(first posted 12/13/2017) Nissan Patrols are commonly considered “forbidden fruit” in the US, and often imported privately. But once upon a time, from 1962 to 1969, one could buy actually a Nissan Patrol in the US at…your local Datsun dealer. A preview of coming attractions? Well, not the Patrol, but the Nissan brand. Nissan stopped importing the Patrol after 1969, although I’m not quite sure why. Was it poor sales compared to the more successful Toyota Land Cruiser? Or was it mandated by MITI, the Japanese Ministry of International Trade, which was extremely powerful back then and often called the shots in order to maximize market share for a specific product at the expense of another? I seem to remember reading something about that back in the day.
No worries; that’s all in the past, and the Patrol is now available in the US since last year, as the Nissan Armada (and was previously available as the 2103-up Infiniti QX56/80).
I can’t peg the year of this Patrol, but it seems to fall into the right vintage when these were sold in the US. And it’s certainly not RHD, which improves the odds further, as I doubt any were sold in Europe at the time. I know Australia has always been a strong market for the patrol, but of course they drive on the wrong side of the road too.
These Patrols are very much from the same mold as the old Land Cruisers, and also sport an ohv (4.0 L; 241 CID) inline six. The Toyota’s was rather very similar to the old Chevy six; so was this Nissan six original, or based on a British design, given that Nissan licensed Austin’s engine technology?
I found a picture of a restored 1967 P series six as used in these, and the valve cover does look rather like the big Austin 3 L six. According to Wikipedia, the P Series engine started out in 1955 as a flathead, so maybe it’s only the cylinder head that shows that Austin influence. A closer look suggests there’s no blatant resemblance, but some influence is likely, given the times and the Nissan-Austin relationship..
Horsepower started at 125, and then increased to 135 and then to 145, in 1965. The venerable P series six was built until 1983, which is a decade less than the Toyota F-series six.
The interior is as spartan as might be expected. There are no less than five(!) levers sprouting from the floor. Who needs in-car entertainment when you’ve got all of these to keep you occupied.
The steering wheel with its flexible spokes does have a decidedly British air to it.
The view from the back. On a whim, I decided to zoom in on the speedometer to see if it was marked in mph.
Yes it is. And what’s that? An IH logo on it. Now that’s highly unexpected. And it looks so original. Can anybody help us out here?
The back sports the sideways flip-up seats, which are rather handy, unless one is carrying passengers regularly. But it’s a great way to squeeze six (or more) people back there in a pinch, on the two facing benches. Kids who grew up in the back of Country Squires will feel right at home.
Needless to say, these are rugged beasts, and have a cult following. Of course the Patrol never quite became the all-dominating off-road icon that the Land Cruiser did.
So finally Patrols are available in the US, and at Nissans dealers.
And if you’re wondering about the current version’s off-road prowess, here’s a video from Russia that shows it’s king of the (brick) hill.
Related: CC 1965 Toyota FJ Land Cruiser – The First Toyota Sent Out To Conquer the World
I do know that you could get an International Scout in the late 70’s with a Nissan diesel so maybe they had a little thing going on back then?
You could buy a Scout with a Chrysler-Nissan Diesel (CN-33) in the mid 70’s. Chrysler had the exclusive rights to sell that engine in the US. It wasn’t until that agreement expired in the late 70’s that Nissan and IH were allowed to talk. So no they certainly didn’t have a little thing going on in the 60’s.
Maybe it was cheaper for Nissan to purchase MPH speedometers from IH than tool up to make their own for such a low volume model?
Only seen one of these, ever. Maybe 25 years ago. Made the mistake of calling out “Hey, nice Land Cruiser…” That got a funny look and an explanation.
Wish they sold the solid axle Patrol here.
The current Patrol is also sold in North America as the Nissan Armada.
I must be mistaken on the name. I read about one in 4Wheel magazine that wasn’t sold in the States. I’ll have to look it up.
No it’s not. The Armada is based on the Titan pickup. The first version of the Nissan QX56 (2004-2010) was a high trim version of the Armada, but the current version is different; it is the Patrol. Different platform, although I wouldn’t be shocked that they share some components. But not the body in any case.
As of August 2016, the 2017+ MY Armada is sold as a rebadged/mildly reskinned Patrol, once again sharing a platform with the Infiniti.
Ooops; my bad. I don’t keep up on vehicles like this.
It’s actually very nice, the interior is much nicer than most Nissans; while not quite to Inifiniti levels it’s a lot nicer than expected, certainly better than the Sequoia. And the exterior looks aren’t as polarizing as the Infiniti either. From what I understand it is doing fairly well in the marketplace so far.
Fairly well is a relative term. 32.000 Armadas YTD (through November) vs. 208,000 GM Tahoe/Suburban/Yukons and 46,000 Expeditions. It does outsell the Sequoia by about 3:1 though.
As a side note- interesting how GM just owns this particular market segment. Same in the Luxury SUV segment- Escalade outsells all competitors by a comfortable margin.
My recollection of MITI involvement in that era is that, for the US: Nissan/Datsun got the Z but had to give up the Patrol; Toyota got the Land Cruiser but gave up the 2000GT. I believe there was a brief window when all four vehicles were imported, in the very late 60s, but by 1970 there was only one of each in the US market.
The two companies were allowed to compete directly with small pickup trucks, since there was no US domestic competition and they could capture 100% market share with the PL and Hilux truck lines.
I really do love the FJ40, there’s a super cool calico example that’s daily driven right up the street from me.
BUT, I also love the 2000GT! I wonder how many more examples would’ve been produced if it was opened up to be marketed in earnest in North America? I’m sure even still, there would’ve been a HUGE price disparity between the 2000GT and the Z cars… Of course too, by 1970 2000GT production was dwindling…
Yeah Sam, I agree with you. The 2000GT was stunning and would have given Jaguar a run for the money, as well as the Datsun/Nissan Z-cars. And this real basic Patrol? “I’d hug it and love it, and squeeze it and call it George!” (with apologies to Warner Brothers cartoons) In this day and age of dashboards that look like they where designed by NASA, with controls that require a computer science degree just to program the radio, excuse me.. “24 SPEAKER SOUND SYSTEM!”..and other systems damn near drive the car for you. It’s nice to see basic no nonsense transportation. 4WD bullet proof drive train, and you can open the hood and know what and where everything is. Not a luddite here by any stretch. Airbags and seat belts? absolutely! Saved my life twice! Modern tires instead of bias ply? Even collector purists change the tires. Can survive a crash test, so MFG’s have to build them with steel thicker than a can of peas? all good. Just sometimes simpler is better.
The 2000GT was always only a very limited-production car, of which only 351 were ever made. It was a halo car, and had no relevance in terms of actual sales and certainly never competed against the 240Z. The 2000GT was out of production when the Z arrived, which was designed to be a mass-produced vehicle.
I hear ya! I dream…
Was able to come about as close as I ever will to a 2000GT, a few weeks ago I brought home a cherry, bone stock A80 Supra.
5 levers? I’m in!
There are some real anachronistic touches to this – the steering wheel that looks like something from 1939 is one. The other is those Studebaker-style vent doors in the front fenders. I love good, honest vehicles like this. And “Nissan Patrol” – this may be their best model name ever.
I’m racking my brain trying to figure out what those 5 levers do. Ok, you’ve got the gear shift obviously, and 2WD/4WD, and I’m guessing a separate lever for high range/low range (as opposed to the more modern 2H/4H/4L lever), and I’ve got no clue as to the other two. Would this thing have had a PTO? IIRC some of the old Land Rovers had them so that would be plausible.
I guess one of them might be the parking brake. I was thinking this would have the sort of parking brake handle that pulled out from under the dash, but that lever with a button on top looks like it could be the parking brake.
One of my childhood rugby coaches had a Lada Niva with 3 “gearsticks”. I seem to recall one of them was the diff lock.
Further down in the comments is a Nissan brochure from the period that lists front and rear PTO’s and a winch as factory options. This Patrol does have a front winch, so maybe that’s what the Big Red Knob does.
Five levers on the floor would make a Farm Boy feel right at home!
I always liked these, Lots of land rover influence with better electrics
This is a puzzlement. Some quick internet searching reveals that this specific model was sold in the US from 1962-1969, “about 4000” in all is the usual estimate. Mild updates to same vehicle for the 70’s when they lost the wonderful steering wheel and replaced with a generic plastic one. All the interior pictures I can find show just four floor levers (emergency brake, 3 speed floor shift, part time 4WD, hi-lo range)-don’t know what that red knob is for. Maybe emergency ejection when the speed exceeds 60 mph. Internationally they came in short wheelbase, such as this one, with soft and hard tops, and longer wheelbase as cab-only, station wagon and pickup truck. And fire truck! Way too cool for my school.
Dash pictures show the speedometer on the right, in a lovely early 50’s sort of font, with same location for left- as well as right-hand-drive. So, I don’t know where that IH speedometer came from. It is wildly optimistic, but it does fit well.
These are said to be as stout as a Land Cruiser of the era, just harder to find parts for in this country and people have gotten creative. Internationally they continue to have a dedicated following, and you can find pictures of Patrol meets all over the world in places you would expect, like Australia and South Africa. A really cool find!
I’ve seen online pics with the speedometer on the left as well as right, so not sure what’s up here.
I do love that font!
Never knew Patrols were available in the 1960s in the US!!! Maybe because of all the safety updates in the late 60’s Nissan stopped importation and didn’t want to invest?
Used to see one of these parked behind a local Nissan dealer.
They were probably discontinued in the US because Consumer Reports rated them Not Acceptable (or whatever their lowest rating was). Their test car had exposed heater hoses on the passenger’s floor. If one had sprung a leak after being stomped on it would have sprayed boiling coolant all over the passengers.
I have vivid memories of this version Patrol being on display at an International Trade exhibit in the San Francisco Ferry Building. It was dark-colored, black or maybe dark brown. The first Japanese vehicle I’d seen, or at least knew was Japanese; Land Cruisers and some Toyopets were certainly around by then (early ’60’s) but didn’t make an impression I guess. The Patrol, and the Jeeps in the lobby of the Kaiser Building in Oakland were highlights of visits to the “big cities” for 5-6-7 year old me. Within a few years I was becoming more car-savvy and aware that while the Patrol was only badged as a Nissan, the cars and small pickup were Datsuns. Almost like the Nissan-Infiniti distinction today.
Like the vast majority of the Scout, IH did not produce the gauges. In the early years they were purchased from Stewart-Warner and were standard SW items with a different silk screen to replace the S-W with the man on the tractor.
Since the revs per mile had been standardized you can use any speedo of that era with any vehicle and have an accurate measurement, assuming the upstream stuff is correct.
So my guess is the Nissan was also using SW gauges and when the original unit failed or was not in miles? they found that it was a standard SW unit and happened to come across one with the IH markings and used it.
Good explanation.
Speaking of relationships between IH and Nissan, I remember in the mid-80’s when IH discontinued the Cargostar tilt-cab truck, it was replaced with IH branded Nissan UD medium duty trucks.
i was thinking that the original failed, and they found one “that fit” since parts are hard to find here. But your explanation makes as much sense.
Reno paper, March ’62:
Isn’t the current Patrol sold here as the Nissan Armada as well?
Yes, since August 2016. It was also the Infiniti QX56 since 2010 (renamed QX80 in 2014).
El Paso paper, June ’63, with handy comparison specs:
All those comparisons but not with the Land Cruiser?
So why didn’t they use the Datsun name on the Patrol like they did with everything else they sold in the US?
The cruising speed of 75mph would seem a little optimistic, especially given the other brochure’s claim of 78mph top speed!
1969 brochure:
Yes it has a few Austin features out side as well as in the engine bay, pretty much a Japanese Austin Gipsy they rusted like mad and broke mechanical things, the levers are simple parking brake, gearshift, 4wd selector, hi/lo selector, and pto.
Its rare to call you out on something, Paul, but the current Nissan Armada is a Patrol. The first gen was a SUV variant of the Titan, but the second gen, I think 2017 model year, it is a Patrol.
I already corrected myself in an earlier comment. And I’ve now corrected the post; I was working outside all day.
I wonder if the 3-speed gearbox is why they were dropped from the US market? These revved their heads off on the highway (60mph not 80mph!).
Bryce is right about rust too, I helped my uncle fix a rusted cab mount on a pickup he was fixing up after sitting in a shed for years. I remember the mounting bolt broke when we tried to undo it.
Have been seeing a couple recently too, not many around now due to their inherent limitations when you are not off-roading.
I wonder if the 3-speed gearbox is why they were dropped from the US market?
Why would that have anything to do with it? The Land Cruiser had a three speed as did the Jeep back in the day. Top gear is invariably direct, so engine speed on the highway is not affected by whether there’s three or four speeds. It’s strictly a matter of the axle ratio. These vehicles didn’t really need four speeds very much, as they always had Low Range.
Top gear might be the same but four gears allows a greater overall spread of ratios, thus can run a taller diff ratio or alternatively a larger diameter tyre which I think is the difference between the G60 or Land Cruiser. First gear in a 4-sp LC box is 3.55:1 vs 2.90:1 in a G60.
Please identify the five levers.
Just a guess. Transmission, 4 wheel or 2 wheel drive, high/low range, PTO and hand brake.
Bob
The one with the push button on top is the brake lever, the one with the red knob is the PTO or winch control. The tallest the transmission and the remaining two are for the transfer case, one is front axle in and out, the other is high, neutral and low.
Australia was at one time Nissan’s biggest market for the Patrol, and it even outsold the Landcruiser for a while. But the current model comes only with a 5.6 litre V8 petrol, despite Nissan having good diesels in it’s lineup. The Landcruiser, mostly diesel, outsells it an amazing 6-1. What an own-goal.
For locals, anyone remember the TV travel/history series Peache’s Australia, with Bill Peach? I loved that show as a kid, and no Holden for him: he drove a Patrol like the one in the post.
Looking at the newspaper from Reno, March ’62 (the first of the old print ads above) – I can’t help but wonder if the nudists ended up being left out in the cold…
Used these on loan from Saudi Army when sent there on a security assistance mission in ‘84. Rugged beasts in the desert – and of course rust wasn’t a problem. Would have liked a heater for the cold desert nights though. The Army version didn’t have one.
I spent a summer in Panama in 1981, between 8th and 9th grade. My parents thought I’d learn Spanish and experience life outside Cincinnati?!? At any rate, the family I stayed with had a diesel-powered Patrol that I spent many hours in. Blue vinyl interior is about all I remember about it, unfortunately. The flights in a Braniff DC8 were much more memorable…
When I was in Zambia in the early 70s land rovers and land cruisers were as common as dirt, and a fair number of Nissan Patrols found their way up from South Africa/ Zimbabwe/Namibia although they were never officially imported.
From what I saw their reliability was closer to that of the land rover than the land cruiser. Often saw land rovers on a rope behind a land cruiser – very seldom the other way around – while Patrols could come in behind either.
In Burkina Faso in 2000 the Land Cruiser and Prado were “top of the heap” with the Patrol somewhere between the Toyota and the Mitsubishi Pajero.
The Patrol engine line was bought from Graham. Nissan evolved it from a side valve to ohv then cross flow and finally 24 valve dohc. The crankshaft of later engines can be installed in a Graham block with a little machining.
The DOHC Patrol engine is the new TB series, from 1987, and has very different bore and stroke (96 x 96 mm) than the old P series, which was undersquare (85.7 x 114.3 mm).
99.5 × 102 for the TB48. Crankshaft swapability is related to bore centres which has not changed from the Graham flathead to the TB48.
Love the way PATROL is italicized in the badging, adding the sense of excitement and urgency. Great looking vehicle.
Ah yes the extinct G60 Patrol tough old beasts if you bought the right one there were two different sizes of diff head one was indestructable the other not so much, The OHV engine is a mirror image of the old Austin C series the Austin had the manifolds on the left side, torquey and very fuel hungry they will run forever with minor maintenance and will out last the rust prone bodies every time.
Bore spacing diesn’t mean they are related. AMC and Buick shared a 4.75 bore spacing on their V8 engines..