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Thread: D1 First Build - Melbourne

  1. #1
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    D1 First Build - Melbourne

    Hi all, my girlfriend and I purchased a D1 a couple of weeks back for a song and have just now found the time start digging into it.

    It's a '97 Tdi Manual with around 280,000km on the clock, for the last year it has sat unused and the rego has expired, it's going to need a fair bit of work that I can see from first glance but will try to fix as much as I can in the coming months before I send it off for its RWC.

    The worst of it is that the sills on the driver's side are rusted through, and the base of the A-pillar too, I'll probably buy a replacement for the pillar but just patch the footwell with some sheet steel depending on what I find when I get the carpets up properly, after a bit of searching it seems that replacement footwell sections are non existent. For the sill I've seen a few threads where people just weld in 3mm box section, anyone here done that?

    The other major issue is that there's pressure build up in the cooling system and a ton of oil in the expansion tank, guess the most likely offender will be the head gasket, hopefully the actual head's in good shape and a rebuild will do the trick.

    Electrics are pretty much non existent, no window controls, no central locking, no interior lighting although all exterior lights work fine and it starts no problem.

    So far I've got the interior out from the rear seats back and scrubbed it up to see if I can find any rust or issues to fix but so far I've been super lucky.



    Paint's on it's way out



    There's no polite way to say it, but that interior really was ruined with DIY mods by the PO, not that I'm looking to build a concours winning car here but it would be nice not to have fuzzy felt and contact adhesive all over everything, not to mention the S&M cup holder screwed straight into the plastic...





    Cleaned out







    The back half is in really good shape, not an ounce of rust found so far, I'll have to get underneath it to stand by that claim...

    The real problem starts here...



    I'll be getting the centre console out this weekend and maybe even the wings off to see how far the rust has gone, the carpets on both side are drenched which does not bode well for me...

    Apologies for the lengthy post but I would really appreciate it if anyone could flag anything that's amiss, the thread will be as much for getting advice as it is a way to document the work so please chime in!

  2. #2
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    You can buy replacement panel sections from the motherland.
    Google Paddocks, LR Series, for starters.

  3. #3
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    Sorry if this puts a dampener on you project, but you can buy a reasonable D1 for far less than you will spend on this.
    Dave.

    I was asked " Is it ignorance or apathy?" I replied "I don't know and I don't care."


    1983 RR gone (wish I kept it)
    1996 TDI ES.
    2003 TD5 HSE
    1987 Isuzu County

  4. #4
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    Yeah you're probably right, but I really want to give it a go and keep her on the road if possible, it really is a lot of car for the money. We got it for $950 and I was initially aiming at around $6k for a Disco of a similar year, within the five grand I've 'got left' I can get the head done, buy a welder, replace the cam belt, replace the wheel bearings and all rubber bushings and be safe in the knowledge that it's all been done on my watch.

    I could have spent $6k on a '97 that looked great with no rust but have untold wear on the engine and still had to spend a few grand to get it up to par, as with all used cars, there's a risk involved, and at least with this one I've got a pool of money to spend on it and get to know the car as I go.

    But really, it may not make the most financial sense and I'm fine with that, I've got a steady job and like most of the jobs my generation has, it involves staring at a computer screen for hours on end. I thoroughly enjoy getting covered in rust, oil and road grime and the sense of satisfaction from even the most trivial of fixes is worth more it to me

  5. #5
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    Wet carpet and rust on floor could either be bad leak from door or windscreen seals but more than likely if it's rusted under the carpet, means heater matrix is leaking. If you are pulling dash apart anyway, you will see it under there. If you are doing head gasket stuff you will definitely want to make sure matrix is good as you lose coolant from it.

    As someone mentioned before, and sorry for saying it again, but looks like a lot of work. 950 seems like a lot for an unlicensed, blown head gasket car.

    You can get good d1 for 3-4k. Being a disco you will still get plenty of chances to get dirt in your eyes and grease in your hair and swear at the gods. Even a good condition disco will keep you busy.

    That's just my opinion. But if you want a big project to test yourself on, then you have one right there. Best of luck. Keep us updated. Plenty of very clever people here too uf you need advice.

  6. #6
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    Should be plenty of shells around that you could cut repair pieces from, try some of the lr wreckers / specialists.

    Sent from my GT-I9300 using AULRO mobile app
    MY08 TDV6 SE D3- permagrin ooh yeah
    2004 Jayco Freedom tin tent
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    1974 VW Kombi bus
    1958 Holden FC special sedan

  7. #7
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    Good luck with it. Rusty floors seems to be common on D1's, that one piece underlay can absorb moisture like a sponge and because it's pretty thick it's sort of forgotten about.


    Just by looking at the pic, the seat diaphragm needs to be sorted, we had one done for my dad's D1 and it was about $120 by a local motor trimmers. it was also ripped like yours so just threw a set of seat covers and went through roadworthy no problems.


    Trav

  8. #8
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    Hi guys
    I know the feeling you are having well after restoring a S3 in a similar "it's too far gone" state
    Sometimes it's not about the value or cost of what you are doing, it's just about the satisfaction of doing it yourself.
    My S3 cost me about $8k to get on the road all up and is now only worth about $3k. I don't care because I know that I saved her.
    Please keep the reports coming and lots of photos please!
    Regards
    Phil
    Phil B

    Custodian of:
    1974 S3 swb wagon (sold)
    1978 S3 swb canvas
    48 749 '88 4x4 Perentie
    1985 County with 4BD1T

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Cinqmars2 View Post
    Yeah you're probably right, but I really want to give it a go and keep her on the road if possible, it really is a lot of car for the money. We got it for $950 and I was initially aiming at around $6k for a Disco of a similar year, within the five grand I've 'got left' I can get the head done, buy a welder, replace the cam belt, replace the wheel bearings and all rubber bushings and be safe in the knowledge that it's all been done on my watch.

    I could have spent $6k on a '97 that looked great with no rust but have untold wear on the engine and still had to spend a few grand to get it up to par, as with all used cars, there's a risk involved, and at least with this one I've got a pool of money to spend on it and get to know the car as I go.

    But really, it may not make the most financial sense and I'm fine with that, I've got a steady job and like most of the jobs my generation has, it involves staring at a computer screen for hours on end. I thoroughly enjoy getting covered in rust, oil and road grime and the sense of satisfaction from even the most trivial of fixes is worth more it to me
    Another one saved! I think it's great good luck with it. You get to develop a relationship with the car from the outset and you know that what you fix / replace is really fixed / replaced rather than just being told that it is from some seller. It looks like it will teach you al fair bit about how a Disco works, which will put you in a more informed position if / when things go wrong.

    It's a good price and 280k is low compared to most of them around. You've essentially paid for the bullbar, car seat covers, spotties and snorkel at that price and got a free car with it

    What are your plans? Running it stock or other plans down the track?
    2006 TDV6 Disco

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    [FONT=""][COLOR=""][SIZE=""]I'm currently addressing rust issues in my Disco. I recommend wire wheels on an angle grinder and goggles (not glasses ) a tin of Penetrol and an aerosol can of Penetrol. Once you have removed the rust with the wire wheels, follow the directions on the tin of Penetrol on how to apply. I've used Penetrol before. It's good stuff. It does what it claims to. I used the aerosol version on my Disco the other day and it was excellent for getting the Penetrol into placeces a paint brush couldn't. The pressure from the can was good for penetrating seems where rust was beginning to develop. I'll post some pictures when I learn how to do it with my phone.[/SIZE][/COLOR][/FONT]

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