Story by: Randy Dickson

[Randy Dickson, White River Junction, VT, once taught auto mechanics to vocational high school students. Once electronic ignitions took over, he chose to become an Industrial Arts teacher of woodworking in middle schools. Along with his Sheltie, Molly, he’s an avid local history buff who raises a significant issue with us –ed.]

My family purchased a 1969 Series II-A 88” SW, the short-term “bug eye” model. My father selected it to replace a Willys Station Wagon with the flathead 6-cylinder. The Willys performed well but had lost a battle to the rapid rust of Cape Cod sand and salt. It probably didn’t help that we drove through salt water to our home when there was a full moon tide! Dad liked the idea of the Rover’s aluminum alloy body, and the 4-speed gearbox [Willys and early AMC Jeeps had only 3- speed gearboxes -ed]. It was Land Rover green, had the rear seats for four (child-size), and a bonnet-mounted spare.

I learned to drive in that truck well before I turned 16. Dad gave me permission to take the keys from the dish on the desk, and off I would go on the back roads of South Orleans. It was amazing to drive a new 88”! Everything felt in-sych, even the gearbox! Our Land Rover performed many family duties: it served as a commuter vehicle, moved the boats, made dump runs, completed yard chores, and of course, took us on family outings down Nauset Beach and back. The Land Rover was a common sight in the Orleans area of Cape Cod, MA, as we had a local dealer, Orleans Motors, on the town cove. Certainly our Rover benefited from their care. When Land Rover left the North American market in 1974, Orleans Motors became an International Scout dealer. Sadly, the last I saw of the Orleans Motors building, it was a retail clothing shop.

Running a Series Land Rover today as a daily driver is a challenge. Many of us who lived with a Series Land Rover upgraded it to some modern standards. After all, we need our cup holders, fog lights and roof racks. When we approach the safety side of things, we enter into more challenging territory. We desire contemporary seat belts, power assist and/or disc brake conversions, better lighting, and engine performance that matches today’s highway driving. These upgrades can become costly. I’ve been recently considering purchasing a Series pickup but then I know I’ll want to change it (a lot!) once it’s in the driveway.
What can be as versatile, as effective and as fun as a Series but already incorporate modern engineering? Perhaps the answer lies with the next Rover to hold the Series nomenclature, the Discovery. Since I have a good Discovery I, named “Tigger,” perhaps it should become my next Series Rover. Tigger arrived in 1994, the first year in North America for the Discovery. The ‘94 was a one-model year for the US market. There were limited options – color schemes, rear jump seats or not, automatic or 5-speed standard [the only US model with a manual transmission]. It came equipped with many of the features and mechanicals we sometimes want to add to our Series vehicles (don’t lie now – admit it!)

There’s no shortage of the first model Discoverys, now called Discovery Series I’s. They were both produced in high numbers for their day (65,444 Discovery I’s were sold in the US from 1994 to 1999). There are many to choose from on the used car market; parts and upgrades are plentiful.
Here are 10 good reasons to consider a Discovery in lieu of your next classic Series vehicle. First, they cruise at 65 MPH with a lot less drivetrain noise. Secondly, I’m a fan of cruise control for interstate driving. It’s also hard not to love the Rover V-8’s overall power and smoothness.

I have to admit that I’ve become a fan of the Land Rover automatic for both on-road and off-road driving. The electronic ignition system has never let me down. The power assisted disc brakes come with an antilock feature for safety in ice and snow. The coil spring suspension with the anti-sway bars assures additional safety in all weather conditions. My Discovery has great road manners, helped by the wider 58.8” track. It’s been great right out of the box in off-road situations, too, and there are plenty of off-road options if I want to upgrade the vehicle.

Finally, the Discovery has all of the creature comforts that have become necessities for a modern daily driver – multi-speed wipers and windshield washers, truly effective heater and defroster systems, rear window wipers, door locks that lock, doors that shut tight, quiet and calm interiors, inertia reel seat belts and air bags.

No – I’m not busting on our beloved Series I, II, IIA, or Series III. They all do their truck chores with ease, are mechanically simple (except those damn drum brakes – simple yes, just not easy for me!), and are supported by every upgrade you can think of. Well – not the aerodynamics package of course!

But as we upgrade our Series to a Disco I (or to Range Rover) specs., why not get a Disco? Why not? They are plentiful, relatively cheep, lack the modern computer problems (well – most of the problems…), and are driver friendly on long trips and around town.

This was my thought process when confronted with this difficult choice. Mind you, I loved my beautiful 1967 Series-IIA 109” 5-door SW. With a new galvanized frame, it had a sweet-running 4-cylinder with overdrive and a capstan winch to boot. But the 109” was not fully up to the task I had in mind for it. Sure, it would hold many paying customers, their canoes and gear piled onto a trailer, but not really at highway speeds and certainly not up to contemporary safety expectations. So, the more I thought of all the changes required to upgrade this beautiful old ‘67 Series II-A, the more I realized it was loosing its unique character. The reality that there would not be much left of the original truck by the time it met my expectations. So the seven seat Disco appeared to be the solution with its ability to carry seven, travel at 65 mph, go off-road, and leave the 109” original.

The Discovery, like the 109”, had to perform dual roles of onroad transport and off-road trail tours – which it did with ease, in stock form. The only place the Disco fell short was inevitable. It just did not look the part of pure “Safari” as the 109” did. But then again, what vehicle does look African Safari more than a 109” station wagon?

The Discovery, when purchased, was locked out of low range as many of them are – as it was a “grocery getter” in its previous life, low range had never been engaged. One sun roof would not move from the “shut’ position, but it’s fixed now. Otherwise, it’s been a great investment. I’ve left it fairly stock except for a home made bumper bar to hold the “High-Lift” jack, pull line, etc., a ladder and 2/3 roof rack, and a tad bit of black paint – Camel Trophy style! It 3may be in for some tweaks by the end of this summer, as its last trip had the front spoiler being used as a “dirt scoop” on the trails. In these days of nearly $4.00 premium fuel, gas mileage can become depressing. My Discovery’s EPA rating is 16 mpg highway, 13 city. That’s about the same as my Series II-A 109” used to get, too. The average 2007 small four cylinder pickup with DOHC engine and numerous other efficiency enhancing features is only rated at 18/21 mpg city/highway. So our older 3.9 liter push-rod engine does not look that bad after all – and the pickup will not seat as many people. As the consummate people-hauler, as an excellent tow vehicle, as a superbly competent off roader, and a brilliant daily driver for contemporary use, consider the Discovery as the logical successor to the classic Series Rover. If you have the choice, you might keep your classic Series Rover closer to original (with a few tweaks of course!) and accept its limitations on the back roads, and have a Discovery for everything else.

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