Unimog 404

that is wicked. I loved Corgi models as a kid...this reminds me of a real life one!


JP

Simply put.....

Winner, regardless of where you take it.

Have some history.



Congratulations

Get the cab lacquered and crack on, that looks ace! Be a crying shame to paint it. Always had a soft spot for a mog.

That brings back good memories. In 1976 (!) a much younger me (8 in fact) lived on a university farm in Malawi. Just across the road from us lived a young agricultural engineer with a liking for elderly off road vehicles. He started with a series 1 Landy. When he'd finished that, after driving around for a few months he got bored and sold it to another neighbor.

He then found a Unimog 404 S type long wheelbase cabriolet languishing in a scrapyard. Really early one ('56?) it had the external bonnet latches like taps. Obviously that had to be rescued. It didn't go so it was dragged back 20 miles on dirt roads behind a big Fiat saloon (2600?) belonging to a friend. The Fiat didn't like it, requiring a clutch and head gasket to make it well again. Having fixed the Fiat as penance, he then spent months (frequently "helped" by his faithful shadow from over the road) getting it working. It had a 2.2L straight 6 petrol engine, similar to that used in the saloons except with stupidly low compression, a tiny little lawnmower carb (which did nothing to tame a prodigious thirst) and weird looking waterproof dizzy and coil. The engine was seized by rust in two pots due to the intake hose having been left off. I heard some of my first really-bad-words when he first took the plugs out and water gushed from one..... He did manage to free it off but it did always smoke a bit. It was said to be one of 3 in the country, with the other two being much newer and belonging to a Chinese rice project of all things. There did turn out to be one other, brought in for some long defunct forestry project and already partly cannibalised, which yielded as few parts. Parts were a big problem except where shared with the saloons and considerable improvisation happened. Wheels and the unusual sized tyres were a particular issue, especially since it only came with 3 of the right ones! It did eventually work and the 6 pot sounded wonderful. Totally gutless though (70 hp?) IIRC it had 6 gears and 2 reverse. In normal use you started in third and worked you way up. Given a really long run up, favourable winds and a slight down-slope you might actually find a use for 6th - briefly. Doing maybe 50 mph, which apparently felt like much more if you were driving. 4th and 5th were the most useful and whined well, showing their long service.

Off road though, the thing was unstoppable. Low range, 4wd, both axles with lockable diffs, portalled axles with impressive articulation. I also remember him dragging a flippin' huge tree trunk with it, snaking and weaving, all 4 wheels scrabbling.

He put seats in the back and it got used for numerous joint outings by campus people to places where our cars (or pretty much anything else with wheels) could not reach.

Not the actual beast but like it......



Nick

Hey guys, thanks for the kind comments (I know the wheels are take it or leave it!)
I plan to patch it up and then keep the patina going strong. Fun vehicle for sure!