Irwin the 1995 Disco (200tdi and 5 Spd swapped)

[Colorofkris]

Nice resurrection! Looks so much better white. 200tdi is a strong motor.

Thanks! I’m loving the white over the plasti dip, I’ve been debating on cleaning up the paint but have come to terms that the patina of the rough paint looks to good to clean up. Absolutely loving the 200tdi, it’s slow but such a fun motor!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Colorofkris]

Hey everyone sorry for the lack of updates and write ups, I have 2 pups that are have not been doing well and have been spending my time hanging out with them while I still can. I have not made much for progress on the rover in the past month or so aside from our first camp trip. I planned on doing a full write up of the trip but have been away from most media platforms. I will get back to updating sooner or later.

 

[Colorofkris]

Had a good outing in the disco yesterday at the Ales & Overland on Amelia island. I have been looking forward any events I can/ could take the discovery to. While I was there someone dropped off this decal to which I thought was pretty freaking cool. Anyone know any back story or info on it?

In other news we ended up saying goodbye to our basset hound a little over a week ago so spending time with her was a priority to the wife an I for the past month since we got the news of her condition. I’ve been pretty inactive in most forms of social media for the past month. I plan on picking back up this week.

As for maintenance this past month I’ve been just keeping everything at an even plane. This week I did order some parts which I will get into in one of the next posts.

Last but not least I am taking a trip hopefully this weekend as well as another trip in June. Stay tuned for updates on those trips and progress with the rover. I apologize for not committing to write up of the first trip in the discovery to the Helen area but upon our return life got kind of hectic. I do have a video from the trip though dropping soon (once I get caught up on video editing) so keep an eye on the YouTube channel which is @

https://youtube.com/channel/UCloaQMtoiOvkpEoQ902B7aA


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Colorofkris]

Happy memorial day weekend everyone!

Here’s a trip report:

We had a huge change of plans this weekend for our camp trip, originally we were planning to head north and hang out for a long weekend but due to the health of our Pomeranian we opted to head south for a shorter one night stay in Ocala National Forest at our favorite spot down there. Since our Pom is essentially a golden retriever she had the chance to swim as much as she wanted and play in the water since the spot sits on a mangrove beach on ocean pond.

The Disco performed flawlessly through the sugar sand trails out to the spot and 2 hour highway drive there and back. Since there is no a/c and a lot of holes in the floors we decided to leave early in the morning Saturday and left late Sunday. This also helped to avoid holiday traffic.

Once the rtt was set up and camp was made we spent the better part of the day chilling out in our camp chair is the water letting the pups play followed up with a nap in the tent. I made up some mahi fish tacos and called it an early night. Next morning we woke up to an awesome sunrise, calm water, and pancakes (The pancakes were followed by a nap btw). As the heat of the day began to take over we headed back into the water. While hanging out in the water we were greeted by a couple of stingrays and blue crabs. There were also a couple gators that were hanging out a ways off the beach but they were fairly small and kept there distance. (We kept a close eye on them). As the day started to cool off we began to break camp. In this process we got to watcha. Bald eagle fish for a little bit which was pretty cool.

More pictures and a video to follow! Also have an update coming up soon too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Colorofkris]

Update

It’s nice to say that I have a lot going on for the rover at the moment. I have done very little recently due to life getting in the way but now I’m getting refocused on the task at hand. An oil change is about the only thing I’ve gotten done recently.

As for upcoming:

I have ordered and received the sway bar links which are in dire need of replacement.

I’ve also ordered both lt230 drive flanges with new oil seals due to my front drive flange slinging oil like no tomorrow. The flanges also have a ridiculous amount of slop.

The Safari snorkel has been sitting on my work bench for about 2 months waiting on tools. Those are on the way.

Last but not least I finally picked up a welder for the floor boards.

Also this is my hood latch. Pull the halo dude and boom hood pops

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Colorofkris]

Sway bars are complete and what a difference they make!

Snorkel install is coming up this week too.

Also both my front and rear driver side door handles broke on the outside. So I have replacements for all 4 handles on the way. Also trying to get a hold of a window motor and some pillar trim pieces.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Colorofkris]

I would like to apologize for the lack of posts recently on the forum, I do promise thought that progress is being made in these lapses of content. In fast a lot of progress has been made since my last post. I will start where I left off….

Ball joints are installed and doing well, it is a night and day difference in ride quality since replacing them.

The snorkel is also installed, that install was a pain in the butt. I still need to seal up the piping and make a few adjustments to the setup but it is now low on y list of priorities at the moment.

I made an order and received the parts from some one doing a part out for door handles, passenger front window motor and regulator, and “A” pillar trim pieces. The door handle on the driver side front and read were broken and I couldn’t open my doors from the outside. These have since both been replaced. The window motor and door handles for the passenger side will be done in the next month or so. Trim pieces were both broken, one came off so I replaced those and they make a huge difference on the inside. In this process I also picked up some grease and lubricated all door joints, hood latch, and rear door. Note to self when you grease something be gentle opening the door because I almost ripped off the tailgate since it used to be pretty hard to open.

Last week I was driving and got a cracking/ crumbling noise (almost like a coke can), turned out to be a bad U joint. Went ahead and replace the U joint as well as both oil seals and drive flanges on the T-case. In this process I changed my fluid in the T-case and both front and rear differentials. (As well topped off my transmission fluid.

As you know from my previous post I picked up a welder as well. I just started prepping the Rover for floor boards. Starting Monday I will be cutting out the driver and passenger floor pans and fabricating new ones. There are a few other patches that need to be made through out the rover as well. I will be prepping the floors after to be truck bed lined, insulated, and then carpeted. I will also replacing seat belts in the driver and passenger seats.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[discomeans]

As a new diesel D1 owner myself, definitely following this thread. I live in NE FL and hope to get over to Ocala National Forest soon. Any particular spots you'd recommend?

 

[Colorofkris]

As a new diesel D1 owner myself, definitely following this thread. I live in NE FL and hope to get over to Ocala National Forest soon. Any particular spots you'd recommend?

Heck yeah! I’m in SE GA at the moment.

The salt springs area has a lot of fun trails, most of which are pretty easy. I Would recommend getting the motor vehicle use map and spend a day just exploring (or a couple days). That’s what I did a few years ago, you will deff find some camp spots.

As for the thread be patient for content, I am working on some life changes so content may be a bit slow. I’ve done a lot of work on the disco recently but haven’t had much time for updates.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Colorofkris]

Motivated by the last post I will now commence an update!

To start the floors are about done minus 2 spots. They are bed lined and sound deadener has been layer down. Both seats are also installed. I still have to cut out the seatbelts for the driver and passenger and weld in now floor in those areas and install the new belts. I also need to finish painting the underside where the welding was done, I plan to use a rust stop paint as well as a rubber coating. After I get the seat belts done I will lay down some new carpet and call it a day.

I also fixed the gasket for the transmission as well as my reverse switch. The gasket was all messed up so I re riveted it and cleaned it up, this was big reason the cab was getting so much hot air.

Lastly I have just received new mud flaps to replace the rear one that ripped. Also have a new climate control switch coming in so I can at least make use of the fan. My switch burned out and only half worked to begin with.

 

[discomeans]

Seeing that pic with the floor painted all the way to the back really makes me want to do the same. How many hours would you say it takes to remove the passenger and rear seats and get the floors prepped and painted? Wonder if it's something I can do in a weekend...

 

[Colorofkris]

Seeing that pic with the floor painted all the way to the back really makes me want to do the same. How many hours would you say it takes to remove the passenger and rear seats and get the floors prepped and painted? Wonder if it's something I can do in a weekend...

I would say it depends 100% on the condition of your floors and mounts for the seats, all of my seats once removed weren’t going back in, most of the bolts were stripped and the frames for the front seats were both shot. As for prepping the floors once all of the carpet and such is removed I used a wire wheel and a palm sander to prep the floors which took about an hour and a half. After cleaning and drying the floors the paint (I used rustoleom spray cans of bed liner) took about 4 hours or so. The longest part of the processs is letting it degas. Takes about 3 days to be drive able due to the paint fumes. Do it on a sunny day and let it vent. You can reinstall seats after the first 24hrs. I also am not putting back in my rear seats. As bad as the floor boards in these things rust I would recommend doing the floors sooner rather then later. Also do the underside of the floor boards with a rubber coating or liner as well.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Colorofkris]

Today’s post is strange to write, most likely not nearly as strange to read as it is to flow from my own fingers. Today is the beginning of a new adventure, one that I never thought would become my reality. I know that many people have followed this path and it becomes more and more normal every day to see people take this leap, but for my wife and I just never expected to take that leap are selves but instead expected to watch vicariously through others via Instagram or YouTube.

Anyways let’s get to the meat and potatoes instead of simply rambling on about the dreamy mystery of the future….

My wife and I have officially quit our jobs and we are moving to the mountains. We are closing on our house this week in southeast GA, we have all of our stuff in storage, and we are hitting the road in the disco with our puppy.

Now most people when they make this leap they are completely vehicular dependent, this is not 100% our case. We do have the support of my parents home which is where we are basing out of in Greenville SC. That being said we will be doing a lot of traveling for the next 3 months or so. Once we settle on our next home we will be in a position to travel a lot more as well.

On that note there will be much more to follow. I will be doing trip write ups on this form as frequently as possible as well as photos from our travels. Write ups will include trip reports, gear talk, upgrades and additions to the rover, and other misc stuff throughout. I will be updating the YouTube channel and Instagram as well so if you are interested in seeing where we are and what we are up to. Feel free to follow, your support will be much appreciated for it will help to keep the wife and I motivated to create better content. (I will post links)

Venture Valzone YouTube channel (Disco Days playlist)

Instagram (the_disco_days)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Colorofkris]

Work has resumed on the Rover now that we have settled down a little bit in SC after our move. One of my biggest goals before using the rig for traveling was to fix the blower motor for the a/c. Now mind you it does not have a/c but all the stuff is still under the dash which means at least some circulation but more importantly heat. The heater still works like a charm, however about 6 months ago it stopped blowing. I pulled apart the climate control into being that the fan was always iffy anyways and you had to toggle the switch around to get it to kick on, even then it wasn’t very reliable. There was a burn mark on the back of the switch so I order a used replacement. Once the replacement was installed I was able to hear clicking sounds coming from the blower motor but it still wouldn’t run. So I ordered a new relay just in case and a new blower motor. After switching the fan on the new motor with the fan from the old one booom! I have air again! After dealing with southeast GA summer with no circulation it was a huge win! Now we can tackle the cold months in the mountains with a little bit of necessary luxury!

Next up are lights! I went with 700ff Hellas for the front of the roof rack, they deff look way bigger then I expected but I’m so excited to have them. I know there are probably better and more efficient lights then these but they are the lights I’ve wanted on an off-road rig for some time. Besides they just look sweet! I have not started wiring them yet but they are set up on the rack. I have a rectangular light that I installed in the rear of the rack and 1 more of the that I haven’t thought of a place yet. (Also not wired yet. Last but not least I’m waiting on a set of 500 dogs from hella for the front bumper.

Also in the works, I’m installing a 500kw side by side blue tooth speaker/ sound bar. I do not have a stereo system in the rover and figured this would be a less invasive and fun alternative.

For a mock up, pictured down below, I have a 5 gang switch panel for all of the lights and speaker. I’ve got a few other things on progress right now but this is all that I have worked on so far.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hillstrubl]

Also in the works, I’m installing a 500kw side by side blue tooth speaker/ sound bar. I do not have a stereo system in the rover and figured this would be a less invasive and fun alternative.

Have you thought about a bluetooth amp powering door/rear speakers like this? you can stay headless and its still "in" the vehicle.