1994 UMM 4x4 Alter II Phase 3 2.5D
Discussion
UMM.... what comes from Portugal? Port wine, of course. Salt cod, stylish football, Camoes, Primrose Revolutions, a seven hundred year alliance with the UK, Sagres beer, Fado singing. Also ... UMMS.
French engineer Monsieur Cournil adapted the Willy's Jeeps that the US Army abandoned in France after WW2. The jeeps had been pressed into service by French farmers. M Cournil made a French 4x4, the Cournil, using French mainstream car mechanicals and a body of his own devising. The car was OK, but M. Cournil still went bust in the mid 70s.
UMM - Union Metalica Mecanico- a Portuguese metal working outfit - bought the car from the Receivers, devised an UMM transfer box to go along with Peugeot 505 diesel engines and five speed gearboxes, bought axles in from GKN in the UK, and welded 2mm steel body panels to 4mm steel chassis members. Interior - French parts bin, including a Renault 4 heater sat on the engine, which lives mostly in the cab. Suspended on leaf springs with Volvo 740 brakes, and available with a NA 2.5 diesel (75 BHP ish - sloooow), or a 2.5 turbo diesel (110 BHP ish - reasonable), the UMM became a big hit with Portuguese farmers, with the Portuguese army, and with regular and guerrilla forces in Portuguese Africa, where it makes a good technical or a squad carrier. It also aced the Paris-Dakar, and frequently beat leaf and coil Landies in 4x4 contests.
I bought this UMM last week from a very pleasant banger racer and off roader guy in Harlow, Essex. He wanted £1000 and refused to accept more, throwing in five Suzuki Vitara alloys with road tyres. We sealed the deal with a pint and a chat.
This one is a LWB version that has been cut down by a fair chunk at the back. The rear end, and the rear lights (round and not square, with mega bright reverser and rear fog)), are non standard. Ex breakdown recovery truck, perhaps? Airfield fire tender? Probably not, as the UMM was mid-dark blue until recently. Orange is a very UMM, colour. Civilian UMMs are often orange. Military ones are dark green, and may have .50 cals or AA weapons on the back.
This big heavy pick up truck drives like a big heavy pick up truck. It is sloooooow. This one has no turbo, so you really have to work the gears and maintain momentum to drive A roads at 50-60. It does not like hills very much. On the motorway it will eventually wind up to 70 and a tiny tad more, and can elephant race its way past big lorries. NOISE. The power steering is over assisted, but that is good for parking. The UMM wanders a bit, but not as much as a Landy does. Noisy as Hell. Good views out all around, three cool dangly wipers (very effective), good heating and ventilation. Roomy cabin, comfortable tweed covered seats. Selectable 4WD, hi-lo ratios. Freewheeling front hubs. NOISY. Also, did I mention the noise? I am sorry, I can't hear you.
I was missing the very good 1976 SWB petrol Landy that I stupidly sold last year. I miss the Landy no longer!
French engineer Monsieur Cournil adapted the Willy's Jeeps that the US Army abandoned in France after WW2. The jeeps had been pressed into service by French farmers. M Cournil made a French 4x4, the Cournil, using French mainstream car mechanicals and a body of his own devising. The car was OK, but M. Cournil still went bust in the mid 70s.
UMM - Union Metalica Mecanico- a Portuguese metal working outfit - bought the car from the Receivers, devised an UMM transfer box to go along with Peugeot 505 diesel engines and five speed gearboxes, bought axles in from GKN in the UK, and welded 2mm steel body panels to 4mm steel chassis members. Interior - French parts bin, including a Renault 4 heater sat on the engine, which lives mostly in the cab. Suspended on leaf springs with Volvo 740 brakes, and available with a NA 2.5 diesel (75 BHP ish - sloooow), or a 2.5 turbo diesel (110 BHP ish - reasonable), the UMM became a big hit with Portuguese farmers, with the Portuguese army, and with regular and guerrilla forces in Portuguese Africa, where it makes a good technical or a squad carrier. It also aced the Paris-Dakar, and frequently beat leaf and coil Landies in 4x4 contests.
I bought this UMM last week from a very pleasant banger racer and off roader guy in Harlow, Essex. He wanted £1000 and refused to accept more, throwing in five Suzuki Vitara alloys with road tyres. We sealed the deal with a pint and a chat.
This one is a LWB version that has been cut down by a fair chunk at the back. The rear end, and the rear lights (round and not square, with mega bright reverser and rear fog)), are non standard. Ex breakdown recovery truck, perhaps? Airfield fire tender? Probably not, as the UMM was mid-dark blue until recently. Orange is a very UMM, colour. Civilian UMMs are often orange. Military ones are dark green, and may have .50 cals or AA weapons on the back.
This big heavy pick up truck drives like a big heavy pick up truck. It is sloooooow. This one has no turbo, so you really have to work the gears and maintain momentum to drive A roads at 50-60. It does not like hills very much. On the motorway it will eventually wind up to 70 and a tiny tad more, and can elephant race its way past big lorries. NOISE. The power steering is over assisted, but that is good for parking. The UMM wanders a bit, but not as much as a Landy does. Noisy as Hell. Good views out all around, three cool dangly wipers (very effective), good heating and ventilation. Roomy cabin, comfortable tweed covered seats. Selectable 4WD, hi-lo ratios. Freewheeling front hubs. NOISY. Also, did I mention the noise? I am sorry, I can't hear you.
I was missing the very good 1976 SWB petrol Landy that I stupidly sold last year. I miss the Landy no longer!
Here is the UMM next to the 1981 Austin-Morris Sherpa Autosleeper that I picked up for Festival duty the other week (two litre O Series petrol, single SU, four speed non overdrive manual, discs front , drums rear, pop up roof, sleeps four) . That might merit its own thread, if I CBA.
Also some UMM brochure shots and press blurb.
Also some UMM brochure shots and press blurb.
That sloped bonnet is great for aiming the heap when off road. The pic below shows how little engine there is in the engine bay. The cabin contains a fair bit of engine heat. Noise, too!
The radiator etc are covered in mud - the previous owner had taken the UMM swimming.
Rust? Some apparent at the rear corners. Otherwise not too bad. The MoT runs until October.
The radiator etc are covered in mud - the previous owner had taken the UMM swimming.
Rust? Some apparent at the rear corners. Otherwise not too bad. The MoT runs until October.
There is a small but enthusiastic UK UMM World, so if your dad wants to sell his UMMs, he could probably do so via an advert on one of the UMM Facebook Groups. If they are too knackered to revive, but one of them has a turbo engine, please let me know as I would buy that engine and also other spares.
Re: the M plate etc - UMMs look seventies (being based on the sixties/seventies Cournil), and the early ones have very basic interiors, like sixties vans and tractors, but the later ones have more car-like eighties style interiors.
Re: the M plate etc - UMMs look seventies (being based on the sixties/seventies Cournil), and the early ones have very basic interiors, like sixties vans and tractors, but the later ones have more car-like eighties style interiors.
RussH91 said:
Just had a look on the Facebook and Umm World, seems to be a lot more information now then there was 10+ years ago when they were being used daily.
Regarding engines, I know one had been boiled and the other had hydrauliced. They are both turbo's though.
I might buy one or both engines if the car are breakers. I shall send you a PM.Regarding engines, I know one had been boiled and the other had hydrauliced. They are both turbo's though.
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 24th May 09:07
brrapp said:
I remember working on a government owned farm in the early eighties. They had an earlier model UMM which had the 2.1 Peugeot diesel out of the old 504 pickup. It was very basic but super tough, far better than the series Landrovers we ran alongside it although it couldn't match the extreme offroad stuff that we got up to in the Landrovers. I think I'll have a look on that UMM site, I'm sure I could find a use for one of these nowadays.
There are one or two UMMs for sale on eBay at present IIRC. Much cheaper than Landies. The early ones (Transcats) are said to be mega crude. The later ones (Alters) are hardly refined, but have a bit more in the way of creature comforts.
brrapp said:
Have you been out and about in yours much yet? I seem to remember that the best thing about the UMM was it's economy, far superior to the (petrol) landrovers. We filled it once a week from the farm red diesel tank while the landrovers doing the same work needed a visit to the local petrol station every day or two. It gave you an extra half hour in bed if you could get hold of the UMM key the night before.
I have been out and about a bit, and off road once. I have not done a careful check of consumption yet, but think that I might be getting about 30 MPG. The truck is very heavy. The relatively smooth Series Land Rover petrol engine (a 50s Rover engine with heavy pistons and a long stroke) is, I think, a good engine, and when I had a Landy MPG was not a big deal as I used it only for short journeys.I hate diesel as a fuel (and have done so for years, long before the recent diesel hoo hah started). I might consider a Peugeot V6 petrol engine for the UMM, but only if that could be done sensibly. I do not know if the V6 would fit.
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 24th May 23:34
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