60Patrol

moore_rb wrote:

RMP&O wrote: One more oddity, I have a 64 here without the hole in the back bumper for rear PTO output. I also have a 67 here without this hole. All other Patrols I have ever seen up to 68 have this hole.

I have 4 frames:

serial number (L60-2-00504- VIN plate confirms 1962 model year) - No rear PTO hole
serial number (L60-3-00617- VIN plate confirms 1965 model year) - No rear PTO hole
serial number (4-L60-02565- no VIN plate, so model year unknown) - rear PTO hole is present
serial number (L60-00511- VIN plate confirms 1966 model year) - rear PTO hole is present

Here is my (unsubstantiated) theory - The serial number stamped on the Patrol's frame does not have any association with the model year of the finished truck (the year stamped on the VIN plate) - Instead, I think the serial number stamped on the frame indicated either the year, or the manufacturing sequence, during which the frame was fabricated.

There is only one model year where there is a definite correlation between the two numbers - and that is 1962- All 62's in the registry have a "model year" on the VIN plate of 1962, and a frame serial number that begins with "L60-2". Now, we can guess that "L60" indicates the SWB frame model (Esteban's 65 demonstrates that "LG60" indicates the early MWB frame design) - and we can speculate that the "-2-" might indicate the year that the frame was fabricated (but there is no information I have found to prove this- it merely fits a pattern)

Following the "L60-2-xxxxx" serial number sequence, it seams the frame serial numbers started following a pattern that does not necessarily align with the truck's VIN plate model years at all:

A) "L60-3-xxxxx" serial numbers came after "L60-2-xxxxx" (the "3" either designates a run of frames welded up in 63, or it designates the "3rd" manufacturing run of frames)

I'm willing to bet a 6-pack of beer that any US Patrol frame out there that starts with either of these number sequences ("L60-2" or "L60-3") does not have a rear PTO hole) - these frames ended up underneath trucks from the 1963 model year, all the way up and into the 1965 model year (like my white Patrol listed above in blue)

B) After the "L60-3-xxxxx" frame series, Nissan changed the frame stamping format to "4-L60-xxxx" (there are also 2 examples of "4L60" in the registry, but I'd bet that the dash is there between the "4" and the "L60" on those truck's frames, and was merely lost in translation when they were added into the registry.)...

Again, it is reasonable to suspect that the "4" indicates frames that were assembled during 1964, or it might also just indicate the 4th frame manufacturing sequence.

You will find "4-L60-xxxxx" (or "4L60-xxxxx") stamped frames underneath Patrols that are either 1964 model year, or 1965 model year; and I would be willing to bet another 6-pack of beer (we're up to two 6-packs now ) That this "4th" frame manufacturing sequence is when the rear PTO hole first appeared...

C) After the "4th" production run of frames, (or, after the 1964 frame assembly run, whatever that "4" represented), Nissan dropped this single digit sequential indicator from the frame numbers altogether, and simply started stamping all frames "L60-xxxxx" - You will find frames with this "L60-xxxxx" number format underneath the vast majority of US market Patrols, from 1965, right up to 1969.

I'm NOT willing to wager any beer on whether every Patrol frame stamped with a "L60-xxxxx" style number originally did, or did not have a rear frame hole from the factory... Some trucks with "L60-xxxxx" serial numbers on the frame do have the rear hole, and others do not... Were these frames manufactured specifically with (or without) the hole based on options? Possibly- One option I considered was that if a frame with a "L60-xxxx" number on it does have the rear PTO hole, then perhaps the frame was originally provisioned for an early-style "short" fuel tank, while some frames with "L60-xxxx" numbers that were assembled to use the "wide" style tanks did not include the PTO hole (since there was no use for it, due to it being blocked by the fuel tank).

Or, were the rear frame cross members on these "L60-xxxx" trucks repaired or replaced at some point in the past, using cross members from older trucks...? Beats me any of these scenarios seem feasible, but I think the possibility that the rear PTO hole might have originally correlated to the width of the fuel tank on these "L60-xxxxx" frames seems plausible.

So, that's my theory: The existence of a rear PTO hole has no correlation whatsoever to the model year of the Patrol ... the rear PTO hole is correlated only to the specific production run stamped on the frames, and the frame numbers do not reliably indicate the model year of the truck, either; they only indicate the year that the frame was built (or during which manufacturing sequence the frame was built)...

1) Frames stamped with "L60-2-xxxxx" - No rear PTO hole
2) Frames stamped with "L60-3-xxxxx" - No rear PTO hole
3) Frames stamped with "4-L60-xxxxx or "4L60-xxxxx" - Yes, rear PTO hole
4) Frames stamped with "L60-xxxxx" - No clear correlation between this frame number format, and the existence (or lack) of a rear frame PTO hole, although it seems that the presence of the rear PTO hole might correlate to whether the frame was originally welded up with provisions to use a "short" fuel tank (PTO hole="yes") , or to use a "wide" fuel tank (PTO hole= "no").

Footnote: Some of the 69's used frames that also have a "K" prefix (KL60-xxxxx) on them, which seems to have appeared right about the same time in mid-68 that Nissan decided to drop the Soft top option, meaning all US market SWB Patrols (and frames) were going to end up beneath hard top trucks only; and it also seems that Nissan decided to use the rear hole for reverse light placement when they began offering Patrols with reverse lights...

So, there are two 6-packs of beer out there for anyone who can prove me wrong on either of those two earlier points - BUT, in order to claim your free beer (which will actually be a paypal transfer of whatever the price of a 6-pack of your favorite beer is, since I'm not offering to pay beer shipping ) you have to provide FULL pictorial evidence of the truck's VIN plate, the frame number stamping, and the existence (or lack) of a rear PTO hole, as well as signed, notarized statement of verification that your frame has never been patched using the rear piece from another frame, or subjected to any other such frame-butchery during it's entire lifetime.

If your name is Esteban, 2869ral, or Mr. Toad, then I will give you the full benefit of the doubt about your frame's originality, since your trucks' origins can be traced back decades earlier than anyone else's around here (but, I've already verified that the frames underneath the Patrols belonging to the 3 of you do match the patterns I outlined above, so NO free beer for you.... )

moore_rb wrote:Windshield vent interior screens: Not present in any pre-66 Model year literature, so probably not original equipment on pre-66 Patrols.