My New Build: 1990 3-Door Nissan Patrol, 4.2, Diesel
- Thread starter Patrollife
- Start date
Patrollife
Explorer
Thanks, Skibum315! I am putting the 2" OME lift on. I want to upgrade to 33" tires without issues. I also have the Safari snorkel on order and the ARB bull bar + winch. What I'm really on the fence about is the touring roof rack - might be overkill. I'm thinking of pulling the plug on the roof rack for now since I have enough mods coming at once.
Patrollife
Explorer
Alright, so this is about as good as it gets for me. Hopefully with new seats, a few minor touches here and there, and small storage compartment ideas put to the test and installed, I think the final, final product will look good.
Patrollife
Explorer
And to reward myself for all the hard work, me and the boys took a little drive and hike. The Patrol was way too clean and needed a little dirty'ing up.
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED (ride home)...
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED (ride home)...
Patrollife
Explorer
Painted the rear fender thingy with bed liner today. Thought I had the body all covered up but looks like some residue spilled over on the driver side. Oh well, I'm planning to eventually get her a) buffed and waxed or b) paint a new color. Also put on one of the interior mud guards, which doesn't fit flush; never did. It's old and beat up so I spray painted some Rustoleum undercoating to it. I will worry about the exact fit later. For now, it works.
Patrollife
Explorer
Took the long way home today from our regional office, which took 8 hours. Normal time is 1.5.
Patrollife
Explorer
Nothing super exciting, but it was fun nonetheless.
EricMcGrew
Adventurer
I haven't been ignoring your post, I just haven't been getting the update notice emails.
First, your rig looks really good! You've done a really nice job. It's amazing how much, relatively minor things, can change the overall look of a rig.
Cool dogs too by the way.
Also, as far as the spare tire goes, I'm kind of in the same boat. In fact, I actually had all the pieces, bearings, hub, and all sourced and fabbed locally to save on cost. However, I took the spare off the Trooper back door, and the leak I had stopped. All happy and ready to start building the swing out carrier, and my wife asks me if I can avoid adding any more weight than possible. We already spend a fortune in fuel here, so I decided to yield to her desire. Now, I have to device some system for securing the spare in the back cargo space. I'm looking into options now. A bunch of the Austrailian boys have some cool storage systems that could be made more simpe in nature to include a spare holder space that would be cool for my trooper too. So, I'll see.
As for the vid, I found it super cool! I think all this extreme wheeling is over rated. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people forget how much fun you can have with your rig, without it having to be extreme. I have a number of non extreme off-roading vids over on my site www.ericmcgrew.tv too. Keep up the good work.
Just incase you haven't planned for it, are the springs you're getting for lifting a rig with the HD bumper and winch? OME/ARB has a few weight springs. Some for normal rigs, and some for hd bumpers/winches, and one for a fully rigged bumper/winch, and heavy load bearing. Just fyi btw.
First, your rig looks really good! You've done a really nice job. It's amazing how much, relatively minor things, can change the overall look of a rig.
Cool dogs too by the way.
Also, as far as the spare tire goes, I'm kind of in the same boat. In fact, I actually had all the pieces, bearings, hub, and all sourced and fabbed locally to save on cost. However, I took the spare off the Trooper back door, and the leak I had stopped. All happy and ready to start building the swing out carrier, and my wife asks me if I can avoid adding any more weight than possible. We already spend a fortune in fuel here, so I decided to yield to her desire. Now, I have to device some system for securing the spare in the back cargo space. I'm looking into options now. A bunch of the Austrailian boys have some cool storage systems that could be made more simpe in nature to include a spare holder space that would be cool for my trooper too. So, I'll see.
As for the vid, I found it super cool! I think all this extreme wheeling is over rated. Unfortunately, I think a lot of people forget how much fun you can have with your rig, without it having to be extreme. I have a number of non extreme off-roading vids over on my site www.ericmcgrew.tv too. Keep up the good work.
Just incase you haven't planned for it, are the springs you're getting for lifting a rig with the HD bumper and winch? OME/ARB has a few weight springs. Some for normal rigs, and some for hd bumpers/winches, and one for a fully rigged bumper/winch, and heavy load bearing. Just fyi btw.
Patrollife
Explorer
Thanks, Eric. I was wondering where you went. Thought maybe you had ventured off road or something 
....
Good reminder on the OME suspesnion. I have the heavies on my FJ and just emailed the ARB dealer in Guatemala City to re-confirm for the Patrol. I'll definitely need that extra support with the RTT and awning up there as well. Plus, once the little one grows he'll add another 100+ pounds in the backseat. With the two dogs alone that's an extra 220-250 pounds I'm carrying around.
The one thing not shown in the video is my 4-5 attempts to try and make it over the rocks on the other side. I noticed my 4x4 wasn't kicking in so I will have to look into that. And, yes, agreed, I'm not into the heavy duty rock crawling or monster truck rally mud events. But I do like a little challenge every once in a while.
BTW - I don't think I've been getting updates from your podcast or blog. I thought you mentioned there was a newsletter/announcement that goes out or something. Also digging the messenger hat in your video. And, yes, that bed liner or plasti dip job on the 4-door frontier is hideous. Also saw a Mahindra behind you in the video - what are your thoughts on those? Is that a popular fourby to mod in Chile. Seen a few around Guatemala with a snorkel and A/T tires, but that's it. Anyway, will continue to check out your vids and blog.
In other news, next week and the week of the 23rd, I have colleagues bringing me out the following items for my truck:
1. New rear view mirror (really excited about this because I don't have one!)
2. Hand crank window handles (also really excited about this because I don't have any!)
3. Baja Design Squadron Pro LED Lights to use as A-Pillar lights. I know the PIAAs got great reviews but I'm not satisfied with their light output. I can't see as well at night and also had a bad accident in Mozambique that makes me nervous now driving at night. So hopefully the A-Pillars will fill the gaps. I'm not into light bars or the "let's throw lights everywhere look". I think the Baja Designs should do the trick!
.... Good reminder on the OME suspesnion. I have the heavies on my FJ and just emailed the ARB dealer in Guatemala City to re-confirm for the Patrol. I'll definitely need that extra support with the RTT and awning up there as well. Plus, once the little one grows he'll add another 100+ pounds in the backseat. With the two dogs alone that's an extra 220-250 pounds I'm carrying around.
The one thing not shown in the video is my 4-5 attempts to try and make it over the rocks on the other side. I noticed my 4x4 wasn't kicking in so I will have to look into that. And, yes, agreed, I'm not into the heavy duty rock crawling or monster truck rally mud events. But I do like a little challenge every once in a while.
BTW - I don't think I've been getting updates from your podcast or blog. I thought you mentioned there was a newsletter/announcement that goes out or something. Also digging the messenger hat in your video. And, yes, that bed liner or plasti dip job on the 4-door frontier is hideous. Also saw a Mahindra behind you in the video - what are your thoughts on those? Is that a popular fourby to mod in Chile. Seen a few around Guatemala with a snorkel and A/T tires, but that's it. Anyway, will continue to check out your vids and blog.
In other news, next week and the week of the 23rd, I have colleagues bringing me out the following items for my truck:
1. New rear view mirror (really excited about this because I don't have one!)
2. Hand crank window handles (also really excited about this because I don't have any!)
3. Baja Design Squadron Pro LED Lights to use as A-Pillar lights. I know the PIAAs got great reviews but I'm not satisfied with their light output. I can't see as well at night and also had a bad accident in Mozambique that makes me nervous now driving at night. So hopefully the A-Pillars will fill the gaps. I'm not into light bars or the "let's throw lights everywhere look". I think the Baja Designs should do the trick!
EricMcGrew
Adventurer
Sorry about the newsletter man! I've just gotten behind, and haven't sent out a newsletter recently. My Daihatsu build has been taking up all the time I've had between the Off-Road Independence podcast and creating the Beginners Fab videos. I'll have a new update newsletter out soon though. This next week for sure. Sorry again for that! I don't like being inconsistent.
Thanks for the compliment on the messengers hat. It's a hat that I bought around 8 years ago at Target when I still lived in the states.
As for the Mahindras, there's some modding going on, but I've heard really mixed reviews. The motors and t-cases seem to be okay. I haven't heard anything on the axles. The body panels and interiors are what you would expect from a truck of that price. I had read at some point that the original model of the Mahindra was actually using a Jeep CJ frame and leaf spring set up, but I can't confirm that for sure.
Here the few that I've seen modded have a snorkle, SOA and 35's. I've seen one or two people talking about the possibility of doing crazy coilover custom link suspensions. Honestly though, let's face it... If they bought a Mahidra to begin with, it was based on price, and they probably don't have, or aren't willing to dish out that kind of cash for some cool/crazy build. I could be wrong, but that's how I feel about it anyway.
Once again, I really do like the progress on the rig. I'll make more of an effort to stop by and check the thread if I haven't gotten any notices. Once again, thanks for all the support!
Thanks for the compliment on the messengers hat. It's a hat that I bought around 8 years ago at Target when I still lived in the states.
As for the Mahindras, there's some modding going on, but I've heard really mixed reviews. The motors and t-cases seem to be okay. I haven't heard anything on the axles. The body panels and interiors are what you would expect from a truck of that price. I had read at some point that the original model of the Mahindra was actually using a Jeep CJ frame and leaf spring set up, but I can't confirm that for sure.
Here the few that I've seen modded have a snorkle, SOA and 35's. I've seen one or two people talking about the possibility of doing crazy coilover custom link suspensions. Honestly though, let's face it... If they bought a Mahidra to begin with, it was based on price, and they probably don't have, or aren't willing to dish out that kind of cash for some cool/crazy build. I could be wrong, but that's how I feel about it anyway.
Once again, I really do like the progress on the rig. I'll make more of an effort to stop by and check the thread if I haven't gotten any notices. Once again, thanks for all the support!
Patrollife
Explorer
Think of lcd rear mirror with a back up camera, it's cheap here
I was looking into one of those. Definitely need it!
Patrollife
Explorer
Not the kind of update I like to post but, damnit!, my clutch went out today. I felt it coming on yesterday and I guess today was the day she decided to lay to rest.