I stumbled onto a cache of Russian 4×4 videos on YouTube, and now I’ve been killing many precious hours watching these rigs crawl through the mud to worksites in Northern Russia. A lot of them feature the GAZ-66, which is the Russian equivalent of a Mercedes-Benz Unimog. Anybody with checkbook can get a Unimog, though. If you want a GAZ, you gotta work for it.
From 1966 to about 1999, GAZ built the GAZ-66 for the Russian military, and it became the workhorse that shuttled soldiers all over the world. GAZ is an acronym for “Gorky Automobile Plant”, a company that was set up as a joint venture between the Soviet government and Ford Motor Company in 1929. They were built in scores of configurations, including ambulance bodies, disinfecting stations, fire support vehicles, drilling rigs and mobile workshops.
These trucks had a payload of about 4,400 pounds, with a cab-forward design, leaf springs and solid axles. The had self-locking differentials at the front and rear, a huge electric winch up front, and after the first few years, a centrally operated tire inflation system that allowed the driver to inflate and deflate the 12.00 x 18-inch tires.
The GAZ-66 had a water-cooled, 4.3-liter V8 built by ZMZ. With only 115hp on tap, it wasn’t exactly a hot rod, but it had enough to keep the truck at its 60 mile per hour governed top speed. Power went through a four-speed box with synchros on third and fourth gears, and the transfer case offered high and low ranges with a two-wheel drive mode for highway driving.
They were legendary for their durability, and you can see why in this video. WANT!
I still want a UAZ!
UAZ-452 to be specific!
When it comes to severe-duty vehicles, the Russians are hard to beat. Ever see the hydraulic system on an old Belarus tractor? Crude, stripped-down but ungodly powerful
Nick D & Craig F
Hmmmmn … DAF … Iveco … several custom builders including a fair amount right here in the US of A etc etc etc [ read Overland Journal if you’re truly interested in serious off road utility vehicles .. especially those with camping/overland capabilities ]
But seriously . Leave the Russian iron to the Russians . They’re the only ones that deserve them … or want them for that matter !
Oh … BWTM .. almost forgot . In reality the Russians don’t want their piles of crap either .
As far as I’m concerned and in light of Vlad the Impaler actions of late … if its built in Russia …. they can keep it the hell in Russia … and all the better for us … seeing as Russian vehicles of all kinds aren’t exactly know for their reliability . Absolute abject piles of crap just waiting to break being more like it
@ Nick D – Seriously ? Not too well acquainted with the realities of Russian utility vehicles now … are we . Suffice it to say … in a full on war scenario …. Russia’s planes – military vehicles – trains – ICBM’s etc would kill them off way before we or anyone else would ever get the chance to. Take notice . Putin aint taking over … say … Poland where we and much of the West have a vested interest in and would be willing to fight over . He’s going after the Ukraine where he knows no one despite all the rhetoric coming from the West could give a damn about
You couldn’t pay me to take any kind of Russian built anything. The great ant mighty MIG 17 that the press touted as the best plane in the world couldn’t hold a candle to the F4 in Vietnam. The M1A Abrams tank that the press said didn’t work was blowing the superior Russian built tanks out of the sand in the Gulf war. And no doubt our troops came up against Russian built equipment in Afghanistan and Iraq this go around and kicked ass. And folks want a Russian built GAZ?
The only first hand experience I have of Russian engineering, was when a co-worker once owned a Lada 4WD. That thing was so crudely built I think a 8 year old could have built a better truck in his back yard. I still have no idea what tempted him to buy it ( cheap I suppose )but he soon regretted it. The only thing worse than it’s fit and finish was it’s reliability, and it leaked oil out of everything that was supposed to hold oil. He finally got rid of it when the wiring under the dash caught fire and totaled it off.
Check out the video’s of these and the Kamaz trucks crossing rivers in Siberia
Sounds like it had smitties?
russian engineering peaked with the kalashnikov.