Hi all,

I have decided to start a thread up in this section. I did have one in the Discovery section but wasn't very good at keeping it up to date - so the first post will be copied over from my old thread. All future posts will be my more recent activity






Copied from my old thread https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/my-disco-progress-pic-heavy.268253/


I've decided to start a thread to track the progress of my Discovery. It's not likely to be the most exciting thread - but I thought it would be a nice way for me to be able to look back at the changes it's gone through. Apologies if I ramble...


I bought my Discovery in late February this year as a weekend toy for green laning and the occasional trip to work.


I was initially in the market for a green one, I had seen several which were all dogs. By chance, I decided to have a look at this one which turned out to be so much cleaner than the rest. There is no major rust, only paint beginning to bubble on the inside of one of the rear arches inside the doors which have never been repaired - and the sunroofs don't leak
That alone was enough to seal the deal!

It is a 1998 300TDI Manual and it's a GS


Here are some pictures as I picked it up. It had spent 9 years with the last owner who had clearly never been off road. I was starting to feel guilty about buying this for green laning!












First trip out!





It's got mud on ...




I was loving it, but after a week or so - It let me down, the battery was dead. I ordered a new battery but the issue came back.
Eventually after a bit of help from the forum I tracked it down to a small outdoor thermometer which was interfering with the immobiliser!!




Once that was sorted, I started on making it look nice ... and naturally, things got out of hand

Machine polished - this took AGES but brought the paint up to the original deep Rioja Red - rather than a strange Salmon pink!


You might have noticed the gear gaiters were ripped. I bought a kit off ebay to replace them (seen here SET 3 LEATHER GEAR GAITER FITS LAND ROVER DISCOVERY MK1 MK2 | eBay)
Very cheap and really tidied the interior up.

A few other bits:
Tailored carpet mats and rubber boot liner
Replaced tatty sun visor with duct tape on
Shampooed the rather grubby interior and carpets
Wind deflectors
Aero twin wipers (so that they actually clear the windscreen!)

Here are a few pics after all that effort!












Still awake?




As charming as the radio was, I wanted to connect my phone - so I fitted a Kenwood bluetooth radio, some decent speakers and a chavtastic subwoofer which I had in the garage. The original bass speakers in the back door were causing a lot of rattles so they had to go.

Leather steering wheel cover (had to use my non existent sewing skills!)


Under the bonnet / Mechanical stuff -

I was getting a bit tired with the lack of power so i've done the usual stuff to improve it.

Removed EGR and flushed intercooler
Silicone hoses
Tweaked fuel pump

Cam belt, aux belt, tensioners, water pump, alternator etc
Oils, fluids and filters changed
Brass radiator bleed screws
Rear a-frame ball joint
Rear shocks
Prop dougnut


Other bits -


Pre-facelift Disco 2 headlights, I decided to have a go at making mine look just the same with a tin of hammerite it didn't go too badly!

Front bumper with fog lights and rubber/foam a-bar with spots.

The mud flaps were all gradually dropping off, so I have replaced them along with the brackets.




Cream Leathers - My Discovery hadn't got any provision for electric seats, so I was lucky to get all the wiring and switches with the seats. I also got a centre console at the Peterborough LRO show which I drilled holes and fitted the seat controls to. It's from a Disco 2 but fits fine - I intended to change the leather lid, but it matches the piping on the leather so i've decided to leave it.

They took a lot of cleaning up, but it was well worth it Land Rover Leather Seats - Detailing World







And proof it still gets messy (same ford as before)






So if anyone has made it all the way through - thanks for reading! I'll keep this updated with any little bits I do in the future.




SECOND POST

Little update -

Got some headlight guards fitted over the weekend. I've been trying to track them down on eBay for a while - I ended up buying the two separately. One was brand new (seller buys discontinued stock) and to my surprised they included an original fitting kit with it for both guards, with instructions.
The other one was used and required a quick sand and paint with hammerite spray.

Big thanks to Discool for info about these.






I've fitted some brighter interior lights too - they are SMD panels in 'warm white' so they aren't a harsh white like normal LED's. Here's a comparison of how much brighter they are!!!




Had a bit of an incident when taking my old bed to the tip - I had the front seat folded flat with the longer pieces running the length of the disco. I had to brake sharply for a car coming the other way when I tried to pass a parked car - this happened!




I've replaced the glove box, but I'm now tempted to move over to a beige dash to match the interior better.


I went down to my Landy man at the weekend to track down the cause of the backlash in my drivetrain. After a lot of looking and moving things, the only obvious thing was some play in the CV joints and hub flanges (the bits with 5 bolts round and splines) so they will be getting changed at some point to see if that helps.


Thanks for looking!

Since my last update, I've enjoyed a lot more happy Landy motoring.

The exterior has had a few minor changes - I have fitted:
Land Rover spare wheel cover
Side and rear tailored privacy blinds (give the appearance of tinted windows whilst being removable)
Silver/grey ES style pin stripe
Silver ES style side moulding inserts
3D Land Rover bonnet lettering
Clear front indicator units, edges painted black to match the headlights
Smoked side repeaters
Rear parking sensors - just another gadget really, but quite a useful addition for someone with as little spatial awareness as me!

This is how it stands now






Interior

Dashboard -
I have gone a little further with the beige interior. I managed to find a brand new bare beige dash for sale from a Land Rover dealer in Yorkshire for £35. Still wrapped and boxed - just never fitted! Made in 1999 according to the stickers. I managed to get the rest of the dash parts from someone stripping a Discovery - including a passenger airbag... my car isn't fitted with airbags, however i much prefer the look of the dashboard without the grab handle, so I got my usual chap to remove the actual airbag and leave me with the cover - I paid him with the airbag itself so he could set it off
There are plenty of bits I still need to get such as seat base covers, rear door card and a few other bits of trim.



I'm currently in the process of getting walnut trim for the new dash - I realise this could be a bit of an acquired taste, but I feel that it suits a Land Rover!

Also, i've fitted a reversing camera. This is hooked up to a small monitor which is mounted in the centre console, covering the little diff-lock instruction sticker. This is wired to a switch on the dash. I stupidly broke the camera that came with the kit by wiring it up backwards, so i've ordered another as it was very good at night while it briefly worked!

Mechanically, there hasn't been much to report - I changed the oil and filters before the weather started to get nasty. It's had a new lift pump which has stopped it hesitating at 3000 revs (i had run the diesel quite low, so I don't know if it pulled some crap through into the little filters within it). Also a new water pump and belt as the Britpart one failed in only a year!

It passed the MOT with no advisories this year, although the oil union going into the top of the oil filter came loose just as it went in and poured oil all over the MOT centre car park. Luckily the tester was a Land Rover sympathizer!!!

That's all from me - just keeping on truckin'!!

Looks great inside! Loved my dads old disco 1, had a few fun times laning in it. Had to scrap it in the end unfdortunately due to the Discovery's addiction to hoarding rust in the body. Still got all the running gear though and a heater matrix if you ever need one

Very Nice.....

looks very nice mmm , love the colour

Good stuff. The interior upgrades really make a huge difference. Well done.

Hi all,

A few more updates.

With regards to reliability, i've had a couple of issues lately - the first being a CV joint disintegrating when pulling out of a junction. It was a horrible sound and lost all drive. Annoyingly, i had only replaced these a year previous - i put this down to cheap parts and replaced with OEM items both sides.

More recently - i folded out the wing mirror and it fell off!!! I took it to pieces and couldnt understand what was wrong, so replaced it with a used item, electrics and heater work fine.

The other little projects have included:

Reversing camera & monitor - I settled for a small monitor after receiving numerous rear view mirrors with hidden screens which didn't work. The camera is mounted just to the right of the tow bar. I wired these to a switch, meaning I could switch them on and off as I please.

Rear ladder & work light - These are fitted, however I haven't got the light wired up yet.

Walnut (effect) trim - I think this one might be a bit controversial, particularly as I am a young man - but I wanted wood trim. It just seemed to fit the beige interior. I found a kit on eBay which covered most dash parts - i'm impressed with the quality it doesn't feel like a sticker at all. I was also fortunate enough to find a centre console trim.









Carling Switches - I was lacking space to add switches which wouldn't look awful - I needed switch space for my air horns (Pikey i know), reversing camera and rear work light.

I looked at MUD pods which are designed for a defender, I didn't much fancy plonking one on top of my nice new dash. Eventually I found the perfect item - it fits 3 carling switches and replaces the coin tray in the dash. Only problem was that they aren't for sale - it was a custom made 3D printed design.

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1008821
https://www.3dhubs.com/

Long story slightly shorter - I was able to download the design and send it to 3dhubs (essentially, you select someone with a 3D printer who makes your design and hey presto!) It was a totally new idea to me, but was surprisingly easy to organise. It cost round £17 to have it made and delivered which took under a week.

I'm really happy with the outcome - the switches are lit green like the rest of the dash.

should be proud mate. Looks great.

Very clean, looks great.

I like the little pod to replace the coin train - just ordered one myself. Good find!

I like the wood trim! Dont worry im young as well an like the finish it gives, looks nicer than plastic

Thanks for the nice comments all.

fozt said:

Very clean, looks great.

I like the little pod to replace the coin train - just ordered one myself. Good find!

Click to expand...

Glad someone else has found a use for this. Have you got it yet? If so, you happy with it?


Trim & Carpet
I've done a little more work on the interior. Decided that the remaining bits of grey trim (boot door card, seat boxes etc) should go black. I also wanted the carpet black rather than grey as I feel the beige & black combo (as is used on some Discovery 2's) fits nicely.

I used Autoglym black spray Dye on the carpet and the interior trim ( Amazon product ). It's done a great job (although I don't know how long it will last on the plastics). I did try using Dylon black dye on the carpets, but it had very little effect other than making my garage look like a massive Parker pen had exploded.

Black(ish) carpets and seat box can be seen in the first pic.





Gaiters
I've just got finished installing a new set of gaiters - I replaced them when I bought the car, however they were a cheap Vinyl material which has developed a few holes after 2 years, so I paid a bit more and bought some Leather ones with tan stitching ( http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281825716407?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT )






Audio
Another job I have tackled is the audio setup. I've got an aftermarket Kenwood head unit which was running 4 Sony Xplod speakers which are straight replacements for the originals (4"). The sound was OK but you could never really get them loud enough to really enjoy with out them distorting. I put this down to the head unit's limited output power.

At one point I had a bad boy sub-woofer in there which did add some depth to the audio - however, I accidentally stuck a Christmas tree through it! This left only the 4 speakers.

I decided to buy a pair of 6X9 FLI speakers to fit in the rear panels in place of the 4" speakers - this turned out to be a much bigger job than anticipated as the speakers were far too deep to fit the panels, and would have fouled the rear dickie seats. I ended up mounting them higher up the panels, cutting the trim to fit and covering in black automotive carpet. I've painted the speaker covers black with the FLI lettering in Rioja Red (car colour). I need to re-do them though as my paint was too cold and went runny. I still need to get another tin of the Autoglym Dye to do the upper rear plastics which will blend the speakers in a little more.





I then had a pair of the 4" Sony speakers spare which I decided to mount in the rear door cards, this was thankfully a very easy job - just a case of cutting holes in the door cards and screwing the speakers in. I ran speaker wire through the door, along the trunking into the car, and back to the boot.





Next, I added a FLI 4 channel amplifier which now drives the 6x9's and 4" rear door speakers, leaving the head unit to drive only the front two speakers.





This setup means the amplifier can take the strain, giving much more 'oompf' to the 4 speakers it runs which are further from the driver, meaning they can be run with a slightly higher gain to compensate for the noise of a 300TDI with the sun roofs open and you can still hear them!


Nothing has changed outside, still looking shiny




Jobs to do

My gear stick appears to have lost one of the centering springs, as it constantly wants to sit over by 1st and 2nd gear. I understand this is likely the bias plate which is a job i'm putting off doing.



I'm planning to go to Yarwell this Sunday along with my dad and his Defender. It's the first 'pay and play' day we've done - having stuck to green lanes in the past. I'm a bit concerned that my road tyres and poor clearance (owing to running boards and front bumper - both of which I refuse to remove!) could let me down. Some all-terrains will have to be bought sooner or later!

Yeah it's a nice little addition to my dash

Your Disco looks very clean as always, mine will never be that clean. Ever.

I bought some new gaiters but i haven't fitted them yet, did you glue them to the plastic surround or use a different method?

Thanks.

fozt said:

Yeah it's a nice little addition to my dash

Your Disco looks very clean as always, mine will never be that clean. Ever.

I bought some new gaiters but i haven't fitted them yet, did you glue them to the plastic surround or use a different method?

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Yes i stuck them to the surrounds with No More Nails 'Instant' then clipped loads of clothes pegs round the surrounds to ensure it stuck.

This is a good guide https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/how-to-replacement-of-gear-stick-gaiters.184393/

Just don't get confused and put the gear knob on the inside

That's one nice looking thing!!!

Do you mind telling me what you did with your front indicators to get them to match the td5 lights if you haven't already said please, I've got the same lights and want the indicators to match

Thank you

Towsey

towsey956 said:

That's one nice looking thing!!!

Do you mind telling me what you did with your front indicators to get them to match the td5 lights if you haven't already said please, I've got the same lights and want the indicators to match

Thank you

Towsey

Click to expand...

Hi mate,

Do you mean the clear indicators?

if so you can just buy them - about £30 for the pair from memory. You'll need orange indicator bulbs rather than clear.

Foz

towsey956 said:

That's one nice looking thing!!!

Do you mind telling me what you did with your front indicators to get them to match the td5 lights if you haven't already said please, I've got the same lights and want the indicators to match

Thank you

Towsey

Click to expand...

Yeah I bought the clear indicators off eBay then painted the edge by masking off the main bit of the light and just painting round. There is a natural 'edge' all around it (you'll see what I mean.

I've left the orange indicator bulbs in there too rather than 'chrome' bulbs as it still leaves a slight orange tint.

Cheers both of ya

You got them quarters out yet foz

I've got some clear indicators already but I like the sound of the black around them to match the td5 lights I've put in. So did you just paint the outside then or did you manage to split them apart cos mine won't split

Cheers

Towsey

towsey956 said:

Cheers both of ya

You got them quarters out yet foz

I've got some clear indicators already but I like the sound of the black around them to match the td5 lights I've put in. So did you just paint the outside then or did you manage to split them apart cos mine won't split

Cheers

Towsey

Click to expand...

I couldn't split them either, so painted the outside

Hmm cheers for that I like it

Keep up the good work by the way

Cheers

Towsey

towsey956 said:

Hmm cheers for that I like it

Keep up the good work by the way

Cheers

Towsey

Click to expand...

Thank you! Got an update from my Yarwell visit to follow when I get round to it