So I have a 98 Disco that I'm not wanting to get ride of anytime soon but It needs to grow up with me. I'm wanting to get a new front end on it and do some work on restoring the interior.. I've kinda let it go and its feeling more like a wanna be tactical truck but I would rather keep it rugged on the outside and back to being classy on the inside. Thoughts on where to go find or make replacement parts for interior or to get a hardy bumper?
Mike, To better answer your question, I have a few questions for clarification.
Is your Rover a Disco 1 or Disco 2?
When you say you want a new front end, are you referring to new axles, gears, and maybe a different type of differential? Or simply from a cosmetic standpoint and adding a bumper with or without accessories?
On a general level, I encourage you to join some of the various online overland, off road, and land rover specific forums or groups. At the broad end of the scale I would explore the forums listed below. They’re generally the best US based online communities for Rover and offroad adventure stuff.
Expedition Portal has a great forum with lots of knowledgable people for tech advise as well as a great classified section for buying/selling used gear. I’ve used this quite a bit to research and plan adventures, buy/sell equipment and vehicles as it’s open to vehicles and adventures of all types. It really is a pretty awesome community.
Land Rover Forum is another resource though I’ve not really used it much.
Discoweb is a LR Discovery specific resource. I’m not familiar with them because I don’t have a Disco, but it may be of value to you.
Craigslist and Ebay can also be good resources for finding used or discounted new parts and equipment.
There are also a few Rover specific online retailers who sell a mix of new and used parts/gear which can be highly useful. See below:
Atlantic British and Rovers North are the major U.S. based resources for land rover parts and other useful stuff. I recently had to order a new gas cap from Atlantic British because mine is rare. I frequent both websites and the previous owner of my Rover used to order tons of stuff from both Atlantic British and Rovers North. Roverland is another US based resource but I don’t have any experience with them nor have I been on their site much.
John Craddock Limited is a UK based resource that I frequent but haven’t ordered from yet.
I would also encourage you to look for a local club or online community of a similar nature. These communities can be great resources. I’m located in the Pacific Northwest and we have a few different overland, land rover, and off road clubs. I found the Rover and Overland community to be a lot more useful and open than many of the general purpose off road clubs/communities.Once I know your general area I can look through my resources to see about pointing you in a more specific direction. As far as buying gear/parts for working on my vehicles, I’m a fan of buying used gear before buying it new. A lot of times people in general are forced to sell or enjoy selling their toys and parts for a variety of reasons, and you can usually score some great deals. Recently I scored a sweet and rare bumper that ordinarily costs $400-$500 on the used market but I picked it up off Craigslist for only $200. I bought all of my name brand offroad lights for 50% - 60% of retail value by getting them used. My front seats were pretty beat up but I scored a replacement passenger seat for $40 used and off craigslist whereas it normally is $250 or more.Some of the folks in my overland club gave me a bunch of free parts they had sitting in their garage because they had either sold and/or modified their vehicle and no longer needed the parts. They were excited that I was a recent Rover convert and wanted to help me work on my vehicle and simply gave me a bunch of useful stuff. I don’t know if that is common in all clubs but these folks are especially open, welcoming, and supportive. Solihull Motorworks has access to a lot of parts in addition to being able to build bumpers, roof racks, and a bunch of other cool stuff. I can put you in touch with the owner if you’re looking to have stuff built or are looking for parts in general. If he doesn’t have it in his inventory then he knows how to find it. Also, he can build better and more cost-effective bumpers, roof racks, and other custom gear if you’re looking for stuff of that nature. The owner is uber-knowledgable, -experienced, and reasonable.Honestly, when it comes to bumpers, roof racks, or storage systems I’ve found going the custom fabrication route gives me a lot better quality and usually costs less money than the commercially produced stuff. In my experience, a lot of the commercially produced accessories and equipment aren’t durable or functional enough to hold up to their advertised purposes or standards, or what I want to use it for. With resources like Solihull or a few other fabricators that I’ve worked with, my needs have been exceeded. Depending on what kind of bumper you’re interested in, my brother and I are currently finishing some designs for the Range Rover Classics and Discos that may be of interest to you. My bro is a bit behind schedule so it might not be until the fall before they’re available. There is a very good chance that we’ll end up having Solihull Motorworks do the actual fabrication for us. Depending on your need and timing, this may be something that interests you. I recently became aware that Solihull Motorworks has a decent if not really good condition Disco interior sitting in their shop that they thought about selling. It’s the nice tan perforated leather seats with black piping. If you’re interested I can see about putting you in touch with them. Wood trim can be a bit more difficult to find. I’m not sure if your generation of disco has wood that can easily been refinished or not. If it does, I’d recommend doing it yourself. It’s cheap, pretty easy, and forgiving. I refinished my interior for maybe $20 but it took me like a month or so. I did it in stages because I didn’t want all my doors taken apart for a month. To buy the interior trim in good condition on ebay can be kind of spendy. Although, if you’re not able to refinish it yourself then ebay is a great resource. I believe when I was searching around for interior wood trim I saw some on ebay and it ranged from $50 - $500 for a complete set. You just have to hunt around and keep your eye out for the good deals. Make sure you have lots of pictures that are close up to look for signs of cracks and/or peeling in the finish or wood itself. The clubs and forums can also be a great resource to find these items as well, and often a more reasonable price than ebay. Well, this should be enough information to get you pointed in a forward direction. Discos are awesome, I love the headroom in them. I hope you have fun with the projects. If you can answer my questions at the beginning I can probably provide you with additional information. Feel free to let me know if you have any additional questions. Be well, Cassidy