The Nissan Pathmaker Build Blog

The Nissan Pathmaker Build Blog

Come check out the Nissan Pathmaker Build Blog where I take my 1987 stock Nissan Pathfinder and cut it into a one-ton axle, 42″ tire rock crawling beast known as “The Pathmaker”.  Having owned the rig since 2001 and upgrading it for years. It was time to SAS it and add some one-ton running gear, dual transfer cases, full hydraulic steering, exo-cage and more! If you are planning to build a Pathfinder in the future make sure to subscribe. From fuel system to brakes, exhaust and cooling this blog goes over it all. The project also doesn’t stop. I still wheel the Pathmaker to this day and am constantly upgrading (and breaking) parts. Follow along and don’t miss out on all my crazy off-road adventures!

Winch Bumper Specs For WD21 Nissan Pathfinder

Winch Bumper Specs For WD21 Nissan Pathfinder

Winch Bumper Specs from the Pathmaker Rig

I’m not going to go into a step by step on how to build a bumper for your WD21 Nissan Pathfinder. There are many better fabricators out there that can teach you how to cut and weld metal much better than I will ever be able to, so I’d recommend learning from them! What I can share with you is the measurements from the front winch bumper on the Pathmaker Rig, which should help you design and fabricate your own bumper.

First a bit of history, I actually had my bumper made for me from a friends metal fabrication shop, waay back in 2003, before I had my own shop to work in or even owned a welder! The main portion of the bumper was cut out of a piece of 5″ x 7″ square tube 1/4″ wall. The pipe sections are schd40 with weld corners and the D-shackle tabs go through the bumper to tie into the mounts.

Painted and Mounted Up With Measurements

 

Lower armor added

After a few years of rock crawling, also cutting the stock IFS off and doing the SAS with a D60 (see here for blog post on that!) I added some more steel to the lower section of the bumper to tie it into the frame.

After a more than a decade of hard wheeling I can see my once straight bumper now has a nice curve in it, which I’m not even mad about!

Mounting

The stock bumper mount is not nearly strong enough for the sort of hard winching we do. You can see how I ran some pipe from the bumper. Attached to the top of the frame rail and then filled it in with 1/4″ plate. The bumper has done HUNDREDS of hard pulls and never had any issues. Cutting it off one day is going to be no fun at all!

If you have any questions or want to know more information leave a comment on the post below and I’ll make sure to fill you in with all the details!

If you’re interested in the rest of the parts on the build make sure to check out my walk around build video and post that you can find HERE


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To get your custom vinyl decals make sure not to miss:  Pathmaker Productions Online Decal Shop Check it out for all your Jeep, Toyota, Nissan Off-road adventure Decals and more!

 
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Nissan Pathmaker One Ton SAS Build Walk Around

Nissan Pathmaker One Ton SAS Build Walk Around

Nissan Pathmaker One Ton SAS Build Walk Around

I had the Nissan Pathmaker out at the Frogstompers Funday Toydrive and decided I should do an updated walkaround to go over where my rig sits now.  Since my last blog post and first shakedown run which took place in 2012. Continue reading →

Posted by PathmakerProductions in Buggy Walkarounds, Pathmaker Speed Shop, The Nissan Pathmaker Build Blog, 1 comment
Nissan Pathfinder VG30 Head Gasket Replacement

Nissan Pathfinder VG30 Head Gasket Replacement

Nissan VG30 Head Gasket Replacement

After years of red line and forgetting to turn my Ford Taurus E-Fan on my Head Gasket was starting to go with a bit of oil showing up under the rad cap. Grabbing some new head gaskets off of RockAuto, as well as an assortment of other gaskets and seals that I may need along the way, including a timing belt I tore into the Pathmaker and got started. Continue reading →

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Nissan Pathfinder VG30i EFI Swap

Nissan Pathfinder VG30i EFI Swap

Nissan VG30i EFI Swap Part 2 – Bolting up the EFI

In the last post we removed all the parts for the MPFI swap from our donor 1995 Nissan Pathfinder “The Cheapfinder.” Now the time has come to put the Pathmaker Rig under the knife and pull off all the TBI parts so I can bolt up the parts off the 95.
The list of parts you need to remove is essentially identical as in Part 1 so head over there for all the details and we’ll pickup this from a torn down VG30i. Continue reading →

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Nissan Pathfinder VG30E EFI Removal

Nissan Pathfinder VG30E EFI Removal

Nissan VG30i EFI Swap Part 1 – Stripping the ’95

It was finally time to tear apart the 1995 Nissan Cheapfinder project and get the EFI stuff off the engine before sending it to the scrapyard to get turned into a cube. The reason for the effort and the reason you’re likely reading this is to do an EFI Swap on your Nissan Pathfinder or Hardbody with the VG30i Throttle Body engine. Since the Pathmaker rig is a 2dr 1987 Pathfinder it sports the old VG30i and it was time for an upgrade.
Why go thru the effort you may ask? “Free” Horsepower! Continue reading →

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Windshield Install – Pathmaker Speed Shop

Windshield Install – Pathmaker Speed Shop

Nissan Pathmaker Windshield Install

It was finally time to get around to installing the windshield that I pulled out of the Project Cheapfinder in a previous BLOG POST and toss it into the Pathmaker rig. Never having done it before this was going to be an interesting learning experience for me. My good friend Rich owns a glass shop in Kamloops BC Family Glass and he gave me a few pointers on what I should do. Of course I completely forgot everything he said right away so any screw ups are definitely my fault! Continue reading →

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Ford Taurus E-Fan Install – Pathmaker Speed Shop

Ford Taurus E-Fan Install – Pathmaker Speed Shop

Two Speed Ford Taurus Electric Fan Upgrade

With my knuckles back on the Pathmaker Rig it was time to shift from “need to” projects to a few “want to” projects. The PSC Full Hydro steering on my rig has been working great for me, except that my pump likes to get nice and hot and whine after some hard use.

Continue reading →

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Nissan Pathmaker OneTon SAS Build – Part 11

Nissan Pathmaker OneTon SAS Build – Part 11

The Nissan Pathmaker OneTon SAS Build – Part 11 – Shakedown Run

It was time to roll it out of the shop and do a little photo shoot with the fresh unpainted cage. This would be the last time I ever saw it looking so fresh and so clean again! Continue reading →

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Nissan Pathmaker OneTon SAS Build – Part 10

Nissan Pathmaker OneTon SAS Build – Part 10

The Nissan Pathmaker OneTon SAS Build – Part 10 – Exo-Cage time!

In one of my previous posts about installing the full hydro steering I mentioned that I had picked up a brand new JD2 Bender. I fabbed up a mount so I could bend all the pipe for my rig Continue reading →

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Nissan Pathmaker OneTon SAS Build – Part 9

Nissan Pathmaker OneTon SAS Build – Part 9

The Nissan Pathmaker OneTon SAS Build – Part 9 – Fuel System and Exhaust

Now that the Pathmaker is sitting down on its own axles again it was time to deal with some of the odds and ends. The list includes the fuel system, rerouting the exhaust from drivers to passenger side, Continue reading →

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Nissan Pathmaker OneTon SAS Build – Part 8

Nissan Pathmaker OneTon SAS Build – Part 8

The Nissan Pathmaker OneTon SAS Build – Part 8 – Full Hydro Steering

What a fantastic pile of goodies I got! I went up to NorthWest Fabworks to grab my NWF Hydro Steering Arms, as well as my Full PSC Hydro Steering setup. Decided on the 8″ Ram full kit with cooler and N-Pump, as well as 4 new 14″ – Bilstein 5100 Series Shocks. Continue reading →

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Nissan Pathmaker OneTon SAS Build – Part 7

Nissan Pathmaker OneTon SAS Build – Part 7

The Nissan Pathmaker OneTon SAS Build – Part 7 – Front Axle Placement

After getting the “easy” rear axle together and placed it was time to figure out the rest of my front axle. In one of my past posts I built the front cross member out of a piece of 3″ square and cut and attached it to the front of the frame.   Continue reading →

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