Defeat The DHS With This Diesel Nissan

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler

The Department of Homeland Security may have the Land Rover Defender on their radar, but one Houston truck enthusiast has another pretty cool off-roader for sale, one that’s apparently legally imported too.

The Nissan Patrol is Nissan’s version of the Toyota Land Cruiser – while not quite as popular as the LC, you can still find them used by various UN agencies wherever there is a humanitarian crisis. They’re also quite popular in the Middle East as desert playthings.

The example for sale in Houston is a manual example with a diesel engine and appears to have originated in Central America. While we actually get the current Patrol in the form of the Infiniti QX56 (fun fact: that car has one of the best HVAC systems in the world, since the A/C was designed with Middle Eastern customers in mind), this version is far more rugged than the somewhat sanitized latest iteration.

In fact, Nissan will still sell you a new version of this Patrol, dubbed the Y61, in Australia, where the necessity of an indestructible SUV has led Toyota to all sell an ancient version of the Toyota Land Cruiser. Ditto for places like the UAE, where the Emiratis consider them to be “cheap” cars for desert dune bashing.

Derek Kreindler
Derek Kreindler

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  • 95_SC 95_SC on May 23, 2013

    I wonder if one could build this rig with parts available from other rigs and an imported motor. I know some 60 and 80 series Land Cruiser guys that purchased a "half cut" from overseas for parts and proceded to convert their rigs from the cushy USDM rides to the third world models.

  • Styles79 Styles79 on May 23, 2013

    About the only thing bad you can you can say about a Y61 is that it's grossy underpowered. With about 170 horses pushing a 5500lb brick the acceleration seems glacial. They do 0-60 in about 20 seconds or so. The TB48DE that they had in them at one point was a great engine, 4.8 straight six FTW!

  • Turkina Turkina on May 23, 2013

    Americans got the sucky Nissan Armada because they needed to make the Titan pickup plant more useful. Just like we got the Sequoia from Toyota, when a lower-spec LC could have done the job. Why can't Toyota just give us Hilux goodness? It's not fair!

    • Guevera Guevera on May 25, 2013

      amen. Hilux -- made warlord tough. Though apparently they're no longer the ride of choice for 3rd world militia's, they've been replaced by some Chinese brand that actually markets them as technicals. My 1990 yota will still out 4x4 any of my friend's trucks.

  • Manu06 Manu06 on May 23, 2013

    Datsun actually imported the G60 patrol in the 60's . I had a ''67 and it was crude and rugged. hand crank or push button start, PTO, removable doors and roof. Great fun. Put a land cruiser Or jeep to shame off road.

    • 95_SC 95_SC on May 23, 2013

      You see those around still. Yes, they are stout and the hand crank blew my mind. They are not too expensive generally but they lack the support parts wise and stuff the Land Cruisers get and of course come no where close to the Jeep. Badass rigs though and should be at the top of anyone's "trucks I want when the Zombies come" list.

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