Moore_rb's 1962 Soft Top Patrol- L60-2-00504

[moore_rb]

I wonder if a FOIA request could be used to get vintage DMV records? Perhaps a search of old California Secretary of State records for the corporations where Roy Rogers was listed vs. the vehicles registered to those firms...

Just a thought...

I've considered that as well. All those old records are on Microfiche somewhere....

However, dealing with bureaucrats in gov't offices (especially California bureaucrats) ranks right up there with root canals, and fingernails on chalkboards for me....

[RMP&O]

It is certainly possible it was a RR Patrol. It is also possible it was the first Patrol in the USA or a special order. Personally, I don't like making assumptions, educated guesses, yes, assumptions, no. Tracking it back would be the only way possible to prove anything. I have heard Nissan didn't keep good records on these trucks but I think that was second hand info. Nissan archives might be another way to try and find more out about it. Did Nissan Japan keep records on these trucks? And if they did are they still around? Only way to know that is to solicit Nissan Japan for the info. Like I say, it is a lot like the Alaskan wagon, educated guess says it was originally sold in Anchorage and that it was likely a special order and the only one sold in N. America. But without proof it is just a guess. It would do something to value though in my opinion, same for your 62, if you could prove it.

I once sent a letter to Nissan Japan. I got a response. I was able to buy parts listed as NLA in N. America. My letter went directly to the man in charge of parts in Nissan Japan, his assistant contacted me. Not only did they sell me parts NLA in N. America they gave me the last parts book on micro-fiche. Might be worth a try to solicit them. Might also be a lot less painful then dealing with DMV.

Cheers

[RiverPatrol]

I think it was Azsteve that contacted Roy Rogers' son. They came up with a LandCruiser title, but nothing on a Patrol.

[moore_rb]

The Roy Rogers question requires a detective, moreso than a car-guy

It's all fun speculation, but like Ian says- educated guesses (speculations) need to kept from crossing the line to outright assumptions.

however, one piece of paper linking RR to any vehicle would be like hitting triple "7"s in Vegas.

NellyBelle the Jeep brought almost $120k at auction:

http://www2.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=441721


If I do engage in any documentation research on this Patrol, it will begin with California. But as long as I have another project in the driveway that needs my time more than this one, it's not going to happen soon

[moore_rb]

This week I scored a MAJOR resource (courtesy of Pancho in Ecuador) that will help me make sure my 62 Patrol is as close to original as possible when the restoration is done:

IMG_0024.JPG

(If I was bidding against anyone else in the forum for this book - I'm sorry the auction didn't work out for you, but being as how I am probably the only dude currently working on a 62 Patrol restoration anywhere on Earth, I just HAD to have this book

So, that's how I got to spend the first few hours of my Father's day: With my cup of coffee, reading my 62 parts catalog... (I am such a dork )

Several of the questions I had asked about my 62 earlier in this thread have now been conclusively answered by this book:

1) Side-steps were not an available option in 62 (that's why my Patrol has no holes in the frame for side-steps, which means that my 65 hardtop can keep its side steps permanently, now )

2) The skid pans were also not available options in 62 (hence- no skid pan brackets on my 62's frame; another bonus for my 65- It will get the OEM skid pan that came with my red Patrol originally)

3) Hand-throttles were not an available option in 62, either, so I guess my 65 will also be getting the hand throttle that I have stashed somewhere out in my boxes of Patrol parts

Some other interesting things I noticed- It seems that 62's could be gotten with green seat upholstery as an option:

IMG_0023.JPG

(I went and checked the newer parts catalogs that are on the forum, and none of them reference green seats as an option - It would be neat to see a color image of an early Patrol with green seats )

Besides the diagrams and parts listings, there are a lot of pages that are in un-translated Japanese, similar to the first sections of the 1965 Parts Catalog (anyone know what this says? )

IMG_0031.JPG

There aren't many pictures in the book (it's mostly illustrations) but there are a few pictures: (note: Look carefully at the shapes of the side-vents- makes me wonder if these pics were taken of a pre-production prototype Patrol? )

IMG_0026.JPG

IMG_0027.JPG

Interesting- I had wondered if Nissan painted the cast iron exhaust manifold with the rest of the engine - This was a common practice with old Chrysler engines in the 60's as well, and even though GM did not paint the entire manifolds, it was common for chevy engines to have overspray on the exhaust manifolds from the engine paint

IMG_0028.JPG

IMG_0029.JPG

IMG_0030.JPG

IMG_0022.JPG

And lastly - My 62's interior rearview mirror is literally nothing more that a flat piece of cut mirror, held by a small bracket with four fingers on it- When I first bought the Patrol, I thought "That flimsy thing can't be the original rearview mirror" ; but it turns out I was wrong about that- My Patrol actually does still have it's original, 53 year old mirror:

IMG_0025.JPG

So, the only question that still goes unanswered about my Patrol's original heritage is the metallic green paint - There are no paint code listings in the book (at least, not in the english pages, and I even scoured the Japanese pages for any lists of 3-digit numbers that looked like familiar Nissan paint color codes )

- So, I'll just have to decide what color to paint it all on my own... This week I'm going to try to get to the paint shop one day after work to pick up a sample can of 558 green, to compare to the 303 metallic green.

[moore_rb]

More research about those odd- side vents from the pics above - I don't think any production Patrols ever made it out (at least to the US) with those odd vents.

Here is a pic from a US magazine that was published in Oct, 1962 (which means the article was probably written and photo'd 6-months prior to that, so this Patrol is probably either a 61, or an early 62.

It has familiar, rectangle side vents:

DesertMag10-62_5.JPG

[RiverPatrol]

Interesting about the side vents. I've never seen vents shaped like that. It's possible that the pictures in the parts book were actually renderings or drawings instead of photographs. Another thing I notice that is off about them is the camber angle of the rear wheels compared to the front wheels, the rear wheels seem to have a noticeable negative angle.

[moore_rb]

Another thing I notice that is off about them is the camber angle of the rear wheels compared to the front wheels, the rear wheels seem to have a noticeable negative angle.

That must be distortion from the way I was holding the book and the camera- the actual picture displays the rear wheels correctly.

And, I don't think they are pure renderings, but I do think you are onto something; and they are retouched photos. I actually don't think the Patrol in the photo had ANY side vents at all, and the weird vents were drawn onto the image. Here is a tighter closeup of the same picture:

Also note that the Patrol in the parts catalog has door locks! - and I did confirm that door locks were an option in 62, even though there is no record of any US-import soft top Patrol ever having door locks... By the time they went to production, someone must have figured out that door locks were a waste of time and money, since breaking into a soft top Patrol requires no more skill than knowing how to pop open a lift-dot snap

IMG_0033.JPG

Also- the body-color rear step in the Catalog image was something else that jumped out at me, so I went back to the Desert Magazine Oct-62 article, and the Patrol in the article has a black step, and since we know the Magazine article Patrol was definitely a US import, I will make all the details on mine match this one wherever I see discrepancies between the two resources (the black wheels on the Parts Catalog Patrol, for example- mine will get body color wheels like the one in the magazine article):

DesertMag10-62_1.JPG

[zed]

Attention to detail will make this a true reflection of 1962 contemporary design and execution.
Keith

[Esteban]

Very interesting facts, Robert, and thanks for pointing out these minor details. The mirror is a great observation, as well as the trapezoidal vents.

I have the same parts catalog and it's the first time that I pay attention to these details.

What I remember with the door looks being absent on canvas top models (as in my 65), is that they began coming with locks at the same time they changed the latch mechanism.