Readers' Rides: Craig's Restored Nissan Patrol Ute

While we tend to focus on your performance cars and iconic motors, today's Nissan Patrol Readers' Rides submission from Craig got us a little bit excited.

Found neglected on a farm, it was riddled with rust and almost beyond repair. That didn't stop Craig, though, who snapped it up for just $200 and set about restoring it. Here's Craig's story...

Being a very neglected farm vehicle, the Patrol was rough when I picked it up. The passenger floor pan was rusted away, it had rust holes in the roof the size of cricket balls, and the tray was just some steel attached to the car. With 250,000 miles on the clock, the rest of the car needed some attention too.

The first things to get fixed were the essentials such as the clutch, brakes, starter motor and alternator, all of which were completely stuffed. I then grabbed a second-hand door off eBay and all-new hinges and latches, as the doors often flung open while driving.

A quick service of the motor soon found the extent of the neglect. The oil was about as black and thin as it could possibly get, and the radiator water was more like mud. Once I'd changed all the fluids, I replaced the CV joints and it was pretty much drivable.

After I'd made the vehicle mechanically sound, we started with the many, many hours on the bodywork - getting the panels fixed and the rust repaired. Once it was all straight, it was on with the paint. The colour is a metallic factory Holden colour called 'Hot House Green'.

There is still work to be done on it, but it has come a long way. I'd like to fit a turbo to the 4.2-litre diesel engine, so that's next on the shopping list.

If you want your car featured on Readers' Rides, email darren.cassey@carthrottle.com with a pic and a few words explaining why you love it so much. If we like it, we'll feature it!