Hi everyone.
Hilly here from rural SA.
Just dropping by to introduce myself before I ask a question or two of all you knowledgeable folk.
I've been hanging around this forum as a silent member for a while (my kids say I'm a 'lurker' whatever that means!) gleaning usefull bits of info on a number of projects Im doing with my car.
It's a 1995 2.8 with almost 500 ks on it.
I only just bought it and have not owned a patrol before. Though my brother has had about four and currently drives a gutsy little td 4.2 shorty and my folks have had a couple and still also drive a mint mq with 3.3 td in it.
So anyways I decided I'd look for a decent td42 to take on a long planned 12 month around Oz trip behind our big coach.
And along came this car. Not a 4.2 but a 2.8. I was interested because of the price and also that it came as a package with a 4.2 m quintrex with a 40 mariner on it.
Asking price 5k for both. I took it for a drive and was impressed and bought it. Them. A steal. (The boat'd be worth 4k)
Firstly, I have no history on the car. The dude i bought it off only had it for a year and I don't think he did much to it. Just drove it to work and back. And he couldn't tell me anything about the previous owner other than he was the obligatory 'elderly owner who loved his car'.
Now I've had the car for a couple of months and have put a couple thousand Kay's on it I am starting to think the story about the elderly owner may have been true.
The paint is original, gunmetal grey. Only a little crazing on the upper facing panels. There is NO rust anywhere. And I've looked HARD. Tints all round. The interior, though not 'immaculate' is very good. After market front seats. Four almost new yokohamas (still made in japan!) on early gu rims. Obviously a two to three inch lift. And steering damper.
Under the bonnet looks pretty stock except egr has been blanked and a dual bat tray and solenoid fitted. Has a snorkel but for some strange reason the airbox has been deleted and a foam filter pad placed over the snorkel head. I only hope it hasn't been on dusty roads like this.
But most surprising was how it drove.
Now I must confess to being the sort of person who 'grows' into a car and finds it hard to part with an old friend. I've owned several cars for many years and still have the car I bought as a 21 yo 33 years ago (oops). And I have driven several cars into the ground at 500+ kays. So I kinda know the feel of a half million kilo car.
This car drives like 1/2 that. The steering is nice and tight and doesn't wander or wobble. It handles corners flat and easy. There's no squeaks or rattles other than something that might be a loose bonnet hinge evident on a rough road.
I've driven quite a bit of dirt roads on it and it's a pleasure.
And it goes like a cut snake. It has a boost gauge fitted and shows 10psi max. But I can't keep it to the speed limit. Once it gets upto 3k revs in fifth it just has heaps of urge. I've taken it upto about 130 and backed off cause I was scared, but it wasn't running outa puff. Not even close. Admittedly that was on a cold nite. But this car just changed everything I was expecting for my money.
Anyway, as you can tell, I've been pleasantly surprised. So I've decided to keep it and use it and maybe get a 4.2 down the track.
So I have embarked on that most perilous of journeys....the 'BUILD!'
I started with a complete new cooling system as temp gauge wasn't moving. (Turned out no thermostat!) inc a new three core copper radiator from a friend who used to run Natrad here and who now owns CoolCore and still knows a bit about radiators. A gen nissan thermostat and gen radiator cap.
I also did the water pump at the same time as a dayco timing belt kit.
No evidence of any keyway damage or previous crank pulley problems either.
I have a gu zd30 airbox ready to fit with a new filter.
A LRA 70 litre tank is on it's way over from interstate.
I have replaced the saas sports wheel with a pulsar SSS wheel that looks and feels awesome, though a bit further away from stalks.
I have fitted a dickey seat in the back for my kids (5 with 1 in the oven) and yes I know it's seven seats and my family will be 8 but we'll just have to use two cars or toss one on the (new to me but second hand) tjm roof rack! (I'm looking for the centre floor three bolt latch pin for the dicky seat if anyone has one I'd be keen to buy)
A better second hand bull bar, a 'Patrol Docta' spotlight roof bar and some rubber flares.
I've got a set of X-ray vision headlight inserts with Phillips hid bulbs ready to go in plus a couple of sets of light force spotties from previous cars. I'll pop hid's in these too.
Some interior COB LEDs that are awesome, a few new narva rocker switches and the list goes on.
I do have a couple of issues relating to glow plugs that I'm trying to sort out so I'll pop over to the relevant section and post a question or two.
So as you can see, I've already been bitten and I know this is a slippery decline into patrol debouchery but others have gone before and have lived to tell the tales so I'm hoping I will too.
Anyway, that's enough for now. All you good folk take care and I'm gonna go and ask some questions. Cheers.
Hilly here from rural SA.
Just dropping by to introduce myself before I ask a question or two of all you knowledgeable folk.
I've been hanging around this forum as a silent member for a while (my kids say I'm a 'lurker' whatever that means!) gleaning usefull bits of info on a number of projects Im doing with my car.
It's a 1995 2.8 with almost 500 ks on it.
I only just bought it and have not owned a patrol before. Though my brother has had about four and currently drives a gutsy little td 4.2 shorty and my folks have had a couple and still also drive a mint mq with 3.3 td in it.
So anyways I decided I'd look for a decent td42 to take on a long planned 12 month around Oz trip behind our big coach.
And along came this car. Not a 4.2 but a 2.8. I was interested because of the price and also that it came as a package with a 4.2 m quintrex with a 40 mariner on it.
Asking price 5k for both. I took it for a drive and was impressed and bought it. Them. A steal. (The boat'd be worth 4k)
Firstly, I have no history on the car. The dude i bought it off only had it for a year and I don't think he did much to it. Just drove it to work and back. And he couldn't tell me anything about the previous owner other than he was the obligatory 'elderly owner who loved his car'.
Now I've had the car for a couple of months and have put a couple thousand Kay's on it I am starting to think the story about the elderly owner may have been true.
The paint is original, gunmetal grey. Only a little crazing on the upper facing panels. There is NO rust anywhere. And I've looked HARD. Tints all round. The interior, though not 'immaculate' is very good. After market front seats. Four almost new yokohamas (still made in japan!) on early gu rims. Obviously a two to three inch lift. And steering damper.
Under the bonnet looks pretty stock except egr has been blanked and a dual bat tray and solenoid fitted. Has a snorkel but for some strange reason the airbox has been deleted and a foam filter pad placed over the snorkel head. I only hope it hasn't been on dusty roads like this.
But most surprising was how it drove.
Now I must confess to being the sort of person who 'grows' into a car and finds it hard to part with an old friend. I've owned several cars for many years and still have the car I bought as a 21 yo 33 years ago (oops). And I have driven several cars into the ground at 500+ kays. So I kinda know the feel of a half million kilo car.
This car drives like 1/2 that. The steering is nice and tight and doesn't wander or wobble. It handles corners flat and easy. There's no squeaks or rattles other than something that might be a loose bonnet hinge evident on a rough road.
I've driven quite a bit of dirt roads on it and it's a pleasure.
And it goes like a cut snake. It has a boost gauge fitted and shows 10psi max. But I can't keep it to the speed limit. Once it gets upto 3k revs in fifth it just has heaps of urge. I've taken it upto about 130 and backed off cause I was scared, but it wasn't running outa puff. Not even close. Admittedly that was on a cold nite. But this car just changed everything I was expecting for my money.
Anyway, as you can tell, I've been pleasantly surprised. So I've decided to keep it and use it and maybe get a 4.2 down the track.
So I have embarked on that most perilous of journeys....the 'BUILD!'
I started with a complete new cooling system as temp gauge wasn't moving. (Turned out no thermostat!) inc a new three core copper radiator from a friend who used to run Natrad here and who now owns CoolCore and still knows a bit about radiators. A gen nissan thermostat and gen radiator cap.
I also did the water pump at the same time as a dayco timing belt kit.
No evidence of any keyway damage or previous crank pulley problems either.
I have a gu zd30 airbox ready to fit with a new filter.
A LRA 70 litre tank is on it's way over from interstate.
I have replaced the saas sports wheel with a pulsar SSS wheel that looks and feels awesome, though a bit further away from stalks.
I have fitted a dickey seat in the back for my kids (5 with 1 in the oven) and yes I know it's seven seats and my family will be 8 but we'll just have to use two cars or toss one on the (new to me but second hand) tjm roof rack! (I'm looking for the centre floor three bolt latch pin for the dicky seat if anyone has one I'd be keen to buy)
A better second hand bull bar, a 'Patrol Docta' spotlight roof bar and some rubber flares.
I've got a set of X-ray vision headlight inserts with Phillips hid bulbs ready to go in plus a couple of sets of light force spotties from previous cars. I'll pop hid's in these too.
Some interior COB LEDs that are awesome, a few new narva rocker switches and the list goes on.
I do have a couple of issues relating to glow plugs that I'm trying to sort out so I'll pop over to the relevant section and post a question or two.
So as you can see, I've already been bitten and I know this is a slippery decline into patrol debouchery but others have gone before and have lived to tell the tales so I'm hoping I will too.
Anyway, that's enough for now. All you good folk take care and I'm gonna go and ask some questions. Cheers.
