Member Since: 28 May 2020
Location: Bedfordshire
Posts: 8
Discovery 3 newbie, interior question.
Hi, this is my first post.
On the day before lockdown we brought our first Discovery 3. Its an '06 plate, manual TDV6 S. In all fairness it is not the most desirable model, and with 178K on the clock and no service history you could call it a gamble. It was however v cheap, starts and drives extremely well, the engine is dry, the body is straight and original and the MOT history checks out OK.
I'm pretty handy when it comes to the spanners, so first jobs before using it have included replacing the oil pump with the latest style, timing belt kit (dating the old belt suggests it was last done at around 100k), Aux belt, all filters, and engine and gearbox oil changes. It's been converted to Dunlop coil springs. This is OK for now, but in time I plan to get it back on air since, whilst their condition is unknown all the parts of the original air system are still in place with the exception of the struts.
Clearly there will be more work to do going forward, but that is to be expected with a car of this age and mileage.
Anyway the reason for this post relates to a questions about the interior I hope some of you knowledgeable forum members may be able to answer. I wrote to the LR information center to find out the original build spec based on the VIN and Registration. They say the car is Buckingham blue with Cloth Alpaca. The car is Buckingham blue but the seats are Leather Alpaca with Ebony black central panels in the base and backrest. Being an S model the drivers seat is not electric. Door cards, dash and centre armrest are light coloured (assume Alpaca)
https://www.disco3.co.uk/gallery/albums/us...terior.jpg
I've never seen this combination before so my questions are really:
Is this combination original? (Wear looks correct with respect to age and mileage)
Was it a special option? (I've found no other references to it apart from one seat for sale on Ebay.
Is it quite an unusual scheme? (I could understand some disliking it, but I quite like it)
Looking forward to some happy years of Discovery owning maintaining and driving, as well as reading and contributing to the forum.
Adrian.
30th May 2020 1:09 am
aja4x4
Member Since: 14 Apr 2019
Location: Westbury
Posts: 2463
Hi and Welcome
I have never seen a standard interior like that but it looks good.
Being the S model it may have come from factory on coil springs so it might not be that easy to fit air.
30th May 2020 7:35 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 73134
Seats deffo not original, prob reupholstered as no D3 seats had a different coloured centre panel.
Plus 06MY S deffo had air susp as standard. The original spec is exactly (apart from the manual bit) like my old Dark Bluie, May she rust in pieces.
30th May 2020 7:44 am
Iguana
Member Since: 14 Oct 2013
Location: 'Sunny' Zomerset
Posts: 9424
Click image to enlarge
Nice looking interior Iggy/Ieuan
Current LR =
2015 RR Sport Autobiography
&
1992 Land Rover Defender Camper
- Gone but not forgotten:
MY10 D4 GS
MY05 Disco 3 'S'
MY14 FL2 HSE manual in Blue
MY15 Disco 4 HSE Lux in Santorini Black
MY08 Disco 3 SE manual in Buck Blue
1960 Series 2 88" (No idea why I sold it!)
30th May 2020 8:10 am
Sea Raider
Member Since: 01 Nov 2016
Location: None
Posts: 4450
Welcome
this will give you a flavour of standard equipment
Member Since: 02 Apr 2010
Location: Chelmsford, Essex
Posts: 1600
The picture confirms the OP's thoughts about coil replacements as you can see TR knob and air suspension switch still in situ.Stu
2016 D4 Landmark current
2022 Defender D300 SE Gone
D4 2014 XS Commercial - Gone
D4 2016 hse lux montalcino red - Gone
D3 2005 se java black - current
D3 2005 base manual - gone
D2 1999 TD5 E white - current
30th May 2020 11:48 am
FordsonE27N
Member Since: 28 May 2020
Location: Bedfordshire
Posts: 8
Thanks for the replies all. When I first saw the interior colour scheme I thought it was a bit odd and It may have been redone. During cleanup though it all looked too factory. All 7 seats have been done, with dark blue leather and it has all the airbag tags on etc. Also the seat bolts don't look like they have ever been out of the car.
If it has been reupholstered, fair play to whoever wanted it done. Perhaps they really did think the 'S' meant special, and they considered it worth the effort!
Anyway, it should do me a good turn, and hopefully some waxoyl underneath should shop me having to weld it for a few years yet.
Thanks again,
Adrian.
30th May 2020 7:13 pm
galwaygreen
Member Since: 30 Oct 2011
Location: plymouth
Posts: 6525
nice interior...notice headrest are diffo...our first d3 had cloth when we bought it 8000 only on clock...dealer arranged leather at £1400 for 5 seats...done in three days before we picked up..it was too good an offer to turn down just because it had cloth,,we got more or less what we paid after 12 months and moved to d4
30th May 2020 11:09 pm
kajtzu
Member Since: 10 Aug 2017
Location: Helsinki
Posts: 6772
As was said earlier, D3 didn’t come in two tone for seats. Also, as far as I know, alpaca leather meant on MY05 and MY06 perforated leather.
31st May 2020 12:09 am
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 14177
Plus 1, really like the seats , door cards as well look good
31st May 2020 1:04 am
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 14177
Member Since: 28 May 2020
Location: Bedfordshire
Posts: 8
I thought I'd update this post with my experiences so far of Discovery 3 ownership. I don't post very often so sorry if this is a bit long, but it might interest somebody out there.
At the end of March I brought BV06BVX out of BCA Bedford. As explained in my first post it has no history, had nearly 180k on the clock and was a manual TDV6 S. I'd looked a few going through in my £3-4k budget, and they all needed work either cosmetically or mechanically. I thought I wanted a SE or HSE auto. The hammer fell at £1100 on this one, not making its reserve. With a reserve of £1250 I thought 'what the hell, it must be worth that in parts' and agreed to the purchase. With the additional buyers fee it was mine for £1470. TBH I hadn't really looked at it because I didn't think this would be the one. MOT'ed until May a friend drove it home on trade plates, no issues. I went for a spin and looking past the filthy inside and various bits of broken trim I was quietly impressed with the driving experience. So roll on to October. With the help of this Forum and some spannering I think we have come a long way.
First job before it went anywhere was timing belts and oil pump. Great guides on here, I got all the bits from A/F and the job went smoothly. Dating the timing belt that came off suggested it had been changed at the 100k mark. This was followed by a full service. Most parts these days seem to have manufacturing date codes stamped on them, so a reasonably good sign when I found a 2018 date code on the oil filter.
All the trim missing or damaged was sourced from Ebay S/H including a set of handbooks. I repaired the glove box handle and latch and Dad and I gave it a thorough clean inside and out ready for the road.
By 1st June DVLA still hadn't sent me the V5 so I taxed it at the Post office on a v62. A week later I replaced all the brake pads (the MEHLE from A/F seem really good) and had a thorough check of the braking system. OK the steel pipes at the back will need replacing for good measure but they didn't look bad after I'd cleaned them up and given them some protection. The family holiday to Norfolk went without a hitch. It performed faultlessly. As family of 4 with young twins we were really starting to gel with our Disco. It is such a useful car. The space is amazing and the tailgate ideal as a nappy changing table!
Since then, in an attempt to stop the underbody turning to dust and after having to weld the O/S sill and wheelarch, I've cleaned, kurusted, painted and Waxoyled everything I can get to underneath. Again as suggested by this forum I have removed all the plastic trims, arch liners and bumpers to remove accumulated mud and road grime from these areas before protecting them. I know there are better products than Waxoyl but some protection must be better than none. Interestingly when cutting the sill apart I found out the complete rear quarter has been replaced at some time in it's life. Its been done pretty well though because you cant tell in the door shuts, rear light recess or top corner.
I've serviced the compressor, stripped and rebuilt 4 S/H air struts, and replaced the original air tank which had a rust hole in. Once I'd got some confidence the EAS might work I swapped the Dunlop Coils for the air struts and plumbed it all in. Our other car is a 2006 Jaguar x type, and I've had a copy of JLR SDD and an ODB cable for years but never had to use it. Some late nights of figuring it all out and I used the SDD to get the suspension reactivated (I think the Dunlop bypass module might put the system into service mode) and successfully calibrated. No faults which was good but disappointingly the front dropped overnight. More forum searches identified this might be the front valve block. As usual I tried to repair it first(unsuccessfully) but the issue was cured a day later on fitting a new pattern one.
I brought a genuine LR s/h spares or repair fixed towbar, freed it all off, serviced the locking mechanism with a few new bits painted it and fitted it.
Last week I fitted new steering rack ends and track rods as I'd noticed some play when checking things over. A couple of evenings this week has been spent changing the O/S front wheel bearing. I think in both cases the originals were still fitted as the bearing was Timken and the rack joints TRW dated 12-05. Not bad for 180k miles. I have opted for sticking with those brands in the hope I will not have to do them again.
In summary we have now done 3000 miles together and during that time this forum has helped me immensely, so thanks to all that contribute. The search function is so powerful. It seems most of my problems have been encountered by you previously and have been solvable with time, thought, understanding and getting my hands dirty. Oh and a dollop of money for good measure.
So, do I regret buying it? No,
Has it been an interesting learning adventure? Yes
Was it a cheap Discovery? Does such a car exist! Unless I spent 8-9k I'd probably be doing the same jobs in the <£5k bracket anyway.
Is it great car and do I/we love it? Definitely.
The original intention was try one out for a year then increase the budget for a replacement if we liked it, but now this one might be a keeper.
Roll on the MOT in a month time. and now for some pics.
PS. Still no news on the interior combo, and Stratstone (Who I think were the original agent) have been rubbish at getting back to me about any info they might have. Now it is cleaned the seat centre panels are blue to match the exterior colour. The D4 wheels were not fitted by me, and whilst I like originality I think these do look better than the Style 1? 18" alloys that it probably came with from the dealer.
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