfold.org/LR_FAQ/Disco/US_Discovery.html I am not sure if the 1996 version just changed some of the available options, or not. But, being that it HAS rear ac, dual moon roofs; I would assume it was an SE7. Can anyone input to this? Also, I haven't had a chance to ask, but is the keyless entry an option or a standard equipment item on the truck? Thanks! Mike | ||
| Matt Morian (Mmoria01) New Member Username: Mmoria01 Post Number: 5 Registered: 03-2003 |
According to James Taylor's book, the 96 SE & SE7 come standard with leather, but yours is a 95. The only thing the book talks about of the 95's seats is the adj lumbar support pad. Someone else will probably have a more definitive answer. -Matt | ||
| Mike Haun (Redrx7) New Member Username: Redrx7 Post Number: 5 Registered: 04-2003 |
Matt, thanks for the information. What I found (more research) is that the 1995's only came in ONE model. This model then allowed for any option to be equipted thereafter. So, the origional owner of the truck I am looking at decided against the CD & Leather, but opted for everything else. I also found that all systems came with the remote, and you just need the sender. Thanks, Mike | ||
| Blake Luse (Muddyrover) Senior Member Username: Muddyrover Post Number: 798 Registered: 02-2002 |
i'm in auburn alabama, i'd take a look at it. There's some good tips in the archives as what to look for on a used disco. Armed with the knowledge of the archives I could be a good inspector. Email Me | ||
| Blake Luse (Muddyrover) Senior Member Username: Muddyrover Post Number: 799 Registered: 02-2002 |
Shoulda read all the way through, my services are no longer needed, lol. Jerrid don't sell your truck, go wheeling with me instead. Drop me an email if interested. | ||
| Brian Dickens (Bri) Senior Member Username: Bri Post Number: 311 Registered: 08-2002 |
I am surprised that british pacific doesn't get more mention in threads like this. I have had really good luck with them and their prices seem better than others mentioned here. Possibly with the exception of dicount rovers. | ||
| Alyssa Brown (Alyssa) Member Username: Alyssa Post Number: 57 Registered: 01-2003 |
I would be very surprised if you had power seats, as you say in your post. I have never seen power cloth seats. Plus, you don't mention that you have the seven seats, which would make it a "7." Rear air was possible without rear seats. Rear seats may also have been sold off. | ||
| Mike Haun (Redrx7) New Member Username: Redrx7 Post Number: 6 Registered: 04-2003 |
Quote by: Alyssa Brown: "I would be very surprised if you had power seats, as you say in your post. I have never seen power cloth seats. Plus, you don't mention that you have the seven seats, which would make it a "7." Rear air was possible without rear seats. Rear seats may also have been sold off. " Sorry for the confusion, for the 'ps' was "power steering". I threw it up when I was typing the acronyms. It does the have the 7 seats, ie the two jumpers in the rear. Further research indicated that in 1996 was the first year they offered power seating. It came along with the SE / SE7 models. Well, as an update; I purchased the vehicle. Mike | ||
| Jeffrey Pinson (Jeffro0502) New Member Username: Jeffro0502 Post Number: 24 Registered: 02-2003 |
I'm in Montgomery and thinking on selling my truck. Let me know if yours doesn't work out. | ||
| daniel gura (Dhglax) New Member Username: Dhglax Post Number: 12 Registered: 04-2003 |
Hey there...I have a 96 DISCO with 42000...just had to replace the power steering hoses...a couple of foolproof suggestions...1) billstein shocks are really nice and make a huge difference 2) michelin tires XPC are expensive but make a huge difference in ride and feel of the truck...a steering dampener is a good choice....rover connection in Utah is very knowledgable and friendly.....so is atlantic british..faster shipping with AB...ebay is an excellent source for used parts......just bought a KN filter and magnecor 8.5mm wires..lets see if it makes any difference in performance......also make sure your tires are balanced....and adhere to the PSI on the driver door.....it makes a huge difference in smoothness of ride...just some very common sense pointers that you may already know ...but enjoy...they are the really fun trucks to drive...I am hooked....... | ||
| Chris Browne (Chris_browne) Member Username: Chris_browne Post Number: 54 Registered: 02-2003 |
For performance, I'd improve breathing of the thing with either a custom or NRP exhaust For towing stability, you may want to not only replace the shocks with Bilsteins, but also uprate the rear suspension so the nose of the truck isn't pointing skywards under load As for sources to go to please check www.roverparts.com also known as Atlantic British, if you call them go for Eric Riston xtn 231 The only other check I'd do is that the transmission fluid is good and fresh.... | ||
| Land Rover Certified Used A**hole (Jason) Senior Member Username: Jason Post Number: 456 Registered: 04-2002 |
Sorry Brian... British Pacific rocks. Marty is super helpful on the tech end of things. On some parts, their prices are better than other discount sellers I've seen (anf they are always ALWAYS cheaper than British Atlantic). Being in Vegas, the thing I like the most is seeing my order on my door-step in three days. If I don't like what I'm seeing or can't find it on the net, Marty at BP is the first place I call. |
