1978 MWB G60 Hardtop - Farm Workhorse
Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 3:56 am
G'day all, here is a write up on the old 78 G60, which started the hoarding disease 
I was Originally offered an old Nissan Patrol G60 from a family friend,and at that stage the old holden Commodore and Camira we were using as our Bush Bashers just wouldnt Cut it. So I Sat down with the old man and begged,that he let me have just one more Old Car on the block.
I also Found out that my Old man had 2 G60's before I came along he agreed it would be a good practical solid farm Truck,and I pusuaded him that he allowed me to have it,but under one circustance "I Pay for the Fuel" which didnt take long to work out why he said that, i ought to buy shares in BP or Shell.
So that weekend I bailed up my older Brother and Dad,Organised a Car Trailer and went to pick it up.I recall Brian said it was Parked up in an area that we would not be able to get the Car Trailer into,so we had to rethink our plan,with the two only options being To get a team of Hefty Blokes to lend us a hand to push,or see it we could get it going to drive it out.
So we soon Decided that to drive it was goign to be the easiest and safest way. We set on foot through the tight enclosed bush track with our battery and jerry Can.
A few minutes later,we came across the vehicle amoungst the trees,rusting away was this old Blue 1978 G60 Nissan Patrol. While I hooked up the Fuel line to the Jerry Can,my Brother Steves job was to Hook up the battery,with them jobs both done,I had a Quick check of the fluid levels,Enigne oil full, the Radiator just enough,it was time to see if it would fire up,but before i got to Crank it over i had to put the damn Drivers door that fell of its hinges in the back.
With a turn of the key and a few revolutions of the crank,it fired upto life with a big black cloud of smoke on startup. Well we knew it Runs,but it was running like a Sick dog.
Nestled amoungst a patch of Shea Oak trees on a property,just out of the Village Of Copmanhurst, Sitting there blankly was this old 1978 NISSAN PATROL G60 just rusting away.
We had it going so we didnt muck around gettign it out,we had no idea what may have been living in here,having already removed several green tree frogs and the odd Huntsman and well the redback spiders they didnt get a option of Re-homing,plus the thing smelt like mould.
We got the G60 onto the trailer,but the thing wasnt running any better,and just pulled it way onto the trailer. Once we got it back home and off the trailer,it was time to actually check over the Patrol. I started of be Cleaning it out, i think this was a personal tip,Countless Beer cans and Flagins in the back,old shirts,several Foresty maps and even a pair of old undies,but one thing that was a real keeper was the Original Nissan G60 Jack and handle. Delving into the glovebox i found a few old Sparkplugs an old used Oil filter,a Set of Points and several glass Fuses.
Here is a few photos of the G60
An Old Used Ryco Oil Filter,it actually came in handy as Ryco never lists a Oil filter under "G60 Patrol" So I got the number off this old filter,and Brougt a New one.
Some old Used Bosch Spark plugs
It was then time to flush out the rusty water in the Cooling system,so i removed the Thermostat that still was working ok,and dropped the bottom Radiator hose and flushed all the block and radiator clean of any rusty bits of water,re-fitted the radiator hoses and wacked the thermostat back in and made up a new gasket and filled the system with a mixture of water and Corrosion Inhibitor.
I then decided to replaced the Sparkplugs as the one in there were looking a bit long in the tooth
The Brakes were on long service leave and didnt fuction very well but would pull you up if needed,a Quick Bleed of the Brake system and it was stopping a little better.
It was only a few months later when i went to stop that there was no brakes , so i had to steer it thorough the bush until it pulled up.It was evident the Brake booster wasnt holding Vaccume,i think the Diaphram had packed it in. So i did a few Diagnosis Check to deterimine 100% it was the booster,so took a drive to the local Wrecking yard there G60 still had the booster so I brought it Condition unknow for $50. It was cheap insurance as the brakes have not given any Troble since,toutch Wood.
Also in the time i have had it the Alternator decided to stop working,after getting sick of Charging the battery up when ever it needed to de driven,So I purchased a secondhand alternator of a Forum Associate for $15 Dollars which has been worth every sent.
It was around the Same time the Fan Belt broke while i was driving it,luckily i herd some thing whip the inner guard in the engine bay,i Jumpsed out to have a look and the belt had broken and flew of the fan pulley,I managed to find another belt that was pretty Cheap.
Took the Oil Bath Airfilter out of the Housing,the oil in the housing almost had as much water in it as the radiator did,so I got it cleaned up and filled it with some Clean fresh oil,but I will need to pick up a Tube of Silicon to goop up the Holes on the Bonnet above the airfiler Housing as Water still manages to seep into the oil bath over time.
When i Got the Old girl it was riding on a set of 31x10.5 all terrains on sunraysia's,i eventually busted all the tires so I fitted a spare set of old Toyota Landcruisers wheels which have Cheese Cutters on them, I prefer the look of the skinnier wheels. The wheels were rust so one Avro i can gave them a couple of coats of Bunning's House paint.
Heavy Duty Selectro Free Wheeling Hubs, never Given me any trouble, there damn big Hubs
The Gearbox is good, does not jump out of gear, no crunching, and the old g60 Tail shaft Mounted Handbrakes were almost as useless as an ashtray on a motorbike
It also has an Unusual Style of Fiberglass Canopy on it, I have only ever seen one other G60 with the exact same canopy. It has 2 Sunroofs fitted while all the other Canopy's I have seen fitted have never had a Sunroof which leaks onto the seats every time it rains,im going to have to look at a way to fix the leaks as wet seats aren't my thing.
The G60 had an imuculate pair of Original seats in it when i first got it,which i knew were to good to use in a paddock basher. I went to the wreckers and asked about the seats in there old Wreck,the manager said $100 Each per seat,so i went to check them out,walked back to the wrecking yard office with the pair of seats the manager looked at them and said, give me $30 for the set, They certainly wernt gunna be worth $100 in this condition.
Around 18 months ago the old G60 Started to run very poorly again,carby was adjusted correctly,but it was in need of a desperated overhaul kit,so a mate offered to do it up for me. I dropped the Carby of at his place,covered in grease and all gummed up inside. Dave soaked it in some gun cleaner and it soon was looking nice and clean again,and with some new Components inside it sure made the old G60 Run better
A Bit of a Leaky Exhaust Flange
It still has the Factory fitted recovery Points front and rear,these are real Recovery/Tow Points,it should be law that all Modern 4wds Have factory fitted fated points like the old days.
How many Gear Levers does one car Really Need,First drive i had i didnt know you couldnt go back into 1st Geat as its Not Schroed.
A brief Tune up stiver on the Valve Cover was usefull when i re-done the timing,who needs a computer.
The fella Who gave it to me always kept it in Good mechanical Shape,until it was parked up,it now doesnt blow any smoke and has very good compression. There is an old service Sticker on the Windscreenn Surrond,where it got regular servicing and tune up's.
Since Owning this G60 I have also managed to Rip the passengers Door of on a Tree when one of my Right Hand Front wheel hit a Tree and pushed the patrol sidewards and Clipping a Gum Tree,again noting a bit of threaded rod and a few nut cannot fix.
Like most other old Patrols and Cruisers ot there,it has some rust Cancer,in some spots its fixable but some is not worth tryign to repair
I was Originally offered an old Nissan Patrol G60 from a family friend,and at that stage the old holden Commodore and Camira we were using as our Bush Bashers just wouldnt Cut it. So I Sat down with the old man and begged,that he let me have just one more Old Car on the block.
I also Found out that my Old man had 2 G60's before I came along he agreed it would be a good practical solid farm Truck,and I pusuaded him that he allowed me to have it,but under one circustance "I Pay for the Fuel" which didnt take long to work out why he said that, i ought to buy shares in BP or Shell.
So that weekend I bailed up my older Brother and Dad,Organised a Car Trailer and went to pick it up.I recall Brian said it was Parked up in an area that we would not be able to get the Car Trailer into,so we had to rethink our plan,with the two only options being To get a team of Hefty Blokes to lend us a hand to push,or see it we could get it going to drive it out.
So we soon Decided that to drive it was goign to be the easiest and safest way. We set on foot through the tight enclosed bush track with our battery and jerry Can.
A few minutes later,we came across the vehicle amoungst the trees,rusting away was this old Blue 1978 G60 Nissan Patrol. While I hooked up the Fuel line to the Jerry Can,my Brother Steves job was to Hook up the battery,with them jobs both done,I had a Quick check of the fluid levels,Enigne oil full, the Radiator just enough,it was time to see if it would fire up,but before i got to Crank it over i had to put the damn Drivers door that fell of its hinges in the back.
With a turn of the key and a few revolutions of the crank,it fired upto life with a big black cloud of smoke on startup. Well we knew it Runs,but it was running like a Sick dog.
Nestled amoungst a patch of Shea Oak trees on a property,just out of the Village Of Copmanhurst, Sitting there blankly was this old 1978 NISSAN PATROL G60 just rusting away.
We had it going so we didnt muck around gettign it out,we had no idea what may have been living in here,having already removed several green tree frogs and the odd Huntsman and well the redback spiders they didnt get a option of Re-homing,plus the thing smelt like mould.
We got the G60 onto the trailer,but the thing wasnt running any better,and just pulled it way onto the trailer. Once we got it back home and off the trailer,it was time to actually check over the Patrol. I started of be Cleaning it out, i think this was a personal tip,Countless Beer cans and Flagins in the back,old shirts,several Foresty maps and even a pair of old undies,but one thing that was a real keeper was the Original Nissan G60 Jack and handle. Delving into the glovebox i found a few old Sparkplugs an old used Oil filter,a Set of Points and several glass Fuses.
Here is a few photos of the G60
An Old Used Ryco Oil Filter,it actually came in handy as Ryco never lists a Oil filter under "G60 Patrol" So I got the number off this old filter,and Brougt a New one.
Some old Used Bosch Spark plugs
It was then time to flush out the rusty water in the Cooling system,so i removed the Thermostat that still was working ok,and dropped the bottom Radiator hose and flushed all the block and radiator clean of any rusty bits of water,re-fitted the radiator hoses and wacked the thermostat back in and made up a new gasket and filled the system with a mixture of water and Corrosion Inhibitor.
I then decided to replaced the Sparkplugs as the one in there were looking a bit long in the tooth
The Brakes were on long service leave and didnt fuction very well but would pull you up if needed,a Quick Bleed of the Brake system and it was stopping a little better.
It was only a few months later when i went to stop that there was no brakes , so i had to steer it thorough the bush until it pulled up.It was evident the Brake booster wasnt holding Vaccume,i think the Diaphram had packed it in. So i did a few Diagnosis Check to deterimine 100% it was the booster,so took a drive to the local Wrecking yard there G60 still had the booster so I brought it Condition unknow for $50. It was cheap insurance as the brakes have not given any Troble since,toutch Wood.
Also in the time i have had it the Alternator decided to stop working,after getting sick of Charging the battery up when ever it needed to de driven,So I purchased a secondhand alternator of a Forum Associate for $15 Dollars which has been worth every sent.
It was around the Same time the Fan Belt broke while i was driving it,luckily i herd some thing whip the inner guard in the engine bay,i Jumpsed out to have a look and the belt had broken and flew of the fan pulley,I managed to find another belt that was pretty Cheap.
Took the Oil Bath Airfilter out of the Housing,the oil in the housing almost had as much water in it as the radiator did,so I got it cleaned up and filled it with some Clean fresh oil,but I will need to pick up a Tube of Silicon to goop up the Holes on the Bonnet above the airfiler Housing as Water still manages to seep into the oil bath over time.
When i Got the Old girl it was riding on a set of 31x10.5 all terrains on sunraysia's,i eventually busted all the tires so I fitted a spare set of old Toyota Landcruisers wheels which have Cheese Cutters on them, I prefer the look of the skinnier wheels. The wheels were rust so one Avro i can gave them a couple of coats of Bunning's House paint.
Heavy Duty Selectro Free Wheeling Hubs, never Given me any trouble, there damn big Hubs
The Gearbox is good, does not jump out of gear, no crunching, and the old g60 Tail shaft Mounted Handbrakes were almost as useless as an ashtray on a motorbike
It also has an Unusual Style of Fiberglass Canopy on it, I have only ever seen one other G60 with the exact same canopy. It has 2 Sunroofs fitted while all the other Canopy's I have seen fitted have never had a Sunroof which leaks onto the seats every time it rains,im going to have to look at a way to fix the leaks as wet seats aren't my thing.
The G60 had an imuculate pair of Original seats in it when i first got it,which i knew were to good to use in a paddock basher. I went to the wreckers and asked about the seats in there old Wreck,the manager said $100 Each per seat,so i went to check them out,walked back to the wrecking yard office with the pair of seats the manager looked at them and said, give me $30 for the set, They certainly wernt gunna be worth $100 in this condition.
Around 18 months ago the old G60 Started to run very poorly again,carby was adjusted correctly,but it was in need of a desperated overhaul kit,so a mate offered to do it up for me. I dropped the Carby of at his place,covered in grease and all gummed up inside. Dave soaked it in some gun cleaner and it soon was looking nice and clean again,and with some new Components inside it sure made the old G60 Run better
A Bit of a Leaky Exhaust Flange
It still has the Factory fitted recovery Points front and rear,these are real Recovery/Tow Points,it should be law that all Modern 4wds Have factory fitted fated points like the old days.
How many Gear Levers does one car Really Need,First drive i had i didnt know you couldnt go back into 1st Geat as its Not Schroed.
A brief Tune up stiver on the Valve Cover was usefull when i re-done the timing,who needs a computer.
The fella Who gave it to me always kept it in Good mechanical Shape,until it was parked up,it now doesnt blow any smoke and has very good compression. There is an old service Sticker on the Windscreenn Surrond,where it got regular servicing and tune up's.
Since Owning this G60 I have also managed to Rip the passengers Door of on a Tree when one of my Right Hand Front wheel hit a Tree and pushed the patrol sidewards and Clipping a Gum Tree,again noting a bit of threaded rod and a few nut cannot fix.
Like most other old Patrols and Cruisers ot there,it has some rust Cancer,in some spots its fixable but some is not worth tryign to repair
been doing some short runs and work though. Also caught up with Brian the previous owner before me down the local Pub, bit of a chat and up came the old G60 topic, Found out Brian Brought it for $1500 from a Car Salesman who used to work at GORDON WOODS MOTORS Brian said the old g60 was mint when he got it but after several years of beach driving and swap crossing the old girl was infected 
