Rock tour: Custom GU Patrol ute

If something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly. Yep, it’s an old adage, but in the case of this uber-tough GU Patrol ute, that well-worn saying sure does bear true.

When Jarrod Francis, a boilermaker by trade, first bought this ute back in 2015, his plans were relatively straightforward: build up what was then a near-stock Patrol for touring purposes, to allow himself and his partner to explore anywhere in Oz. That’s it.

Well, that was it, but after attending a few off-road comps, the plan began changing, and Jarrod decided to venture down a more challenging path…

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All the reasons why

Previously, Jarrod had owned a 1999 Toyota HiLux Extra Cab, so he was already a fan of what a 4x4 ute offers off-road travellers.

So, when it came time to look for another vehicle as a base for touring, a ute was foremost in his mind – and one that was robust and easy to work on (he intended to do a lot of work himself, through his business, JF Customs).

To that end, there are few off-road vehicles with as worthy a reputation for toughness as the Nissan GU Patrol and its near-bombproof TD42T 4.2-litre six-cylinder turbo-diesel donk. When this example (with five-speed manual gearbox) popped up for sale, back in 2015, it was, as Jarrod says, “a good, solid foundation to start off modifying and exploring with family and friends, with the intention to set it up as a tourer.”

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The 4.2-litre turbo-diesel donk has benefitted from some external mods, including a ported rear housing, custom manifolds and a JF Customs top-mount intercooler.

As well as that reliable engine, he was also a big fan of the Patrol’s front and rear live axles, and the ease of access to spare parts for Nissan Patrols.

When it first lobbed in Jarrod’s garage, the Patrol had minimal add-ons, with aluminium side-steps, electric brakes and a set of airbags accompanying the rear leaf springs, while the engine had relatively low kilometres on it, for its age. In other words, a nice base for a tourer – a role it performed with aplomb.

Then, about 18 months later, things changed, with Jarrod looking to go all out, building a vehicle that not only retained its touring capabilities, but could also tackle the most difficult terrain if and when required. And for that capability, he had a unique approach in mind…

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The Patrol’s ability to be easily switched between a full-bore rock-crawler and uber-capable tourer always brings a smile to Jarrod’s face.

Playing the long game

To start with, Jarrod was quite happy with the Patrol’s leaf-spring rear-end; as a touring rig, it’d be expected to lug plenty of camping gear, but after a couple of years, Jarrod was looking for a lot more wheel travel as his off-road explorations took him into ever more difficult terrain.

He was also keen to fit much larger tyres (check out those 37s for serious rubber!) for the more serious rock-crawling duties the Patrol may encounter.

Enter a coil-spring conversion, with a four-inch lift, that features a PSR Hybrid Long Arm setup at the front and Superior Engineering (SE) Long Arm kit at the back, accompanied by SE sway bars front and rear, adjustable uppers and Panhard (rear), along with plenty more goodies, all working in conjunction with trick Fox Factory 2.0 adjustable remote-reservoir dampers.

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The long arm mods – and the rear coils – look factory-standard thanks to Jarrod’s clever metal work.

And yes, before you ask, Jarrod modified the chassis and then fitted the new suspension by himself.

“I hooked in over three days of an Easter weekend and chopped all the leaf springs out and went straight from leaf springs to the Superior Engineering long arms,” he recounts. “I then got my hands on a set of the PSR long arms for the front.”

A couple of years later Jarrod added an X-Link up front for even more travel, while he deemed the remote-res Fox shocks to be the perfect choice for damping duties and, since fitment, he’s been very happy with them – and the setup’s overall performance.

“It’s phenomenal. Chalk and cheese.” Jarrod reckons. “It completely changed the drivability of the vehicle; from forever picking wheels up – you’d slightly go on a bit of a rutted-out section, it’d pick a wheel up – whereas now, it hardly ever picks a wheel up. It’s a bit of a point and shoot rig, really.”

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Fox 2.0 remote-res dampers are the perfect match for the Patrol’s four-inch lift.

The personal touch

Looking at the Patrol, whether from above or when crawling underneath, it’s hard not to be impressed by the sheer amount of protective bar-work fitted to it.

Again, this fully custom setup (including the rear tray – more on that later) is all Jarrod’s handiwork; being very handy on the tools means he could build exactly the system he wanted for optimum protection of his own vehicle’s unique features, plus be able to house the two winches (a Warn 10,000lb up front and a Runva 11XP at the rear).

It was a big job but one that Jarrod was determined to get exactly right, no matter how long it took.

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The JF Customs front bar houses the Warn 10,000lb winch and UHF aerial, while offering plenty of frontal and underbody protection.

“It was sort of just a case of not so much trial and error, but build one part, go out, drive for a while, get a feel for it.” he says.

“If I needed to modify something or add something, put an extra piece in or redesign the whole structure, I could do that. It was sort of piece by piece, so to speak.”

This same go-for-it attitude was used in the design of the Patrol’s steel rear tray – the vehicle’s third, following on from the one it came with at purchase, plus a cheap ‘inbetweener’ to use while Jarrod figured out the final design for the Patrol’s cargo-carrying area.

Reflecting his aims of maximum versatility for the vehicle (and retaining some fuel economy), Jarrod applied a ‘modular’ ideal to the tray design, knowing that he’d need something that was easy to ‘swap over’ from rock-crawling duties to touring time (for which he swaps over from those beefy 37s to smaller 33-inch rubber), hence the notable amount of empty space (barring the fridge box).

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The open design of the custom rear tray allows Jarrod to easily carry those big 37s to the tracks, or to load up space cases full of camping gear for a touring trip.

“Because I do a lot of serious four-wheel driving, and a lot of the places I go to are hours away, I put the 37s on the back and I can put my spare 33 up against the headboard as well,” he explains. “If I’m running just the bare tray, it sort of gives me quite a bit of space with just the fridge box on there.

“But then, if I’m doing a lot of touring, I’ll just leave the 33s on, put the spare tire on the back end of the rooftop frame, and then I’ve got plenty of storage under there for just space crates and jerry cans and other little bits and pieces.”

Yep, it’s clever, common-sense stuff. Speaking of which, that same level-headed approach has been applied to the Patrol’s interior, with only minor mods done and all with a practical purpose. Indeed, besides the impressive Kenwood stereo system, Jarrod has kept mods to a minimum, with just additional gauges to monitor the Patrol’s drivetrain, along with the fitment of a GME UHF radio.

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Bush comms are taken care of with the GME TX4500 radio.

Power up

Jarrod’s focus on the engine revolved around it producing a bit more grunt, without affecting driveability – or reliability.

This led him to the team at Diesel Pump Caboolture, who added a 12mm mechanical fuel pump, Performance 4x4 18G 60mm ported rear housing and a Radius Fabrications high-mount manifold. It was here that Jarrod utilised his boilermaker skills, under his JF Customs business banner, fabricating a front inlet manifold and a top-mount intercooler.

The drivetrain has also copped a set of Marks 4WD Adaptors reduction gears, a modified tailshaft, a seamless four-inch Fabulous Fabrications snorkel and – again, thanks to Jarrod’s metallurgical magic – a four-inch stainless exhaust, which involved a slight tussle to fit.

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“It was quite a mission,” Jarrod laughs. “Because I originally started off with a 3.5-inch system, and then had a bit of stainless laying around at home, I thought I might bump it up and do a four-inch [to] see if it changes the note.

“Probably the trickiest part was trying to do the dump pipe, because it had to be all the little segments like a lobster back to get a nice, tight radius, but then also sort of kick around a bit to clear all the chassis and the side of the motor. It was quite involved.”

Power of a different kind – electrical – is well thought-out in this crawler/tourer rig, too. Yet again, Jarrod’s keenness to just muck-in has seen him fabricate the aluminium roof rack to mount the LED lightbars and to house the 140W solar panels that, in turn, feed into a 40-amp Redarc DC-DC charger that sends power to two auxiliary batteries under the rear tray.

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Jarrod custom fabricated this impressive aluminium roof rack that houses the 140W solar panels and two Stedi Pro 23.3-inch lights.

Pride and no prejudice

The end-result that is this Patrol is a huge credit to Jarrod’s hands-on attitude and also his patience; by doing the work himself he has saved literally thousands of dollars, but he reckons the full build would add up, conservatively, to well over 2000 hours.

By not rushing in, he’s been able to think about what he really wanted from the vehicle, then planned it out meticulously, and made it happen.

Jarrod’s innovative thinking and hard work have not gone unnoticed either; a number of people have contacted him for their own 4x4 projects after seeing the Patrol – it is, after all, a very impressive showcase for his skills and knowledge – and he’s busier than ever as a result.

In short, for those wondering what a bit of planning and patience can do in regard to building a custom 4x4, this tough Patrol does an awesome job of providing an answer.

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There are minimal concerns around ground clearance with this rig.

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The bar-work extends around, under and above the Patrol, providing loads of protection for any vulnerable components when out on the tracks.

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A Fabulous Fabrications four-inch snorkel keeps the air up to the TD42T donk.

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Method 105 machined 17-inch alloys are shod with 37x12.5 Maxxis Trepador rubber for the big stuff. Mickey Thompson 33-inch Baja ATZ tyres take care of the touring duties.

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Pillar-mounted gauges ensure Jarrod stays informed as to the engine’s performance while the custom switch-gear housing is within easy reach when needed.