Facelifting my Discovery...... Help please

Hello all, I've bought a 1998 (S Reg) Discovery 3.9 V8, which I'm very pleased with so far.

Have seen there seems to have been a facelift on them in around 1999

This is mine:





And this is what I'd like it to look like ...........



From the photos I can see the following differences:

Grill and trims under the headlamp units
Headlamp units
Indicators? Or is it just because they look new?
Bumper is bigger with fog lamps
Rubber wheel arch extensions
Side repeat lamps aren't square, they are oblong on the newer model (I think)

Are these simple "remove old and replace with new" modifications? Or is there more to it than that?

Am well happy with it as it is, would just like to update it a little if possible.

All help will be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks!

Your own Disco is the Series 1, the second photo is a Series II which looks very similar but most of the panels are different. I am not sure if the Series II is slighty wider so the bumpers might not fit that well. I think I can remember seeing photos of a Series I with Series II headlights fitted so they might fit.

you can buy an upgrade kit for the headlights but the bumpers look daft on a series one as the mounting points are different, the headlight kit is available from simmonities but i think its quite expensive

OK, that's all clear, thanks for the replies.

So, it would seem that I can change my "old" headlamps for the newer "shaded" ones, as a straight swap, the indicators are different (as I can see now) but I can buy clear indicators to fit.



Am a bit gutted about the grill and bumper, but never mind!

Can anyone help with the next bit?

Did LR fit fogs into the bumpers of the earlier model Discovery (like mine) if they did then that would seem the obvious way forward for me. As in the photo below ...............



Can I fit the "thicker" wiper arms off the Discovery 2 to mine without chopping bits up?

Now ............. If I could do something about the Morris Marina door handles I'd be laughing!

So, shaded headlamps for me hopefully very soon, any suggestions where to buy?

Many thanks again!

Aaron

yes they did put fog lights into your model discovery on the es and xs models

matt n his disco said:

yes they did put fog lights into your model discovery on the es and xs models

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Thank you!

Have now been told that the "shaded" lights off the later Discovery don't fit.......

There's only thing for it, I'll have to wait a bit and buy a late model!

i have a 94 disco that i have fitted series 2 disco td5 lights into.
was abit or a play around but for the end result it was worth it.
trim the wings abit, rewire the lights with different plugs, cut the panel out behind the lights. all in took about 2 days work and cost was price of the lights £300 and some wire and plugs. also fitted the grill which was a straight swap

just to prove it can be done

I have a 300TDi ES and even though its a 96 I think its a handsome beast. I like the headlights and wouldnt want TD5 lights. Each to their own I guess. There are plenty of aftermarket add ons to enhance Discoverys. I might go for an 'A' frame soft bull bar and a pair of massive driving lamps but other than that I like it! The TD5 does look a lot chunkier but I reckon the 4 cyl motor in the 300TDi is better and would have had to fork out at least another £3K for one.

If I were you, I'd definitely save up and buy a Series 2. The two vehicles look similar but are in reality two very different beasts with few interchangeable parts. In altering your S1 you would probably reduce its value and find it harder to sell one day.

I've had both S1 and S2 Discoveries and there's no competition on or off road; buy an S2 and fit a diff-lock!

Major C

Purely personal taste I know, but I think later TD5 headlights can look a bit 'too big' when they're grafted into a series 1. Look a bit out of scale with the rest of the front of the car. Series IIs are quite surprisingly bigger than a series 1. I believe that the only shared body panel is the rear door.

Getting there slowly but surely, many thanks for the replies so far.

It definitely IMHO looks better with the later lights on:

Before:



After:



It would have been a 10 minute job to change the lights, except I took it apart and gave it a good clean, then re wired the headlamps to include relays in order to be able to use 130/90W headlamp bulbs, and what a difference they make!

Now I'd like to fit the later grill and indicators, and obviously the trims under the indicators.

Black and silver badges soon too!

I'm loving my new toy!

Hey that looks cool! how much for new headlamps?

Thank you!

The new lamps cost £75 for the pair, but have seen them a bit cheaper on ebay, I didn't want to buy them off there in case they didn't fit!

Place I got mine said he'd give me a credit for them if they didn't fit.

Land Rover Dealer wanted £90 odd + VAT , so he's still got them!

They arent TD5 lights though are they? are they 300's that have been painted inside perhaps? either way they do look the biz.

Well mate, as far as I am aware they are TD5 lights, from the 1999 model on, until they did the newest of the lights with the circular lamps and clear covers on, think mine are just the facelift of the facelift, before the final facelift if you get me?

I would have thought that the main beam would already be on a relay? hmm I'll have to check that out. Can you get those bulbs for my king of headlamps? ie 300s?

StrongStuff said:

Well mate, as far as I am aware they are TD5 lights, from the 1999 model on, until they did the newest of the lights with the circular lamps and clear covers on, think mine are just the facelift of the facelift, before the final facelift if you get me?

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Yep you are spot on mate

that looks great makes it look newer was they a streight swap?

matt n his disco said:

that looks great makes it look newer was they a streight swap?

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Yes mate, 10 minute job, it was the wiring and cleaning that made it take all day!