1965 Nissan Soft Top

[1965patrol]

Hello,
Bought a 1965 Nissan Soft Top from OhioPatrol about a month ago. My wife and I are very excited to become part of the Nissan Patrol family. Our patrol is currently getting restored by OhioPatrol....we can't wait to see the end product. We have the patrol with the donkey painted on the side back panel if you visit OhioPatrol's site. Today we spent most of the day trying to get someone to do a soft top for us. I don't believe that we have all the brackets for the full top so we were trying to fabricate one that will work and be a little more functional for our needs. Any suggestions or templates that we can use for a top would be greatly appreciated? Also, we are missing a couple of the emblems, turn signals and taillights.

Just tried to upload a picture of the Patrol but unable to do so because it states that the picture is too big.

[mdawg4x4]

Welcome to 60Patrol. Can't wait to see the finished project. I host my pictures at photobucket.com and/or cardomain.com, then paste the URL inside the [Img] tags.

[moore_rb]

Ahhh yes... The Donkey Patrol. I LOVE that camo-job.

Welcome to the forum. Looking forward to following the progress on your project...

Today we spent most of the day trying to get someone to do a soft top for us. I don't believe that we have all the brackets for the full top so we were trying to fabricate one that will work and be a little more functional for our needs. Any suggestions or templates that we can use for a top would be greatly appreciated?

Original Nissan canvas sets are near impossible to track down. I am also restoring a soft top Patrol (a 62) and have been researching several options for a custom-replacement soft-top that looks close to the original, but it will be several more months before I have any lucrative information to share...

RiverPatrol has had 2 custom tops made to fit the original Patrol soft top frame - One is made from vinyl, similar to the fabric used in modern Jeep tops (pics are in her gallery):

http://www.60patrol.com/forum/gallery/a ... lbum_id=69

and her other replacement top is closer to what the original canvas looked like:




I'm sure she'll chime in- the only thing I know about her two replacement tops is that neither one was cheap...

[RiverPatrol]

Welcome to 60Patrol! It's nice to hear from the owner of the softie that OhioPatrols is restoring. We'd love to see pictures. There are a few helpful articles on resizing pictures to upload, and even a tutorial. http://www.60patrol.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2784

The soft tops are the rarest of the Patrols, and the soft top parts are pretty scarce. But, we have a member here that does some awesome fabrication of several Patrol parts, soft tops being part of his inventory. Check out this post in Parts: http://www.60patrol.com/forum/viewtopic ... t=Soft+top . Contact him and he can make any of the soft top metal pieces that you need. As for the soft top canvas, there is no source for those yet. There might be some in the works to be available in the future tho. Stay tuned.

[Esteban]

Welcome to 60Patrol!

Mine is also a 65, but MWB which is about 12 inches longer than yours. I'm on my 7th canvas top by now, and all replacements were either purchased (2) or custom made (4) while I was still overseas. I always joke to my wife that I should look for an industrial sewing machine and start practicing for the next one

The last top has been the longest lasting of them all, and the reason is that I used a different product. It's call Cambria, and it's a Three Ply composite made of an acrylic square weave outer fabric, a
rubber inner layer and a cotton lining fabric. Sold by the yard, 60” wide. I will never go back to canvas. Not only is more durable, it doesn't expand and contract the way canvas does. This last top is 14 years old, half of them garaged, half outside.

I bought this material, along with all clear vinyl for the windows, at an upholstery supply in Houston that has branches in many cities. Keyston Bros (http://www.keystonbros.com)

I found this page that might give some additional insight:
http://www.b-dco.com/Media/bd/4/4__Materials.pdf

[Timoun]

Have you contacted Beechwood Canvas? They do canvas for many vintage military vehicles and civilian Jeeps. They advertise in Military Vehicles Magazine, or you could try a Google. Best wishes on your project.

[1965patrol]

Hello Forum,

Finally getting some pictures posted of our 1965 Patrol. So far, the paint is down to bare metal...good news no bondo on the body. Getting some of the dents worked out and filled in. It was time for her 50 year old facelift. We cut the rear fenders out to fit the new tires and rims we plan to put on (sorry...I know this is a no-no). Got the seats back yesterday (we are loving them). We had to make some adjustments to where the front seats will sit because we were too close to the steering wheel. Will continue to post as we progress.

We want to thank OhioPatrol for the great work that he is doing. We can't wait to get this out on the road in the Spring of 2015.

[zed]

Good progress.

[Esteban]

Good progress.

X2

The seats upholstery looks great.

The tires are a beast! No other way to fit them in the rear like what you've done. Keep posting pictures of the progress.

[mdawg4x4]

Those wheels look a little like Method Race Wheels, but their name is missing. What are they?