Vintage Thing No. 31.4 - the UAZ-452 is now the YAZ--2206

Or it could be a UAZ-3303, a UAZ-3741, a UAZ-4909 Farmer, a UAZ-39094 or a UAZ-39265. It could even be an SBA-2M-1S with armoured protection. I’ll try to explain.

The UAZ-2206 is a sexed up version of the venerable UAZ-452, Russia's interpretation of a four-wheel-drive Ford Transit. The most noticeable difference is the revised front-end styling and the addition of a “kengurin.”

I can't be sure but I'm fairly certain that a “kengurin” is the Russian equivalent of a roo bar. Roo bars were originally an Australian invention designed to keep kangaroos from spoiling the paintwork of your and yer mate’s utes down under, kangaroos have notoriously poor traffic sense. Obviously kangaroos are not much of a problem in Outer Mongolia but there's probably plenty of other big wild things that could damage the front of your UAZ.

Peter Tuthill has sent me a copy of the UAZ-2206 brochure and although I don't speak or read Russian, I found it extremely interesting.

The basic specification of the UAZ-2206 hasn't changed much - it still has drum brakes (albeit servo assisted nowadays) and a separate chassis. The standard version retains the (92bhp or 69kW) 2445cc petrol engine. There are two versions of this, either by Zavolzhsky Motorny Zavod (ZMZ-402) or by Volzhskiye Motory (UMZ-4178). However, there is now a bigger optional engine, a 2.89 litre displacement lump (98bhp) – the UMZ-4218 by Volzhskiye Motory – that allows a higher top speed of 117 km/h, compared to 110 km/h for the smaller unit.

According to the Roscotrade website, this bigger engine is a new design that offers other advantages in addition to the increased capacity. By using an aluminium cylinder block and cast iron liners, internal friction has been reduced significantly. The weight saving has also enhanced the off-road performance and handling characteristics. The new engine takes 3 to 4 times less well and uses 1.5 litres less fuel in typical use.

It strikes me that the reduced oil capacity must make starting the thing a lot easier frozen steppes. I've heard stories of Russians and Mongolians having to light fires under the sumps of these things before the starter motor can persuade the engine to turnover because the oil has become so thick with the cold.

There is also a redesigned heater, an improved interior, more noise insulation and updated seats and upholstery. There is a greater range of colours and the charming option of “appliqué work”, which I interpret to mean the go faster stripe (graphic device) on the cab.

The old UAZ-452 still soldiers on as the UAZ-3303 pickup truck or the UAZ-3741 cargo van. The UAZ-4909 Farmer carries six passengers and 450 kg of freight in a separate compartment. It has a powerful heater and a table inside and is described as a truly universal machine combining cross-country capacity, universality and “cosiness”, and “an irreplaceable companion in trips for hunt, fishing and simply to the open country (sic).” The UAZ-39265 is a minibus version of the UAZ-4909 Farmer that can in standard form fold away its eats and take cargo. It also serves as a base for ambulance conversions. The UAZ-39094 is a crew-cab pickup version of the newer UAZ-2206. It seats 5 but isn’t quite as cosy as the UAZ-4909 Farmer, a vehicle to which I find myself rapidly warming, probably due to mention of all that cosiness, a most welcome optional extra when one is traversing the tundra. The armoured variant looks just like an ordinary cargo van but apparently it's quite difficult to get into if you've lost the keys.

It's a bit like not seeing the wood for the trees - when it comes to the products of the Ulyanovsky Avtomobilny Zavod plant at Ulyanovsk you’re almost spoilt for choice. The commercial vehicles share their running year with Russia's answer to the Land Rover, the UAZ-31512, the Jeep that has its origins in the old GAZ-69 but, like the old UAZ-452, this has involved over the last 48 years since the original UAZ-469 appeared in prototype form.

During that time, the engine size has grown steadily, beginning with a 2120cc (82mm x 100mm bore and stroke) 55 bhp unit that developed via a 70 bhp 88mm x100mm 2430cc motor into the “square” 2445cc (92mm x 92mm) version that also found a home in the GAZ-21 that was known as the Volga in Western export markets. According to my 1967 World Cars catalogue, the 2445cc engines used in the Volgas had aluminium blocks as well as aluminium cylinder heads whereas iron was used for the blocks in the jeeps and commercial vehicles.

Maybe the new ally block is not such an innovation. However, I suspect that development work over the years has reduced the capacity for oil and petrol consumption.

In the Volga, on a 7.6 to 1 compression ratio, maximum power is 95 bhp at 4,000 rpm using a K-105 carburettor – dontcha just love the anonymity of Russian brand names?

According to Peter's brochure, the 2.5 litre engine now puts out 92bhp and 159.8 Nm of torque. These figures rise to 98bhp and 189Nm for the 2.89 litre unit. If anyone knows the bore and stroke of the bigger motor, please drop me a line – I like to know these things. The latest versions of the bigger engine is rated at Euro 2 for emissions but the smaller, older unit is zero rated.

The ground clearance is 220mm and with such short front and rear overhangs a slope of 30° can be negotiated from the level without the bumpers grounding. Wading depth is 0.5m.

As you can probably tell, I have something of a soft spot for the game little UAZ 4x4 panel vans. Even the bigger engined variety probably wouldn't keep up with the traffic in Cornwall but their off-road reputation in Mongolia is formidable. The build quality of Russian vehicles under Communist rule was legendary for its inadequacy and, after such a long production run, panel fit is sure to have deteriorated even further by now.

These 4x4s can't have much of a future left but they have already passed into legend in their homeland and certain enthusiasts in the West, some of whom who have encountered these little beasts of burden in their natural environment, are already taking an interest in them.

Vintage Thing No. 31.2 - UAZ 452

I've just heard from Sam Glover of Practical Classic magazine. Not only did he used to own two UAZ-452s, but he has personal experience of them in Mongolia. He had this ambulance and the brown pickup. Both of them are RHD and he says the conversion from LHD was done over here and was somewhat crudely executed. They were imported around 1979-1980, which corresponds with the time I was doing my Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme expedition and wondering why Russian 4x4s were suddenly everywhere. (What did you do in the Cold War, Daddy? I went camping.)

"Off-hand, I can't really remember the story of the UK importer," said Sam. "I seem to remember our archivist - one-man library Tony Turner - spinning me the full yarn in a pub, but unfortunately it was towards the end of a salubrious evening. I keep intending to button-hole him on the subject again and make notes."

Sam also knows of two others but it's more than likely that one will be cannibalised so that the other can live on, or as The Spice Girls might have it, Two Become One. Sam's currently fuelling his passion for COMECON exotica with a Barkas minibus, which has a DKW-style 3 cylinder two-stroke engine (see VT No.13), and a Volga estate car. Volgas share the same engine with UAZ-452s and, in that curious manner achieved by so many Russian cars, looks like it could have been styled in Detroit.

Good points of the UAZ-452 were mechanical durability and simplicity, amazing off-roading ability and cheapness. By far the worst feature was the build quality. This is even worse nowadays than back when Sam's examples were built as the tooling for the body panels has worn out, not that something so trivial as doors and floorpans not fitting would ever stop Ulyanovsk Avtomobilnyi Zavod from continuing production. And also, in that inimitable Russian fashion, Gorki Avtomobilnyi Zavod.

"Parts can be bought from any roadside shop in rural Russia," Sam tells me, "and are largely shared with other GAZ models - so German eBay is the best bet for UK owners. They couldn't be easier to work on - everything is chunky, easily accessed and very simple." A Practical Classic indeed.

UAZ and GAZ are pretty well interchangeable titles. There aren't brands or marques like we have in the west, just the initials of the factory where these things were built. When GAZ in Gorky was threatened by the invading Germany army in 1941, Stalin had it moved further west to Ulyanovsk. When production of the GAZ-69 off-roader was begun in Ulyanovsk, it became the UAZ-69 and its vital organs were inherited by not only the UAZ-452 commercila vehicle range but also the Volga passenger car.

Sam says there are no other four wheeled vehicles in Mongolia. He took part in an overland trip through the region and got to know the UAZ-452's strengths and weaknesses well. "We hired the cow-pat green specimen near the Russian/Mongolian border, and it got us to Ulaan Bataar in three days. It cruised quite happily at 50mph and would go faster if hustled."

So my curiosity about this little 4x4 van is almost sated. All I need to do now is re-acquaint myself with one, not so much in the flesh but in the paint.

Probably not very well applied paint.

The final word goes to Sam. "If you fancy a UAZ, you can still pick up a new one in Nizhny Novgorod for around £5k. The build quality is now hilariously bad."