TBS123 Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 Hello, I'm 19 and have just bought my first Land Rover, a 1995 3.9L V8 manual Discovery on LPG. Its in pretty good shape on the whole but id like to tidy it up a bit. What kind of little upgrades can I make to improve her and where can I look to buy decent bits. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 10, 2014 Share Posted March 10, 2014 It's always tempting to start shopping for upgrades but you're going to have a lot of maintenance to do - invest in a good set of tools, keep it serviced with good parts, and keep some cash back for the inevitable repairs. Also, get used to the vehicle & what it can do before you rush into changing it, a standard Disco is a very capable truck. A recent thread along similar lines is here: http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=88166 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBS123 Posted March 10, 2014 Author Share Posted March 10, 2014 Thank you, Im not really looking at buying extreme off road gear as for the moment I will be using it for work. I mainly interested in just improving the condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Clean it properly touch up the rough paint and polish it will make a world of difference and what fridge said. Mike P.s. this from a guy who rarely cleans his let alone polishes it...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffR Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Clean it properly touch up the rough paint and polish it will make a world of difference and what fridge said. Mike P.s. this from a guy who rarely cleans his let alone polishes it...... If one waits long enough, the muck gets thick enough so that it simply drops off.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 12, 2014 Share Posted March 12, 2014 Thank you, Im not really looking at buying extreme off road gear as for the moment I will be using it for work. I mainly interested in just improving the condition. Buy tools when you need them. Learn to weld*, it WILL need welding sooner or later. Put all the spare money aside for parts. When you need parts, buy genuine. It's a shocker, but Mike's suggestion of keeping it clean is good - more the bits you can't see than the shiny paintwork. Leaving running gear and under-body muddy or salty will accelerate wear & corrosion massively. I spend about 3x as long under the car with the pressure washer as above it! If you must buy upgrades, for a V8 on LPG it may get a good benefit from Megasquirt'n'EDIS, having proper switchable fuel & ignition maps and a much improved ignition system. * = See the tools & fabrication forum for "learning to weld" and "buying a welder" threads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBS123 Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 Thanks again. My dad is a mechanic so ill get him to teach me to weld. Id rather be able to do the stuff myself anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 If you haven't looked already, the boot floor, body mounts, door pillar bottoms, and inner wings are all likely opportunities for practising your welding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boydie Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 My first specialised "tool" when I got my Disco was a pressure cleaner that had a pistol hand held jet cleaner (rather than the common long unwieldy rods and a full set of sealed wet overalls including a full helmet. Every time Julie and I return from a trip away once the Disco is unloaded of all our camping gear it gets driven up on four ramps and under I go and clean it from front to rear, including giving the chassis box sections a through flushing to get rid of all the dust and mud that seems to inevitably accumulate inside them - even though I've used racing tape to tape up every open hole and its still intact and the ends of the chassis rails are blanked off. Next is a couple of cans of degreaser and the engine and gearbox gets a clean. Once its all dried out I go back under and give it a complete "spanner check" from front to back -it's amazing just what bolts get loose or go missing and you get to find out just where those infernal oil leaks originate from. Finally a gentle flush clean of the radiator matrix starting with a can of "Coil Clean" (obtainable from your nearest refigeration suppliers store) and then a wash down to ensure that the radiator and intercooler airways are clear. Basic moral is "Look after it and it will look after you". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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