The UAZ-452 is the cab-over-engine van and light truck that Russians call the Bukhanka, the loaf, because its boxy body looks like a loaf of rye bread. It has been built at Ulyanovsk since 1965 and is still in production. The same family covers the 3741 van, the 2206 minibus and the 3303 flatbed truck.
UAZ-452 at a glance
| Maker | Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant (UAZ) |
|---|---|
| Production | since 1965 |
| Earlier family | UAZ-450 (1958–1965), UAZ-451 (1961–1982) |
| Layout | cab over engine, four-wheel drive, body on frame |
| Engine | 2,445 cc UMZ-452MI inline four, 75 hp |
| Fuel | petrol from 72 octane |
| Engine position | between the driver and the passenger seat |
| Doors | two front, one single-wing on the right side, double rear doors |
| Fuel tanks | two, filled from either side of the body |
| 1985 update | new lighting, dashboard and brakes; 99 hp instead of 78 |
| Body types | van, ambulance, minibus, flatbed truck |
Based on the English Wikipedia page on the UAZ-452, which also covers the earlier 450 and 451 families.
History of the UAZ-452
Origins, 1954–1965
In 1954 the Soviet Ministry of the Automotive Industry ordered UAZ to develop a light off-road freight vehicle for the army at short notice, using the chassis of the GAZ-69 that the plant was already building. After a debate with NAMI specialists the cab-over-engine layout was chosen. The first prototype was drawn by Vladimir Ariamov: it had a large grille in a stylised front mask and a roof sloping towards the rear, and its black-and-white paint earned it the nickname soroka, magpie. The van was tested in the Karakum desert, the Pamir mountains, Kazakhstan and Oymyakon. Evgeny Starostin and Lev Shemarin then reduced the grille to simplify assembly and straightened the roof so that two sets of stretchers could be carried for the military ambulance. Production was prepared for 1958 with a plan of 4,000 cars a year and the van was shown at VDNKh in Moscow in June. The first cars had front doors opening against the direction of travel, and the model came as van, ambulance, minibus and truck.
The 452 and the 451
In 1958, before the four-wheel-drive UAZ-450 was finished, a rear-wheel-drive version was ordered as the UAZ-451; its front axle was overloaded, and the engine eventually had to be moved 73 mm down. The 451 entered production in 1961, but its minibus and ambulance versions were cancelled. From 1960 UAZ tested an upgrade of the 450, finished in 1963: a new overhead-valve engine based on the GAZ-21 Volga, a four-speed gearbox and a facelift without the roof windows. The result was the UAZ-452, in production from 1966, while the rear-wheel-drive UAZ-451M was built from 1965 to 1982. Cars made before 1979 kept the old lights: white turn signals, round rear lights and the false quarter windows left over from the 450. Later cars got amber signals, larger rectangular rear lights and a cleaner body.
Submodels since 1985
The 1985 upgrade split the van into separate models: the UAZ-39625, 3962, 3303, 3909 and 2206. The changes were lighting that met international requirements, hazard warning equipment, a new instrument panel and speedometer and redesigned brakes, while the engine grew to 99 hp against the previous 78 hp. In the early 2000s the van received plastic side mirrors from the GAZelle, headrests on the front seats and new passenger seats with headrests for the 2206 minibus.
Design and features
- Cab-over layout: the engine sits between the driver and the passenger, which frees the whole rear body for cargo or people.
- Two fuel tanks: filler necks on both sides of the body feed separate tanks, useful where fuel is bought in cans.
- Body on frame: a separate chassis and four-wheel drive make the van usable on tracks and in snow.
- Ambulance work: the medical versions of the family could carry stretchers and reach places where no other ambulance went.
- Same engine as the 469: the 2.4-litre unit ran on petrol from 72 octane, so the van worked far from good fuel.
UAZ-452 versions
- UAZ-3741: the standard all-metal van, the Bukhanka proper.
- UAZ-2206: minibus version with passenger seats and windows.
- UAZ-3303: flatbed truck, nicknamed golovastik, tadpole.
- UAZ-3962 and 39625: ambulance and van derivatives of the 1985 update.
- UAZ-3909: one of the five submodels created in the 1985 upgrade.
- Ambulance versions: nicknamed tabletka, the pill, after the white and red livery.
The 452 was developed from the UAZ-450 and shared its engine with the UAZ-469. More vehicles are in the UAZ collection.
Video: UAZ 452
Video by rockhell70 on YouTube.
Sources
- UAZ-452, English Wikipedia: overview, origins, 1985 update, body types
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