Chopped and stretched Y62 Patrol

For decades, an epic battle has raged in boardrooms and bush tracks. Two titans of touring trading blows to dominate the off-road market and the outback alike.

Ever since way back in the 1950s, Toyota and Nissan have been throwing engineering might at their off-road programs to build 4x4s that’d dominate in every continent on earth. From the early days of the soft-top short-wheelbase G60 Patrols and FJ Cruisers, through the ’80s as they both ballooned into family wagons, and the ’90s when both hit their stride with big turbo-diesel six-cylinder engines and coil springs reining in solid axles.

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For many, it was peak 4x4 territory and something we still haven’t bettered. Unfortunately, with both manufacturers looking to get an upper hand with a giant leap forward, the war swung in the favour of Toyota’s LC200. The Y62 Patrol with its 400hp V8 failed to capture the hearts of Aussie 4WDers.

In recent years the Y62 has clawed back to be a serious contender, and we’ve never seen a better example of that than this epic super-sized dual-cab.

Transformation

While the Gasson family’s silver Patrol may have left the manufacturing line a wagon back in 2019, it didn’t stay that way for long. Just a few months old and it rolled into the Toowoomba workshop of ASG 4X4, where it was sliced and diced beyond recognition.

First up was losing all the sheet metal behind the rear doors, a new back wall was handmade turning the wagon into a dual cab, with a pair of handy tool-boxes pieced together where the old rear wheel arches used to be.

From here the chassis copped a similar treatment, a massive 650mm extension was welded in with custom fuel and brake lines spanning the distance, and new wiring and rear driveshaft all going into the mix to make it work.

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The dual-cab conversion allowed the family to fit a decked-out canopy on the rear, taking their Y62 from mall-crawling wagon to ultimate beach tourer. MW Toolbox in Coopers Plains, Queensland, were tasked with piecing together the canopy and have knocked it out of the park.

Popping open the colour-coded aluminium door on the passenger side reveals a huge outdoor kitchen prime for Fraser Island cook-ups. Pride of place is the 85L Bushman fridge. With an internal 6L freezer and plenty of shelf space, it’s more than enough for the family’s adventures. It’s backed up with a full pull-out pantry, deep storage drawers, and a slide-out prep table all lit up by internal LED lighting. There’s even a 12V pie oven in there for easy meals on the road.

Up top, there’s a custom roof rack built-in to the canopy, housing a Darche wrap-around awning fitted to clever RacksBrax quick-release lockable mounts. Swinging around the back, there’s an integrated ladder tucked high above the TAG tow bar before arriving on the driver’s side with bulk storage and a built-in weatherproof dog box. What will they think of next?

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To keep the whole camp affair running late into the night, there’s a simply huge electrical set-up. Kicking off with 400W of solar panels on the roof, it feeds down to a powerhouse 12V system with a Victron MultiPlus-II handling both input and output. It pumps in a massive 120amp of charge from external AC when parked up at home or in a caravan park, 100amp from the Y62’s on-board electrical system or 30amp from the roof-mounted solar. All that power finds its way to a 320amp/h lithium battery bank. There’s 3000W of 240V power coming out the other end, as well as plenty of 12V power keeping the fridge, on-board air and water pumps running trouble-free.

Back on the outside and the rest of the Patrol has been spec’ed up to match the tough-as-nails rear end. Up front a Dash Offroad Predator Evolution bar has been colour-coded and fitted by the team at Auramotive. It blends in well with the full chrome delete by Auto Emporium, giving the Y62 an off-road-ready look.

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Moving back and a platform rack from Rhino-Rack has been fitted, ASG 4X4 modifying the rack and backbone system to work seamlessly with the now shorter roof of the dual cab. It houses a monster 51-inch Stedi ST3K light bar up front, with a set of Stedi camp lights up back. A custom towbar was designed by TAG to suit the chop and maximise departure angle, thanks to the new real estate available.

Moving to the inside and the Gasson family have kept things neat and functional. One of the most important modifications was the installation of a Warrior 4x4 replacement rear-view mirror. The trick digital unit hooks up to a camera up back for rear vision, but also incorporates a dash cam, a 12-inch touchscreen, accident recording and in-built GPS.

A GME XRS-330 UHF heads up the communication abilities, fed by dual antennas it’s able to perform just as well in the wide-open plains as the hills of the Great Dividing Range. It’s paired with a Cel-Fi GO unit, keeping mobile phones working far beyond their usual range. A digital dash cluster from CaRobotor replaces the factory offering, not only modernising the Y62’s interior but giving easy-to-read info on everything from fluid temps and pressures to digital inclinometer readings.

V8 petrol

While the inside is the epitome of refinement and technology, under the bonnet an old-school heartbeat keeps things motoring with an impressive 5.6L petrol-powered V8 punching out 400hp and 560Nm. It’s fed all the air it can handle thanks to a super-sized five-inch Fabwitz snorkel and Patroldocta airbox combination, before the spent gases are rocketed backwards through a hand-built three-inch exhaust.

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Drive is put to the ground through independent suspension front and rear. Up the back, ASG 4X4 lower control arms add serious strength and are tied in with the 4.2T GVM upgrade. The rest of the suspension is rounded out with 350kg constant-load Dobinson springs and Airbag Man helper airbags digitally controlled with auto-levelling and programmable ride heights including a sky high off-road mode. The suspension set-up allows easy fitment of Nitto Ridge Grapplers tyres punching in at 285/70R18 and wrapped around Elite Off-road Podium alloy wheels.

If you need to catch your breath after that endless list of upgrades and modifications, you’re not alone. We’ve started seeing more and more built Y62 Patrols pop-up in these pages, but few to this level. A bona fide tried and tested, chopped and stretched tourer just isn’t something you see with a Patrol badge these days, but it’s proof that not only can the current generation of Patrols still hold their head high, they can pack just as big a punch as their old rivals.

The first blow

While the Patrol and ’Cruiser have been trading blows since 1951 when their predecessors went into production, the Patrol has often pipped the ’Cruiser at the post. Most people have heard the old story about the first ever vehicle crossing of the Simpson Desert being in a Patrol, the G60 loaded to the hilt with the Sprigg family and 200L of fuel to last the distance. It was only the second non-Aboriginal crossing of the desert, the first being Ted Colson on camel-back in 1936. But it’s not the only noteworthy first for the Patrol.

While Toyota was first to market with its diesel engines, Nissan was the first to get rowdy with them winning the diesel class in the 1987 Paris to Dakar off-road race, back when they actually went from Paris to Dakar. It was also the first time a diesel engine had placed in the top 10 spots for the whole race. Coincidentally, it was also the first year a Patrol was seen sporting coil springs.

The all-new GQ Patrol was a giant leap forward over the aging 60 Series LandCruiser, and first launched in late ’87 – it’d take Toyota another two years to catch up. The Patrol was also the first to sport an automatic transmission, the ’81 model MQ Patrol being optionable with a three-speed auto years before the ’Cruiser would lose the clutch pedal.