The original ad was posted in the Vehicles forum: http://www.60patrol.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=3186
And after numerous calls with the seller, and a ton of photos requested and sent, I hooked up the trailer, headed west with cash in hand, and hauled it home on one of my trademark "one day, there and back" 800 mile roadtrips (with a couple diesel stops thrown in)
Once I got it home, it found itself occupying the "guest of honor" position in the driveway- the same spot that the mean green El Paso machine spent the better part of the past year occupying :
Speaking with the previous owner, and with the complete coverage over the entire Patrol (even inside the glove box and underneath the body tub and behind the grill), I was convinced that the Green on this Patrol was the original paint, but upon further inspection, I also found medium blue on the windshield frame; so, someone must have done a very thorough teardown and re-paint on this Patrol at some point in the past. In talking to RiverPatrol about it, she mentioned that it was not uncommon for Nissan to re-paint other Datsun models a different color right before they left the assembly line, but she was not aware of this practice ever taking place with a Patrol.
I don't know what color I will return it to - I do know that it will either be blue or green, but I am torn between my personal affinity for 564 blue, versus the fact that RR green would probably complement the green canvas of the top a little better...
During the couple days that I was phoning with the seller, and wavering back and forth on whether I wanted another Patrol (I already knew I didn't need it) I casually asked "How many miles does the odometer say?" and he said "It has 20,000 original miles, the odo has not rolled over- I got it from the original owner, and it has been sitting in an aircraft hanger since the early 80's" so I said "SOLD" and handed him the cash.
Mechanically, this Patrol absolutely confirms the low mileage reading on the odo- everything is VERY sound mechanically- the engine runs really smoothly, does not smoke at all, and makes 120+ PSI in every cylinder. The transmission and transfer cases both slide through the gears like warm butter, and the clutch and steering are both super tight, and smooth, smooth smooth.
I dare say that this one runs and feels even tighter mechanically than my red Patrol.
I thought the red valve cover was interesting - RP has an engine pic she took from a 63 patrol that also had the green engine with a red valve cover:
So I guess that the red is the correct color for the valve cover on the very early US Patrols
Even the winshield wiper motors both still work:
and the hand brake still grabs and holds (this was how I stopped it after driving it off of the trailer and into the driveway- the brakes at all four corners were totallly dismantled, and came in about 6 boxes of parts)
Look! not a drop of oil on the hand brake either... Esteban was teasing me in a PM that the transfer case was probably empty and that is why the hand brake is dry. Well, I'm happy to report that both the transmission and the transfer case are both full of gear oil, and the hand brake still looks like this:
Another cool thing was that the guy I bought it from had just finished having the gas tank hot-tanked, and sealed:
The front seats are both in good condition, and will just need to be re-upholstered in the correct dark grey vinyl
Lastly (for tonight) is one area that I need some more guidance from the Patrol gurus: the heater is not like any I have seen - there is no motor housing in the engine bay ,and no large hole where the motor sits on other Patrols:
and on the inside, the heater LOOKS like its mounted as original equipment, but it is a totally different style from the typical Patrol heater I am used to seeing:
is this heater original, or an aftermarket replacement? or perhaps this Patrol came without a heater at all , and someone added this one later ...?
So that's where things stand with this Patrol right now - This coming weekend I am road-tripping (AGAIN) to pick up a parts donor that has the doors I need, as well as a set of rear seats.
I am hoping to have this one torn down to the chassis soon...
I have been calling it the "Ramona-Zona" Patrol (because it came from Ramona California, and now lives in Arizona) but that nickname is not likely to stick... Because it's kind of dumb
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