Y61 Nissan Patrol to the Sahara - Maroc Challenge
Discussion
My first reader's cars was L405 to the Sahara; the sequel starts here!
Doing the Maroc Challenge again has not been far from my thoughts since Easter 2025. It really got under my skin, despite the ignominious end to Range Rover ownership on a French autoroute.
So the big question is how to do it again, and better?
Chatting to the Maroc Challenge mechanics whilst they fixed the Range Rover (again), the advice was clear: source a vehicle that needs the least modification to thrive in the terrain and only change the weak point in the package.
It sounds blindingly obvious, but until you've actually driven the terrain at speed it's hard to comprehend how rough it can be, and the demands it makes of tyres, suspension, chassis… well, everything basically. You might think “well I'll just slow down for the roughest bits” but as a novice, good luck with that!
There's absolutely no point spending money to be in Morocco and miss any stage time due to mechanical issues, so reliability/ durability is everything. Being common in Morocco helps too if parts are needed, plus it gives mechanics the best chance to fix it right first time.
My wishlist was loosely:
A first gen Suzuki Grand Vitara was really appealing (cheap, light, simple, ladder chassis, part time 4WD), helped by the fact that HM4X4 in Italy make remote reservoir rally raid spec dampers for them. But the engines are underwhelming and they look dopey. Any significant investment into one would have no retained value whatsoever… but I'm still intrigued how it would perform (either as standard or with an engine swap - a rev-happy K24/K20A hybrid?)… and I love an underdog.
I nearly threw most of my attribute wishlist in the bin at one point, tempted by a sub £2k L320 Range Rover Sport 4.4 V8. Refresh the air suspension components, upgrade it with off-the-shelf Koni Raid dampers for heat management, downgrade the brake and wheel size from a Disco 3 to maximise the sidewall. It would do the business off road, but would it survive multiple trips? What about spares in Morocco? Also, it's permanent 4WD and designed with the modern LR “traction is everything” mindset, i.e. the traction systems do all the work for you. Again, I'd be intrigued to try it, but sadly I think I could write the story in advance.
My head kept saying Toyota, but I read a comment the other day on YouTube which made me laugh: “I'm a Toyota supremacy denier”. I think that describes me as well! No one will question you for choosing a Land Cruiser… but the full time 4WD ethos put me off a bit. A Hilux has part time 4WD but the wheelbase is long, engines are nothing special, their suspension needs quite a lot work for fast off road use. I spent a lot of time researching US-style prerunners (a fascinating rabbit hole!), but the costs involved importing stuff from the US were prohibitive. FJ Cruisers are part time 4WD, but expensive.
Patrols are much harder to find in the UK than Land Cruisers, but suddenly there was a listing that fit the bill. 2003, manual, 5 door, 3.0 diesel, “well-used” (i.e. cosmetically tatty) with a replacement engine, some chassis welding, a mild lift and chunky 33” mud terrains. Presence in bucket loads.
It was way over my weight limit, right on my wheelbase limit and way under my grunt target… but it must be nicknamed King of the Desert for a reason, so I was intrigued what it would feel like to drive.
The test drive took place on Salisbury Plain, which was a neat trick by the seller as it sealed the deal very quickly. It drives just like it looks: big and gruff, no nonsense. It has that characteristic ladder chassis/ live axle background shudder (lots of unsprung weight) but doesn't feel as crude or agricultural as a Defender. But compared to a L405, yes, it feels like a Defender.
A deal was done and a week later I was back to collect. I took antibacterial wipes with me because, er, let's just say the previous owner treated it like a dog wagon/ tow workhorse and cleanliness might not have been his top priority in life.
On a longer journey rather than a brief test drive… mud tyres are ridiculously loud! At low speeds it's a slapping/ rumbling sound (like destroyed wheel bearings) and at higher speeds it's a rotating buffet of every kind of hum and drone imaginable. If the CIA don't use it for disorientation noise, they should do.
Performance… unsurprisingly with 158bhp pulling nigh on 2.4 tonnes, it's slow. Not much below 2k rpm and loses interest quickly above 3k. It should have a green band on the rev counter between 2 and 3 like a bus! Hills need some planning. I very much doubt it is going to be the oversteering rally raid car of my dreams on the loose with this engine.
The 3.0 Di version of the ZD30 also has a bit of a reputation, enough to earn it an unfortunate nickname: “The Grenade”. However, its weaknesses are well known and there's a list of countermeasures that can be deployed. Ultimately if it goes bang, then that's a green light for an engine swap.
I’d love to do a silly petrol V8, but a BMW M57 and a ZF auto is the obvious solution. Loads of torque, smooth and quiet, reasonable economy (for a massive, heavy box on huge tyres), tried and tested and everything available off the shelf. An iron block M57N with an 8HP targeting 300bhp and 500lbft is pretty straightforward, but adding a hybrid turbo could make it very silly indeed. My choice of transmission controller is TBC: CANTCU is straightforward and a replication of OEM shift logic, Turbolamik gives you more freedom. I quite like the idea of a big ‘hoon handle’ that locks the rear wheels and simultaneously selects neutral for drift initiation
The end goal is:
Doing the Maroc Challenge again has not been far from my thoughts since Easter 2025. It really got under my skin, despite the ignominious end to Range Rover ownership on a French autoroute.
So the big question is how to do it again, and better?
Chatting to the Maroc Challenge mechanics whilst they fixed the Range Rover (again), the advice was clear: source a vehicle that needs the least modification to thrive in the terrain and only change the weak point in the package.
It sounds blindingly obvious, but until you've actually driven the terrain at speed it's hard to comprehend how rough it can be, and the demands it makes of tyres, suspension, chassis… well, everything basically. You might think “well I'll just slow down for the roughest bits” but as a novice, good luck with that!
There's absolutely no point spending money to be in Morocco and miss any stage time due to mechanical issues, so reliability/ durability is everything. Being common in Morocco helps too if parts are needed, plus it gives mechanics the best chance to fix it right first time.
My wishlist was loosely:
- - Robust chassis and suspension with plenty of travel and ground clearance
- - Max 2 tonnes
- - Max 3 metre wheelbase
- - Dampers that can take a pounding and not fade, without air suspension
- - More rear-drive bias (because let's face it, steering on the throttle is fun)
- - All Terrain tyres with at least 175mm of super-tough sidewall
- - Sacrificing steering precision and normal road-biased handling attributes is OK (when you're on the loose, a lot of that precision is lost anyway)
- - An engine that can be relied on no matter what, with enough grunt to match (but preferably beat) the Range Rover (120bhp/tonne and 210lbft/tonne)
A first gen Suzuki Grand Vitara was really appealing (cheap, light, simple, ladder chassis, part time 4WD), helped by the fact that HM4X4 in Italy make remote reservoir rally raid spec dampers for them. But the engines are underwhelming and they look dopey. Any significant investment into one would have no retained value whatsoever… but I'm still intrigued how it would perform (either as standard or with an engine swap - a rev-happy K24/K20A hybrid?)… and I love an underdog.
I nearly threw most of my attribute wishlist in the bin at one point, tempted by a sub £2k L320 Range Rover Sport 4.4 V8. Refresh the air suspension components, upgrade it with off-the-shelf Koni Raid dampers for heat management, downgrade the brake and wheel size from a Disco 3 to maximise the sidewall. It would do the business off road, but would it survive multiple trips? What about spares in Morocco? Also, it's permanent 4WD and designed with the modern LR “traction is everything” mindset, i.e. the traction systems do all the work for you. Again, I'd be intrigued to try it, but sadly I think I could write the story in advance.
My head kept saying Toyota, but I read a comment the other day on YouTube which made me laugh: “I'm a Toyota supremacy denier”. I think that describes me as well! No one will question you for choosing a Land Cruiser… but the full time 4WD ethos put me off a bit. A Hilux has part time 4WD but the wheelbase is long, engines are nothing special, their suspension needs quite a lot work for fast off road use. I spent a lot of time researching US-style prerunners (a fascinating rabbit hole!), but the costs involved importing stuff from the US were prohibitive. FJ Cruisers are part time 4WD, but expensive.
Patrols are much harder to find in the UK than Land Cruisers, but suddenly there was a listing that fit the bill. 2003, manual, 5 door, 3.0 diesel, “well-used” (i.e. cosmetically tatty) with a replacement engine, some chassis welding, a mild lift and chunky 33” mud terrains. Presence in bucket loads.
It was way over my weight limit, right on my wheelbase limit and way under my grunt target… but it must be nicknamed King of the Desert for a reason, so I was intrigued what it would feel like to drive.
The test drive took place on Salisbury Plain, which was a neat trick by the seller as it sealed the deal very quickly. It drives just like it looks: big and gruff, no nonsense. It has that characteristic ladder chassis/ live axle background shudder (lots of unsprung weight) but doesn't feel as crude or agricultural as a Defender. But compared to a L405, yes, it feels like a Defender.
A deal was done and a week later I was back to collect. I took antibacterial wipes with me because, er, let's just say the previous owner treated it like a dog wagon/ tow workhorse and cleanliness might not have been his top priority in life.
On a longer journey rather than a brief test drive… mud tyres are ridiculously loud! At low speeds it's a slapping/ rumbling sound (like destroyed wheel bearings) and at higher speeds it's a rotating buffet of every kind of hum and drone imaginable. If the CIA don't use it for disorientation noise, they should do.
Performance… unsurprisingly with 158bhp pulling nigh on 2.4 tonnes, it's slow. Not much below 2k rpm and loses interest quickly above 3k. It should have a green band on the rev counter between 2 and 3 like a bus! Hills need some planning. I very much doubt it is going to be the oversteering rally raid car of my dreams on the loose with this engine.
The 3.0 Di version of the ZD30 also has a bit of a reputation, enough to earn it an unfortunate nickname: “The Grenade”. However, its weaknesses are well known and there's a list of countermeasures that can be deployed. Ultimately if it goes bang, then that's a green light for an engine swap.
I’d love to do a silly petrol V8, but a BMW M57 and a ZF auto is the obvious solution. Loads of torque, smooth and quiet, reasonable economy (for a massive, heavy box on huge tyres), tried and tested and everything available off the shelf. An iron block M57N with an 8HP targeting 300bhp and 500lbft is pretty straightforward, but adding a hybrid turbo could make it very silly indeed. My choice of transmission controller is TBC: CANTCU is straightforward and a replication of OEM shift logic, Turbolamik gives you more freedom. I quite like the idea of a big ‘hoon handle’ that locks the rear wheels and simultaneously selects neutral for drift initiation
The end goal is:
- - Part time 5-seat long-distance family dog wagon/ surrogate van
- - Part time amateur rally raid weapon
- - Full time covert RWD hooligan
- - Stripped out/ caged rally car
- - Or “overland” in any way, i.e. groaning under the weight of a roof tent, steel bumpers, etc
Excellent choice! I've M57+8HP my old Defender, theres a thread on here and its been pretty much on the money for around 10,000miles so far.
I believe i've got circa 270hp and its plenty to propel it along!
My only comment would be if you do go 8HP & M57, I'd as much as possible to keep it entirely separate from the 'car'. Don't know if its ond enough for that to be possible, but seems to be alot of issues atleast on newer Defenders with integrating CAN with the new engine and existing dash.
I believe i've got circa 270hp and its plenty to propel it along!
My only comment would be if you do go 8HP & M57, I'd as much as possible to keep it entirely separate from the 'car'. Don't know if its ond enough for that to be possible, but seems to be alot of issues atleast on newer Defenders with integrating CAN with the new engine and existing dash.
mattdavies said:
Love this. I have a 8HP swapped car with a CANTCU. there is a new update coming which gives you a virtual clutch pedal I believe.
Along with a transbrake and a bump box.. you know just incase. I was helping a friend Beta test it at the weekend at GTR Festival
Ooooh! Thanks for sharing - just googled and yes that is new news. Most excellent Along with a transbrake and a bump box.. you know just incase. I was helping a friend Beta test it at the weekend at GTR Festival
Sticking with CANTCU means no need to open the box and replace the electronics with the Turbolamik item, that's a big bonus.
Edited by CA2 on Tuesday 18th August 16:08
tommobot said:
Excellent choice! I've M57+8HP my old Defender, theres a thread on here and its been pretty much on the money for around 10,000miles so far.
I believe i've got circa 270hp and its plenty to propel it along!
My only comment would be if you do go 8HP & M57, I'd as much as possible to keep it entirely separate from the 'car'. Don't know if its ond enough for that to be possible, but seems to be alot of issues atleast on newer Defenders with integrating CAN with the new engine and existing dash.
I've read your thread, thanks for sharing. Always good to learn from others' first hand experiences.I believe i've got circa 270hp and its plenty to propel it along!
My only comment would be if you do go 8HP & M57, I'd as much as possible to keep it entirely separate from the 'car'. Don't know if its ond enough for that to be possible, but seems to be alot of issues atleast on newer Defenders with integrating CAN with the new engine and existing dash.
My Patrol being 2003 is pre-CANBUS so should be straightforward. It's a well-trodden path by many in Poland and elsewhere so all the knowledge, shortcuts, do's / don'ts are well documented. And plenty of parts off the shelf to empty the wallet
Ranger 6 said:
OM606?
No electronics
I get that, but from what I've read the M57 has a better spread of power & torque across the rev range? I don't want a screamer with all of the power at the top end.No electronics
I should really be prioritising suspension over powertrain of course... Fox or King?
CA2 said:
I've read your thread, thanks for sharing. Always good to learn from others' first hand experiences.
My Patrol being 2003 is pre-CANBUS so should be straightforward. It's a well-trodden path by many in Poland and elsewhere so all the knowledge, shortcuts, do's / don'ts are well documented. And plenty of parts off the shelf to empty the wallet
I was going to say I’ve seen the Poles put M113 merc v8s in Patrols too - more compact and might be more reliable than the BM alternatives?My Patrol being 2003 is pre-CANBUS so should be straightforward. It's a well-trodden path by many in Poland and elsewhere so all the knowledge, shortcuts, do's / don'ts are well documented. And plenty of parts off the shelf to empty the wallet
Good luck with the project!
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