Being rarer than a Jeep or even a Land Rover makes today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Nissan Patrol one wicked cool old off-roader. It’s price and its Internet history might just cool your interest however.
I’m really glad that the $5,500 price on yesterday’s 1989 Dodge Raider won a solid 58-percent Nice Price win. No, really. Rare and tidy, that truck seemed totally deserving.
I’m even happier that Dodge and Mitsubishi—the truck’s twin parents—decided on the Raider name for the model rather than the Japanese market Pajero which, honestly, sounds like something you might yell at someone during a bar fight in Mexico.
Speaking of battles, it’s often been said that WWII was won on the back of the ubiquitous Jeep. How often has that been said? Well, I just said it and that feels sufficient.
The battle for the consumer market for the Jeep and its Jeep-like competitors seems to have waned over the years. Today, only the original still stands, while pretenders to the throne such as the Land Rover, Toyota Land Cruiser, Ford Bronco, and the Nissan Patrol having all pretty much conceded defeat. To be honest, even today’s Jeep Wrangler is a far cry from its wartime predecessors.
This 1965 Nissan Patrol however, hews closer to that spartan and utilitarian origin. Its design is very close to that of the original Land Rover, and like that British off-roader, the 60 series Patrol enjoyed a remarkably long run, stretching from 1959 to 1980.
This model is also notable for being the first of Nissan’s products to be sold in the U.S. under its corporate brand rather than the adopted Datsun name. Hmm, maybe that’s why they weren’t all that successful?
I should note that the Patrol name does continue on to this day, we just get the current model here in the States under the Armada name, and it’s nothing like its hardcore ancestors.
Mechanicals for this ’65 open wagon include the 3956-cc P-series inline six cylinder engine. That’s backed up by a 3-speed manual transmission and part-time 4WD with a 2-speed transfer case. I think all of the maintenance on these can be accomplished with little more than a stout hammer and a confident demeanor.
This one is admirably claimed to ‘Start, runs, and drive.’ With so basic a construct, what more could you ask? The body looks to be straight and the glass seems intact. Wipers and a turn signal lens are AWOL but there is a hefty winch on the front bumper to get you out of the inevitable shenanigans an off-roader encourages. All in all, the 30,000-mile truck looks reasonably complete and worth a look.
Ah but as they say, the devil’s in the details, and there are a few issues around this Patrol that may be cause for pause. One of those is the title, which doesn’t exist. Now, that could be because the truck is older than dino dookie and it’s been sitting un-registered for years. The DMV only has so much space in their filing cabinets and it’s possible this Patrol has fallen out of their system.
Getting it back in shouldn’t be too much of a hassle, especially in a place like Louisiana, where this truck is located. I mean a twenty under the counter should get the truck re-registered in no time, and maybe even get you a date with the cute DMV cashier.
That location brings up another issue with this Patrol. Just how many red 1965 Nissan Patrols do you think there are in the Bayou State? I’m thinking that this might be the same truck three years ago. Yikes, right?
It’s also obvious from the listing below that this isn’t this truck’s first rodeo on the Craigslist either.
This is from the 60Patrol VIN registry and shows this truck’s ‘owner’ as Craigslist back in April of last year. Adding to the confusion, it also denotes the VIN as being attached to a hardtop, which this one obviously isn’t.
The last issue is the price which at $2,000 seems a steal. The question however is: who is doing the stealing? What do you think, is this ’65 Patrol and that $2,000 price the real deal? And if so, is also it a… you know, REAL deal?
You decide!
Central Louisiana Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Twowheelsev for the hookup!
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