GLOVER ON PATROLS

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Category: Reviews and Editorials

PAT: Ian, you’ve driven many vehicles over the years, and lots of Nissan Patrol models. Tell us about some of your experiences in Patrols. IAN: Well, there’ve been quite a few – all of them good, I might add. Possibly the most memorable was competing in the ’87 Wynns Safari in a Petrol with Les Sivior, who happened to be Australian Off-Road Champion at the time. Terrific vehicle, with a blueprinted engine – sounded great going over bridges and through cuttings. After three days, we were running second, behind a bloke named Harold Gill, who also happened to be in the Ultimate Suspension/Nissan team. Anyway, early one morning just out of Eulo, I stuffed up a call in the route notes and we plunged into a ravine, breaking the front axle. Norm Needham - you know him Pat – best bush mechanic I’ve ever seen – Norm and his team had a new one fitted in about three hours – it’s normally a 19 hour service job. I thought we’d have a nice cruise to Darwin as we were now out of contention for a podium spot, but Les is a very competitive bloke and ran it as if we were still hunting for first place. I was completely knackered by the time we got to Darwin! The trip home was a bit more relaxed. Sharon (Ian’s wife) flew to Darwin and we drove back all through outback Queensland doing stories for the magazine I was working on at the time. Loved that car.

PAT: Have there been times you’ve been glad you were in a Patrol and not something else?

IAN: Well, that Safari was one of those instances. In a lot of other vehicles, I reckon Eulo would have been where we stopped. But there was another time when Sharon and I were heading into Victoria’s Big Desert. It had been raining, and a Road Closed sign had been moved to the side of the road, so we presumed everything was OK. Sharon was driving, slipping all over the place and I accused her of not being up to the job. “Well you do it then!” she said indignantly. When I got behind the wheel, I realised just how bad it was…like a skidpan…greased with duck fat. We should’ve turned back, but I thought it could only get better. It got worse. At one stage going downhill, the vehicle lost all traction and went slowly down the hill doing 360s, rear-ending into a swamp and I thought, that’s it, this is where we’re staying. But the Patrol was fitted with dual difflocks, which I engaged, and in low range, we slowly pulled out. I didn’t believe it was possible! It’s just over 100 kays through the Big Desert from Yanac to Murrayville. The trip took us seven hours, but we made it. The Road Closed sign at the other end hadn’t been moved out of the way, as you might have guessed.

PAT: Bet you had a Scotch or two after that mate! You must have had some good times in Patrols as well though?

IAN: Mate, they’ve all been good, just that some are good in retrospect! I did a fair bit of work with Outback photographer Steve Strike in Patrols. We really covered some country, and quickly, because that was before they introduced the 130 kay speed limit in the Territory. Did stories on Douglas Hot Springs, Kakadu and Litchfield…is that an unbelievable place or what! Understand you’ve got Kakadu and Litchfield covered in the new series mate.

PAT: Yeah, that’s right. Got some really great footage there.

IAN: Then there was another time on the Eyre Peninsula; again Sharon, Strikey and myself. Even got across to Flinders Island in the Bight. Couldn’t take the Patrol there – had to fly – the Patrol can do a lot of things, but a boat it’s not, so we left it at Wudinna. We had the whole island to ourselves except for the station manager, who offered us an old Cruiser to drive around in. Well, the salt air had virtually made the thing a rust busket – looked as though you’d put your feet straight through the firewall if you drove it, so we did a lot of walking there.

PAT: You had a Patrol yourself, didn’t you?

IAN: Yeah, had a three-litre for a couple of years, but then I began working for Rover, and then Mitsubishi, so there was no way of keeping the Patrol. Great car. Tough as old boots, and the three-litre was a lot better than some people gave it credit for.

PAT: What most do you like about Patrols?

IAN: Well Pat, the sort of places you and I both go, reliability is absolutely critical, as you know. We’re hardly just around the corner from the nearest workshop, and Patrols are really reliable. And we need toughness in a vehicle, for exactly the same reasons. Where we go, you just can’t have things breaking. And the last thing we really need is above-average four-wheel drive capability. The Patrol’s got all of that and comfort as well. What more could you ask?

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