If you were to ask one of my closest car buddies which vehicle I am most likely to attempt to buy, he would shout out “UNIMOG!” immediately. Now, of course, there are no immediate plans to own one of these grossly impractical rigs for someone who doesn’t live on a farm, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting one. This 1972 Unimog 416 listed here on craigslist looks absolutely fantastic and appears to be smartly updated and equipped with a desirable 5.7 liter OM 352 diesel engine. Thanks to Barn Finds reader PRA4SNW for the find.
Unimogs live in a strange place value-wise, with some extensively refreshed examples fetching $50,000 or more, especially those that are set up for overlanding. The other major adjustment to price comes if it’s equipped with the axles geared for highway travel, which are incredibly hard to find and essentially obsolete. The seller’s truck will still be limited in terms of top speed, but the OM 352 is a legendary Mercedes diesel in terms of durability and parts should still be fairly easy to find.
The price on this Unimog seems a bit too good to be true, because if the pictures aren’t doctored up, it’s one of the nicer ones I’ve seen posted for sale lately. Two things work against the seller: first, location. I tried moving a car I bought years ago from Bismark, North Dakota, in January and no one wanted to touch it. Most days, it was in the negative double digits. And that was for a car. I cannot imagine the hoops you’d have to jump through to get this rig moved outside of the immediate area this time of year.
The other obstacle with a Unimog is the user base. Yes, there is a very passionate group that loves owning these rigs, especially since many ‘Mog enthusiasts have lifestyles that make it a useful tool in addition to simply being a cool toy to have in the barn. But I’m sure others like me have looked at owning a truck such as this and questioned how they would ever use it, and where to park it when not being put through its paces? Still, those are challenges I’m willing to face, and if any of you have a CASE MB4/94 sitting around….please get in touch.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen one featured here. Very cool. They say, 2 things survive a nucular[sic] blast, a cockroach and a Unimog. Oh, we thought we had it licked with our Power Wagons, Jeeps, and such, and we did, until after the war, the Germans upped the ante with the Unimog. Introduced in 1948, one wonders if the Germans had plans for it during the war, regardless, it changed everything. Originally intended for farm use( mm-hmm), it quickly became known as the toughest AWD vehicle on the planet with a slew of applications. Here in good ol’ USA, never heard of it. That all changed in 1975, and to the authors reference, Case Corp. began importing Unimogs named the MB4/94. I never knew that. It didn’t have near the impact here, as Farmer Brown liked his old Case 970, and not much can change that.
I have been a Unimog owner of various models for around 20 years and they are a very unique vehicle in many ways that the general Americans rarely understand. They have a different philosophy behind them and that starts from their beginning. I have found Mogs to be extremely reliable and easy to maintain and if you want to go off-road there is virtually no other vehicle on earth that will keep up with you.
The 352 in this truck is an extremely reliable and powerful engine and this truck looks in excellent condition. This will likely be a very good deal for someone looking to greatly expand their horizons.
only liked those early small ones (well, ok, nxt sz or two up 2). Do a farm tractor’s wrk all day’n still haul produce or stock to market. U could even clean off the wheels’n slide it over to the kneipe (bar/restaurant/club) after.
Never knew the connection between Case and the legendary Unimog, nor the price fluctuations. One old in Tivydale, Tx. a few months ago for $4600 (tho very well used) to the identical year and model sold in Twinsburg, Oh. at about the same time for $69,500 to a newer one sold about that time in Olympia,Wa. for $30,000.
Have to say the Freightliner version with the bucket on the front would be a good addition around here!
This thing is amazing. The first Unimog I ever saw was a Matchbox version my mom bought got me as a kid in the late 70s. I had no idea there was a connection to Case. I honestly learn something new here all the time.
I’ve never seen one in real life, well more specifically I’ve never seen a 1:1 scale one as I have seen a Matchbox version. I know nothing about them, but they sure do look cool. Too bad the craigslist ad is so sparse. I’ll bite: what so all those gearshift levers operate?
I did a little research. You have a 6 speed main. Thats only 6 gears. Another lever is forward or reverse, so essentially you get 6 forward and 6 reverse gears. Some are what they consider a 20 speed Cascade and there is a lever to engage that and another lever for the different ranges crawler gears super crawler gears and intermediate gears. My heads swimming just looking at all that. This thing would definitely take some practice to get it right. Hopefully someone might come on here that cam explain it better or has some actual seat time in one of these things.
Interesting. Thanks. And to think lots of people can’t drive anything with a manual transmission. I wonder if, in the US, it is now the majority.
The MB4/94 was also offered with a 8 speed trans behind a torque converter.
I saw one in the NJ Pine Barrons once back in the mid 80s, sitting next to the mud pit where idiots went to see if they could break their Bronco IIs and such (most of them managed it pretty easily). He was charging $20 a pop to pull them out, with his winch. We had just as much fun watching them try to drag the cable meant to haul the Unimog out across the mud pit to their vehicle, sometimes placing bets on how many times they would fall in the process. Never actually saw it move, and didn’t fully understand what it was (honestly I assumed it was a piece of equipment from one of the nearby sand pits, and maybe it was). But it made every other vehicle there, no matter how extravagantly “upgraded”, seem normal in comparison.
I’ve got a BIL who would kill for one, but he’s settled for a half dozen Scouts instead.
Here we go again…… 1) Price Way below market value, 2) Dealer/pro quality photos on brief local online ad. Could this be a scam?
This ride was listed on BAT, where it was bid up to $42K. The auction closed 23 June 2023, when it did not meet reserve. The Unimog was offered by collector-car dealer Powers Motorsports. It appears that Powers did find a buyer after BAT, as it is now featured in the SOLD section of their website.
I will bet that the Craigslist “seller” will insist on a large downpayment, and not allow inspections.
This ride is worth $60K all day.
Yup. $50 says the seller will tell you the price is a typo. It’s supposed to be $75,000.
I am sticking with the downpayment scam theory.
Hint: The Florida phone # is associated to an alleged charity scam, and the photos were from BAT.
If the price is a typo just edit the ad.
Definitely something going on here . . . the vehicle appears to be in great condition and the price is way off the mark. Bidders beware.
A good vehicle to show up the “compensators” in their huge pickup trucks.
100% agree with Cam… this has got to be a scam.
When I was an engineer in the army, our unit had several of these with a variety of attachments, including a backhoe/earth mover that we used to dig fighting positions and level bases for bridging equipment. They wouldn’t go over 55mph due to their extra low gearing, but they were almost impossible to get stuck. We were training for our deployment to Iraq at Ft Leonard Wood after a rainstorm, and these unimogs would power right through 3 feet of mud and snow.
I’d love to have one for cruising around the mountains and deep woods, they’ll go anywhere and through anything, but they’re not meant for highway driving.
And this particular ad is definitely a scam, I hope someone calls the seller out for being a scamming pos.
Spent 6 mos at the Ft from Dec 58 to May 59. Saw a lot of beautiful scenery from my boots. My son was in the Marines boot camp and said he needed a pair of running shoes. I asked what for and that is what they ran in. I said our running shoes were boots. Different times.
One of our drill instructors was out of airborne and came into the barracks one Saturday and asked if anyone wanted a tour of the post. Sure I’ll go. I thought he meant a ride—my mistake.
During a 5 day bivouac in (14 below zero & wet/mud/sleet) February 59 my buddy got pneumonia and lost a lung as a result. He spent a year at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver, now closed.
It was called an FLU419 SEE small emplacements excavator.
C&C Equipment in Indiana has several in stock with a backhoe and front bucket for sale. They will also modify them to your specs. Check them out.
Some time back they ran an ad showing a couple dressed in formal evening attire using a shiny one for Date Night. Gets attention. And a desire to own one.
My son and I got to ride in the cab of one that was hauling tourists up and down a mountain for sled dog rides in Alaska. A great time on both unique rides – the “mogs” and the dogs.
Years ago, I visited Case’s plant outside Milwaukee and drove one, on and off-road. They were building knock-down kits from Germany (or Austria), with several models, including the olive-drab military version with a backhoe. On the freeway we got a lot of respect from guys driving jacked-up pickups. Behind the wheel, I felt as if I could drive anywhere I wanted: through fences, over shrubbery (and trees), even over cars, etc. We see them pretty often in Colorado, and Cold War Sales in Sedalia sold army-surplus versions. I agree, something is fishy here.
Besides the Matchbox version, the only other one I’ve seen was on Junkyard Empire; my wife and I went to England last year and I don’t recall seeing one there. Anyway, this would make an awesome snow plower as well as a potential overland camper (like the one on Junkyard Empire). But I’m not paying $60k for something I’ll have to keep at a storage facility.
I retract what I said about the Unimog on Junkyard Empire being turned into a camper; it was turned into a vehicle marketing a business. The overland camper I was thinking about was a different vehicle.
Crazy idea, drive it home. Or better yet explore the area OH, wait, it’s not made for that !
I used to see one occasionally here in the SanFran East Bay, sitting at a traffic light in Hayward, CA. My wife was a little less than thrilled ’cause I couldn’t stop nattering on about it, and also wishing I could commute in it. Traffic jam? Just go over the top.
My Land Rover was only a 4 speed but no synchro for first or second and I could time the upshifts to be clean without double-clutching so the ‘Mog should be doable.
Apologies for submitting a scam ad to BF. I thought the price seemed low – I don’t know much about these but love the idea of them.
Glad to see others here are interested too.
The MB4/94 was the ‘Official Snow Removal” machine for the Lake Placid Olympics. Unfortunately, it didn’t snow in New York that year. Snow had to be trucked in for ski jump and sled runs. A special cab was built for the ‘Mogs used there. They might have been by the same cab manufacturer used by Ford Ag. Also I was fortunate to operate a 916 in Milwaukee with a Hi-Rail kit, had a 8 speed trans and torque converter.
govplanet.com often has nice Unimogs for sale. Here’s a good looking FLU419
https://www.govplanet.com/for-sale/Excavators-1987-Freightliner-FLU419-Small-Emplacement-Excavator-Arizona/10461383
cant fool me just like the
https://www.worldwidevintageautos.com/vehicles/10211/1955-dodge-power-wagon
unless U have some large area to work it’s just a ” * nis extension”. Way too much for anything not built for. But THIS has portal axels (even worse).
BTW: the levers (didnt see) should be for implements run hydraulically…
I like seeing Unimogs competing in the Dakar Rally. Here is an entry from this year, a former snow plow.
More info on this entry: https://www.dakar.com/en/competitor/905