1996 Discovery 1 One Year of Ownership! 

They are so darn fun to drive. I take mine when I can, always puts a smile on my face!

Those dash board buttons are usually what go bad and their easy to replace. I replaced mine and got back rear fog lights and rear window defogger.

..with regards to previous suggestions to prevent overheating may be taken seriously. Kindly study how to fill your radiator , removing air from the system, best to check every fitting coolant related. From top to bottom. Also to relpace your cooling thermostat since they can get stuck closed if very old. Best to get the proper temp required stat for if running too cold may effect the optimum performanc. A cooling hose kit is sold and a good idea. Minimize the element of surprize. Preventing avoidble cost of repairs and major inconveniences. Addtional preventive maintenance may be replacing your breaklines, with rust and corrosion concerns . Again to have the assurance of avoiding break failure when your brakes are needed the most. Thanks for shairing and best of luck to you with your wonderful 96. Blessed adventures.

I have identical one in white- got 3yrs ago mechanically sound,no rust 150K miles. Paint fading (same spots as yours). The interior was “interesting” center dash console destroyed, front seats horrible- rear near perfect. The entire exhaust from manifold to tailpipe (and cats) cracked or rotted. I keep a logbook (1 subject notebook neatly filled up ) of EVERYTHING I have done- (and do) from fuel cost, repairs (all done by me) trips/ mileage count…etc Immediately after I got the D1 - 1st item purchased for it was an ultra-gauge (from Amazon) … Lucky8 off road, rover farm, and Atlantic British (RU-vid and online) have been great. I haven’t had any (left stranded) issues (yet) with my D1 ….the power steering lines started leaked once the temp dipped into the single digits (and below) since the temperature was risen to 38 degrees (and more) the leaks stopped - I received replacement lines already from Atlantic British- will replace over a weekend. Sorry for the novel… just happy to see another D1 similar to mines. Good Luck to ya with your Disco ! 🙌🏼

I also sleep in my Disco. Good luck brother

If you are judging “not overheating” based on OEM temp gauge, be aware they are notoriously unreliable - only rising when close to dangerously hot. Get a Scan Gauge for reassurance.

Don’t paint the wheels keep them as they are 👍👍👍👍🇳🇿🇳🇿🇳🇿🍺🍺

You can buy a buffer ($20) and conditioner ($10) and buff out the paint on the hood. A little wax,…!

96 Disco SE7 in White here, 145k on clock, 15 years in my hands, Heads reman and head gaskets by me at 142k, Auto tranny rebuild at 130k due to River water ingress (they don't swim under water they sink! check your vent tubes before bathing!!!). 265/75r16 BFG KO2 very slight fender chops to clear at stock. Then I lifted 2" with +50mm longer shocks and it was not very fun to drive on the freeway, 80mph was terrifying (coming from a guy that did wheelies over 120 mph). So then I installed: Extended bump stops, had to lower/drop front swaybar down to clear front the driveshaft. 3-degree Radius arms/ canted rear, TF poly bushings everywhere. Adjustable Panhard bar. 2-3k later, it is lifted now and drives okay. But does it drive any better? NO.. in hindsight, DONT lift it!! I hardcore offroad in Arizona, FYI I'll be getting lockers next, And I have never Needed to be any higher. It went on trails that New Jeeps with 30k in extra parts struggled on. It does look really nice lifted with them bigger tires on, but yeah my 2 cents, leave it stock! Nice Rigs, almost sold mine once, probably keep it forever now.. 10mpg but goes ANYWHERE

BTW it's an old Rover marking its SPOT.. If it ISN'T leaking, it needs oil!!

Pity you don't get the diesels in the US...26-38mpg (UK gallons)

The wheels aren’t a great look - these just aren’t the most attractive of the LR wheels. The faded clear coat paint could maybe be wet-sanded off carefully to get a uniform finish. I like your strategy of just driving it and not trying to fix everything. I just spent a lot replacing an exhaust. If you’re going to keep it long term - try to fix the engine / overheating codes etc first and that might save the engine itself - definitely prioritize the engine and drivetrain over things like wheels I guess