Greetings from the U.S.A.

[Hangar 18]

Hello all. My name is Brian and I am from San Diego, California. We here in the U.S. only got the Patrol from '62-'69, then Nissan pulled it from our shores. While we Americans are as big on off roading as you Aussies, we were not lucky enough to get the Mk, Gq, or Gu Patrols. In fact there are several cars we were denied. Anyhow, years ago I imported my first Skyline under our 25 year exemption law. Since then I have brought over a few other cars as well.

Last year I started a small importation company and a 1988 GQ Patrol was the first car we brought in. I had loved the MK and GQ Patrols for years and always wanted one. I have had it for a few months now and done some mild trail runs with it. To say it grabs attention is an understatement. Nothing looks like a GQ Patrol here. People don't know about the Patrol except for the true off road enthusiast. My plan is to show off the abilities of these fantastic trucks. In the last run we did, my Patrol was the least modified truck of the group and yet only the Patrol and a highly modified Range Rover never got stuck. I posted a couple of videos on YouTube if you guys are interested. Look up "Nissan Patrol at Pancake Rock".

My current Patrol is a petrol version. My hope is to be able to bring up a turbo diesel next time. As far as I know, there have only been four GQ Patrols imported here. The other three were non turbo diesels, I think imported from Japan. So no one has seen the capabilities of the turbo diesel here. There is a huge off road meet in March, and that is my goal for having the turbo. 500 trucks at one event and the Patrol will be one of a kind. Off road meets are dominated by Jeeps and Landcruisers here. Its nice to have something different and more capable.

I still have a lot to learn about the Patrol first hand, but I'm looking forward to it. Thanks

Brian

[threedogs]

Hi Brian and welcome to the forum, the others may be surprised what
a modded GQ can do they still dominate the off road comp scene here.
Jump in anytime and enjoy

[AB]

Welcome to the forum mate, feel free to ask any questions.

[mudski]

Watch out Brian, you might just start a big Patrol craze over there and leave nothing for us. Welcome to the forum.

[Agronaught]

if the jeep is the standard... they won't know what hit em :/

[4bye4]

Welcome to the forum - Pancake Rock looks like a fun place.

[BillsGU]

A right hand drive? Can you get a left hand drive version? I would imagine they were built for Europe and other LHD countries. How come no number plates? Don't you need them in California?

[Bigcol]

welcome to the forum Brian, enjoy the sights and sounds..........

if you have a look at Europe, they have the left hand Patrols - France, Germany some in the UK - although they dont have many 4.2turbo diesels, when they come up for sale, they are cheap as - because fuel is sooo expensive over there

good luck in showing them the greatest 4wd ever built - you will be selling them fast than you can get them

there was / has been a few imported into Canada - maybe have a look there as well........... - they were going to or have changed the Laws in some of the provinces for them to be licensed (they were able, now not... or something like that)

[Gecko17]

G'day Brian and welcome to the forum. You can't really go wrong with a GQ (Don't start you lot!) and I am thinking of setting up a race GQ myself,

Isn't Pancake Rock where some famous Hill Climb takes place?

[growler2058]

G'day Brian welcome aboard mate

[Stropp]

Hi Brian and welcome to the forum, great to hear you are importing patrols mate and i wish you success in your inporting of the vehicles.

[Hangar 18]

Thank you for the welcome, much appreciated. I will try to answer some of the questions.

The number plate is not on in the video because I decided to take it off roading almost immediately. I started the registration process a week later. I was too excited to wait very long to see what it could do.

I'm sure I could find a LHD version if I wanted, but my mate lives in Sydney and RHD is not really a problem here. Also, it adds to the bewilderment factor when I pass people.

I am still rather new to off roading. I have spent many days on a race track, but not so many climbing mountains. Oddly enough, I find it as exciting as those track days. There is something to be said about looking over the edge of a cliff as you go along.

I expect to get some more practice at this before the March meet. I hope to be able to surprise and impress the typical machine owners.

Brian

[Hodge]

Welcome aboard Brian. Enjoy your stay mate. Megadeth inspired user name ???

[Dhuck]

Welcome to the forum mate

[MEGOMONSTER]

Welcome mate, surely the best forum on the net. If you need it, you can get it, if you want to know it, just ask it.
If you want to find it, go to the search bar for a universe of information.
Enjoy the sights and sounds of the greatest show on earth.

[cgm]

Welcome Brian. Nice intro. Looking forward to hearing more as you go along.

[Sherro]

G'day Brian welcome to the forum mate.

[Hangar 18]

Here are a few pics of my GQ

5280052801

5279852799

My Patrol is mostly stock from what I can tell aside from a 3 inch lift and 33" tires. I am curious though as to the fuel tank. I filled it up and it appears to be around 34 gallons. Does this sound right? I only ask because that is huge. Nothing here in the U.S. has a tank larger than 25 gallons that I know of.

Right now I am preparing for a run/gathering in the middle of January. It is put on by a Jeep club but open to all. Its a three day event with trail runs from mild to wild. Looking over the classifications, my GQ is a 3 out of a scale from 1 to 4+. The main item I will need in the future will be lockers. That alone would bump me to 3+. I don't plan on going overboard, but I really want to see how she fares against the modded Jeeps.

Funny thing, I learned about this group by bumping into a Jeep guy. While talking I mentioned my Patrol. Obviously he had no idea what it was, but after showing him pics he was intrigued to say the least. In the discussion he asked about parts availability, axles in particular. He said Jeeps break axles regularly. I told him as far as I know, Patrols owners don't complain of broken axles much. He got a chuckle out of that.

Brian

[4bye4]

Standard tank in Aus is 95 ltrs which is 25 and a bit Gals.

[GU8LE]

Welcome mate.