60Patrol

Howdy All,

I just picked up a 1967 soft top with a half-done Chevy V8 conversion. Interesting that the oil dipstick is just behind the gas pedal! Ouch. They made some ugly firewall modifications to make it fit.



My thought is to pull the V8, repair the firewall, and put in a 6-cylinder. I'm guessing that the original P engines are hard to find. Does anyone have any suggestions for replacement engines that are good fits and may even closely resemble the stock engine? Does the Chevy 6-cylinder bolt up reasonably? I'd prefer a "truck" engine (low RPM, good torque) rather than a high rpm car engine like a Nissan L-Series. Would it be too embarrassing to install a diesel?

Anyway, your thoughts and input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

John

My opinion the chevy 235 is the easiest to fit, but the chevy 292 is what I have in mine and i prefer it. Ford 300 inline 6 is also a good choice. I chose the chevy 292 because I'm a chevy guy, and I had one laying around. The chevy 292 will probably be your best choice because: you probably already have an adapter plate that will fit since there is a small block chevy in there. The power difference between the 235 and the 292 is significant. The chevy 292 and the ford 300 are very close to the same specs as the original p engine. I have a pic of the 292 installed in my patrol in "SHOW US YOUR PATROL" if you would like to see it. If you do the chevy inline 6 let me know i have done both the 235-292 in the Patrols. Good luck, hope this helps.

There isn't a pat answer for the question. Several Patrols have been modified with various engines, with varying degrees of success. There was one not too long ago that did a diesel. He was so disappointed with it he immediately put it up for sale. It has shown up for sale a few times since he sold it. He did a really great job on paint and body, but the engine and trans not so much.

Would a P40 work?

I just saw a Patrol in the Monrovia Pick A Part it has a Chevy straight six in it and tranny.

You mean this one?
They don't have it available to take parts off of. They should though. Another fine example of a project that someone got into and realized it wasn't quite so simple. And, obviously they wanted a Jeep anyway.

I kind of like the Chevy 292 option that 2869ral suggested -- just to reveal my Chevy ignorance... is the 292 physically larger or substantially different from the 235?

Ideally, I'd prefer a Nissan engine so the P40 bosque suggested would be a top choice... but the few I've seen for sale are pricey. I'd rather spend my initial time and effort on the body and frame as changing engines later shouldn't be too tough. A Diesel could be fun, but RiverPatrol is probably right that it wouldn't be a great choice... perhaps gutless to a fault is the right way to describe it!

Anyway, thanks so much for the input... I have much Patrol to learn!

John

Dave im not sure if the p40 will work, that was a brain fart on my part and I cant edit my post. ok, just got the option to edit it. It's done.

RiverPatrol wrote:You mean this one?

IMG_0724_1.jpg

They don't have it available to take parts off of. They should though. Another fine example of a project that someone got into and realized it wasn't quite so simple. And, obviously they wanted a Jeep anyway.

It is available for parts I took some off yesterday, but it no longer looks that complete. It still has the split passenger door the ambulance doors , hood, windshield that is now broken, but is pretty stripped now.Wheels are also gone. I did score an amber lens, and license plate light. and windshield hold downs.
The yard is under new ownership and all the old stock is getting moved out for parts. The guy at the cashier window said some of the vehicles have been there 20+ years.

Urban60 wrote:

RiverPatrol wrote:You mean this one?

IMG_0724_1.jpg

They don't have it available to take parts off of. They should though. Another fine example of a project that someone got into and realized it wasn't quite so simple. And, obviously they wanted a Jeep anyway.

It is available for parts I took some off yesterday, but it no longer looks that complete. It still has the split passenger door the ambulance doors , hood, windshield that is now broken, but is pretty stripped now.Wheels are also gone. I did score an amber lens, and license plate light. and windshield hold downs.
The yard is under new ownership and all the old stock is getting moved out for parts. The guy at the cashier window said some of the vehicles have been there 20+ years.

That is interesting. This yard is owned by the same person/entity that owns the one that I got the Poster Child from. In fact the guy that I was dealing with also managed the used car section at Monrovia, that's how I found out about this Patrol. I told him that Patrol was only good for parting out. It was full of parts loaded in the back when I saw it; doors and seats and stuff. They were doing some major rearranging when I picked up PC. Maybe it was good thing I got it when I did?