New to restoration

[moobaru]

My parents have a 1969 patrol that I inquired about taking off their hands. It hasn't run since the mid 70's and has been garaged since then. I have a couple of questions before I agree to tow it across the country for my first attempt to restore/fix this vehicle.
I was curious how difficult it would be to get parts for it. I found a site in Australia that sells a lot of them but I'm sure shipping to the US would be pricey.
My dad tells me that it the Nissan patrols were delivered to the US without an engine and they put a GM straight 6 in them when they got to CA, doesn't seem right to me though as everything I see it is a Nissan P engine.

Thanks in advance.

[RiverPatrol]

Welcome to 60Patrol! You've come to the right place for all of your Patrol questions.

Parts can be a challenge but not impossible. Yes, some of the parts you need will come from Australia. Shipping is a bit pricey but there isn't any alternative. Some of us remember when it used to cost $500 just for front wheel cylinders so paying $230 for a complete set now is a steal. Everything is relative.

How new are you? Do you have any mechanical experience at all? As vehicles go Patrols are very easy to work on but if you never have before it can get frustrating.

The Patrol only ever came with the P engine. Sometimes someone might have swapped a Chevy into one but it was never and option new.

[moobaru]

I am very new to restoration, this will be the first one for my wife and I. I did do an internship with Cummins diesel when I was in college (in the '90's) and I did do complete tear down and rebuild of their engines, but beyond that, just normal maintenance on gas engines, spark plugs, belts, oil changes, replacing broken body pieces, etc. We wanted to find something that didn't have (a lot of) computers in it for our first attempt. My dad is in his mid 70's now and my goal (if we decide to do it) is to have it up and running before my dad passes away. I did find a post on here with a '68 owners manual and some service manuals on this forum and I grabbed those already.

My dad needs to get rid of the Patrol because they are selling the house it is garaged in, he had an offer of $1000 from a local guy, but from what I see that seems to be a low ball offer which is why I was thinking of trying to restore it. Do you think the patrol will be a good starting place for my wife and I for a first restoration attempt, or should we try to find something more common?

[RiverPatrol]

Great story! Definitely keep it in the family. Patrols can be a challenge even to an experienced restorer but they are also very easy to work on depending on their condition. It is a great place to start for anyone. It depends on how simple you want it to be. A '65 Mustang would be a pieces of cake because parts are readily available. The starting cost will be a lot higher though and the sale market not very forgiving for amateur work. And the forum here is very newbie friendly. What you can't find by searching you can always feel free to ask - there are no stupid questions. And yes, $1000 for a Patrol any more is very low ball.

[rickheiserman]

I am very new to restoration, this will be the first one for my wife and I. I did do an internship with Cummins diesel when I was in college (in the '90's) and I did do complete tear down and rebuild of their engines, but beyond that, just normal maintenance on gas engines, spark plugs, belts, oil changes, replacing broken body pieces, etc. We wanted to find something that didn't have (a lot of) computers in it for our first attempt. My dad is in his mid 70's now and my goal (if we decide to do it) is to have it up and running before my dad passes away. I did find a post on here with a '68 owners manual and some service manuals on this forum and I grabbed those already.

My dad needs to get rid of the Patrol because they are selling the house it is garaged in, he had an offer of $1000 from a local guy, but from what I see that seems to be a low ball offer which is why I was thinking of trying to restore it. Do you think the patrol will be a good starting place for my wife and I for a first restoration attempt, or should we try to find something more common?

It sounds like you have enough experience to get you started, I would go for it if I were you. Also, we all love photos (the more the better)....and the other very helpful and experienced members on here may be able to give you a better idea of what you're about to get into if they are able to see the body, under the hood, the dash, overall condition etc...

[moobaru]

Thanks, I am hopefully picking it up over the first weekend in July, if U-haul will rent me a trailer, evidently they need to inspect the towing vehicle as well as the vehicle being towed before they will rent a trailer to you. Not sure how they are going to inspect the Patrol since it hasn't been started in over 40 years.

I did get some more information from my dad over the weekend though, evidently when it got garaged my dad and one of his friends were repairing the transmission. He said they got it fixed and reattached, but they were working on a few other things that needed work as just standard maintenance. Hopefully it is in better condition that I thought it was, granted my dads memory may not be what it used to be, he thinks he was driving it around 20 years ago, but I have never seen that thing move my entire life (42 years). I'm thinking I will have to replace most of the gaskets, and hoses to start with, it is in New Mexico so I imagine most of those have probably suffered from dry rot.

[moobaru]

So my acquiring the Patrol from my parents hit a hard stop for the time being. Driving through Arkansas around midnight a deer decided to play frogger on the interstate and my truck struck it. Hopefully after I get the truck fixed I can try to get it again.

[RiverPatrol]

Deer suck.