While I was at a dealer auction evaluating cars, I cam accross a 95 Discovery. Normally rovers are on my list of cars to look at before bidding, but this one had too many miles and was in rough shape and wasn't worth the time and effort, so I didn't even write it down. While on my way to look at other cars, I was about to pass it. I turned around and saw it was a stick shift and thought, I wonder how it would run and drive. Now I said "rough shape" but that was an understatement. There was so much leather peeled away you couldn't call them "leather seats". The head liner was sagging, some of the windows were broken and had been ducktaped with plastic bags to prevent rain from getting in. The paint was peeling, just about everything cosmetically was broken, peeling, ripped, etc. One of the tires was mis matched on it too. The rig had about 224k or something of that sort.

I climbed in turned the key and it fired right up and sounded great too. Put it in gear, pulled the clutch out and started taking it around the small test track. It ran smooth, the clutch felt very good and was forgiving. It reminded me when I was young in Ireland on a trip and I got to drive my first Land Rover, a manual Defender. I hadn't had much experience with manuals prior, and I remembered the Defender was very forgiving, and so was this Discovery. Needless to say, I've been hooked on rovers ever since.

The a/c worked, it was blistering hot out, didn't over heat. Ran smooth, handled well too! I couldn't believe it! I was extremely impressed. The world said it was time for it to go to the scrap yard. It had been beat to hell by its previous owner and was at the end of it's useful life, but you couldn't drag this one there. It was relentless... Everyone would say that thing is useless, but I was shocked, it wasn't. It just wanted to keep going, it didn't want to die. It nearly broke my heart.

I've driven many high miles SUVs. And NOTHING has held up as good mechanically as that thing. At high miles, Jeeps are falling apart, have major drive train issues, or are over heating, blowing blue or white smoke out the back. Blazers run terrible and have 4wd issues and feel like you are going to flip over and die if you go above 50 mph or go around a small corner. The only SUVs I've seen that actually seem to hold up, are Lexus/Toyota, Nissan Suvs, Durangos, Explorers, and Rovers. Every rover I've come across fires right up and has nothing majorly wrong with it mechanically (its always stupid cosmetic stuff or some check light(s) are on). I thought it would be the other way around, and all the domestic ones would be fine. Just figured I would post this. I was very impressed. I almost bought the thing, but it went for too much. I hope it found someone willing to fix it up into a fierece safari off roader, cause frankly, it deserves it.

 

That brought a tear to my eye, very nice story, thank you for sharing.

 

I'm working on a 95 manual with 155k right now. I hate to say it but I wish I was having the same Alice in Wonderland moment. At 55 it is a death trap, 50 floats like a butterfly. It likes to remain in hades and I'm getting very creative to control it's lust for the darkside. I now have three tools with beautiful copper nicks in them from broken "hot" wire insulation.....and it starts whenever I hold my breath and am blue. When it does start it runs like nothing was ever wrong....... Christine would be too kind a name for this Beeotch!

It has been a wonderful project though, I will admit. It's engine bay is now looking proper compared to when it arrived.

 

Got a little emotional there, awesome story. I hope it did go to a good home.

 

That is such a great story. They really do have souls that just want to keep on going. Good ole Rovers.

And I agree on the quality of other SUVs. With one exception. Ford Explorers. An Explorer is near impossible to kill, yes. But I've got a friend who has owned several of them, and let me tell you, they have all been wonky. Every high mileage Explorer he's driven has been hilarious. Like the one that had this clicking noise that sounded like a lifter trying to die. But they were all fine. Or the automatic one that always smelled like clutch. Or the one, after brand new pulleys and a new belt, that always squealed like a stuck pig. Most of them had every light on in the dash.
Even look at a corner going above 30, it'll roll over and kill you. And then explode.
All that being said, I don't dislike them. They are quirky and notoriously long-lived. I can appreciate that.

 

How much did it sell for?

 

Great story....I always felt that these 5sp Discos are like it's Defender cousin....