1964 and 1969 Patrols await work

[patrolhead]

Hi all. I joined the site a while back when it looked like an old friend would sell me his Patrols. Well he did and I hauled them down from Aspen to Boulder, CO. The brown one is a 1964 soft top (though the title says hardtop) and we've gotten it to run (with a jug of gas as the gas tank is rotted). Lots of leaky seals, needs all new hoses and belts, but good compression. We're going to rig a little gas tank and drive it around this week to assess the condition of the rest of the drivetrain. The original exterior paint appears to be light tan with a poor brown paint job over. The odo reads just under 6,000 miles and I think it is accurate. The red one is a 1969 hard top with no engine. Not sure if it is original paint - I can't see another color under it but it's clearly and old respray due to the overspray on the rubber.

The 1964 has been owned by a friend's family from Aspen since 1969 when it came along with the house they bought back then and was used as a plow its entire life. It ran until about 3 to 4 years ago and has been parked since. Unfortunately the soft top itself (which is not original spec) rotted long ago and the floor pan is completely rusted out. The rest of the body work appears serviceable but rough. The interior is in decent shape. The 1969 sheet metal is all good except for some bondo on the passenger door and rear quarter panel. The interior is completely shot. This one was acquired in the 1980s as a parts car.

I need some advise. My plan is to get one running and reasonably presentable vehicle out of this. We have three options: 1) Get the 1964 going, put in a new floor plan and run it as it is, quite rough but a survivor; 2) Get the 1964 going, remove all the sheetmetal and replace it with the sheetmetal from the 1969 but use the soft top assembly, paint it and get a new top; or 3) remove the driveline from the 1964 and put it in the 1969 chassis, move over the soft top assembly to that vehicle, paint it and get a new top.

Would love to hear opinions on this. Would it be less work to move the body from one to the other or to move the drivetrain from one to the other?

Looking forward to being a part of what appears to be an awesome community of Patrolers!

[mdawg4x4]

Congrats on the purchase. And welcome to the 60Patrol community.

[moore_rb]

Awesome ! welcome to the forum....


Regarding your questions, here are my opinions (you will find that among this community, I am not one to shy away from offering my opinion from time to time)...

anyway, here are some points to think about while you decide how to make 2 Patrols into 1:

The numbers on the 64's frame, engine, and ID tag all match, right? if so, then that would be my starting point. I'd use the 64's frame and powertrain, and keep the ID tag. The only thing that might change my mind about this would be if the 69 frame was in far better condition, but if both frames are about the same condition, then stick with the one that has the matching numbers with the ID plate and engine.

Regarding the body panels- the red Patrol looks like an early 69 (which were actually left over 68's), so the front fenders and turn lamp openings are compatible with the earlier Patrols.)

The only MAJOR consideration to make as far as the body goes is that the red 69's doors will not work with the 64's tub without pretty major surgery. Ditto the other way- the 64's 2-piece doors will not work with the 69 tub.

The door latches and strikers on pre-66 Patrols are totally different than the latches and strikers on the mid-66 and later-style doors and body tubs. So, the easiest way to get a start on the body is to pick the best tub of the two, and use its associated doors (which I'm assuming would be the 69, since you said the 64's floor is rotted out... The other option is to take the floor from the later one and stitch it to the earlier tub, if body work and fabrication are your idea of fun.

once you have the tub and doors picked out, the rest of the body panels (front fenders, hood, windshield frame, firewall, etc) can be selected from the best parts -

as far as the top goes, the hardtop will be the easiest/cheapest to re-use, since replacement soft top canvasses are essentially non-existent, and replacements need to be custom made, which gets pretty pricey.

Lastly- you have a set of original early-style wheels on the 64 - Since those are the coolest, rarest Patrol wheels out there, you would be crazy not to use them (even though they will require an inner tube, but those tires already on the 64 look pretty good from the pics )

[RiverPatrol]

Welcome to 60Patrol! I'm glad your friend finally sold you his Patrols. How long have you been eyeing them?

The interior color should tell you the original color of both of your Patrols. Unless it was repainted also.

I need some advise. My plan is to get one running and reasonably presentable vehicle out of this. We have three options: 1) Get the 1964 going, put in a new floor plan and run it as it is, quite rough but a survivor; 2) Get the 1964 going, remove all the sheetmetal and replace it with the sheetmetal from the 1969 but use the soft top assembly, paint it and get a new top; or 3) remove the driveline from the 1964 and put it in the 1969 chassis, move over the soft top assembly to that vehicle, paint it and get a new top.

Would love to hear opinions on this. Would it be less work to move the body from one to the other or to move the drivetrain from one to the other?

I vote for option 3. You stated up front that your goal is to have a running, reasonably presentable vehicle. The least labor intensive way to obtain that goal is option 3. I think you'll find a lot more rot on the '64 since it was used as a plow.

Both of your Patrols have the original wheels on them. The '69 has the 15" split rims, and the '64 has 16" solid rims. Both sets are extremely hard to come by, but especially the 16" wheels.

Thanks for sharing your rigs. I look forward to watching your progress.

[patrolhead]

Thanks for your input. I've known about the brown one for about 12 years. The red one was a surprise.

The inside color on both is a blueish grey color and it is definitely original - was the interior always the same as the exterior out of the factory?

[patrolhead]

So just to prime the pump here, I'd love to hear some more views on which direction would be less work (and less money): Keeping the 1969 chassis and moving over the mechanicals from the 1964 or keeping the 1964 chassis (all matching numbers but not sure if it was a soft top out of the factory - anyone know how to ID that on the VIN plate?) and moving the tub and body parts from the 1969?

Thanks for the welcome - it's going to be a fun project!

[RiverPatrol]

The inside color on both is a blueish grey color and it is definitely original - was the interior always the same as the exterior out of the factory?

With this information, and looking at the pictures again; your '69 isn't a '69 (it's got 3 windshield vents), and your soft top was most likely originally a hard top. It isn't possible to tell the model by the VIN. Soft tops were always painted the same color inside and out. It doesn't look like you have the soft top cantrails over the doors, and the soft top canvas actually looks like an FJ40 canvas. If I could see the inside top of the windshield frame, and the outer handle on the rear doors it would help.

[moore_rb]

The gray color on the interior, and in the wheel wells of both Patrols also indicates that both were hard tops from the factory (unless the original color of both just happened to be gray) -

All pre-69 Patrols with a hard top from the factory had the gray interior and gray inner fenders- all soft tops (regardless of year) had the interior painted the same color as the exterior.

[patrolhead]

The 64 is (was) definitely a hard top out of the factory - the hoops are actually red. It's interesting because the guy I got these from came into the 1964 and it had no top. I think he found the hoops and then had the rag top custom made at that time.

I've had the chassis and body thoroughly looked at and here's the sitch. We got the 64 running and the motor is super strong, great compression. But it leaks oil like crazy so it looks like all the seals need to be replaced. The gas tank is rotten so we just put a gas can in the passenger seat with a fuel line to the fuel pump and I was able to drive it a couple of blocks. No bad noises from the tranny, diffs and transfer case. However the entire suspension needs to be rebuilt - the hard parts are all there and fine but all the joints and bushings are shot and of course the shocks - the thing bangs around like crazy. The steering rack will need work too.

The body on the 69 is pretty strait and rust free. The floor pan on the 64 is gone and with the fuel tank shot I'm assuming the skid plates are shot as well. There's some rust in the rear quarter pushing through and I think the rear floor might be hurting.

So...I think the way to go is to take the sheet metal and interior off the 64 and recondition the entire chassis including the suspension, motor and electrics but keep it all together as a rolling chassis. I'll have the upholstery redone (the seats are actually in great shape). We'll take the sheet metal off the 69 and have it all done up. Then reassemble the sheetmetal on the 64 chassis. I still need to decide if I want to keep it a hard top or take the hoops off the 64 and move them over.

Question: In addition to the roll-hoops, what other modifications would be necessary to make the 69 hardtop function properly as a soft top?

Thanks to you all for your input!

[RiverPatrol]

Awesome that you got it running, and even drove it a little.

Why don't you want to just put the engine and drive train from the 64 into the '69('67)?