How to best prepare for Land Rover ownership
 

Hi folks,
For some time, I've admired land rovers from a distance. Recently, my adult son and his family have been thinking about a second hand suv or light offroad vehicle for day trips and weekends to the desert. That got me to thinking about older jeep XJ Cherokees and Land Rover discoveries. My thought is to buy a 'weekend' machine that my son and I can spend time with maintaining and have our trips to the desert or mountains. (I'm in Southern California in San Diego).

Ive found some of the great threads concerning what to look for and the differences in DI, DII, and LR3, common problems, etc. I'm leaning toward the DI with less electronics. I also like the XJ jeeps and am considering it as well.

A couple questions:
1) was the carburated DI available in the US and for which years?
2) what kind of tools and garage setup might best facilitate Land Rover DI ownership?

Thanks in advance for your replies