Im interested in getting into land rovers and am currently looking for a Disco I. Before I pull the trigger on one I was hoping to get an idea on what to pay for one that is in working condition (could be a running project). I am pretty comfortable working on cars and from what I hear the Disco I is not horrible to work on and can be fairly reliable but I could use some advice on what to look out for and what to expect for my budget of 3 or 4 thousand USD in the Pittsburgh area. I am also not opposed to picking up a disco II if the reliability and serviceability is comparable. Thanks for any help/advice in advance.

 

The biggest hurdle to value is corrosion. D1's have issue at the base of the 'C' pillar where it meets the wheel well. Also the front floors and sills.

D2's have corrosion issues on the rear frame.

Both can have head gasket issues usually brought forth by overheating. The culprit is usually an under-performing cooling system (clogged radiator, weak fan clutch, non-working elec fans).

Yes, they are pretty easy to work on and parts are not hard to find and not terribly expensive either.

 

this has made me skip on two the D1's I have looked at.
this vid helped a lot.

 

I bought mine for 1200 CAD last year, in a non running non driving state. The whole floor was rotted, and it needed an absolute ton of work to get back on the road. However, with doing all of the work myself, I am a total of 6500 CAD into it (including a whole bunch of non essential stuff). I think overall I am happy with the rig for 6500, but I certainly wouldnt pay big money for one. Just make absolute sure that you pull up the carpet and rubber insulation in the footwell to have a look before you buy. It actually isnt that hard to fix if youre handy, but it definitely takes time and can be frustrating. I think overall the value of old 4x4s are going up, as I frequently see rigs similar in quality to mine (maybe a bit better overall) going for 10-12k.

 

I bought my ‘97 from a lady on Facebook marketplace who could no longer get up in to it easily. She wanted $3,600. After giving it a look over and pointing out the rust holes, missing interior pieces, caved-in drivers seat, and just general filth, I drove off with $2,300. Everything under the hood functioned properly, which mattered most to me.

Do some hunting online for private owners near you. I think more often than not you can talk people down once you inspect closer, and maybe show they owner things they overlooked.

And I would definitely take a peek under the carpets!

 

Thanks for all the input/info! Any reason to stay away from the 3.9 powerplant vs the GEMs?

 

At this point take what you can find. If you can find a clean maintained 3.9 I see no reason to pass it up. If the same GEMS pops up, take it. All things being equal preferably the 4.0.

 

Disco 1 pricing

seem to be going up every day

 

My 95 with a 3.9L V8 is awesome! Old school OBD1, A dizzy, and only 2 02 sensors. Very simple to work on as well. GEMS is a great OBD2 setup.

They both put out 182HP, but the 94/95 doesn't have knock sensors so running 87 octane isn't a good idea. 96-99 you can get away with lower octane fuel due to the knock sensors.