Thread: Interesting, Odd or Funny Pics II.

Originally Posted by Gav 110

Gutsy!!!!

I had a 1972 long wheel base soft top G60 which was in mint rust free condition.
It towed the heaviest loads and I did a LPG conversion with a 150 litre gas tank which gave it long legs.
What I found was a real tough over built vehicle.
The P40 motor was excellent .
It was a delight to work on if needed.
Off road there was a lack of flex causing the vehicle to lift wheels and loose traction.
It was because of the very stiff spring rates...( the vehicle could be very much overloaded and it would take it without trouble.)
The flex problem was easily solved by removing sway bars and spring leaves which transformed the vehicle off road.
Low range gearing was never a problem even though it was only 26 to 1 low /low.
The motor just had so much torque from near zero revs.

Camberwarra mountain near home has some of the steepest main road grades in NSW.

Only 2 vehicles In have ever owned has gone over that Mountain in top gear.
One was the G60 patrol on gas and the other was a 1940 WM20 motor cycle with the manual ignition timing thrown right back to make it hang on.

Under coat paint from the factory was not good and surface rust would come though the paint work.

The other so called problem with them was the engine reving too hard in top gear, which it appears to do.
The motor was not reving hard at all...……..it was fan noise......the over rated steel fan so the thing would never get hot.
Slacken off the fan belt a bit and go for a drive and all was good to prove the point.

I always though of G60 Patrol as the poor cousin of the Toyota FJ45 until I ended up owning one.
It was just as good, but in different ways...….it was tough/ultra reliable/better motor...……...but the Toyota was more comfortable in the suspension ect from the factory and Toyota improved the vehicle every year.
The G60 patrol was mostly the same until the MQ patrol in 1978.

In the early to mid 70s the section I was with was supplied with Datsun, Toyota and Land Rover vehicles. The Dattos and Tojos were all SWB and the Landies all LWB.
We had a list of places which required 4wd access and on that list was a recommendation as to which vehicle was best suited. The Landies covered all sites, the Tojos not as many and the Datto less. The biggest issue with the Datto being the 3 speed box and lack of articulation.
Mind you, these were government vehicles and the terrain we used them in was often quite extreme.
I'm sure in today's workplace, one would not be permitted to drive the places we did then.

Edit: The Datto was really a mid wheelbase model.

Originally Posted by 101 Ron

I had a 1972 long wheel base soft top G60 which was in mint rust free condition.
It towed the heaviest loads and I did a LPG conversion with a 150 litre gas tank which gave it long legs.
What I found was a real tough over built vehicle.
The P40 motor was excellent .
It was a delight to work on if needed.
Off road there was a lack of flex causing the vehicle to lift wheels and loose traction.
It was because of the very stiff spring rates...( the vehicle could be very much overloaded and it would take it without trouble.)
The flex problem was easily solved by removing sway bars and spring leaves which transformed the vehicle off road.
Low range gearing was never a problem even though it was only 26 to 1 low /low.
The motor just had so much torque from near zero revs.

Camberwarra mountain near home has some of the steepest main road grades in NSW.

Only 2 vehicles In have ever owned has gone over that Mountain in top gear.
One was the G60 patrol on gas and the other was a 1940 WM20 motor cycle with the manual ignition timing thrown right back to make it hang on.

Under coat paint from the factory was not good and surface rust would come though the paint work.

The other so called problem with them was the engine reving too hard in top gear, which it appears to do.
The motor was not reving hard at all...……..it was fan noise......the over rated steel fan so the thing would never get hot.
Slacken off the fan belt a bit and go for a drive and all was good to prove the point.

I always though of G60 Patrol as the poor cousin of the Toyota FJ45 until I ended up owning one.
It was just as good, but in different ways...….it was tough/ultra reliable/better motor...……...but the Toyota was more comfortable in the suspension ect from the factory and Toyota improved the vehicle every year.
The G60 patrol was mostly the same until the MQ patrol in 1978.

Me & 2 other mates banded together & bought 3 x new Nissan G60'S in 1976.

Very poor design for an off roader. I could go on for an hour or more about my disappointments.

1/ Very poor quality spring steel.
2/. Handbrake drum was external & the adjusting rod was lower than the drum disc - mine bent & applied the handbrake in low ratio when i crossed a fallen tree -melted the linings in no time.
3/. Spring leaf bolts were too long & got bent on rocks - had 2 angle grind them off when i had to to replace springs.
4/. Pathetic hub design, all wheel bearings. On mine & others, they failed due to river crossings & maybe snow.
5/. Battery cable ran - can you believe it? -across the bottom front of the mid chassis cross member. mine got welded to the chassis by hitting a rock.
6/. Split rims resulted in sand from river crossings getting in between the tube & tyre causing sandpapering of the tube - try & patch that out in the bush.
7/. The gearbox jammed in 2nd gear after -admittedly- hard going in snow with chains on all 4 wheels. Had to remove floorboards & cold chisel into reverse to get out of there.
8/. From memory all had clutch spigot failure under warranty & 2 of us suffered valve guide seal failure under 20k - mine couldn't handle the nullabor 45 deg heat - warranty job for both of us.
9/. Side steps were bent up or back or both after first off road use, either that or they high centred you. A mate slit his wrist on the sharp underside digging out snow & nearly bled out.
17 mpg & nothing improved that, not electronic ignition, extractors, Holley Carby, foam air filter thermatic fan nothing,- it just went harder..
Mine started rusting around the window vents & rear quarter after 3 years, so i sold it.

One funny anecdote, coming back from Mt Buller late one night, the rear wheel bearing failed & i had to nurse it the last 30 klm home. Bad move, as by then the axle/bearing/hub all fused together. Where I worked, they had a full workshop, so the mechanic put it vertically in his press & lowered the ram till his feet were off the ground at 30 tonne. We both got another 5 tonne but no budge, Out came the extension & we both got the dial into the red. No movement. Out came the oxy- still no go.
He got really frustrated ( & abused me) & got out his mallet & whacked the axle & BANG, it separated & the axle/flange hit the floor & cratered the concrete.. The dial on the press suffered whiplash & thereafter was bent & pointed to 5 tonne. Needless to say the workshop was out of bounds to me after that..
i can never forgive NISSAN for causing me so much pain...but I did get an "I've got guts" tee shirt --rant over.
David

In 1978 I nearly bought a G60 but then thought "NAH, won't impress the girls."
So then I nearly bought an MGB but how do you, well, you know, in that tiny space?
Ended up with a 302 XT ute.
Jonesfam

Originally Posted by jonesfam

In 1978 I nearly bought a G60 but then thought "NAH, won't impress the girls."
So then I nearly bought an MGB but how do you, well, you know, in that tiny space?
Ended up with a 302 XT ute.
Jonesfam

I had the same issue with the Holden ute.
Picked up one of those fibreglass canopies,all sorted...

Those were the days

Geez I thought the patrol pictures might bring out a few stories but this is a better laugh than I thought

I showed my old boy and **** me he couldn’t stop on the stories about how **** his was
He bought it brand new 1976, as a ute converted it to a 4 door wagon, changed springs and seats to make it more comfortable, made a roof rack, bull bar and god knows what else
Sold it and bought a LandCruiser

I’ll dig out some photos of the old shorty forty when the Datsun stories die down
I’m sure there will be a mountain of LandCruiser stories

Originally Posted by scarry

I had the same issue with the Holden ute.
Picked up one of those fibreglass canopies,all sorted...

Those were the days

Arh, well if you had had a Ford Mainline Ute it would not have been a problem! Front seat the size of Queen sized bed!

Originally Posted by jonesfam

In 1978 I nearly bought a G60 but then thought "NAH, won't impress the girls."
So then I nearly bought an MGB but how do you, well, you know, in that tiny space?
Ended up with a 302 XT ute.
Jonesfam

Originally Posted by scarry

I had the same issue with the Holden ute.
Picked up one of those fibreglass canopies,all sorted...

Those were the days

Aah, the olde days, when boys with vans went 'parking'

And then some of us had utes, a Panel Van for exhibitionists.