Winter may be waning in North America but it sure was a long one - enough to make some people want to start preparing for the next year. One thing might to be to pick up a vehicle that can hold its own in snowy conditions.
One such ride would be this sweet Nissan Patrol. The JDM flood is on! Now that every year of the 80s is legal to import to the US, all sorts of fantastic Japanese cars that were never imported to North America are finally seeing the light of day here.
The Patrol is a long-running name that dates back to the 50s and is still in use to this day. This is a "160" MQ series, that was produced from 1980-1989.
The styling is classic 80s Japanese truck, all merciless hard angles, black plastic and entertaining decal text. This one looks great in silver with "turbo diesel" on the sides and rear tailgate.
Inside is an equally brutalist exercise in functionality. The pre-airbag steering wheel is nifty, as are the striped cloth seats. It's all in surprisingly good shape.
A lot of older Japanese cars are usually underpowered but this one has what made it worth the trip across the Pacific: a 6-cylinder turbo diesel engine. Sure, it won't win any drag races, but it will be torquey, relatively fuel efficient (at least compared to a gasoline V8) and bulletproof for half a million miles with simple care and routine oil changes. It's also mated to a stick shift for extra fun.
This is a really cool and rare alternative to the more common early Toyota Landcruisers and first-generation Isuzu Troopers.
Available here on ebay with bidding over $7k already.
Winning bid was a very healthy $15K. Not entirely surprising though - excellent condition, very uncommon model and configuration, and a nice alternative to the typical Range Rovers and Land Cruisers. I'd be concerned about using it too much during New England winters though - it wouldn't stay rust free for very long.
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