2018 Custom 4x4 of the Year finalist: Nissan Y62 Patrol dual-cab ute

BY transforming the Y62 into a dual-cab, Peter’s aim was to build an ‘all-rounder’ that’d be equally adept at camping adventures, as well as fishing and hunting expeditions – plus, it would see a lot of towing work. Encouragingly, his idea didn’t seem that far-fetched after he proposed it to On Track 4X4’s Andrew Cassar.

“I rang Andrew and said this is what I want to do,” Peter said. “No-one else has done one ... while everyone else has had Land Cruisers cut and other things cut, nobody has cut a Y62. He said, ‘Yep, let’s do it’.”

Peter knew the exact crew of specialists to entrust, firstly checking with the engineer that he uses for his work at On Track 4X4 and then enlisting Les at Tinman Fabrications to do the cutting work.

The Y62 is a high-tech 4x4, and it was here that the team struck a few small problems, most notably with the air-con system and the Patrol’s airbags. The vehicle’s air-con ducts go through to the third-row seating, which meant having to reroute them to ensure they finished at the back of the second row.

The next issue was the Patrol’s airbags, which meant designing a bracket that would retain the side-pillar airbag. The rewiring took a bit of time to figure out, again to ensure the vehicle met ADR and safety regulations.

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Trying to ‘trick’ the engine management system was a challenge, with the vehicle still ‘looking’ for the tailgate, as one example. Perhaps, surprisingly, the actual cutting of the vehicle was straightforward, with Les removing the back section and welding the ute-back onto the body and finishing all the fabrication work.

Upon the return to On Track 4X4, the chopped Nissan was repainted before Andrew got stuck into the rewiring and refitting of the interior. Peter decided to fully rewire the Patrol so as to accommodate all the power-reliant accessories that were to be fitted. This entailed fitment of a Redarc dual-battery management system and some tricky positioning of two aux batteries in the powder-coated tray – the tray also has a slide-out drawer.

An all-aluminium canopy built by WF Fabrications features a separate dog cage, along with another storage box (housing the 60L Engel fridge/freezer on a Clear View Easy Slide) and a dual spare-wheel carrier setup.

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The front end features ARB bar-work (front winch bar with Warn winch, side-rails and side steps) and an ARB Intensity light setup. A TJM Airtec snorkel keeps the V8 (fitted with a Unichip) breathing freely, while Pro Comp XTreme MT2 315/70R17s roll on Black Rock Crawler 17x8 steel rims.

Peter has lifted the Patrol by two inches and fitted ARB’s BP51 remote-reservoir shocks (along with Airbag Man airbags in the rear). A 150L Long Ranger fuel tank ups the Patrol’s total fuel capacity to 290 litres.

“I am absolutely rapt with it,” Peter said. “It is just an amazing vehicle off-road; it has heaps of power. On the dirt, it’s just unbelievable how good it is.”

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Check out the Top ten finalists of the 2018 Custom 4x4 of the Year, cast your vote and be in the running to win a Maxxis voucher valued at up to $2000!