Couple key differences between the two generations that may (or may not) matter to you, to give you food for thought:

Windshield - The top of the D1 windshield is pretty low. If you drive around the mountains, you'll notice this and it's kind of a PITA. If you are taller, you'll be looking through the shaded part of the windshield most of the time. This comes from the fact that when they built the Disco 1, being short on cash, (remember, the Disco was more or less a moon-shot for Land Rover at the time), L/R used most of the Range Rover chassis and the same RR windshield/doors. Plus, the windshields are held in by rubber gaskets which tend to leak. That leads to rotted floors if not dealt with. You'll notice that on the D2's they increased the height of the windshield a little which makes for a little nicer touch and the glass is flush-mount and held in with urethane sealer, which tends to provide a more positive leak-proof seal.

Handling - D1 engineering is of such that the vehicles tend to oversteer quite a bit. To compensate for it, and induce understeer, L/R applied the, and old-school trick of lowering tire pressure for the front tires. A lot of owners overlook the fact that you're supposed to run something like 10psi lower pressure in the front tires for D1's and that leads to handling complaints. If ya don't the vehicle will tend to wonder all over the road. Supposedly they resolved handling issues for the D2's (although I haven't spend enough time behind the wheel of one) particularly the later D2's. Handling was much improved. If you really want the best in handling, look for a D2 HSE which will have Active Handling Enhancement (ACE) and it'll corner as flat as a race car around corners.

This isn't to say the D1's aren't good, they ARE, just pointing out little things that may be helpful to add to your decision-making matrix. I think most people like the easy servicability of the D1's and when you get into working on one, the technology is like something out of the 80's in many ways ....but that means the beefiness wasn't engineered out either.

 

D1 or d2 from a dry climate will help with rust, d1 can have a lot of rust at base of a,b,c pillars leading to front floor rotten, also cargo area rott and front wheel wells, these are skinned in aluminum so will still look nice

D2 thinner frame and they do rott out, also the 03/04 are known for bad engine blocks, slipped sleeves

D2 a little more creature comfort , little bit more cargo space, I am guessing still the same rust issues?

 

So I ended up finding the perfect rover and pulled the trigger. I got me a 96 Disco 1 and I can't wait to get it out on some trails! Thanks again for yalls help and I'm excited to be part of the rover family!! Here's a picture of my new toy

 

Man o man do I love the look of a white rover. Good find!

 

There is something about the white. I love it aswell

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One difference that was not mentioned is that it seems a lot more D2s were sold than D1s. There are way more forum members on D2 vs D1, so way more opinions, modifications, and availabilities. Personally, I like being different!

Good luck with the '96. Dive into a Workshop Manual and work your way through the maintenance checklist. It covers all the basic vehicle needs. Use an OBD2 scanner to check out the engine functions.

 

Interesting: You have a D1 body but a D2 '03 - '04 front with lights & grill swapped out. I have a 50th Anniversary '98 - the last of the true great ones and have been wanting to consider swapping the lighting out. It would require getting lights - from the local junkyard where there are 5 D2s sitting right now, grabbing the lights, hood, grill, & the the entire front section that goes across where you mount the grill - Everything is different on those D2s. I like the look.

 

​​​​​​​You may want to consider getting the correct lug nuts for your wheels. Those alloy lugs are meant to center the wheel w the shaft then bottom out.

 

You posted 2 fairly different trucks in your message. Which one did you buy? The first has stickers on the back windows the other does not and has some questionable mods?

 

I'd like to add one more thought about your decision to buy the Series 1 Discovery and say why I think it was a good choice. I've owned various Land Rovers for decades, and I've come to believe that the difference between the Series 1 and 2 Discoveries is super important. Outwardly, the Series 2 seems like it is just an iteration of the Series 1, but if you remember that Land Rover became a BMW subsidiary in 1994, and then a Ford subsidiary in 2000, an argument can be made that the Discovery Series 1 is the final British Land Rover model. And not coincidentally, that difference begins to show up in the Discovery 2. Those differences have been discussed above, but in practical terms, they are the added systems or technologies that may not add much to the character of the vehicle but have a chance to drive you insane.

In my view the Series 1 is where Land Rover was coming from, and the Series 2 is the model where Land Rover points to where it is going. The Series 1's genes are in its closest predecessor, the Defender 90/110, and all the Land Rovers that came before it, and the Series 2 begins to bend towards the design objectives of the Discovery 3/LR3, LR4, and then all the contemporary Range Rovers, Evoques, Velars, Discovery Sports, et. al., all of which I would summarize as platforms influenced by the inclusion of more and more convenience or comfort technologies that add nothing to the character of the Discovery 1 and its predecessors. In my view, the Series 1 (Discovery and Range Rover?) is the apex of Land Rover, and the Series 2, for me, was only marking time.