Esmeralda My TB45E from Panama

[JoseM]

My story begins back in 2000, when I one day picked up the paper and found a Petrol 4.5L M/T Nissan Patrol for sale with only 7,000kms
:sad:, dont have any pis from back then, but I took some from the net
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/404-2.jpg
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/404-1.jpg

[JoseM]

Years went by and in 2007 a buddy of mine got me hooked on the off-road bug so I went ahead and got me a OME 3" suspenssion set and tires 285/75R16
And after a big scare a safari snorkel
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/P1010126.jpg

[JoseM]

And after a few trails, a winch:

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/P1030163.jpg

[JoseM]

Then I decided to go for some Pacemaker headders with a shorter and widder 2.5" exhaust pipe

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/PH9500-B.jpg
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/P1020088.jpg

[JoseM]

And with more trails
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/P1010390.jpg

Said good bye to the rugs and sprayed the inside with Rhino Linning
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/P1020074.jpg

[JoseM]

Some time latter, and after ripping to sh** the plastic bumper cover, got me na ARB bullbar and IPF lights, (I'm the guy in the white t-shirt)
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/P1010696.jpg

And also some side bars and a set of new rims:
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/P1020022.jpg

[JoseM]

And a little latter, since I was on a role I decided to do away with that nasty double tone I never liked
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/P1020077.jpghttp://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/P1020078.jpg

[threedogs]

Great pics, good sensible mods too , so hello and welcome to you,
great bunch of people here,and plenty of info and tips as well
jump in anytime and enjoy

[growler2058]

Good job man looks the trick

[JoseM]

Then I went ahead and swapt R&P to 4.625
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/P1020159.jpg

And an RD136 ARB frnt locker. For the rear I only added a shimm and kept the LSD
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/1261144828.jpg

[threedogs]

LSD in the back one of the best in the business. you'll need a locker
in the rainforrests over there

[JoseM]

After that, I got me a set of Super Swamper Bogger tires 15 38.5 16LT. For which I had to move up to a 6" lift.
For these I went ahead and inverted the rear main shaft and cut the chasi to avoid rubbing
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/P1020831.jpg

And cut a little out of the trani support
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/P1020830.jpg

[JoseM]

LSD in the back one of the best in the business. you'll need a locker
in the rainforrests over there


All this was done back in 2010, so far so good. Once you shimm it is as if it was locked. Nissan's LSD are just too damn good. At first I did it because I didnt have the $ for a rear ARB, but it has worked so well that I left it like that

[JoseM]

Also went for Superior Engineering's drag ling and extended panhards
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/P1020163.jpg
and swaped the rear dif for one with disc breaks
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/IMG-20110610-00021.jpg

[JoseM]

For the suspenssion I used some Pro Comp shocks(29" frnt, 34" rear) and Iron Man coils (6"), some 5.5| caster plates, and threw out the sway bars. Also swaped lower control arms for Superior engineering 10mm longer arms and a set of Pro Comp 10" steel rims. And of course, some fender trimming, actually I ended up doing away with the rear fender flares -- got tired of riping them off on the trails :D

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/1287083479.jpg

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/IMG00181-20101014-1226.jpg

[JoseM]

And then the problems started. So, I swapped the Nissan manual hubs for a set of Superior Engineering chromoly ones (after I broke them both :D )
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/1298703071.jpg

Double rancho steering dampers:
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/Damper6.jpg

A pwr steering oil cooler
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/1303090521.jpg

And for some peace of mind, I swapped the CV's & axles for a set of Cal's chromoly ones.

[JoseM]

Heres a vid from Aug. 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll2guDV6CII

And another from April 2012
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPDaT9Y6Hik

[JoseM]

Also went for transffer reduct to 2.484
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/P1000284.jpg

And an extra battery for the winch
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/1261335930.jpg

Hope you've enjoyed the read. Will continue tomorrow since it is 3:25am down here and need to catch my z's

[JoseM]

Well, after one of our trails, and a whinning co-pilot, I decided to go ahead and make some changes to that unpractical but ultra reliable bull bar

Here's for a better winch access
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/bullbar1.jpg
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/Bullbar9.jpg

And some D-rings for recovery. Only used them for winching, dont know if they'd take a good yanking, but dont recommend trying :D
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/IMG-20110702-00062.jpg
http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/IMG-20110702-00066.jpg

[healy]

Nice rig mate looks the goods

[choppie]

Nice work mate looks like a good tough rig now

[JoseM]

Thank you all for the good words! :cheers:

I also changed that expensive factory break master and booster for a hyd booster from a Ford Mustang, dont remember what year from, but it was from a Mustang with the V8 engine. The factory set up could no longer handle the 38.5"s

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/SU1HLTIwMTIxMTAxLTAwNTYyLmpwZw.jpg

Another thing I did was swapping the air filter assy for one from a ZD30, since the factory one is too bulky -- I'm currently adding a turbo set up to Esmeralda :bananarock: -- and it no longer fitted with the turbo in it. So taking advantage of that and taking into account I tend to cross rivers a lot, I went ahead and made a fitting from 40psi pvc tubbing and machinned it to fit under pressure within the air filter box and inside the snorkel's piping

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/SU1HLTIwMTIxMTAxLTAwNTYwLmpwZw.jpg

I will also use some sealant to completely watter proof it

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/SU1HLTIwMTIxMTAxLTAwNTYxLmpwZw.jpg

[JoseM]

Since I am going turbo with it, I installed a hood scoop from a Ford Mustang on to it

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/SU1HLTIwMTIwMzI1LTAwMDIxLmpwZw.jpg

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/SU1HLTIwMTIwMzI1LTAwMDE2LmpwZw.jpg

Once I'm done putting on the turbo sys. I'll go ahead and add a few pics of the engine bay. Probably open a new thread for discussing the turbo mod, since there is a lot of detail in it, it should yield for a good read on its own....

For now I'll leave you all with an action pic from last year

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/nvasevilla7.jpg

If any questions about any of my doings, I got detailed pics of almost everything I've done. Feel free to ask. :gossip:

[threedogs]

I take it you get a bit of rain, lol Heres a scoop we can buy over here, under neath it
has vanes to direct air to front of IC as well as rear. OE scoop RHS , You can feel difference.

love the mud

[TPC]

Great pics, I am impressed with how much effort you have put into your Patrol, looks a hell of a rig now.

[JoseM]

Great pics, I am impressed with how much effort you have put into your Patrol, looks a hell of a rig now.

Ufff! And then some... Just to tell you that there are quite a few more things I've had to do to it just to make the bigger mods to work. Definitely a sickness that my bank account is regreting, only to use the rig 6 to 10 times a year. Oh well, gotta do something to distract one self...

The funny thing is that I still have some plans for it :hpfredgeorge1:, as far as rear bumper and a few other things :devilred:

[threedogs]

Rear bar over your way would not last long, there are some pics of some great looking rear bar and 1/4 panel chops in search engine.
Look forward to what you come up with.

[Sir Roofy]

Love your work mate looking forward to more
thanks for sharing

[The BigFella]

Awesome Patrol man, nice mods and some great adventures heading your way,,,,,,,,,,, well done!

[JoseM]

Rear bar over your way would not last long, there are some pics of some great looking rear bar and 1/4 panel chops in search engine.
Look forward to what you come up with.

Got this idea from one of the forums, but sugestions are greatly welcomed

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/bumper5.jpg

[TJH]

Amazing GU, mate..

[JoseM]

Here's a pic of my "actual" rear bumper :tease:

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/1296614959.jpg

[threedogs]

Thats flex, well set up jose, and well thought out, can see your 1/4 panel cut coming uplol

[JoseM]

And one under the hood:

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/SU1HLTIwMTIxMjIyLTAwNjQ1LmpwZw.jpg

This last project aint completly finished yet, but I believe it will in a week or two... :shh:

[MEGOMONSTER]

And one under the hood:

http://i693.photobucket.com/albums/vv300/JoseM_09/Mods%20Patrol/SU1HLTIwMTIxMjIyLTAwNjQ1LmpwZw.jpg

This last project aint completly finished yet, but I believe it will in a week or two... :shh:

Looks nice under the hood

[hekarewe]

heres a sudjestion for you rear bar this is from milweld customs in victoria in australia will find the web address for you later and post it up for you

[hekarewe]

as promised web site for milweld custom

http://www.millweld.com/a/Rear_Bars

[scottyo]

left hand drive patrol! love the turbo setup

[albone90]

another 4.5 luv it

[arfa]

looks nice in this pose