So today I got it from the body shop and I am finally near perfection.
For very little money they took care of my rusts spots and the most egregious scratches:

Before:
After:
Is it just me or does the R51 look a bit like a Y62 Armada?
(which is not a bad thing)
More pics from today
(Yes that is a Nissan first aid kit, I added a tourniquet to it)
I do not usually drive with my foglights on on a clear day I just turne them on for effect in the pics.

For some reason after I received the car today, topped it off with 93 Octane, took out all the junk that had accumulated in it and took it for a tour around town.

Since I was in a good mood I drove it very aggressively and what a hoot!
That V8 really scoots!

The way I can just shoot up from 40-65 mph with a quick stab of the pedal I know I surpsied several folks.
That Challenger (V6 obviously) was was trying to race me on a long hiway on-ramp struggled and never "lost " me despite trying mightily.

I was just itching to find some vehicles in my class maybe a Lexus Gx460 or a 4Runner V8 and destroy them alas it was not to be.

Since my brakes are also new(ish) all around, as is my entire suspension, it was easy to have fun.
A 5100+ lbs vehicle does not have the right to be this agile!

In normal driving you hardly notice the V8, but feed it high test , let it get used to it and you can have some serious fun.
It actually reminded me of my Old Infiniti Q45, in overall feel.
part of me was toying with the idea of racing some of the 4 cylinder sports coupe crowd that was displaying well -sorted Miatas etc on parking lot

It is just amazing how good the form and function of these vehicles is!

palmerwmd wrote: ↑

Fri May 20, 2022 6:42 pm

Is it just me or does the R51 look a bit like a Y62 Armada?
(which is not a bad thing)

I don't think it's any coincidence that the '05 R51, ''04 TA60 and '04 A60 all shared those cool diagonals in the grille, arched window lines, and flat sides that somehow weren't flat at all. It was a cool look in '04 and still cool now, and in that sense they're all timeless. I'm sure Nissan''s design teams gauged reactions prior to release and quickly discovered they were about to create a classic.

VStar650CL wrote: ↑

Fri May 20, 2022 8:07 pm

palmerwmd wrote: ↑

Fri May 20, 2022 6:42 pm

Is it just me or does the R51 look a bit like a Y62 Armada?
(which is not a bad thing)

I don't think it's any coincidence that the '05 R51, ''04 TA60 and '04 A60 all shared those cool diagonals in the grille, arched window lines, and flat sides that somehow weren't flat at all. It was a cool look in '04 and still cool now, and in that sense they're all timeless. I'm sure Nissan''s design teams gauged reactions prior to release and quickly discovered they were about to create a classic.

Today's vehicles are so well made and there is so much oil in the ground in the US that I that I imagine my future grandson could drive it in a post apoc landscape of 2050 like this: or this:

New York looked pretty much like that the first time I laid eyes on it around 1960. Fact is, we've done a spectacular job of cleaning up the worst of our crap. When I was a kid, it was a rare day when you could see NYC from the top of Garret Mountain (only 17 miles away) and the Passaic River below the falls held nothing but sewage, with water so oxygen-depleted that only carp could live in it. Today, it's a rare day when you can't see the Empire State building clear as a bell, and people catch largemouth bass and crappies where there used to be carp.

If you want something to worry about, consider the fact that between China and India, they commission one new coal-fired power plant every week. They're basically where we were in 1960, but with lots more people. That's the part about the whole green/electric crowd that makes me completely nuts. It isn't us who are killing the planet, but for some reason they can't get past the notion that dragging America into an economic solar-toilet will make things better. Sorry to be the messenger, but it won't.

Oh I wasnt referring to pollution (though I admit the pics look like that).
Just a generalized decay of society and economy I expect over the next few decades.

Still just loving this vehicle!!
Now that is it fully sorted I cant imagine what the point would even be in a Lexus GX460 or 4Runner even if they did not cost all those $$$.
I feel in form and function this vehicle is equal or better.

We moved to a 2018 4Runner last fall. The V6 R51 was accumulating a fair list of work and at 330.000 it wasn't worth sinking more and more money in to it.
I have to say that the Runner is a "better" truck. It is better built, with much higher quality materials, and finished much nicer. A lot of components are way way over-engineered and over-built. The AWD/driveline system is absolutely wild. The Pathfinder was good, but this really is on another level in the snow and mud.
But my god is it boring and devoid of character and it has some annoyances where the Pathfinder was more clever in its design. Toyota also likes to keep to the philosophy of "if we don't add it, it won't break" so there are some very clear omissions, as well as some baffling shortcomings. It lacks some of the clever finishing touches, like the little flap between the back seat and floor to make it nice and level, or the little tool storage cubby near the hatch. But the after market for the Runner is incredible. There really is a solution to anything you can think of, and many more that nobody asked for.

Some of the Runner annoyances?
Adjustable power seats? Sure. But adjust the mirrors at the same time? No sorry, you're on your own. We're also not going to illuminate that button. All the other ones you never use, yes. But the mirrors that you adjust often, no sorry.
Storage? What do you need storage for? You have a center console and a small glove box. Be happy you get those.
Yes you can have power in the rear, but we'll turn it off when you turn the car off and you have to manually turn it back on with a button. So if you have a 12V fridge in the back you better remember to turn it on again.
The radio looks like it's from the 90s. The menu is absolutely terrible. The "premium" sound system is awful compared to the Pathfinder. And for an off-road capable car like this it's surprising they don't even give you TPMS values like the pathfinder, and you'll get a warning light that you can't reset when you air down. Silly.
Throttle response is non existent even though power is about the same as the Pathfinder and it loves to hunt for gears. You can get a little electronic device to adjust that, but at 500 bucks I'm not sure that's worth it. Gas mileage is much, much better though. We get almost 15L/100km with a lift, BFG KO2's and a roof rack.

All in all, I wish I had the space to keep the Pathfinder around as a beater. The 4Runner in many respects is too nice and too expensive to actually use what it's intended for. We paid over 40K for it used. At that price, it'd damned well better be a good truck.

I am happy you enjoy your new truck!
A new SUV is always something nice and I wish new R51s were still available.
I am toying tiwht buying an R53...
Though I respect the 4Runner and some of its design philosophy

But I doubt it could keep up with my V8 Pathfinder (which is stronger than the V8 4runner was)

Also recall that some trims of the Pathfinder had the allmode transfer case: 2WD,AWD ( open center diff), 4Hi, and 4 Lo.

Well, to "keep up" I have other cars. And gas is way too expensive, anyway for those shenanigans in a 5000lb truck But you're right, there is no comparison. My folks have an older V8 runner that probably has a significant torque advantage over mine.
I looked for another pathfinder for a month, even looked at some X-Terras, raised the budget for a clean one several times to the point where it made more sense to buy something newer. We looked at the Pathfinder and Armada updates but in the tests they just didn't cut it. They're more like unibody crossovers. Most are FWD.

We had a 2009 LE with the AWD center diff option, and the 4Runner is a limited with a very similar driveline. The Pathfinder was more biased towards the rear with a true open diff. The runner is variable 60/80-40/20 or something like that, but always stuck in AWD. That is a very definite advantage in the snow, because the pathy always had to "think" for a moment before the system kicked in. The 4Runner does perform better in that regard I have to admit. But it doesn't get the fuel mileage that the 2WD/4WD ones get.