Nissan Safari/Patrol

[jfarsang]

New member/long-time lurker/JDM addict.

I'm on my 2nd Nissan Safari (known as Patrol around the planet) and love them.

The 1st was a 5spd 91 that I had a nice love affair with but my lady did not like driving stick in the city and truth be told it's akin to driving a big rig. Short shifts and hard.

So I sold it and imported an auto with some upgrades.

Mechanically it is rock solid. Frame is solid along with body panels and interior in in great shape. Some rust issues in the rear I will have blasted and fully repaired this summer.

For those wondering what parts are like in Canada/US for these things, you can walk into any North American Nissan dealership and order any part off this thing including body panels. It's pretty neat. I've never had a vehicle with true global parts support. I ordered brakes from my local dealership and they came from Nissan in Oregon. Very convenient.


Here's the goods:

1995 Nissan Safari Y60 (Patrol GQ)
Kingsroad edition (top of the line trim/accessories)
TD42T 4.2L Turbo diesel
Auto transmission
Rear differential locker
Large retractable moon roof

Options ordered from factory:
White exterior color (usually reserved for UN/work grade trucks)
Camping kit (rear outfitted with bed/stove/storage)

Mods/upgrade to be done right away:

Auxiliary transmission cooler (soon)
Transmission shift kit (soon)
WVO/veg aux tank/fuel kit (done)
Pyro/Boost/Trans temp gauges (soon)
285/75/16 Goodyear Duratrac's on 16x8 wheels (done)
Remove all chrome body/accessory parts & replace/repaint black (almost)


Mods/upgrades to be done in the near future:

OME 2" suspension lift
DIY 1" body lift
Fabricating front/rear tube bars
8274 front mount winch
side tube sliders
Top mount intercooler
Interior cabinets/bed/bench platform for camping
roof rack with center open section = removable skylight/box to have interior standing room for cooking/etc..

I've done mods and will post them as I've added them.

[jfarsang]

Fresh boots, brakes and fluids.

Goodyear Duratrac 285/75/16's on 16x8 steelies

Suspension lift kit on it's way.

Fluid changes are fun.

Engine - 12.5L
Coolant - 14.5L
Transmission/tcase - 11L
Diff - 5.9L

Some good carbon buildup in the intake manifold so will clean it out when the mani gaskets arrive. Walk into local Nissan dealer. Give them part #. 1-2 weeks. Boom. Ready to pick up from Japan. Love global Nissan parts.

chrome is disappearing slowly and being replaced by Mr. Satin Black

Purrs like a kitten. Soft idle until you hammer the throttle. Turbo pickup is smooth. I can't believe the difference in noise/ride compared to the older GQ/Y60's. This one feels almost identical to the Y61 I drove in the UK. All in all, an enjoyable JDM project rig to work on.

[jfarsang]

some more progress

shed most of the chrome bits
snorkel added
injectors re&re
seafoam IP treatment
2" OME lift installed w/ procomp 9000 shocks

Ride is much better. Not harsh as I had anticipated with HD coils.

[jfarsang]

Icom 2300H VHF radio w/ 2m antenna install

Slid right into the stock ashtray location without fitment issues.

Chose the Icom because they are local 20mins away, on sale at a ham swap meet booth and small form factor.

[jfarsang]

Front procomp shocks fitted.

A lot more downtravel than I had anticipated (good thing). Need to grab 1/2" springs spacers to compensate for the springs dropping down.

Manual hubs fitted (my auto's self destructed)

Went offroading for the first time since I got it near Chilliwack with a bunch of other Safari's. If you look closely, you'll see the marker for advanced ATV trail.

[jfarsang]

Just in the process of completing the wvo and aux tank install. Will update.

[dah_hunter]

It looks awesome.


I have a Soft spot for these as well.
Im thinking mabe next year it will be time to get something i can have fun with off road.

[jfarsang]

Thanks Ben.

I have a soft spot for the shorties.

[chlopan]

Very nice looking unit. I find Safari's interesting in that some look so good (like yours jfarsang) and some seem to look kind of heavy and non athletic. The white paint is classic.

[Bmxer]

Very cool rig. I always thought these things would be an awesome camping/hunting backwoods vehicle to have. A guy I raced BMX against in NZ had a Patrol that was lifted & painted camo. It looked so mean.

Whats the fuel mileage like?