Nissan Patrol vs. FJ 40 (1 Viewer)

[ToyotaGuy88]

I saw one during christmas last year at A.C. Moore. It's an art and crafts store here in Concord. It was red and covered in Christmas decorations and what not. While my GF looked around the store I stood and studied the Patrol. It had original nissan glass, no engine or tranny. I just thought it was really interesting to see it there. I wish I had a picture to show ya'll. I hope no 40s ever suffer the same fate...

 

[Mudguts]

being a australian when was a young bloke had a few 40`s and 1 hell of a nissan patrol g60 mid wheel base 302 windsor done up to rev and a landcruiser 4sp and transfer set up which was the weak point of the whole car the nissan drove better on road steering was much better body roll etc etc i wish i still had it the mid wheel base was a great size the original nissan gearbox was strong but 3sp and like a tractor great for 4x4ing but horrible on the road i ended up swapping it for a fj45 ute , i missed a 1 owner g60 not long ago for $1500au in immaculate condition but or well still stoked as me bj42 LX does a ok job of bouncing around but the nissan g60`s where awesome my 10 cents worth

 

[number057]

I take it you are in Doble & Bajo and live in Colombia? The blue Patrol is my friend Hectors, it is a 78. I think he needs to improve the suspension and put it back on 36" or bigger tires!

:

Sorry RMP&O, I just saw the thread, and you are correct , That is Hector Ruiz truck he is the mos Nissan sick person I know , as Hector you know your stuff, it sis a small world and as you said IT IS A NEVER ENDING SUBJECT Nissan's VS Toyotas.
I love crusiers
Cheers.
PS: on 35 inch tires the first time he wheel it , he flipped twice so I think he is not going bigger.
# 1 flip
YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.
#2

YouTube - NISSAN PATROL COLOMBIA
Enjoy~~

 

[SNLC]

Sorry RMP&O, I just saw the thread, and you are correct , That is Hector Ruiz truck he is the mos Nissan sick person I know , as Hector you know your stuff, it sis a small world and as you said IT IS A NEVER ENDING SUBJECT Nissan's VS Toyotas.
I love crusiers
Cheers.
PS: on 35 inch tires the first time he wheel it , he flipped twice so I think he is not going bigger.
# 1 flip
YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.
#2

YouTube - NISSAN PATROL COLOMBIA
Enjoy~~

Yeah Hector and me are friends, I have been to his house several times in Bogota. Last time I was in Colombia was in early 2009. Hector was having the body work done on his Patrol to fix the roll over damage when I was there last....

I may be sicker than him! Hard to say...we are both sick with Patrols!! I also like his Dodge Demon a lot!

I didn't have the heart to tell him...but he needs to lower the truck. It is to tall and with the leaf springs he has yeah it is not hard to flip over. If he lowered it a bit and fit better leaf springs he could go with a 38" tire no problem. Or just put in coilovers and be done with it!

 

[Rajafarhan]

We have a lot of those in our country and my dad owns one too auto transmission...Theyre excellent in 4x4

 

[dingoFJ55]

I just recently purchase a pair of L60 Patrols, not sure what my plans are with them though. I just recently finished my FJ55 so it was time for another project.

1967 & 1969

• dingoFJ55
• Mar 2, 2017

 

[msahr]

I just recently purchase a pair of L60 Patrols, not sure what my plans are with them though. I just recently finished my FJ55 so it was time for another project.

1967 & 1969

• dingoFJ55
• Mar 2, 2017

You're in for an education! Think 4-wheel drum brakes. 3-speed non-synchro first. No power steering. Positive ground electrics. Virtually nonexistent parts supply, aftermarket, etc support. Most Nissan dealerships no longer have the parts lookup capability, you'll need to tell them to use the alternate "PARTS E" catalog (It's on the other disk, no longer updated by Nissan). It is on their catalog, but just for fun last time I was doing parts computer work (I do IT for car dealerships, several of my clients are Nissan stores) I looked up just random parts there was no availability in the system. So good luck!

 

[dingoFJ55]

not sure about that positive ground part? The engine in the green one is pretty incomplete so I plan to do a re power of some sort. Maybe a diesel with a nv4500 trans. the axles I have planned to leave and see about doing a disc brake conversion like I did on the rear of my FJ55. I kept my old front rotors to see if they would work for a starting point... if not FJ40 axles it is! I do not plan to touch the body and just leave it with its lovely patina. the red one is more complete and used to run, figured I would try to get it running and possibly sell it...

 

[Coolerman]

No! Keep them all Nissan! Find you a wrecked Nissan Pro-4X Xterra with the 4.0L V6, 6 speed manual tranny and electric locking rear diff to throw under one of them! You would need to get a Dana 44 with 3.69 gears for the front axle to match the rear M226 (modified Dana 44) the Pro 4X came with.

 

[dingoFJ55]

I like that idea. I am currently looking at the forklift P40 engine. It should bolt right up. and looks very similar to the original engine.

 

[daner]

Since I've owned 6 or-7 Patrols, 6 Land Cruisers, 4-5 Scout 80s and about 10 Willys and 2 Power Wagons from a similar era (pre 1965), thought i'd weigh in. Apologize if I get slightly off topic with comparing other 4x4s in the early 60s, but it is contextually relevant.

Of all the 35+ vintage 4x4s I've owned, the Patrol and Land Cruisers were far above the best engineered and constructed. Hands down, no comparison.

I love the old Willys, but they suffered from the fact they were built from whatever parts could be thrown together in the months before WWII. In addition, they were originally spec'd to be very lightweight, so they used the lightest duty parts (axles. steering etc). On top of that, when Willys started building the trucks and wagons, they used the same obsolete, undersized parts that were outdated and undersized on the 1/4 ton Jeep, such as the Ross "steering" box and Dana 25 front axle that was even used on Willys 1-ton trucks...there is a reason that the market was ready for better 4x4s by the late 1950s! I will say that the Willys wagons and trucks were in my opinion the best looking vintage 4x4 out there.

The Power Wagons were built like tanks, but drove about as well...mine was a former marine truck with a "Maximum Highway Speed 37mph" on the dash. People that complain of the early FJ40s with no power steering and 'only" 135 hp should take an early Power Wagon for a drive. Brutal on and off road. There is a reason every one you see has "Low miles".

The early Scout 80s were a big improvements over the Willys, but as IH was a small company, they did not engineer or produce the parts specifically for the Scout, they just used most of the same obsolete crap the Willys did, i.e. Dana 27 axles front and rear, same springs and the equally crappy three-speed.

This is where the Patrols and Land Cruisers had a huge advantage-most of the parts were specifically engineered for the Patrol and Landcruiser, and were well thought out and generally "over built."

Both were excellent off road, if anything I would give a slight edge to the Patrol off road as it has a ridiculously sharp turning radius and better approach/departure angles than an FJ40. Both had mediocre low gears, but both had great low-end torque to make up for it.

Of the two, I would say the Patrol is more rugged and overbuilt, but the FJs were far more refined and drove much better. If I were to chose one to drive across the Sahara, Simpson Desert or the Baja and my life depended on not breaking down-I would chose the Patrol.

If I were to chose one for my ranch or for hunting, I would take the FJ40.

Several things hurt the Patrol-first, Nissan did not upgrade the Patrol much, at least not the ones imported to USA. The Patrols they sold in 1969 (the last year available here) were obsolete compared to the v-8 Broncos and Scouts with 4-speeds.

Secondly, Nissan has never been good at supporting their vehicles. In fact, they suck. Obviously there is no aftermarket as only 2700 were imported from 1962-1969, so big win for the FJ there.

Another huge advantage for the land Cruiser is that there is a market for them. If you dump money into a Patrol, pretty good chance you will not get it back. With a cruiser you probably won't get all of your money back, but it is still a better investment.

 

[MOTOV8R]

My friend just bought back his Patrol from his brother-in-law. I think it's a 1966.

 

[daner]

nice truck, my favorite color too. I believe that is probably a 1969-the only year with the big plastic turn signals

 

[MOTOV8R]

nice truck, my favorite color too. I believe that is probably a 1969-the only year with the big plastic turn signals

You are right. I think he said he upgraded the ignition/dizzy with some parts from a 240 or 260z. Other than that mostly stock with only minor rust.

 

[Captn Conch]

FWIW..In the past I crossed paths with a couple of Patrols. They do have one thing in common with our old 40's...They can really rust good too.

 

[dingoFJ55]

I have been wondering about the rust situation. Compared to my FJ55 these things are mint. Most of them I have seen over the years that I have been looking have all looked pretty strong in the body area. I was beginning to think that Nissan got the better metal or had a better protection process. But I guess since most of the were sold out west the could play a part in it too.

 

[motown fj40]

Parts for Patrols have to be hard to find and super expensive.

 

[dingoFJ55]

I am about to find out I guess!

 

[msahr]

I am about to find out I guess!

Hey if you want to try a Nissan store, not every parts person knows what a Patrol is. Nissan FAST parts catalog refers to it as a G60. They will need to refer to their "E-FAST" catalog, it's not on the main catalog. You'll love the look on their face when they ask the inevitable "what's your VIN?" and you give them a really small number. Good Luck and let us know how make out.

 

[tls3601]

I considered a Patrol at one time, my Uncle had a Scout 2 and I love the old Powerwagons; @daner excellent write up and very good advice.