New member, Unimog truck

[tadd]

Howdy all. Buddy of mine who runs around here, mike, suggested there might be some interest in the cleaning up and tweaking of a mog.

So, here we go....patient is a 1984 Unimog 406 imported Case inc.
Was bought by the US government to work on the locks at harpers ferry MD/VA.

Highlight Specs are:
110 hp OM356, 20 speed cascade transmission, air lockers (front, rear, and center), air over hydro disk brakes (twin single calipers up front), 2 speed PTO front and rear, two circuit hydraulics F/R, optional high flow hydraulics rear...since it was originally ordered with a crane.

Right when I purchased it needed new shoes. Conti ACs in 405/70-20 which I found in Nebraska at at co-op for $200 each, a steal at $200 each, mounted on custom split rim internal bead locks (stazworks).

Other than fluids, that’s been it till recently and it’s just been driven, however things have gotten to the point it’s needing some love in the maintenance department that will most likely lead to a bunch of upgrades over time.

American trucks get money lavished on them to improve off road capability. You spend money on a mog to make it road worthy! As mike likes to tell me, its basically a high speed (55 mph tops currently) tractor. There are optional ring and pinion sets as well as portal gears to up the drive ratio (speed). This is a pricey option. Its several thousand for the parts alone and that will get you 70-85 mph depending. Most folks just turn up the governor on the pump and use the next size up tire to get 60ish for the highway.

I’ll follow with the work done so far in following posts which has been tweaking of the hubs for the aftermarket wheels and a new fuel tank (from an MRAP) w/DIY mounts. In progress is welding up a header for a disco-potato turbo (Garret GT2860RS), cab lift, and some rewiring.

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[tadd]

Far future completed build thoughts here... huh.

 

[towcat]

welcome to the site
about 10 years ago I repowered a Mog with an Isuzu turbodiesel so it would be a little easier for the owner to find parts. Freeway speeds isn't one of his concerns, since where he is going in central america and south america.....there are no paved roads.
i dig up the pics when I have some time.

 

[laserjock]

Yeah!! There you are! This thing is a blast to drive. I actually broke it the first time I drove it. Shifter came right off in my hand.

Here’s a teaser on the hubs.

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This is going to be fun.

 

[Clb]

We had gamma goats to toy with at knox, allways liked mogs.
Keep on it.

 

[tbrumm]

Mike, is that your zinc plating setup? How did I miss that? Did you do a write up on it somewhere? I have always been interested in Mogs, ever since the first time I saw one sitting out in a farmer's pasture and wondered what the heck it was. If I understand my history correctly, MB stated building these things after WWII, as the roads in Germany were basically impassable to "normal" vehicles. Thanks for getting your buddy to post up here!

 

[laserjock]

Mike, is that your zinc plating setup? How did I miss that? Did you do a write up on it somewhere? I have always been interested in Mogs, ever since the first time I saw one sitting out in a farmer's pasture and wondered what the heck it was. If I understand my history correctly, MB stated building these things after WWII, as the roads in Germany were basically impassable to "normal" vehicles. Thanks for getting your buddy to post up here!

This is the nickel plate recipe that he and I put together. My understanding is that the Unimog exists basically because the Germans couldn’t build military equipment post war. But they could build AG equipment. So they came up with the Unimog and called it “AG equipment”. That’s why I give him crap about it being a tractor.

 

[F350camper]

Glad Mike talked you into getting a thread started. These are really cool trucks, Im excited to see what you do with this one.

 

[Thewespaul]

Very cool, lookin forward to seeing yalls progress!

 

[lotzagoodstuff]

Very cool "tractor"

I predict many followers as this build can only be described as "unusual".

Welcome aboard, and by the way: the stance on your rig looks pretty good already

 

[tadd]

So the mog is an interesting truck. Post WWII, the germans were starved for materials to build stuff. The first Unimogs were the 411 series IIRC, and they are tiny things, about the size of a VW rabbit truck. Farmers could not afford to have both a tractor and a truck to haul to market, so what Mercedes made was something that could be used for both. All the elements have been carried forward to today... portal axles, fully locking, PTOs, really fuel efficient operation. Then came the 404, followed by the 406 series. Then about 1982 was a big change to the square cab series and an extended line into much larger sized trucks. Europe has expensive fuel costs, so you only purchase as much truck as you need. As mike said, the german defense force realized that the mog made a handy troop carrier, and as mike alluded to, since it was 'farm equipment' they could have a go anywhere platform that wasn't forbidden by the allies.

As for electroplating... I hate rust. I like to fix it and not ever have to worry about it again. I tend to overkill sometimes. This was one of those times and mike indulged me! Unfortunately the custom wheels I ordered up were a hair small, like a 64th IIRC, to small to fit on the hub center shown above. So it was either mod the wheel or mod the hub. Hubs would fit on the lathe, so thats what got turned to size. The stock mog wheels are both hub and lug centric, so if I ever need to swap back to stock the bit of slop to a stock wheel center won't be an issue.

Long story short, since the hubs got pulled we ended up nickel plating them for corrosion protection in addition to typical paints. I think I said I hate rust. Corrosion pitting was quite evident despite the really tough paint Mercedes seemed to use. It was a biach to get off, thats for sure.

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The wheels are their medium duty series, 10k #s each. The light series were 6K each, but I went up a size incase it ever carries a crane again. Rim shells are by titan. Centers are laser cut and welded on. plastic inserts then make a sandwich of the rim and tire for low pressure operation. It was a full weekend to build up the four.... a whole lot of bolts. One winters worth of salt and what passes for the plating on the bolts is all fuzzed over, so at some point the bolts will get replaced by some made out of 300M stainless, thank you ARP for making a corrosion resistant bolt that is grade 8 spec.

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[tadd]

Unfortunately, there wasn't any sort of tow hitch on the truck... and whats the point of having a truck if you can't tow (abet slowly in a mog).

The rear has a set of implement hooks designed to use accessories developed by Case. Cranes, ditch diggers, hoe etc. I thought the lower hooks looked close enough to be useful. They plate they are made from is 1 1/4" thick. So I hacked out the center section of a used trailer hitch Mike donated along with some plates made from 1/2" stock. Clamped everything up level, broke out the TIG welder and zapped on some tacks. Moved back inside and welded both sides of the plate, after some cleanup with an angle grinder and sanding disk. A bit of primer and paint, and I clamped it all back into place and used a 1/2" center punch to mark the truck. Lots cussing and grunting later using step drills (works nicer than using a regular bit) with a portable drill guide ($25 amazon) I had four holes matching the hitch that are really nice and tight. Four 1/2" grade 8 bolts finish it off. Should be strong enough for anything I would want (or legally be able) to pull. Plus its removable if I ever get an implement. Would really like to have a back hoe. Mike is currently helping me with the wiring. That is another post!


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[laserjock]

My first time programming CNC free hand.

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[lotzagoodstuff]

Do you think the materials are heavy enough

Very nice cutting and welding

 

[laserjock]

Overkill, thy name is Tadd.

Wanted some depth so the hitch could go through the plates and be welded on both inside and out.