series owners... about Discos

[artpeck]

I am in Northern California and there are Is and Iis all over and still going strong here. No rust so I am sure that is a big part of it. My Defender mechanic works mostly on RRC and Discos and parts aren't an issue in the slightest.

[antichrist]

Speaking as a long term Series owner (37 or 38 years and still have it, and some others) who bought a Discovery in 2001 because my ex didn't want our kids riding in a series, a '94 or '95 is the closest to a Series mindset. Distributor ignition and really easy to work on repair.
Rust, of course, is one of the major things to look out for. The under carpet mat is open cell foam and so absorbs water like a sponge. I found this out when I submerged the ass end of my '95 and the carpet was wet all the way to the front. That, combined with chronically leaking sun roofs can certainly cause rust issues. Try to find one without sun roofs, and also a southern vehicle. I'm happy to check out a few here around Atlanta for you, if they aren't too far from me.

Parts aren't really an issue. The critical stuff is available and there are plenty of used parts on the market for the odd bits.
If you want a manual transmission you can't go any newer than '97 unless you do a conversion.

We bought a '97 for my wife a couple of years ago. At this point, once it's sold in a year or so, I can't imagine buying another Rover, other than to flip, newer than a '95.

[amcordo]

I didn't realize you could even get them with a stick - that's fantastic news.

I really want the sunroof(s) so it sounds like I need to inspect those carefully.

Speaking as a long term Series owner (37 or 38 years and still have it, and some others) who bought a Discovery in 2001 because my ex didn't want our kids riding in a series, a '94 or '95 is the closest to a Series mindset. Distributor ignition and really easy to work on repair.
Rust, of course, is one of the major things to look out for. The under carpet mat is open cell foam and so absorbs water like a sponge. I found this out when I submerged the ass end of my '95 and the carpet was wet all the way to the front. That, combined with chronically leaking sun roofs can certainly cause rust issues. Try to find one without sun roofs, and also a southern vehicle. I'm happy to check out a few here around Atlanta for you, if they aren't too far from me.

Parts aren't really an issue. The critical stuff is available and there are plenty of used parts on the market for the odd bits.
If you want a manual transmission you can't go any newer than '97 unless you do a conversion.

We bought a '97 for my wife a couple of years ago. At this point, once it's sold in a year or so, I can't imagine buying another Rover, other than to flip, newer than a '95.

[o2batsea]

Many of my brethren will jump all over my sh$$ for this, but I would urge you to look for a P38 instead of a Disco.
Especially a P38 with a 4.6. They will out plush, out drive and out wheel a Disco any day of the week. They are cheap as dirt, and if you find a garage queen, they are usually in pretty good shape. They have their issues, mainly with the body ECM. The other stuff like the air suspension you can buy a cable and get free cracking software that lets you do a field reset. Or you can do a coil swap and eliminate the EAS.
I can find plenty of very strong candidates here in the DC area for around 5K any day of the week. Run a compression check to test for engine health and drive the F out of it til it dies.
P38s can still be worked on by the driveway mechanic. You can mod them with any height lift you can put under a Rover. You can get a winch bumper for it as well as under body protection, so it can hang with the big dogs.

PS Rotsa ruck finding a Disco 5 speed. If you REALLY have to have one, you can always yank out the slushbox and put in an R380/LT230. Those are fairly cheap and plentiful, just not the Disco flavor. You will prolly have to source the shifter for the LT230 from the UK. Dunno about the pedals tho....

[disco2hse]

Yup, get a P38 and earn a qualification in electrical engineering, maintenance and repair. :P

[antichrist]

PS Rotsa ruck finding a Disco 5 speed.

I see them for sale very frequently. Of course condition varies widely.
There's one for sale very close to me right now.

[JHK07]

Head gaskets every 60k ish. Frame rust. Rust under foam carpet. 3 amigos, usually an easy fix. Always the chance of slipped liner, cracked block. Stock Front drive shaft WILL need attention. (That is mostly D2 stuff)



I'd be most concerned about rust and overheating. If I was buying and test driving 1, I'd have a Scangauge or similar tool hooked up to ODB to read actual temps instead of idiot gauge on the dash.

[kbar-04]

I've always owned a series but I did buy a 99 Disco I in 2004 to use as a utility vehicle. I just recently passed it on to my daughter. We have worked this poor truck hard and have had very few issues with it. Fuel economy sucks but on the other hand you have an AWD V8 thats is pretty heavy duty so in retrospect..not so bad. I like the Disco one better than the II, no air suspension system to worry about and the ECM system is simpler. I can still pretty much work on it all myself. I've never had an issue getting parts for it. I wish we had the option of a factory diesel in it. I owned a P38 briefly but had lots of trouble with it, way too complicated (ECM) for its era and I also had the air suspension system fail on mine..