I had a ‘98 D1 V8 S-Reg when I was stationed in England my second time in 2004.
It was great on fuel (21 mpg max vs. 12mpg max in my current D2),
the moon roofs leaked badly (my D2 doesn’t leak from the moon roof, touch wood),
the seat switches always broke off,
the automatic gear shift tape (?) ripped up,
the rubber seals on both rear back windows had large cracks in the corners which allowed leaks causing corrosion,
Didn’t leak oil or transmission fluids as badly as my D2,
And it was way easier to work on.
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did the D1 come with serviceable front drive shafts or did they have the same issues as d2 ?

 

It wasn't a double cardan design so it didn't have the centering ball and 2 rear U-Joints which didn't include zerk fittings. Just 2 U-Joints and they had zerk fittings.