An Australian in Colombia in a 79 Patrol..

[jimmyrobby]

Hey there,

This site is an amazing resource for a newbie like me. Newbie both to Patrols and to taking on their care and maintenance (it's a learning process )

So my name's James I'm from Perth, West Australia, but I'm currently in Colombia South America and wanted to buy a car to travel all the way down Andes to the most southern point, Cold, cold Patagonia. So Naturally I needed a 4x4 that's strong, reliable, and good looking of course , so here we are with a Colombian 1979 Patrol with my name now on the ownership papers!!

IMG_2567.JPG

We bought it from a family who lived in the country side and had it since new, passed down from Father to Son, although the last part of it's life was spent in the city. They love the Patrols here, we're always getting comments about how they never stop going and what good cars they are. As well as how great they are for Colombia with it's often tough landscapes and just as tough roads!! It's nice to get a little kudos!

So Its had a new paint job a year or two ago, roof rack bolted into the roof as I think the hard top oddly doesn't have lips all the way round like most.
not my favourite but functional. It's got Automatic hubs which is unlike most of the Patrols here which seem to have aftermarket locking hubs. Got the original hand crank
still and the upholstery seems pretty alright.

We had a hell of a time with mechanics in Bogota, wanted to get her all checked out and safe for such a long journey but had some problems. Had to get the motor machined and pretty much replaced all of the internals other than the pistons and crank shaft, all good, unexpected but understandable. Had brakes serviced, brake drums machined and various other gaskets replaced, things checked and ready to go. Eventually went to leave the Mechanics and head out of the city and on the way out one of the wheels literally fell off! No joke, it was like a cartoon, I believe the mechanic after checking the brakes only tightened the lug nuts by hand forgetting to properly tighten them after, So after a while the wheels vibrated enough to completely sheer off the bolts... or we just had horrible luck, but either way we're lucky we on a strait section of road as the brakes went and the handbrake was dodgy (and unadjusted by the mechanic). So we needed new lug bolts and nuts and the brakes needed work again, thankfully a new seal for the brake cylinder and more fluid and we were all good. Needless to say was not happy with our mechanic!! Had to by a new battery and recondition the alternator with new bearings and a bunch of the separate circuitry / voltage regulation was pretty fried.

Hopefully now we're ALL GOOD!! I've realised that I can do much of the work myself and at least that way I can be sure the work's been done (with the help of all you folks of course!). It's certainly a great car and am looking forward to going on a fantastic journey with it! I've got some other questions but I'll post them in the relevant sections!

[RiverPatrol]

This is absolutely awesome!!

First of all, welcome to 60Patrol! Glad you found your way here. We don't get many Aussies from the west side.

What a stunning adventure you are about to embark on, and thank you so much for sharing it with us. Of course I am biased, but I certainly think you chose the right vehicle for the journey. You're right to think that you can perform most all of the maintenance and repairs yourself on the road. That's the beauty of their simplicity.

Great story about the mechanic and the end result is wheel falling off. I'm sorry that it happened to you, but it makes for interesting reading. Hopefully this just means that you're getting all of the bad mojo out of the way before the trip.

What made you want to make this awesome trip? I hope that you can chronicle it for us as you go. We certainly will be here to cheer you on and provide technical assistance if needed.

Probably Esteban can provide some sage advice for traveling way down south. I do know that once you get south of Venezuela parts will be scarce. Colombia and Venezuela were to main countries for sales of the Patrol.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

[miller]

Welcome Jimmy,
Good to see you found your way here! Great write up and a super neat looking 60 you have there.

Your adventures sound like they'll be a hell of alot of fun, make sure you keep us up to date as you go.

[Coyote Patrol]

Welcome James, thats a nice looking Patrol. Cant wait to hear about your journey.

[sleepyzzz]

i like that rig, especially the trim piece over the headlights. is that original? don't recall that on any others i have looked at. as everyone said, welcome, and please take lots of pics along the way and keep us posted on your journey.

[bosque]

Eventually went to leave the Mechanics and head out of the city and on the way out one of the wheels literally fell off! No joke, it was like a cartoon, I believe the mechanic after checking the brakes only tightened the lug nuts by hand forgetting to properly tighten them after, So after a while the wheels vibrated enough to completely sheer off the bolts... or we just had horrible luck, but either way we're lucky we on a strait section of road as the brakes went and the handbrake was dodgy (and unadjusted by the mechanic).
Hopefully now we're ALL GOOD!! I've realised that I can do much of the work myself and at least that way I can be sure the work's been done (with the help of all you folks of course!). It's certainly a great car and am looking forward to going on a fantastic journey with it! I've got some other questions but I'll post them in the relevant sections!

That is what I like about this vehicle. I have the same feeling about mechanics here in Bishop, Ca. There is always something done shoddy and I am disappointed. I look at the talent and look at this Patrol, practically a tractor, and realize I can do the work even if I screw up I know where I screwed up and then get it right. The main point you stated that you can be sure the work is done and now you really understand it. And yes, this is a nice Patrol..........now!

[mdawg4x4]

Welcome to 60PATROL. cannot wait to see some pics from your trip.

[jimmyrobby]

Thanks for the welcomes!

Great story about the mechanic and the end result is wheel falling off. I'm sorry that it happened to you, but it makes for interesting reading. Hopefully this just means that you're getting all of the bad mojo out of the way before the trip.

What made you want to make this awesome trip? I hope that you can chronicle it for us as you go. We certainly will be here to cheer you on and provide technical assistance if needed.

Yep, let's hope all the bad's outta the way! I always wanted to travel around South America and I'd done a fair bit around Central America, but I found myself on buses driving through small towns or amazing landscapes and feeling separated from them behind bus windows. And it just made sense to go get a real 4x4 and stop and look and have fun driving through these places. And the Patrol is not only a car that seems at home down here but also just has a whole heap of character and I can't say I don't like travelling in style. So here we are.... I'll make sure to keep you guys updated!

i like that rig, especially the trim piece over the headlights. is that original?

No, It's aftermarket, we put it on the car after we bought it. I don't know if there are specific Nissan originals. They seem to put those visor pieces on heaps of cars down in Colombia. All the way from Patrols, to Old Chevy Trucks. So we thought we'd try and blend in! Before the Patrols and Landrovers and all the rest took hold they had Willy's Jeeps down here and these are pretty iconic, I think they were standard on a lot of those and as a style they took hold maybe....?

Although most of that's conjecture really, All I can say in truth is that we saw them on other Patrols and thought they looked sweet!

[Esteban]

Welcome JimmyRobby! We will be following your trip to the dot, and one thing that you can be for sure, you're not going to be alone. We'll be constantly watching.

I will send you a PM with my brothers info in Quito, Ecuador, that for sure is going to be a stop in your journey. Also one from another fellow Patroler that still needs to join this wonderful forum. I will send you also my Skype info, in case you can get internet along the way.

Certainly you're, in my opinion, in the best place in the world when it comes to Patrols, where this vehicle has attained mythic proportions, and the spare parts base is the greatest. Next in South America is Ecuador, way, way ahead of Venezuela regarding this vehicles. Unfortunately, the spare parts are no longer easy there, since the stealership decided to quit importing parts for them around 1990. But you'll find your share of Patrols there.

Personally I never trusted the automatic locking hubs. The ones you have are probably the best, AVM, made under license from Warn in Brazil. They're good for light duty 4WD. I rather have no locking hubs at all, specially since the Patrol is fitted with CV joints. They're a must when you have universal or spicer joints. Maybe you can get the original flange (used) that was in place of the hubs.

Take care, and good luck along your journey.

[sleepyzzz]

Thanks for the welcomes!

Great story about the mechanic and the end result is wheel falling off. I'm sorry that it happened to you, but it makes for interesting reading. Hopefully this just means that you're getting all of the bad mojo out of the way before the trip.

What made you want to make this awesome trip? I hope that you can chronicle it for us as you go. We certainly will be here to cheer you on and provide technical assistance if needed.

Yep, let's hope all the bad's outta the way! I always wanted to travel around South America and I'd done a fair bit around Central America, but I found myself on buses driving through small towns or amazing landscapes and feeling separated from them behind bus windows. And it just made sense to go get a real 4x4 and stop and look and have fun driving through these places. And the Patrol is not only a car that seems at home down here but also just has a whole heap of character and I can't say I don't like travelling in style. So here we are.... I'll make sure to keep you guys updated!

i like that rig, especially the trim piece over the headlights. is that original?

No, It's aftermarket, we put it on the car after we bought it. I don't know if there are specific Nissan originals. They seem to put those visor pieces on heaps of cars down in Colombia. All the way from Patrols, to Old Chevy Trucks. So we thought we'd try and blend in! Before the Patrols and Landrovers and all the rest took hold they had Willy's Jeeps down here and these are pretty iconic, I think they were standard on a lot of those and as a style they took hold maybe....?

Although most of that's conjecture really, All I can say in truth is that we saw them on other Patrols and thought they looked sweet!

yes they are