New Patrolman '69 in SoCal

[SoCalRod]

Hi All - I'm Rod in Socal , specifically in the beautiful Kern River Valley, Southern Sierras of California and I'm so excited to be inducted into the wonderful, esoteric and rare Patrol owner world!

I have other SWB trucks ... a '68 Scout 800 cab top, a '74 Rover 88 Softop in Pastel Green ... and when I first saw a picture (God knows I didn't spot one in the wild) of a Patrol I knew I needed to find one. After a bit of searching and some disappointment, I found a nice, solid one in NorCal which will be the basis for my project. I plan to try to keep it as stock - looking as possible while updating the older respray to a unique, tasteful and what I think will be a suitable color for this cool little truck. I know I'll need some help along the way sourcing some missing parts and would appreciate any input from my respected forum colleagues. I have a lot to learn about this wonderful machine and again, am so thrilled just to own one.
I will be posting pictures of my project along the way .. my truck is still en route.
For starters, I was curious if a 1967 SWB hardtop should be compatible on a 1969. I haven't found anything that would tell me otherwise, however as I closely inspected some images of pre and post 1968 trucks I noticed that the two had a different number of dash vents (1967 having 3, 1969 having 2) which led me to believe there may be other subtle differences in the manufacturing of parts.
I'm also looking for some certainly hard to find items:
"map light" - looks like a narrow egg sticking off the dash. Sorry I know everyone here is laughing because of course they know what it is. I'm new - gimme a break!!
Hood "Nissan" emblem. I know there are repros but an OG one would be ideal. I know, good luck.
Missing a vent lever. This plays into the 2 vs. 3 vents. Mine has 2, one lever is gone. So do I need a whole assembly or can it be welded on??
Would love some original wheels. 5 ideally.

I just got here so I don't want to be rude with a zillion requests right away but that's my humble wish list for starters

Excited to be here and meet new people!!
Rod

[RiverPatrol]

Welcome to 60Patrol! You've come to the right place for all of your Patrol related questions. We'd love to see some pics of your new ride!

[desertrat]

Howdy Rod

The tops all interchange but there are minor differences in the construction and look of them. The early caps are welded together sections and the later ones are a one piece stamped cap amongst some other differences.

The vent levers are attached with clevis pins.

The "correct" wheels for yours are 15" split rims or split ring rims as some like to call them. They came with a weird 7.50-15 tire, a size equivalent to what was used on Caddies, Lincolns, Imperials, that was larger than the common 7.00-15 truck tire. Earlier examples used 4.5x16" tube type wheels suitable for 6.50 or 7.00-16 truck tires.

The "inspection lamp" as referred to in some literature, the lens in original glass are as rare as rooster eggs.

Persistence, persistence, persistence, days........months.................years of persistence are what you signed up for. Remember how fun treasure hunts were when you were a kid? Well guardianship of a Patrol is sort of like that.

[plateaucal]

Finding parts is a great winter past time. Welcome to the club.

[SoCalRod]

Thanks for your welcome & replies! By some sheer luck there was a 66 "parts" Patrol (no engine or transmission, but solid & somewhat complete otherwise) parked just 10 miles from me that has basically all the cosmetic parts (emblems, wheels and yes even the map light) that I needed to fulfill my project. I'll be posting some pics of my progress along the way and will surely be asking for some advice...there will be some parts left over too on the secondary truck.