Alright Patrol gurus...ho much would you pay for a 69 with 35k original miles on it and only a litle rust on the hard top? I believe it has a straight six also.

I have a line on one that might be coming up for sale here is SD.

It really depends on the overall condition. Anywhere from $1000 to $7000 or above.

FYI - they all came with a straight six - unless modified.

That is a pretty low milage patrol. Although 69 is the most common year in the USA. Make sure and check for bondo on the truck with a magnet. Rust in the the vunerable areas should be check for too.

It could be worth about what Leslie say's. Yet, restored correctly I feel it could be worth well over $10k.

This particular Patrol has been owned by the same family since birth and was parked for years in the garage of their mountain vacation home.

I'm worried that it will need a rebuild from lack of use...cracked seals and all that.

I'll keep you posted.

How many Patrols were imported into the U.S.?

Only around 2600 were imported over a ~10 year period from what I understand..

2616 from 62-69 900? being soft tops the rest hard tops. Ian can give you excact #'s.
Keith

Okay, to give you a something to guage by: a few months ago Ian sold a restored '64 for $7500 (correct me where I'm wrong, Ian). The red one one my signature Ian sold me for $10k: it is absolutely complete and original. Original owner's manual, fully documented, original headliner and floor mats, original tool kit, 41k miles, originally owned by a car collector. I'm diein' if I'm liein', they don't get any more original than this one. My other '66 I bought 3 years ago: it needs a complete restoration short mechanical - driveline is good. I paid $1000 for it. My '63 has never run, no idea what condition the driveline is in, but the hard top and body is in awesome condition - I horse traded 2 guns and $200 for it.

So, go with what your gut tells you - it's all about what they want to get for it and what you're willing to pay.

Keith is real close...1961 (nobody believes me but they started selling them here in 1961 not 1962!) Everybody say's 1962 is the first year in the USA but I am 99% sure that in October or November of 1961 is when the Patrol started to be imported to the USA. May have only been 5 of them but still...

Numbers sold go like this,

2616 total Patrols sold in the USA
975 being soft tops (most are dead now)
1641 being hard tops (this being most that are left)

We only got SWB soft top and hard tops in the USA, nothing else was sold here. I feel they all came with the water protect distro here in the USA unlike other countries. Some other things set our USA Patrols apart from other countries too but I won't go into that. Out of the 100+ USA Patrols I have seen with my own eyes less than 15 were ragtops so they are very rare in soft top form here. Not to mention maybe 5 had the soft top gear (frame) with only 2 having stock canvas. You can't tell a ragtop from a hardtop by vin number or any other badge, only by examining the body can you tell the difference I used to think it was 500-1000 Patrols left in the USA, same with most people, some would say as low as 200. That is all wrong though. There is nearly 2000 left in the USA and maybe more. Very few I know of have been crushed or thrown away...people just didn't toss these trucks out even when totally trashed or dead. I have a 65 that has been all over the country and it's dead! This si just one example of this...not tossing it out even though it is rotten, not running and been that way for a long time and will stay that way. Keith is driving all the way from Arakansa to Wyoming just to pick up the body off this 65 that is rotten! So see they are valueable!!

I did sell a 64 hardtop for $7500 last fall and yes Leslie bought Togo for $10K. Both trucks I lost money on and made no profit! If I had my way on the sale of these two trucks I wold have gotten around $10k for the 64 and around $15k for Togo. I had offers on the blue 64 up to $12k but they were just offers. Since I am not rich, breaking new ground with these trucks in terms of sales plus had finacial probs...so I had to settle for what I got. In the future trucks like these sold by me will be going for more cash. They will also be nicer with the exception of Togo (he is original!). I know of a restroed 69 that sold for $10k last fall too. It was real nice but not perfect. TLC's been selling for up to and over $30k for years now. The reasons why are...

#1, parts are available for TLC's
#2, the TLC is still sold here so this makes old ones popular
#3, very very nice restorations have been done by CoolCruisers and others that make the truck as good as new or better
#4, some TLC's came with disc brakes, a 4spd and few other things to make them desireable
#5, aftermarket parts are available for TLC's so that modifying them is easy to do

Now the FJ's are not even close to as rare as Patrols, even the FJ-45 pickups are not as rare. A lack of knowledge, awareness, parts and so forth is what has held back the Patrol for many years. In my honest opinion the Patrol is a better built truck though. Compare them side by side, same years and the Patrol is obviously built for tougher duty. Not to say the TLC is a bad truck, it is not and is well made but the Patrol is better! Just ask Leslie...she owns both Fj's and Patrols!

I have worked real hard to make some things change in the Patrol comunity in the USA. Plus done my best to educate people on these trucks. I feel I made some progress and the value of them is increasing. I could give you examples of this but won't go in to it now. Here is an example of an imported LG60 though...I know a man in New Jersey who sold a 1970 LG60 Patrol(the autoweek Patrol) for $14k last year. He got cash too....and this guy is a Ferarri man too. Yet, besides the Ferarri's he is totally into Patrols, that says something in it's self right there. This $14k was more than he paid for the truck by far but it is very nice and in mostly original condition. He then bought it back for less than the $14k not long ago. This is an imported Patrol never sold in the USA, a 1970 LG60. I am importing in 2005 the first LG61 that will be in the USA. I strongly feel this LG61 can be worth up to $20k no problem for a number of reasons. The 4spd tranny, C200 diffs, MWB and other reasons. It is very rare anywhere in the world, only sold during 1980, 1981, 1982 depending on where you are. Australia got less than 200 61 series. I also feel trucks like Togo can easily be worth up to $25k if massaged correctly, documented and a few other things. Why? Well it is as rare as they come for a 4x4 in the USA. Leslie owns something nobody else has so if she was to sell it then it is basically a name her price thing. If somebdoy doesn't want it for the price, well good luck finding it elsewhere...you simply will not find it. This is why I think she jumped on the oppertunity to buy it, she knew it is very special and she may never have another chance at a Patrol like Togo. I sold it for $10K for personal finacial reasons...if these had not affected my decisions I would have never let the truck go for under $15k. That is as it is too, without much work done to it.

So, jugde for yourself what it is worth...but remember these trucks are very rare. There is only going to be less of them in low milage stock condition in the future. I also am still working on increasing their value. A few reasons you can still buy Patrols for cheap is a lack of awareness and also that most people are really bad salesmen. My 64 ragtop has over $5k in the body resto and we not done with that yet. Once the truck is restored every single square inch will have been returned to new and detailed. I will have over $15k into the truck and won't sell it for anything less than that no matter what. Patrols I will be importing such as LG60 ragtops, LG61's, truck cabs and so forth will also not be sold for under $10k. Even older and rarer Patrols I import such as 4W60's may go for a lot more. A 67 sitting in the shop (only a chassis now) I may put a whole new body on. The block in it is toasted so it will never be 100% original but restored it should go for $8k or more. If you price the parts to rebuild everything on one of these trucks then it ends up being a sizable investment. That is an investemnt in something that can't be bought on any steert corner in any town...it is pretty cut and dry even though I am making a long post here!

These Nissan Patrol's are not popular but they are very special in 4x4 history. The prices of them have been rising for years and I would expect that to continue in the future. So there you have it...my ideas and thoughts on the Patrol value in the USA...and I have put many thousands of dollars and many thousands of hours into all this info. Not to mention nearly 15 years of being involved in the Patrol. Once you own one of these trucks there is just no going back. I know people who owned them years ago and they still love the truck even if they don't own one. Nissan did a horrible job marketing the Patrol and still does but what they did do is create a vehicle that is very easy to become addicted to!

Thanks Fudd,

Hopefully I can get a deal on this rig.

Will keep you all posted.