Doka's TD42 Safari Shorty

[doka404]

Well its been a while since I have had a patrol. But I got the hankering for another one a few months ago..

Now there is just something about a GQ I like and Ive always wanted a shorty..so I managed to pick up a 1989 TD42 Auto SWB Safari (Jap Import). Had around 197000 km on the clock when I got her (Just clicked over 200000km now)

Its been a slow 'work in Progress' kind of build and have been focusing on making sure its good to go mechanically rather than major mods..

but here she is as I got her..

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/_20.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/_20.jpg.html)

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/5.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/5.jpg.html)

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/6.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/6.jpg.html)

So when she first turned up the got all the normal stuff..new batteries, coolant flush, all fluids changes etc
It runs extremely well..in the last 10000k it has had (by the previous owner) :

New Injector Pump
Head Rebuild
New Air Con Compressor
New Radiator
New Torque Convertor
New Shock/Springs

as well as a lot of other bits and pieces...but I have added...

All the oils have been changed (somehow they squeezed 8 litres of oil into the front diff!)and the only thing left to replace is the brake fluid, but its still pretty good (had it tested). I will be getting new disks/pads and braided lines so it will get changed then. Going to rebuild the front swivel hubs and do wheel bearings while I am there.

Rear cargo area, quarters and doors have been dynamatted and Focal Bam has be put over that to sound proof it. Now just got to get some more and do the front floors.

Enlarged the hole through the firewall (the one where the clutch would go through if it was a manual). Well actually did not enlarge the firewall hole, just made a new cover plate so I can run the wires through properly. Had to make a 'horseshoe' plate as there was existing wiring and have used Dynamat to help seal it all up.

Diff breathers just about done..had to make a bracket for them..

New Wheels and tyres are on..running 17" Mickey Thompson Classic 3 Alloys with BFG KM2's (roughly 33's).

Upper Adjustable arms going in this weekend. Have a dual Cardan driveshaft for the rear so thinking of getting a second hand housing and re-locating the coil hats etc so I can run that..but its not a priority at the moment.

New Dobinson 2" Coils have gone in..they are their flexi coils..so time will tell how they go.
Also got some 4" Dobinson Remote Res Shocks in it, but they seem too still so they may get revalved/replaced

Extended Bumpstops front and rear are in..

Icom UHF is in..

Staying with the factory bar for now..so that's been tidied up. Also rebuilt/tested the Factory Winch and put that back in with Synthetic rope. Had to re-do the front fairlead but it came up pretty good in my opinion. Have kept the factory wiring for the winch, but have wired the original solenoid that provides power to the winch to a switch in the cab. Wired in a wireless remote but will also wire in a Winch IN/OUT in cab as well.

Been deciding on what switch gear to use and after too'ing and fro'ing have gone with Honeywell MilSpec toggle switches..nice switches and water/dustproof..just not cheap.

New Headlight reflectors and uprated globes in..Wiring lights wired up..but need to replace the lights as the headlamps outshine them..so for now got some cheap ebay 55w HID's..cant really argue with them when you pay 143.00 for 4 lights..so I got spares when they fail.

Had to get a new Spare Tyre Carrier bracket as the standard one wont fit a 33' it sits the spare lower than a normal Aus patrol one..But a foum member (Thanks DieselJoe) came through for me and sorted that out.

Gauges/sendors and adapters have arrived (VDO 24v) just waiting on the gauge pod and they can be fitted

Been thinking of turbo options..but have a few things I need to do before that. Have to get the Trans cooler and Thermo fitted, also going to put an additional thermo fan on the front of the Rad (in front of the AC Condensor) and have it switched in-cab so if I am crawling around I can switch it on to help keep things cool. Will have the thermo on the Trans cooler also switched in-cab.,

Started the wiring for the rear Aux power outlets..but I have to decide where I am going to put the 24-12v reducer and the additional battery in the back. Going to get a sheet of alloy made for the back as a base to hold the fridge etc so need to nut out exactly what I am doing there..I am not going with a draw system as I don't want the additional weight of one so trying to keep it simple and light. Once I sort that out I can work out where the Battery and ARB Twin-pump compressor will all sit and get that sorted etc.

other bits and pieces being sorted just as part of a tidy up..got enthusiastic and claybarred the truck..and gave it its first coat of wax..so it needs another quick wash and some more wax..few little bits of trim to tidy up..but its getting there.

New Head unit went in, so now need to upgrade the speakers..

[doka404]

Some Pics of where it is now....


Dobinsons in.. (front)
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0635.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/IMG_0635.jpg.html)

Diff Breathers (only had to make the bracket twice :) )
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0634.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/IMG_0634.jpg.html)

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0633.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/IMG_0633.jpg.html)


The horseshoe plate I made up to allow more cables into the cab..just have to tidy up the existing wiring now
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0632.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/IMG_0632.jpg.html)

Gratuitous under bonnet pics
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0631.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/IMG_0631.jpg.html)

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0630.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/IMG_0630.jpg.html)

UHF Install
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0626.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/IMG_0626.jpg.html)

Winch after I stripped and rebuilt it
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0624.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/IMG_0624.jpg.html)

[doka404]

and..here she is...
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0628.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/IMG_0628.jpg.html)

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0625.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/IMG_0625.jpg.html)

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0623.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/IMG_0623.jpg.html)

[NissanGQ4.2]

Looks nice mate

[MEGOMONSTER]

Wow, that Trol looks pretty Schmick.

[Clunk]

Mate, that has got to be the cleanest engine bay I have ever seen and the rest of the car isn't that shabby either......... looks great :D

[doka404]

Thanks Mate..I was real lucky with it as I bought it sight unseen off gumtree and was quite happy when it arrived as good as I thought it would be.

Its been a bit of a labour of love over the last few months..had to be engineered to be registered as its an import. NSW don't recognise the QLD Rego/ADR Approval. But really its just been a case of slowly going over it and making sure its all ship shape.

Considering it was completely stock and unmolested (still has the original exhaust on it, paint is all original,still had the Nissan Winch cover and even has a full compliment of unbroken grill clips lol ) ..I reckon its worth the effort.

Its a long way from being finished..but its slowly taking shape..

[doka404]

I got to thank a good mate of mine who let's me keep it in his workshop and do all the work there. Its much easier when you got a big shop with all the tools and bits you need to work on it. I secretly think he likes having it there lol and got him going..if he found a GU shirty i think it would be snapped uo and be sitting next to it...he has already been dreaming of a Duramax GU Shorty :)

But he also helped me out with bits and pieces...the wheels on it he bought for his Duramax GU but decided to go with an it set of stock rims for his 37's so gave those to me. He also had the Dobinson shocks, but when they started to leak he swapped them out for Fox shocks and gave me the Dobinsins, which I got fixed under warranty.

In fact he was the one that actually found the shorty..called me one day when I was looking and told me about it..said he was just ducking out and would give me a call back in 30..so 30 min later he called to say.."shorty looks good, l I've bought it"..quick bank transfer over to him and transport organised and away we went..

Best mate ever :) and can't thank him enough..so many times I had had moments of 'bugger need to get some of those, and he turns round and says 'top draw in the office, plenty in stock so grab what you need' hell even when I worked out those light force spot ties were no doing the job..he wandered into the office sat down and 5 minutes later came out to tell me he had just ordered some HID's for it..can't thank him enough..


So Chucky..if you ever read this..Thank you for everything..would not be doing it without your help, and always a pleasure to help you out with things and tone able to work on your trucks!


Doubly lucky when just around the corner is one if the best shops for steel, ally nuts bolts and all those things you need..they are even open on Sundays which has been a life saver :)

[growler2058]

Love the Mickey T rims mate

[doka404]

Love the Mickey T rims mate
17's may not be everyone's choice, but she won't be a tourer..really just a toy for weekend runs and the like

So its a bit different and yes the tyres are a bit more exxy..but I like how it looks lol much better than the gold steelies it came with..

Its been a while since I have gone to this much trouble on a truck that was actually mine, so any suggestions or tips on things I could do or could have done matter..post away!

[nikko mercado]

looks good and clean.

[Stropp]

mate that is a sweet looking shorty, thats a great bit of gear :)

[doka404]

A few updates on the little Safari...will post some more pics when I get a chance.

- Fitted some extra gauges (Oil Pressure, Water Temp and Trans Temp). Want to get a baseline of where it sits now before it gets a turbo.
- Fitted the Trans Temp sender into the auto pan and gave it a new filter and service. I am thinking one more flush and then I will have pretty much gotten all the old oil out (don't know if it was synthetic or mineral but was was a Valvoline ATF and they can mix ok) and have it running on synthetics at regular service intervals.
- Adjustable Upper arms got fitted and have some HD lowers on order.
- Ordered a set of Konis for it as the Dobinsons are just to stiff for the truck.
- Rebuilt the rear calipers and fitted them back up with new slotted/dimpled rotors/discs and braided lines.
- Found a set of Twin Pot calipers for the front so have rebuilt them and they will be fitted with new slotted/dimpled discs/pads and braided lines. Going to rebuild the swivel hubs and wheel/swivel bearings while I am there. Just waiting on my mate to have a bit of time so I can use his hoist.

twin pots before rebuild
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2014/10/30.jpg

Twin Pots baking in the oven to cure the paint..shhhhhhhh
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0692.jpg

Gauge Pod - actually looks better and more factory in real life
http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/photo%202.jpg


Took it for a run out west over the mountains and it ran like a dream..hottest temp over the mountain was 85deg and recovered quickly...oil pressure was rock solid 4 kpa. But definitely needs a turbo. I didn't have the trans temp sender in at that stage so I cant say what the trans got to, but I can say the transmission tunnel never got warm let alone hot.

[lantastic2020]

Agreed. That is one tidy engine bay. What cleaning chemicals can you recommend?
Keep up the good work.

[doka404]

Agreed. That is one tidy engine bay. What cleaning chemicals can you recommend?
Keep up the good work.

Mate all I can say is CT18 and a bit of elbow grease and keep it clean..Mine always gets cleaned after a run of if the bonnet is open I give things a wipe down.
Once your on top of it and give thinsg a clean as you go it kind of looks after itself

[lantastic2020]

Cheers buddy.

Isn't diligence and hard work always the answer?

I wanted to ask about your comment at 13 re fitting a turbo - would it introduce any long term effect on durability / reliability? I'm pretty new to the Patrol scene based out of UK, and am considering turbo option BUT my main goal would be to have the highest durability / reliability for a setup over power / torque.

Cheers.

[doka404]

Cheers buddy.

Isn't diligence and hard work always the answer?

I wanted to ask about your comment at 13 re fitting a turbo - would it introduce any long term effect on durability / reliability? I'm pretty new to the Patrol scene based out of UK, and am considering turbo option BUT my main goal would be to have the highest durability / reliability for a setup over power / torque.

Cheers.

Yup a little bit of hard work never hurts..this one was clean to begin with and is probably a nice example of a shorty so would like to keep it that way. Mind you, I tend to keep all my cars clean and looked after..just makes working on them that little bit nicer . Guess that just got ingrained in me from my days of racing bikes and rally cars, and from pit crewing with a friends drag cars. Mind you there are times when I am over being under this truck..but then you step back and see the end result, tick a few thing things off the never ending list and its all worth while.

I have thought about the long term reliability of the engine as well, hence I am getting baselines to see where it is at new so I can see the effect the turbo has on it.

I am lucky as I have a good mate who is an extremely talented mechanic so he has helped me check it out and go over the engine to see how healthy it is and this one is extremely good. It has had the head done sometime in the last few years and has been babied by previous owners so it is in remarkably good shape.

I am not going after big boost/power and considering the number of people who bolt hairdryers to these engines with no I'll effects I don't see it as an issue. Even if you say that worse case scenario it halves the life of the engine, then you still have a very long life out of it. All I really want is a bit more power so that I don't feel like getting out and pushing when the scent of a hill comes up..initially it won't be intercooled, but once the turbo is on and I get some data to see what its doing , then I will fit an intercooler and see what changes that makes.

I tend to take things a bit slower and in stages so I can get an idea of the before and after picture if that wasn't obvious lol

I am actually more concerned with the life of the transmission than the engine. Not that anything is wrong with mine, but I would hate to have to rebuild it. So in that case I am upping the line pressure with the resister mod and putting a trans cooler on it.

The engine gets serviced every 5000km, trans will get serviced every 10000. Oil/filters are cheap insurance in my book. Mind you I have only done a few thousand km in it so far and its already had two complete oil/filter changes (inc diffs/transfer etc) just to flush things through and get it to a point where I know what's in it.

In many ways, I have been lucky. All the things that would normally/could need replacing have been done and more by previous owners (I.e torque converter, head done, injector pump, radiator and water pump even the air con has been serviced with a new compressor). Looking at the receipts/service history, the previous owner fixed things as soon as they went wrong and did not spare a cent on getting it done.

In my opinion I don't see the turbo having too much effect (given the long service life of these engines anyway) on the reliability and durability of it.

[doka404]

some goodies arrived today, ready to be installed this weekend :)

50908

[lantastic2020]

Doka,

Boy oh boy. Did I ask for that or what? Seriously though - solid reply. It's great to speak with people like yourself who have such passion for what they do. I could listen all day to knowledgeable people.

Coming to the car scene pretty late in my life I'm going to be doing a lot of listening. :)

PS ; I agree with you, do things incrementally and one gets a better feel for what's been done and know how that piece fits in the puzzle.

Cheers,
Lan.

[doka404]

LOL mate..I waffle on sometimes so don't take me the wrong way..those are just my thoughts on the whole process..i like a baseline so I can see the difference the mods make..also don't like to add the go, if I don't have the whoa

Dunno about the passion mate..i would say I am anal retentive about things (see below) lol ;)

[doka404]

Ok big day working on the shorty today. Learnt a lot of tricks and little bits of bits and pieces from my mate Stewie, who also let me use his hoist and help me (read that as do most of the work) work on the Shorty today. Cheers Stewie and have some Gentleman Jack with your name on it..

So today we :

Pulled the hubs down, and completely rebuilt the front swivel hubs, wheel bearing, kingpin bearings. Set it all back up and back together.

Everything got pulled down, cleaned and repainted to make it all look pretty :)

Front CVs are in perfect condition and really no signs of wear on them so that was an added bonus.

Car already had the GU locking Hub nut so I have a brand new set of them here if anyone needs them..

King pin bearings has just started to get that flat spot in the straight ahead..barely noticeable and it was obvious that the hubs had been pulled down before and had been looked after in the past by previous owners.

I spent a bit of time with shims feeling the difference in pre-load on the king pins so I could get an idea of how they should feel. Old mate Stewie did a dry one first to get a feel and picked the right shim straight away, but got me to have a feel with different shims to see how it should feel etc.

Also pulled the Auto Locking mechanism out of the front hubs (There is a thread about it somewhere) so they are no freewheeling or manually locked

Fitted the new front discs (slotted and dimpled RDA's), pads and twin spot rotors along with braided lines. Also fitted new anti rattle shims and shims (front and rear - cause I am OCD about it lol ) as part of the rebuild so they are as new as they can be.

Koni shocks got fitted up front and rear.

Fitted the rear HD Lower Arms

Did a few other checks like checking the the steering box which did not need adjusting at all, checked rear wheel bearings which were all good.

So end result...

First drive straight of the hoist, the brakes were as good as the old (original) setup
After 40 odd km now..they have more feel, pedal feels better and definitely more power so they will only get better

Koni shocks..all I can say is why didn't I got there in the first place. On road the car still handles well..may be a little bit more body roll but its very controlled. Harse ride that the dobinsons had is completely gone..small bumps it soaks up, big bums it does the same. The firde is firm, but not harse.

I think the easiest way to explain it is that it was disappointing to park the car tonight..I just wanted to keep driving it..it feels that good to drive and I think that's saying something about a 25 odd year old GQ.

Ok some pics of the work..didn't get many but got a couple

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0702.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/IMG_0702.jpg.html)

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0708.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/IMG_0708.jpg.html)

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0705.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/IMG_0705.jpg.html)

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0704.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/IMG_0704.jpg.html)

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i420/doka404/Patrol/IMG_0701.jpg (http://s1092.photobucket.com/user/doka404/media/Patrol/IMG_0701.jpg.html)

[lantastic2020]

Those parts could easily be mistaken for new... :thumbup:

I'm curious Doka, is there a major reason you went with the shorty vs LWB? I'm thinking only better power-weight. Possibly looks! And how much you pay?

Reason is, I wouldn't have considered getting a SWB here in UK as they don't really pop up often... but something came up a few days again, coming in at £2850 GBP which is approx 5220AUD$. I don't have great pictures on the condition but it does look pretty good. Can't tell on rust as can't visit it yet. But here a few photos from the seller;

51173

51174

51175

51176

51177

It's a 1994 GR SLX (I know it's different in OZ) with a TD422.

Very tempted as the money is pretty low even for UK choices...

[doka404]

Lantastic..I've had a few lwb patrols in my time and never had a shorty but always kind of wanted one. When this one came up it was too good to pass up.

Its possibly a bit rarer than a normal shorty being a safari and really was in such good condition and looked after by its previous owner that I couldnt say no.

They seem to be getting harder to get here as well, especially for nice original ones. I paid about the same $$ for my as yours.

That one your looking at looks very tidy!

[martin emmanuel]

mate your ride looks great i like it...

[doka404]

Thanks man..its a bit of a labour of love but its getting there..


mate your ride looks great i like it...

[lantastic2020]

I think it's probably in good shape. The chap who's selling it sounds senior and honest. And pictures never lie... mostly. It looks rather nice even considering the wet = everything looks more drab. Only problem is the distance, about 200 miles but in UK that's not a smooth trip.

Yeap, I bet your Safari shorty would be pretty unique for miles around. I was (and still am) looking really hard at the pre 1993 silvertop hightop Safaris. But round here, there's only one guy who specialises in them. He's shown me one but being the first I can't even tell if it's a steal or a banger.


Lantastic..I've had a few lwb patrols in my time and never had a shorty but always kind of wanted one. When this one came up it was too good to pass up.

Its possibly a bit rarer than a normal shorty being a safari and really was in such good condition and looked after by its previous owner that I couldnt say no.

They seem to be getting harder to get here as well, especially for nice original ones. I paid about the same $$ for my as yours.

That one your looking at looks very tidy!

[Vinnie]

Love this engine ;)

[doka404]

Well..some not so good news. Discovered a bit of the dreaded roof rust. Looks like rusty the home wrecker has set up shop in a couple of spots.

But..its at the panel shop now, the roof has been complete,y stripped back and is getting fixed. Only one spot needs cutting and plating but there are some pin holes in other areas which will get cleaned up and lead wiped.

Also found a spot in the passengers so.l which is getting fixed as well.

He is also going to rust kill and proof as much of the roof as he can get to with the lining out so fingers crossed will be good as new and back in the road soon.

[doka404]

Those parts could easily be mistaken for new... :thumbup:

I'm curious Doka, is there a major reason you went with the shorty vs LWB? I'm thinking only better power-weight. Possibly looks! And how much you pay?

Reason is, I wouldn't have considered getting a SWB here in UK as they don't really pop up often... but something came up a few days again, coming in at £2850 GBP which is approx 5220AUD$. I don't have great pictures on the condition but it does look pretty good. Can't tell on rust as can't visit it yet. But here a few photos from the seller;

51173

51174

51175

51176

51177

It's a 1994 GR SLX (I know it's different in OZ) with a TD422.

Very tempted as the money is pretty low even for UK choices...

I just noticed that the patrol your looking at, looks like it is in my favorite color..good old landrover stornaway grey..I have a fl2 in that color and if the shorty ever gets resparayed that's the color I'm going :-)