Greetings from FarEast of Russia.

[Alex_K87]

Hello, Sirs.

I'm from Vladivostok - the city in the very FarEast of Russia.
Please, sorry for any kind of grammar mistakes in my english, cause it's not my native language, but i'll try to do my best.
Have been driving my dad's JDM Patrols - Nissan Safari's (there're very few Patrols in our region, but really much Safari's, of course because of Japan's proximity) for 10+ years since i'd started driving when i was 18. There was four different Safari's total in our family, which had changed each other successively. All of them were 5-door wagons with high roof. The first one was, MQ/MK/260 SD33T, second one was GQ/Y60 TD42 naturally aspirated manual tranny, third one was '94 GQ/Y60 TD42T automatic tranny 24v and the latest one (present) is also GQ/Y60 TD42T automatic but '96 12v Kingsroad (two air heaters and two air conditioners, the freezer in the backyard and Y61-style steering wheel with airbag).

Here it is:





385/70R16 (about 38") Toyo M/T's, JW Speaker headlights, custom steel bumpers and sidesteps, Comeup winches front and rear, aluminium carrier on the roof, 4" Dobinson's coils, Procomp ammos, cut wheel archs. UPOL Camouflaged - cause dad truly loves fishing and hunting.

So, driving all this busty monsters (all of them had wheels not less than 35 inches) for 10 years, of course, made me true Patrol fan to the hell of that. Not to mention i've had terrible road accident few years ago (where i had real chance to lose my leg, but gods bless surgeon, master of his craft, who saved it and now i have 13mm titanium shaft in my femoral bone) in which Patrol saved my own and my mates lives (who, much to the happines, escaped only with little sratches).

So, now i'm in dedicated love with this Y60/GQ model truck, i think, to the end of my live. Through my "driver's years" have driven nice black TLC Prado 120 for about two years also.



Yeah, looking cool, about 280hp from 1GR-FE, nice and modern interior, silence inside, soft suspension, but... GODS, when i close the door of GQ inside of it, turn the key, hear the instant start and then full rumbling of old good reliable inline-six diesel... I just feel that "i'm in a right place, in a right time". There's no better car for me. And now it's a bit more than just a "car".

Finally, half-year+ ago i had bought my own GQ shorty direct from Japan.
WRY60, TD42T, manual gearbox, 146 000 kms on odometer.



The primordial idea was to built crawler-truck (40 inch tires, fully hydraulic steering, triangle 4-link both front and rear, coilovers) by my own. Cause i have huge interest in 4x4 crawling and trial. Don't like mudding despite it's very easy to find lots of mud in my region, and pretty NOT easy to find really good terrain for crawling. Of course it should take huge amount of money and i hadn't it at all on the moment after purchasing shorty.

Then after several days driving shorty my mind had been totally blowed with kicking the ass power/torque of "factory turbo TD42T on manual" in relation to lightweight shorty without any bullys, winches, epic tires and other "traditional" 4x4 stuff. So, i decided "just" to make total refresh of shorty and to use it as a daily-driver for multiple tasks. The dream about crawler-weapon is postponed for better days.

Firstly, i put pretty looking 275/70R18 (33.5) Toyo M/T's (just superb tires) on 18' Mayhem Tank's on to the shorty.
Here how he changed instantly on this wheels on stock springs, no lift.









And then i started the "total refresh or rebuild". The only things i decided not to open were the engine and tranny, because both of them seemed to be in really good shape for the present moment. So the main goals were: to remove all the rust, repaint and protect everything i could, change all the rubber bushings and hoses, change the stock 3.9 diffs to 4.11 (because of 33.5 tires), totall remove of EGR system (including flap/valve on the intake and vacuum solenoids group) and cleaning the whole intake manifold. Installing EGT, Boost, Oil Press., Water Temp. and Vacuum pump sensors. Finally welding 3 inch straight through exhaust by my own. I'm only newbie in welding and i had only simple MMA, so i decided to make it from normal steel, not stainless (stainless would be too tough for me at present). So, after 6 months work is finally approaching to the end. Hope to place body onto the chassis in 5-10 days.

Here how all the things are looking at present moment: