Ripper GQ

Had our Trol for almost 2 weeks now.
Intro'ed myself here. www.nissanpatrol.com.au/Just-bought-a-GQ-just-joined-your-forum.
We've never had a 4x4 before, and to be honest we didn't really want a 4x4. Now that we have it we love it.

We wanted something cheap, simple to work on (no EFI), with plenty of luggage space and more ground clearance than the Toyo* Cressida we have.
Thought a 2WD dual cab might be the go until we realised how bad the back seats are in them.
We had a 78' HZ Kingswood wagon once, and would've gone back to one of them except that decent ones are now three times as much as we sold our's for about 10 years ago.
Didn't want a Commodore or Falcon (build quality/comfort issues).
This led us to 4x4's, and looking at a few brands led us to the big 2 as the only real options. A friend has a 60 series and talks about how rough it rides, so that left us with GQ's as the only cars in Australia which fitted our description.

We found our Ripper GQ on eBay, got it for a good price, and are now pleased we were picky about getting the right car. It seems to have been really well looked after until maybe the last few years (just a bit untidy). Don't plan to work it hard off road, mainly have it for touring.

Having a Nissan feels like familiar territory. My first car (over 20 years ago) was a 1971 Datsun 1600 that I stripped back to the last nut and bolt then rebuilt it.

Specs:
Silver 89 GQ LWB 7 seater Wagon, TB42 Petrol/LPG Auto,
243,000 Km, Bull Bar, Driving Lights, Side Steps, Extractors, Factory Diff Lock, Sway Bar Disconnects, 75L Petrol, 115L LPG, Central Locking, 2 Power Windows (only 1 works :-), Pioneer CD Player, Cruise Control (haven't figured out how to work it yet), gauze in front of the radiator because of the locust plague here at the moment.

Few things need doing:
Fix small tear in drivers seat, replace windscreen washer bottle, full service (done engine oil and filter, going to do all fluids), get spotties working, clean up some surface rust (in gutters, near dent left rear corner, under barn doors), and some real rust (engine bay), sway bar "D" bushes F&R, LPG fuel gauge, misc body rattles.
Looks like a lot now that I've written it all down.

Plans:
Mod centre console and passenger side arm rest, fit buzzer for temp and oil pressure, electronic ignition, dual batteries, fit out the back for sleeping, replace steering wheel (N14 Pulsar?), engine immobiliser, replace electric windows with winders, new foam on seats to make them slope back more and to improve leg room in back, fix clock.

Maybe:
Transmission cooler, air horns, roof console, dash pod, UHF, stone guard for petrol tank, roof rack, lower side steps to level with chassis (easier for older passengers), perforated vinyl on windows, rear air con.

Wish List:
Camper Trailer.


I like this but can't draw at all myself.
http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...rol2Sketch.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...yofPatrol2.jpg

http://i152.photobucket.com/albums/s...yofPatrol1.jpg


I'll add more photos as I get things done and we make a few trips with it.

That looks a Great Ride and in good condition for its age. Welcome to the Forum where there are some great guys with a lot of knowledge and experience.

Thanks Bob, it's everything we were after, plus a few bonuses. It's really good.

Something I forgot.
Everyone talks about how big they are, it doesn't feel that way to me. Sure it's tall, but it doesn't feel like a truck to drive. Visibility is great. Width inside is about how our Kingswood was. Is it just that I live in the bush and don't see much traffic?
My father has a V8 HQ one tonner with a steel tray and steel bull bar, that's a truck.

It is in bloody good nick for it's age mate - great pick up!! Love the free hand picture also (assume it's free hand??) ... Wouldn't mind getting one done of Tank!!!

I cheated on the drawing, it's done with a computer program called "PAINT DOT NET".
Great drawing program, free to download, can be a bit tricky to install. http://www.dotpdn.com/downloads/pdn.html

Veru nice GQ. Keep it straight if youcan/ LOL

Tim

Very nice and neat mate, thanks for the pics.

I was about to ask who drew the picture...haha

Thanks guys. It is good, not immaculate, but the silver seems to hide lots of little marks.
It has a little bit of custom panel beating between the back wheel and bumper on the passenger side. I hope it doesn't get anymore of that.
The sad thing about the drawing is that it does someone out of some work.
The good thing is it means commoners like me can afford to have stuff like that :-)

I've made a start on our electrical upgrades.

Have fitted an extended rotor button.

Now our thermo fans can be turned on for inside the cab.
http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forum...-of-photos%29.

another great looking patrol..

Well today was a fun day. I took the transfer case out (and didn't die :-)

Broke one of my spanners before I even got the first tail shaft off, so I wasn't sure how the rest of it was going to go.
Thankfully that was the worst part of it. Had some fun getting the handbrake drum off and the shoes out to release the cable. Tried a few contortions to get at some of the bolts around the case. Then realised it would be better to take the cover off the floor, and work from inside the cabin.

I'm very lucky my father's a keen welder. As soon as I started talking about how to handle the weight of the boxes, he started making tools to make it all easier.

Tomorrow I have to work out how to get the sensors out of the transmission so I can put them into the new box.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ripper

Well today was a fun day. I took the transfer case out (and didn't die :-)

Broke one of my spanners before I even got the first tail shaft off, so I wasn't sure how the rest of it was going to go.
Thankfully that was the worst part of it. Had some fun getting the handbrake drum off and the shoes out to release the cable. Tried a few contortions to get at some of the bolts around the case. Then realised it would be better to take the cover off the floor, and work from inside the cabin.

I'm very lucky my father's a keen welder. As soon as I started talking about how to handle the weight of the boxes, he started making tools to make it all easier.

Tomorrow I have to work out how to get the sensors out of the transmission so I can put them into the new box.

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good work mate stay safe

Wow, just noticed how long ago I started pulling the transmission out, and it's been a problem from then up until 2 weeks ago. The dramas felt endless, but at long last it's fixed, and we can get back to enjoying it again.

Now I'm back to electrical upgrades. Doing a 1200 od Km trip towing an 8'x6' trailer in a couple of weeks, so I'm putting in a manual torque converter lockup so I can stay in 3rd gear and still keep the revs down. I'm basing it on Chaz's wiring diagram. Just doing some reading as final preparation for this, and realised I should do a line pressure resistor upgrade as well.

Well done mate.Thanks for the pics and the info.Much appreciated.

Clean looking rig.

Wow, almost 2 years since I updated this thread. Most of that time I've just been driving the GQ.
About 6 months ago I bought a wreck for spares. It's got a really bad body, but a good engine, and it gives me somewhere handy to store the other Trol parts I've got.
Recently I've been working on a few little things on our Trol.
Fitted a set of air horns inside the bull bar. Modified the mountings of the relays next to the battery so I can fit a fuse panel and more relays into there. Started making up a wiring harness to go from there to the driving lights, thermo fan, and air horns, plus an upgrade of the wiring of the headlights, and a slightly crazy set up that will let me spray water in front of the radiator if fixing the fan clutch doesn't keep the engine cool while towing our van up hills.

Just a question...where is your LPG tank located? I ask as I have purchased one and the tank is a 130 ltr under the rear but my fuel tank is only a 45 litre one. Any chance you could show us the fuel tank you have under the drivers side.

For anyone else that can help...are there other tanks I can use to increase my ULP capacity without moving the LPG tank into the cabin?

Thanks I. Advance...

Our LPG tank is crossways under the back where the original petrol tank was CPOCSM.

Photos here
Front
Front Underneath
Back
Back Underneath

It's a bit slow to fill with ULP on some bowsers, so I guess they had trouble getting the filler tube to connect up smoothly. I've put 106 litres into the LPG tank, and I think 63 litres is the most I've put into the petrol tank in one go. Hope this helps.

@ CPOCSM you could remove that 45lt tank and maybe fit a 75ltr AUX tank
as the gas tank is where your main tank used to be, give Kevin a bell at Brown Davis
you might be able to fit some hotdog tanks in the sills, like the Disco
@ Ripper rock your Patrol when its nearly full and the AFL valve will rock allowing a few more litres

Just confirmed I have the same tank and must be either a lock somewhere whilst I filled it or a faulty fuel sender. Probably the only way I am going to confirm it is measure the amount of fuel in it and refill it. The sender will be replaced to eliminate it all together.

Thank you so very much for your input. I had the LPG tank emptied to replace the sender and took 112 litres to refill it. I had driven 450km and was just on half full when the workshop emptied it. Not bad considering I drove it pretty hard coming home from picking it up.

the plastic thingy on your gas tank will have an OHM measurement on it should be the same as your gauge
so your tank is approx. 1000mm x 400mm is it

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CPOCSM

or a faulty fuel sender. Probably the only way I am going to confirm it is measure the amount of fuel in it and refill it. The sender will be replaced to eliminate it all together.

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Both of our fuel gauges are garbage. I thought about trying to fix them, but it looks like more work than it's worth. I'm planning to set up an engine warning system controlled with an Arduino micro processor, and I'll probably use that to more accurately display the fuel levels too.