Unimog Mileage.....S404.114 Swiss

[saddamsnightmare]

September 17th, 2008.

I know you're gonna say its not possible, but my 1963 Swiss Cargo Unimog with 21,580 original KMs, just came ut of a fuel system, electrical system rebuild with a new pertronix ignition and German Army tires (New), and she made it from just north of Dallas Via I-35, to I-30 East to Greenville, to Paris, Texas via TX24, 130 Miles-7.5 gallons of gas!
She was run at between 60 and 70 KM/PH with a few bursts of 80KM/PH, with 5 old tires and spare parts in the back, cab cover only, no bed cover, getting between 15 and 18
MPG + grade gas.....
It's probably the longest trip this Unimog ever made in one run either in Switzerland or here in the states..... the critter runs frighteningly well under load at speed, with only an occasional slow down for the hills, as a completely stock truck except for the pertronix ignition system. I used this truck daily until January 07, when she ran into a load of very bad gas (leaves and dirt in the tanks), and she had to be worked on by the Mog Shop over in Dallas to get her straightened out so she would run again. The parts ain't cheap, and neither is Mr. Nicholas Rawlings shop fees, but the gent knows Unimogs, as least the S404.114's and I cannot recommend him too highly. He normally builds radically modified rock crawler S404's, but he knows the basic truck very, very well.
Probably the only further work i might consider for her would be a new crawler gear set which the Swiss did not use, otherwise she is a lightweight 1-1/2 Ton truck, very agile and handy for getting in and out where the deuce can't go! Mike Pop has his points on the Unimogs, and I am sure that the U1300L's must be absolute monsters by comparison
to the S404's, but the deuce can do some things the small mogs can't, the small mogs can often get in where the deuce can't.... I would not consider selling either one right now for the work they do for me....
I gotta run,

Sincerely,
Kyle F. McGrogan
1971 Kaiser Jeep M35A2 Wo/W "Saddam's Nightmare" Desert Storm & Veitnam Deuce
1968 Johnson Corp M105A2 Trailer
1963 Swiss Army Cargo Unimog, S.404.114 MB
1967 HerculesMEP023A Gen Set APU

 

[kcimb]

I want a mog someday. The MPGs you gave is why! It's more practical than a deuce, gas prices notwithstanding.

 

[davidkroberts]

im familiar with the Petronix ignition system but what did he do with the fuel system?

 

[saddamsnightmare]

September 18th, 2008.

Generally the fuel system was so fouled up that the carburettor and fuel pump had to be rebuilt (new Mercedes Benz units were applied in February to try to rectify the cut out problem (Run two miles and cut out due to fuel filter clogging, attempted cleaning the tanks then without dropping them)) so basically we just fitted the standard Unimog/220 Ponton Carb and adjusted it carefully to the optimum power setting. The other work was to retrofit the civillian ignition system to the truck, including a new Bosch distributor, which was then fitted with a Pertronix Igniter system and new Pertronix coil (24VDC still). All the other work was dropping and cleaning out the tanks, replacing the cooling system hoses and coolant, changing engine oil, and replacing all the rubber bellows on the drive train as the originals were dry rotting.
On his units (rock crawlers) they often get electric fuel pumps, electronic thermostats, mods to the drive train lockers, suspension mods, conversion to 12VDC , roll cages and when he is done they're somewhat Unimog and very much Mel Gibsonish MAD MAX vehicles..... mine was just a straight tune up and clean out.... The UniRoyals are a German/Belgian Army design, block lug off road tire that is used on the later NATO vehicles, I suspect some of the mileage increase may be due to increased diameter over the Swiss NDT 10.5x20's she had originally, they are noiser on different pavements, I haven't run them in rain or snow, but they are a more aggressive tread design then the usual NDT's, but either design (old Swiss or new German) looks like they would handle wet roads better then the old US NDT's my deuce currently has on her...
I would suspect that a lot of the rock crawlers end up with either an injection system in place of the carb, or more modern carbs and manifold set ups, but my machine is to be kept as military as possible, and I am currently considering taking her out of the Woodland green NATO paint that is on her and restoring her to the Swiss Semi-Gloss OD that is still evident in the cab. The handling differences between the deuce and the Unimog are considerable, but the Unimog does have a better approach and exit angle set up and a much better ramp breakover angle, as everything is above the bottom of the frame on the Unimog, whereas the deuce is encumbered with the steps, tool and battery boxes, fuel tank and such between the front and No. 2 axles.... I do miss the air assist on the Unimog's brakes, as in traffic the unassisted hydraulics can be rather tough to use without tiring.
I'll try to figure out how to get pictures of the deuce and Unimog on here shortly, and I am currently working on a conversion plug set up to enable the Unimog to maneuver and tow the M105A2 trailer from the deuce, at least locally.

Once you've had a Unimog, all other 4X4's pale in comparison...(but, if anyone want's to give me a running HEMTT or Unimog U1300L- I will say thanks for the kindness).

Sincerely,

Kyle F. McGrogan

 

[tennmogger]

Kyle, your 404 is doing very well to get that mileage. I only get 12 to 14 with my two. Your truck is running as a 404 should run, providing much better acceleration than most people think a 404 is capable of. Considering only 2.2L displacement, but with a high rev'ing engine, these trucks are really fun to drive, and comfortable. I'd rather drive a 404 than a modern pickup, and the turning radius in parking lots is better.

Bob

 

[saddamsnightmare]

September 18th, 2008.

Dear Tennmogger:

My truck seemed to be fairly well kept by the Swiss, except for the inevitable deterioration of rubber components and canvas cab and bed covers (both shot completely from outside storage), she ran fair when I got her, but never well enough to trust her to go more the 6 or 7 miles from home. What pushed the rebuild was the leaves in the gas tanks, gotten from a gas station pump whose tank was being run low and no screen on the pickup (SURPRISE< SURPRISE, SHAZZAM!), when the tanks were removed several pounds of leaves had gotten in in a decayed condition, so no wonder the prefilters clogged regularly. The Unimog now has fairly good pick up, long hills are a problem under load at road speed, but it handles much more like a sports car then a deuce (I own both, so I know what they are). If the deuce had the capability to lock all the differentials like the Unimog..... look out! The only reason I may add the crawler gears is to get more power at low speeds to crawl out of the blackland mud here..... but she is generally babied to death and kept cleaner then most normal pickups.
The only oddity, and the Mercedes Manual confirms it, is the use of the choke for cold starts, once she's warm or the ambient temperature is normal (summer), she starts in a flash and is so silent compared to the deuce that i have to use the oil pressure gauge to confirm she has started. I made almost the same trip last night with my wife's 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited with cruise control, and even the better driver's seats in it did not make the geometry as comfortable as the Unimog in terms of fatigue at the end of the trip. With the Unimog you set the hand throttle and she generally minds herself, there's just not a lot of area to put the right foot down in the well away from the throttle pedal.... Boy, I bet your French Army S.404 was a piece of work, as the French generally ran the Unimogs to death... The Case 406's would be interesting, as Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park had the MB version with a flatbead and a knuckleboom crane for workingon and in the Canal, and it is that truck that provoked me to buy the S404 when it came available...... The U1300L's are so much larger and more powerful and more sophisticated that they must almost be another animal compared to the S.404's.
Probably where you're at they can get a little more logging road or hill climbing work.... here in Texas it's the mud and sometimes the snow that earns their keep.... I don't know but what I may transfer back to the NPS in the Great Smokies, and that terrain will give these two trucks more reason to exist, for now they're just overgrown working pickups that go where no other truck can take a load.... Thanks for the input.... the true Moggers are really fanatical about their trucks, mine's just a respected veteran working out her daily existence....

I remain, most respected sir,
sincerely,

Kyle F. McGrogan

 

[tennmogger]

Kyle, I'll elaborate a little on the ex-French 404 Unimog because I know the gang on here loves a good story. This truck was stationed with French NATO forces in Germany all it's life, was sold in 1991 to a large German company (Vebeg) along with 300 others, but failed to function and was sent to a storage lot. Those 404's which ran good were resold. A good friend of mine from Germany bought the whole storage lot full of mogs and offered me this one. Possibly as a result of living in Germany it was is much better condition than I even expected. I bought it sight unseen, from one picture, from that junk yard in Germany. Got it shipped over intending it to be a 'set of spare parts' for my other 404, and a project to learn how these trucks were put together. But when I got it, and did a complete tear down, I found the only failure was a bad clutch. The engine was good (a 1979 replacement) and even the axles and tranny had been replaced recently. The brakes had new linings and the drums mic'ed out as never been turned. So, I sand blasted everything, painted it, rebuilt all the small parts, and put it back together along with a custom flat bed with mid-mounted winch (which feeds front and rear). That was done in 1998 and 1999 and the truck has had little need for anything but routine maintenance since then. My family and I drove it from Denver to Moab this summer and wheeled it for a week on the best/worst Moab could throw at us (except the 5 rated trails because I don't want to "hurt" it, but it has been there in the past). Not bad for a 50 year old truck!

 

[vtunimog]

I want a mog someday. The MPGs you gave is why! It's more practical than a deuce, gas prices notwithstanding.

He is lucky indeed to get that mileage. The average is more like 7-10 max. I had a Swiss 404 that I converted to a Pertronix, Bosch copper core wires and NGK 5PES plugs. I think I estimated about 14-15 mpg wihich isn't bad for a little 2.2L 90 hp motor pushing a square 5700 lb 4x4 down the road.

One of the greatest improvements I ever made was a Carb conversion. 50% of the problem with these trucks and their power/economy and reliablity seems to lie in the miserable zenith carb. They leak, they are hard to tune. If they sit more than a month their seals dry out. I did alot of trial and error and after about 32 trucks I found that just swapping out the carb helped greatly. It's not a cheap process but the Carter/Holly I used/modified works great - perfect starts, pretty good power ( I woiuld estimate a 15 hp gain maybe?) and decent economy. the conversion takes a couple of ours and I had an adapter block machined from the existing zenith spacer.

If Anyone wants a carb I have one left.