1996 Disco 1 Build Thread
 

I've been itching to get one of these build threads started, so I finally decided it was time. Wanting to start one so I can look back at the end of the summer and see the progress and what changed over time, and to also hopefully give some others ideas for their own Discos! I am sure I can learn some things along the way too.

So first a little about me and the truck. I am currently living in Vancouver, BC, and just recently bought this 1996 Disco. Have had three 4runners already, and after a brief stint of owning my dads Defender 110, I figured it was time to get a Landy of my own. So here she is:


https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...c8fbf4852d.jpg


When I picked her up she was sitting at 160,000km, some sort of small lift (not sure), and thats about it.

Current modifications:

Exterior
-Custom front steel bumper
-285/75R16 BFG All Terrain KO2's
-Rhino Rack HD Roof Bars x3
-Trasharoo Spare Trash Bag
-OzTrail 2.5m Awning
-4' Wilson Flex CB Antenna
-18" UHF/VHF Antenna
-50mm Flexi Flares
-TJM Yulara Roof Top Tent
-Flowmaster Super 44 Muffler

Suspension:
-OME HD Springs
-Rear TerraFirma 2" Spacer
-FloFlex Extended Poly Bumpstops
-ProComp ES9000 +6" Lift Shocks
-Britpart 2" Extended Brake Lines

Lighting
-52" Cree Roof Mount Flood Light
-23" Phillips 4D Light Bar on Bumper
-Rigid Industries D2 Driving Lights x2
-Penny Amber Grill Lights x3
-Discovery 2 headlight swap

Interior
-Cobra CB Radio
-Baofeng UHF/VHF Radio
-Custom Rear Storage System
-Second Deep Cycle Battery in rear
-Blue Sea dual battery system and fuse block
-Rear cargo lights
-LED map light upgrade
-Rear leather seats from SE
-Rear hatch drop down table

To Come:
-Snorkel
-Sliders

White Replacement Stock Photo:

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...b84087393a.jpg

Most Recent Picture:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...fa55541645.jpg

More Photos on Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/132972642@N04/albums

So the first thing I wanted to do was build a new rear storage system. I have done a couple in the past for my Yotas, so I had an idea of what I wanted to have.

First I started a design in Sketchup.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...0b90741d14.png


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...249df407af.png

Nice disco! Looks like a 2" lift you have... im on the island and may be interested in your springs/shocks if you are upgrading! Have you joined the roverlanders club yet?

Thanks! I will be getting my own membership very soon for sure, but I have been to the last few Founders Days. When I swap this one out I will let you know for first dibs!

Started out a rough plan for what I will be building for a rear storage system. Wanting to accommodate an Engel cooler and then eventually fridge freezer on a a slide, as well as a dual battery tray and electrical system on the right hand side.

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After removing the rear right seat, started to build up the design out of 3/4 inch plywood.

On a side note, how do I get the images to appear full size in the thread?

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Right on - I was there too! Was pretty good out in Chilliwack this year... let me know if you decide to head out for the Rally in the Valley on the Island this year (June).

Sounds good, I will try an make it if I can get it off work.

Did some paint and carpeting work on the shelving today. Was hoping to find some marine carpet for a decent price, but everywhere nearby was very expensive, so I settled on this outdoor carpeting instead.

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It had a thicker backing than I had hoped, which made it difficult to work with around corners, but it will do the job. Nice and tough, should last a long time.
Also wired in a small inverter with a USB port to the back, once I have a second battery installed in the rear it will be used to power and recharge cameras and phones while camping.

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Also moved the stock subwoofer housing to the upper side out of the way of the rear for a future project...

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Took a break from the shelving to trim up the low hanging stock bumper, and also repaint the fading front and rear bumpers + bushbar. Came out pretty good I would say. Heres some before and after pictures.

After trimming (looks much better than stock IMO):

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Paint time:

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Looking good! That storage system in the back is really coming together and I like what you did with the sub - do your subs actually still work?!?!

No lol, they were trashed when I opened them up, I have some new ones on order from Amazon, hoping they work decent. If not I have a 10" that should fit behind the seats in a shallow housing, might go that route if the stock ones don't thump enough.

The rear storage looks awesome! One question though.
How removable is it? When the fuel pump craps out you'll have to pull out the storage to replace it. And it ALWAYS craps out at the worst place/time. ;)

Thanks! Its coming along well. Its very easy removable. The two side top panels remove with 4 screws each (I always carry a simple tool set), and the rest lifts up and comes out the back hatch as a single unit, just have to fold down the seats. Its awkward to get out, pretty heavy, but not hard.

Built up a little table / camp kitchen for the tailgate. Itching to try this stuff out now...

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Hope we get to see some pics of the new build soon!

Will be adding some new photos tomorrow ;)

Well, I learned the sad news about my truck a week or so ago, that the motor was a ticking time bomb. Long story short, with help from Island Dave, I will be combining his old Disco with my black one, to create a single amazing disco LOL.

Process of combining them began today with a front end swap, tomorrow I will begin swapping front axles and suspension to both lift the new vehicle, and hopefully fix the death wobble of the white one once and for all....

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I recognize those damn ferry lines!! Went to Vancouver Island last August. Was 3 minutes "late" to make our reservation time. Lost our reservation, got stuck in the standby line, and ended up missing the ferry. Had to wait for the next one. Rolled into Cougar Creek campground after the gate was locked and had to sleep in the car. Love those ferries.
Nice Disco, though. :D

Straight to work I see! Looking good and I'll be following this build with interest...

Can't wait to see the lift and bigger tires installed.

Yup. Try being stuck in a two sailing wait - you're 2 hour crossing turns into a 6 hour ordeal...

If you're ever passing through Parksville again, give me a shout - I can hook you up with a ton of back country camping spots up Island.

First axle dropped, now for the next one... Wasn't as bad as I thought it would be haha.

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Little wax and she came out shiny!

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And she's out!

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Remember you've got brand new panhard polybushes on the white one that might be worth swapping over onto the new axle when it goes in! carry on... :p

Glad to hear it's going well so far, good luck with the rest of the transfer!

Was my plan to do that haha, don't worry!

And cheers Eurobahn :thumbsup:

Second axle out, now to paint up the wheel wells and axle so she'll look all pretty when its back in.

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Firstly its awesome to see 2 forum members working together, helping each other out! Amazing folks on here, some of which go out of their way to help each other out. Secondly awesome build, Disco looks good and I like what you did to the plastic sections on the front and rear bumper. The little details.... Your cabinets look good and the fabric looks both professional and clean. My only question right now is your choice of building material for the cabinets. Plywood? How well will plywood cabinets fare, loaded with camping gear, during a long bouncing voyage in the bush?

This will be the fourth cabinet I've made with this material for various vehicles, and I haven't had an issue yet with anything falling apart. Last setup survived a rollover l while fully loaded and a sub mounted on top! Plus plenty of trips up countless FSR's. Nice and cheap too haha.

Couldn't get back to working on the truck for about a week due to some crazy hours at work, but I am happy to announce that the suspension swap is complete! The original plan was to just swap the rear coils and shocks leaving the original axle in place, but the whole lower spring mount at the bottom disintegrated away when I was taking it off... So I had to swap the rear axle as well. The white truck had some nice new rotors and calipers so those will be kept for future swapping as well.

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Rolled the little tires under the truck on blocks for fun. #hellaflush dude. Looks like a street ready disco now LOL

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Rear bumper swapped over as well, old one was a little dented up, plus this had a CB antenna already mounted.

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Took the finally running landy out for her first test this past weekend. Just a couple day trip up around the mountains here in British Columbia. She did great for not having much done, can't wait to see how the Disco performs with some more aggressive accessories and suspension! Kept up with my buddies Tacos very well.

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Looking really good Stig!
You've done a lot in not a lot of time... Awesome job.
Are you heading over for the alley in the valley?
I still have those other parts for you

Found out Ive been scheduled for work all of next weekend so I will be unable to make it... Will have to come out to the island to grab those another time! Really wanted to make it.

Installed the new CB on the roof console, wanted to keep the centre console and shifter area as clean as possible, so the roof was the ideal spot. Once the VHF mobile setup arrives in the next couple weeks it will be going onto the dash.

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Haven't posted in a while, but I figured it was time to do an update on the truck. Have completed a few trips and I am super happy with how things are progressing, wonderful little truck!

First off was some much needed spacers for the rear to fix the suspension sag in the rear with all the gear I pack along. In a few paycheques these will be removed in order to make way for some HD springs, but they do the job for now.

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I also had time to install my new bumper! Came off a friends disco 2, so I needed to modify the mounts, but I think she came out alright! Will be getting a sand blast and powder coat in the near future.

I also popped on my dads space set of Defender Rims on the truck, much prefer this look so I am looking for a set for my own. If anyone wants to trade for my alloys let me know :)

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Dual batter was installed in the rear, and I finally hooked up the inverter unit and some rear lights for the cooking area. No more headlamps! The Blue Sea fuse block looks nice all rigged up next to the sub amp behind the rear seat.

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Some of my favourite shots from the past few weeks to see the truck in action.



https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...5048d1e2a9.jpg

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...363e25be4d.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...6b490db3fa.jpg

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...cb7773e691.jpg

So I may be about to do something a little out of the ordinary... its time for a paint job change! Its not going to be a design that everyone likes, but I have been wanting an arctic camo car for a long time, and now that I finally own a white truck, it just has to be done!

The paint has been ordered (100 bucks in plasti dip), and should be done in the next couple weeks. My disco will definitely stand out now haha.

Below are a couple photoshop renderings of the look I'm going for...

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...7289361038.jpg

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...3a77f2e10f.jpg

Repainted the front bumper and headed up in the mountains for some shooting yesterday, she's coming along nicely...
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/landrov...0426ddb363.jpg

Shotguns and Land Rovers... The Gentleman's choice.

The Disco's looking great. Liking the classic look steel rims - very Camel Trophy!

Hows the gearbox feeling after that Redline MT has had a chance to work in there?