The UAZ-450 was UAZ’s first van of its own design: a cab-over-engine, four-wheel-drive vehicle built on GAZ-69 chassis parts and produced from 1958 to 1965. It was the ancestor of the Bukhanka. The UAZ-451 was its rear-wheel-drive sister, made for civilian work from 1961 to 1982.
UAZ-450 at a glance
| Maker | Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant (UAZ) |
|---|---|
| Production | UAZ-450 1958–1965; UAZ-451 1961–1982 |
| Based on | GAZ-69 chassis and engine |
| Layout | cab over engine; four-wheel drive (450), rear-wheel drive (451) |
| Engine, early | 2.1 litres, 52 hp |
| Engine, 451M | based on the GAZ-21 Volga, 70 hp, later 75 hp |
| Payload | 800 kg, raised to 1,000 kg with the 451M |
| Built | 55,319 UAZ-450 by 1965 |
| Bodies | van, ambulance, staff minibus, minibus, flatbed |
| Loading | through the rear doors; no side rear door except on the 450V |
The English article on the UAZ-452 describes the 450 and 451 in its overview and history; the Russian pages on the UAZ-450 and UAZ-451 give the modifications and production numbers.
History of the UAZ-450
The UAZ-450
In 1954 the Soviet government ordered the Ulyanovsk plant to design a van-bodied vehicle on the GAZ-69 chassis. In 1955 the NAMI artist Vladimir Aryamov made the sketch of what became the Bukhanka. Because the army was the main customer, the first prototypes were an ambulance, the UAZ-450A, and a staff minibus, the UAZ-450B. The first cars had a 2.1-litre engine of 52 hp. A characteristic of the family was that there was no rear side door on the passenger side, except on the 450V: goods and people were loaded through the rear doors, and on the cars of 1958 to 1960 even the front side doors opened against the direction of travel. Behind the driver there was a niche for the spare wheel, and the rear door had no reversing light. The 450 was built until 1965, when the UAZ-452 replaced it; by then 55,319 cars of all modifications had left the plant.
The UAZ-451
The national economy needed light delivery vehicles of 800 to 1,000 kg, and all-wheel drive was not required in towns, so in 1958 a rear-wheel-drive family was ordered as well. By a decree of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR of 7 January 1958 the Ulyanovsk design office worked out the project, which received the index 451 and consisted of the 451 van, the 451D flatbed and the 451V minibus. The main problem was the overloaded front axle: in 1958 two experimental cars built on the UAZ-450, one front-wheel drive and one rear-wheel drive, had to be rejected because of bad weight distribution. For the 451 the wheelbase was kept but the front of the engine block was moved 220 mm back and 73 mm down, at the cost of sharing the bonnet and engine bay with the 450. The 451 and 451D went into production in 1961; the minibus was never built.
Modernisation and the end
In 1965 the family was modernised as the UAZ-451M and UAZ-451DM, recognisable by a trapezoidal radiator grille; the Pobeda-based engine was replaced by the more powerful Volga unit, and in the early 1970s its output was raised from 70 to 75 hp while the payload grew from 800 to 1,000 kg. Once the UAZ-469 was in production, lever shock absorbers on the Ulyanovsk trucks gave way to telescopic ones. On 4 December 1978 the plant built a pilot batch of electric vehicles on UAZ-451M chassis, and in 1979 the 451 and 452 families received lights meeting the UNECE rules. The 451 was discontinued in 1982, and only a handful survive today.
Design and features
- First of its kind: the first forward-control vehicle of this type built in the Soviet Union.
- GAZ-69 underneath: chassis and engine came from the army off-roader that the plant was already building.
- Rear-door loading: the body had no rear side door on the passenger side except on the 450V minibus.
- A civilian sister: the 451 dropped all-wheel drive for lower cost and easier maintenance in towns.
- Weights sorted out: moving the engine 220 mm back and 73 mm down cured the overloaded front axle.
UAZ-450 versions
- UAZ-450: all-metal van.
- UAZ-450A and 450B: ambulance and staff minibus, the first prototypes.
- UAZ-450V: minibus with a rear side door.
- UAZ-450D: flatbed truck with a two-seat cab and a wooden body.
- Special 450s: the 450I field kitchen, the 450IO animal-breeding units, the 450P tractor unit with a UAZ-752 semi-trailer and the 450EM electric car for Aeroflot.
- UAZ-451 family: 451 van, 451D flatbed, 451M and 451DM, plus the 451S snowmobile and electric prototypes.
The 450 and 451 were replaced by the UAZ-452, and their chassis came from the GAZ-69. More vehicles are in the UAZ collection.
Sources
- UAZ-452, English Wikipedia: origins of the 450 and 451, engines, 1985 update
- УАЗ-450, Russian Wikipedia: production total, modifications, body details
- УАЗ-451, Russian Wikipedia: 451 project, weight distribution, modernisation
