Except for
the Datsun derivatives, Nissan Motor Co. called their commercial vehicles
Nissans in and outside of Japan, also when in the later 1960s the Nissan passenger
cars became ‘Datsun’ in the export, but mostly in developed markets, all light
commercial vehicles (and sometimes even medium trucks over 3.5 ton gross
weight) were then called ‘Datsun’ as well.
This refers to the Patrol off-road vehicle, and the cabovers (with
forward control) Caball, (ex-Prince) Homer and E20 (later called Urvan as a
Datsun).
The Datsun
Sunny and Datsun Bluebird derived pickup trucks and vans started as Datsuns in Japan, with the latter eventually taking the
Datsun name there as second name to the Nissan marque by 1980, when also the
Nissan Datsun Vanette and Nissan Datsun AD Van
arrived to be sold at Nissan Jidousha stores, which
were rebadged variants of similar Sunny and Cherry/Pulsar models.
The earlier
Datsun Sunny Cab lasted under this name for only one year (1969/1970), and was
not exported; nor were the mid-1950s Datsun-derived Cablight
cabover (with front steering) and its successor Cabstar,
sold as Datsun in Japan until 1976.
The ‘Nissan
Patrol’ can be regarded as the oldest persistent car brand/nameplate
combination in the world (though across different markets), after production
started in October 1951. This
authoritative name was probably decided upon after the Tokyo police had ordered
70 units that summer. In Japan, police
cars are generally called ‘patrol car’.
So, for the Japanese market, the third generation of 1980 was called
‘Safari’, likely after Nissan's success in the Safari Rally with the Datsun
160J.
Patrol
W60
The
Jeep-type Patrol was initially fitted with a 1929 Graham Paige 6-cylinder
3.7-litre side-valve engine, later bored out to 4-litre, and by 1960 fitted
with overhead valves.
Two-wheel-drive
models were made from 1956 to 1959. Up
to early 1957 4-seaters were available in Japan, but then the models typically
had 2 seats in front with or without side benches for 4 passengers at the rear,
accessible through two half-sized back doors.
For the export, the 4-seaters continued, with the spare wheel mounted at
the back, instead of the side as earlier.
By 1959, an all-steel wagon with 8-passenger side benches was made for
countries like the Philippines, adding a quarter to its length, preceded by a
shorter one for domestic use with 3 seat rows.
Yue Loong
in Taiwan started making Datsun and Nissan passenger cars in the early 1960s
under YLN designations, but didn’t make the 6-cylinder Patrol, as the original
4-cylinder Willys Jeep was made there as YL from
1956.
Patrol
60/61
This model
tried to look more like a Land Rover though it kept the Jeep form stylized in
the front fenders. It normally had rear
side benches, but a cross bench was available, with a horizontally hinged rear
gate. Most of the time, the doors of the
canvas top model were detachable. The
door handles initially were recessed, but, except for the van/wagon, became
exposed for the export by 1966, and for the Japanese market in another form by
1968 (later used in the export as well), widening the vehicle beyond the 1.70
meter. In 1974 in Japan, a protrusion was
placed above the front wheels also protecting the side turn lamps, which were
added by 1970.
In 1961 an
export 2-door wagon (with integral body) arrived with 3 seat rows, following a
windowed van in Japan with 2 seat rows.
A version with 4 doors was also known, as well as one with one door at
the driver’s side and 2 opposite closing doors at the passenger side.
The Nissan
Patrol 60 series was exported to the USA until 1969, by 1964 marketed as
‘Datsun’ Patrol. In Australia so-called utes (integral bed pick-ups) were developed, as well as lwb hardtops, which would be factory-built only from 1976
model year. New Zealand assembled it
from 1970 and kept calling it the Nissan Patrol. South Africa started assembling the ‘Datsun’
Patrol (truck bed an guard-frame local content) by 1974. In Europe in the mid-1970s, the major market
was Switzerland and included the Nissan Patrol wagon. Colombia imported Nissan Patrols since June
1960 (W60 series) in exchange for coffee to Japan and soon added hardtops with
windows over the rear edges, with two, or one door in between, for both swb and lwb models, incl. the
1980s 61 series. Nissan Patrol and
Junior far outsold the manufacturer’s passenger cars here. Carabobo in Venezuela assembled Nissan
Patrols in the 1970s.
In 1975,
the van/wagon was deleted, and replaced by a ‘deluxe’ hardtop with a
conventional forward-facing rear seat, plus two jump seats, all foldable.
By 1979 for
the general export, Nissan finally added ‘opera’ windows at the back for
improved visibility, while the familiar horizontal bar in the grille was
minimized by bold NISSAN letters in the center, and turn lamps were placed
above the parking lamps besides the headlamps, done for the other markets
already five years earlier. Within a
year, the 60 series hardtops would be superseded by the 160 series
hardtops. The 1980 export Nissan Patrol
61 (canvas top only) got blackened grille bar ends, further stressing the
NISSAN letter badge and took advantage of the amenities of the Patrol 160
series, such as a 4-speed gearbox, a single lever for the 2/4-wheel-drive
transitions, variable ratio recirculating ball and nut steering, wider front
tread and standard power brakes. The
‘Datsun’ Patrol 61 series kept the original familiar horizontal bar grille,
with the usual Nissan badge on the hood.
The 160 series canvas top would succeed on the 61 in 1983.
The Patrol
60 series for the Japanese domestic market received a cleaner engine with code
61 in September 1979 and was replaced by the 160 series the next year, after it
was reduced to just a long-wheelbase canvas top model without back seats (for
fun riding) in 1975, and fitted with a 3-blade wiper (optional in the export)
and power brakes.
Some
170,000 Patrols W60 and 60/61 series were made, next to over 200,000 Jongas that were built in India for the army until 1999.
13 December, 2018