Casper & Outono - 2x 1998 Discovery 1 Builds

[Outono]

Haha, it's a grille for Discovery 1. They were only sold in the Middle East as a "Hot Climate" package. They are super rare and in high demand from people who obsess over their Rovers. I dont know if the D2s got them, worth checking though!

 

[2.ooohhh]

if you are looking for a home for that second D1 saudi grill I volunteer as tribute lol

 

[Outono]

if you are looking for a home for that second D1 saudi grill I volunteer as tribute lol

Haha get in line!

 

[Outono]

It's the little things that count. Threw this metal badge on today and it really brings the whole front of the vehicle together.







I also replaced the indicator lights in the front with a pair from Britpart. Looking much better. I think the OEM lights are a bit more orange, but im digging the lighter look.

 

[SkiWill]

View attachment 762298

I also replaced the indicator lights in the front with a pair from Britpart. Looking much better. I think the OEM lights are a bit more orange, but im digging the lighter look.

That's a fantastic looking Discovery. I'd almost be afraid to take it on trips and get it scratched and beat up. Enjoy it however you want though. You've certainly put enough effort into it.

 

[Outono]

That's a fantastic looking Discovery. I'd almost be afraid to take it on trips and get it scratched and beat up. Enjoy it however you want though. You've certainly put enough effort into it.

Thanks man! It has come a long way, but im building it to use it. No plans to thrash it, it'll be used for lighter trips while the Cruiser will be used for the longer, more challenging ones.

Truth be told, it still needs some cosmetic work, but it sure does look good in photos!

 

[Outono]

My brother sold his FJ Cruiser and donated a few items to me so I thought i'd toss his Factor 55 hitch onto the truck. Doesn't look too bad!



In other news, finally an update on my HDJ81. It's been 2 years, but the engine is finally back in. No, I didn't do the work, which is why it has taken this long. Ever since I got the truck, I felt something was up with the engine (this was 7 years ago!). Sure enough, it began gulping oil (1 pint every 100 miles) back in 2020 so it was time to send it off for an overhaul.

For those unfamiliar with 80 series Land Cruisers, this is an HDJ81, which is a turbo diesel Japanese model.

The plan is to convert the Cruiser into a pop-top and make it my expedition vehicle. It's bigger, comfier, and dare I say more reliable? I think I love my Disco more overall though: its more fun, easier to work on, and much cooler looking IMO. I'll post more photos as the shop wraps up and maybe i'll start a build thread for it once I get it home.

 

[Outono]

I finally got ahold of a fuel pump plate, but it was fairly rusty so I stripped it and painted it. I also added some foam tape to the bottom to help it seal against the tub.

Then there was the bad wiper relay, which is now replaced. Not too hard to tell which one is the replacement.



For a couple of weeks, i've noticed this popping sound when im turning. It's loud enough to be felt near the driver's foot well, but everything below looks good; properly torqued bolts, bushings are clean, no sign of problems. My steering isn't loose so i'm at a loss for what it could be.

What we did find while we were under the truck was a completely destroyed rear sway bar setup. All of those bushings were new just a couple months ago so instead of wasting my time on cheap parts I went ahead and ordered SuperPro bushings all around and some greasable ball joints from Gwyn Lewis. Much better now.

During the install, I noticed that the sway bar had shifted itself in such a way that the old ball joints rubbed the rear spring seats. You can see that in the photo of the new ball joint. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out to be the cause of the popping noise.





Tomorrow i'm aiming to install a new steering wheel and to figure out what the popping in the front is. I've also got to figure out why my driver's foot well keeps getting wet for no reason. It's water, definitely not coolant. No idea where its coming from.

 

[SkiWill]

In other news, finally an update on my HDJ81. It's been 2 years, but the engine is finally back in. No, I didn't do the work, which is why it has taken this long. Ever since I got the truck, I felt something was up with the engine (this was 7 years ago!). Sure enough, it began gulping oil (1 pint every 100 miles) back in 2020 so it was time to send it off for an overhaul.

For those unfamiliar with 80 series Land Cruisers, this is an HDJ81, which is a turbo diesel Japanese model.

The plan is to convert the Cruiser into a pop-top and make it my expedition vehicle. It's bigger, comfier, and dare I say more reliable? I think I love my Disco more overall though: its more fun, easier to work on, and much cooler looking IMO. I'll post more photos as the shop wraps up and maybe i'll start a build thread for it once I get it home.

It is RHD? How far afield are you planning on taking it? Which pop top are you going with?

While the 80 series is in many ways my ideal size vehicle (and I love a split tailgate like on my LR4 <-- mandatory Land Rover content) I do find it interesting that you think the Disco is easier to work on. I would also agree on it being more "fun" for some reason that doesn't have much in the way of a logical explanation. If I found a LHD manual transmission 80 series, I'd be hard pressed to not get into a big argument with my wife. If I come across a 5 speed manual Disco, I may end up with a slightly smaller argument on my hands only because it would be slightly cheaper.

 

[Outono]

It is RHD? How far afield are you planning on taking it? Which pop top are you going with?

While the 80 series is in many ways my ideal size vehicle (and I love a split tailgate like on my LR4 <-- mandatory Land Rover content) I do find it interesting that you think the Disco is easier to work on. I would also agree on it being more "fun" for some reason that doesn't have much in the way of a logical explanation. If I found a LHD manual transmission 80 series, I'd be hard pressed to not get into a big argument with my wife. If I come across a 5 speed manual Disco, I may end up with a slightly smaller argument on my hands only because it would be slightly cheaper.

Yep, RHD! My longer trips are usually 5 days or so. I don't have any intention of doing massive trips down to South America, but a long trip through Baja or through Canada and Alaska would definitely be in the plans. As for the poptop, im going to go with Campteq.

My buddy has a manual HDJ81 and while it's very cool and fun to drive, i'd never want to own it. Manuals are great on the road / trails, but the minute you really start hitting obstacles they become a pain. And if you're driving for really long periods of time, they get tiresome. I took my brother's manual FJ Cruiser through Death Valley in November and while it was a blast (really great truck overall), I grew tired of the stick by day 3. But hey, to each their own!

Regarding service, the 80 is a big truck. Everything is heavy and with the diesels, there are very few people stateside that can help you when more complicated issues arise. Not to mention most of the powertrain parts have to be imported from Aus, Japan, or Dubai since the diesels were never sold here. My 80 has nearly everything replaced now - it's a serious build and a practically new truck mechanically. I love the vehicle dearly, but it's not a great daily driver due to the noise level of the engine and the intense diesel exhaust fumes. Of course, those 2 things are also what make it so cool!

The more I build my Disco, the more I love it. It's just a simple truck, nicely sized, and frankly pretty easy to work on. The biggest downfall is quality parts suppliers, but I haven't been stuck just yet - i've almost always found a suitable OEM replacement (from a junkyard) or got lucky with a custom piece.

 

[SkiWill]

Yep, RHD! My longer trips are usually 5 days or so. I don't have any intention of doing massive trips down to South America, but a long trip through Baja or through Canada and Alaska would definitely be in the plans. As for the poptop, im going to go with Campteq.

My buddy has a manual HDJ81 and while it's very cool and fun to drive, i'd never want to own it. Manuals are great on the road / trails, but the minute you really start hitting obstacles they become a pain. And if you're driving for really long periods of time, they get tiresome. I took my brother's manual FJ Cruiser through Death Valley in November and while it was a blast (really great truck overall), I grew tired of the stick by day 3. But hey, to each their own!

Regarding service, the 80 is a big truck. Everything is heavy and with the diesels, there are very few people stateside that can help you when more complicated issues arise. Not to mention most of the powertrain parts have to be imported from Aus, Japan, or Dubai since the diesels were never sold here. My 80 has nearly everything replaced now - it's a serious build and a practically new truck mechanically. I love the vehicle dearly, but it's not a great daily driver due to the noise level of the engine and the intense diesel exhaust fumes. Of course, those 2 things are also what make it so cool!

The more I build my Disco, the more I love it. It's just a simple truck, nicely sized, and frankly pretty easy to work on. The biggest downfall is quality parts suppliers, but I haven't been stuck just yet - i've almost always found a suitable OEM replacement (from a junkyard) or got lucky with a custom piece.

I appreciate the perspective. I used to drive a 22 ft. manual transmission cummins diesel truck. Given that it was 22 feet long, I never bothered hitting obstacles and sold it once I no longer needed the heavy hauling capability because it was a pain to daily drive. And talk about heavy components. I would consider a Disco or 80 series with an automatic if not for the fact that the 4 speed automatics had gear ranges so wide you could fit another 4 gear ratios in between them.

Either way, I have no business getting a 2nd hobby vehicle at this point in my life. I don't have the time to commit to it. The part about quality replacement parts rings true for me since that was the last straw that had me sell my CJ-8 Scrambler. The parts were almost always awful made in China cheap knock offs, and I once ordered a "Made in USA" dash and a blind monkey could have had more of the holes line up than the supposed "quality" dash I purchased.

 

[Outono]

Been a while. I've not had much time to work on the truck, but i've been slowly replacing bits here and there.

• The interior paneling is all moldy. This is really frustrating since the truck was sold to me as "one of the nicest examples of a D1"... I've slowly begun ripping it all out and plan to line the truck with Second Skin products.
• New alternator is in. Easy swap. We timed ourselves: got it out and the new one in within 15 minutes.
• Picked up various parts from LKQ, including some door sills, another fuel pump cover, and a handful of door actuators.
• Installed a set of D2 door seals from LKQ. Man, what a difference it makes over the D1 versions!
• My driver side front door doesn't close all the way so water is seeping into the foot well. Need to adjust.
• The popping in the front end turned out to be a loose body bolt. Unfortunately, the nut is rusted tight about 1mm short of where it needs to be, which allows the whole bolt to rotate easily. Might need to cut it off.

We finally wrapped up the front sway bar today. I really love Super Pro bushings. They're just so much better than the other poly bushings and most rubber bushings.

But what I like most about this new install are the greasable ball joints. These things last so much longer than AllMakes4x4, Britpart, and so on. They're Delphi joints, but modified by Gwyn Lewis with an upgraded boot and zerk fitting.

 

[Outono]

Spent the day finally catching up with some long-needed work on the truck.

Began by readjusting the tie rod ends to straighten the steering wheel. This was surprisingly easy. The hardest part was keeping the bar from moving while tightening the lock nut. While I was there, I relocated the steering damper so that it wouldn't drag along the ground while wheeling.



Since today was a steering day, I also swapped my rotting steering wheel for a much nicer one. The whole disassembly process was a breeze, but I was a bit concerned about accidentally triggering the airbag.

With the steering removed, it was easy to remove the gauge cluster for swapping back to standard bulbs from the terrible LEDs I put in a couple months ago.



Topped the day off by routing my ScanGauge cable up the driver side kick panel. So much better now that the cable isn't strewn about the front of the vehicle.



I've got some major upgrades coming this month, including a re-gear, TrueTracs, diff guards, and an upgraded rear sway bar with quick disconnects. The sway bar was just done a few weeks back, but it's becoming clear that it's simply not up to the job for a lifted Disco. I haven't even wheeled it since I installed the new bushings and it's already falling apart. Simple fix, but im over trying to make the stock bar work so im picking up an X-DeFlex, which looks pretty cool.

 

[Green96D1]

Lovely build bro. The D1 looks great. And I agree a modded D1 is a seriously cool looking truck.

 

[Outono]

Lovely build bro. The D1 looks great. And I agree a modded D1 is a seriously cool looking truck.

Thanks man! More to come soon.