THE PORTAL HUB - Pinzgauers, Haflingers, Volvo 303s and more!

How cool is this. During a day trip from Eugene to Portland for business early this week I was telling my friend/business partner about Pinzgauers and how cool they are and that I must have one. He's not really a car guy and was having a hard time imagining what they look like. On our way back, we drove past Failing Street in North East Portland. We found this very funny and had to pull over to take a pic. As we made our way back to the main street, what do you know, we pass a Pinzaquer parked in someones yard! Now he knows what they look like, he drives a Prius and thinks I'm nuts - whatever.

I've been educating myself on these machines(404,C303,710K) for the past few years and have come up with some opinions about them although sadly, I've never driven any of them. I've searched this forum and read nearly every thread, it's an incredible resource. I do wish someone who has intimate knowledge of all three machines would write/video a comprehensive road test highlighting the pros and cons of each. Right now, I'm thinking Pinzqauer. Mainly because it'll spend a fair amount of time on pavement but I want something capable off road as well. And I like the small size.

Pinz will do road well,but noisey. Mogs are big and cool but slow. Volvo would seem to be a hybrid but parts are another issue...
I have had a few Pinzes,overall trouble free and the issues with them are generaly "affordable". I have a Volvo project in the works and have found parts availability inferior to the Pinz. All this means that you need to be "creative" at times,and be good with a wrench! Contact Molloy up in your area. I am sure his view on the Volvo thing will be different than mine as mine has not seen more than a mile of road since I got it. Soon to be rectified!
Mark

Don't know much about the Volvos other than that the look very similar to a 710K, have solid axles, leaf springs and a body on frame design.

Between a Unimog 404 and a Pinzgauer (I assume we're talking about a 710 model) they couldn't be more different. If you are planning on driving on the road at speeds more than 40 MPH, you can pretty much eliminate a 404. They are awesome off road, and relatively inexpensive to obtain, but they suck on the road.

A 710 Pinzgauer is one of the best inexpensive multipurpose vehicles available. Capable of drving at 65MPH on the road and still being able to hang with almost every other off road passenger vehicle in off road situations. Parts are readily available for the most part, and Pinzgauers are very reliable overall, especially for a 30+ year old vehicle!

I've owned or driven Pinzgauers in both 710 and 712 configuration, as well as currently owning the Red Bull Pinzgauer and a Unimog 404 rock mog project. If your priority was hard core rock crawling, and road manners didn't come into the equation, a Mog would be the best. Considering that you said you plan on spending a "fair amount of time on pavement", your choice between a Unimog and Pinzgauer is easy.

You'll have to get some input from some of the Volvo owners out there for their analysis.

I owned a 404 for 5 years (sold it) and a pinz 710M for 4 years. I have ridden in a 303 at MogFest in Sheridan. The 303 seemed bigger than my pinz and quite a bit faster on road. I liked it and if I were starting fresh (with no MV) with the knowledge I have now, I would probably go for the 303, but the availability of parts might be an issue for some. I think it would be for me.

The 404 was slow on road, especially up hills, but virtually unstoppable off road. Not good on gas but relatively easy to work on if taken care of.

The pinz is now my vehicle of choice of them all. I don't go 65 in it so that isn't something I can relate to (I go 55 slower up hill). It drives ok with the air cooled engine in the hot desert and the cold mountains. Relatively good on gas (15+ on long hauls of 1500+ miles). Can be a bit uncomfortable after 8 hours driving. The longest time I have driven it is 14 hours, from east side of Utah to Denver...brutal. Needs better seats.

You really need to drive them and be able to form your own judgement.

All of these are real conversation pieces and you may have to wedge in extra time into your trips to chat with whoever about them.

Happy trails

Thanks all for the input! The only thing I find really appealing about the C303 is the heater and the availability of engine components. Hmmm, anyone ever convert a 710 to water cooled Volvo? Off to search I go...

That is easily solved...a heater in the pinz.
I don't think I would make the conversion to water cooled power plant, I have seen posts on it, check out the german pinz site.

shawncnelson wrote:Thanks all for the input! The only thing I find really appealing about the C303 is the heater and the availability of engine components. Hmmm, anyone ever convert a 710 to water cooled Volvo? Off to search I go...

Heater is an easy addition, but that's not the real issue. Why in the world would you want to replace a efficient, capable and extremely reliable air-cooled engine unless the new powerplant provided a HUGE improvement?

Pinzgauer engines can be made powerful and reliable. Have Jim LaGuardia do you one of his 2.7 fuel injected motors and you'll be shocked at the roughly 50% power increase! Parts are still readily available and you won't have the disadvantage of swapping in unknown compatibility issues.

Save some cash and just do the 2.7 w/o fuel injection, they still are worlds better than the stock 2.5.

As for the unimog, it all depends on what you are looking at.

With very little work, a 404.1 can hold 55-65 MPH on the highway just like the pinz. I have driven several 404.1's in excess off 300Mi a day and the speed and overall fatigue etc is comparable to a pinz in the right cab.

Now the 404.0 is quite a bit different. It has power steering, power brakes, and has a relatively higher output engine that can propel it to the magic 65MPH or better down the highway.

The 404 series trucks are all relatively cheap compared to the other models.

Once you jump into the larger models such as the 416, 406 and the SBU series, you are talking alot more of an investment. And to get the 65MPH+ out of them is a bit more costly. But they can be modded for a price, to break 80MPH

I think as unimog and pinzgauers go, if you plan on doing alot of road work, look more at the pinz, but if you think more off road work is to be done go unimog. The only exception I will give you is the 404.0 doka with updated interior etc. It will match the pinz for road comfort and smoke the pinz of road.

Ok, another exception. if your road work is going to be 55MPH or less try a 406 or 416

I dont have any experience with the volvo but they seem to be a neat little truck. They should by design have better wheeling capability over the pinz.

It really all depends on what you need to do with the truck. I currently daily drive a 712 pinz and like it ok. I have daily driven both the 404.1 and 404.0 and love them both. But my 404.1 is now primarily a rock crawler and I sold the 404.0. wish I was still driving the 404.0 the pinz

I'm looking for a rig that will have good on-road manners, decent off-road capabilities, and a serious cool factor. The 710 seems the best choice. The only reason I'd consider the Volvo is the availability of Engine parts and upgrades. Either way, I've gotta start saving some $

For those who care to see my other interests, check out a modern take on an old pastime:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4BCNYG1HPE


here's a link to my business web site:
http://www.onedropyoyos.com/index.php

I drove two Volvos (TGB1111 and C303) prior to getting a 712 . Both were nice, but had loose steering and seemed to be made a little sloppier- like they were made for the military with a limited life span. Backs of my fat calves kept hitting the wheel well under the drivers seat, I found that uncomfortable. Both held the road nicely though but took more "work" to drive. The rear metal on the 1111 is thick as armor on the storage bins, and will hold 5 passengers facing the proper way back there to boot.
Sheet metal didn't fit quite as nice on the Volvo as the Pinz, and the gas filler was begging for a modification to be road safe. Galvanizing stuff was flaking off the 303 body.
Both the Pinz 710 and 712 had tighter steering and shifted easier, but the 710 sure felt light in the rear end on the highway (four passengers in the back, it was stock 710M), just too squirrly for me when braking.
The 712 felt solid and handled corners well on the road, has a great off road record, is way cool with 6 wheels, and there's fewer of them around (except in Hawaii where it's hard to find a volcano without a few 712s and tourists aboard).
I would probably have gone with the 1111 if a great 712 had'nt come available. Would have saved a heck-of-a-lot of money too.

Wonder what other's impressions are?

Firstly, I have no experience of the VOLVO C303 or any like it, I used to drive (whilst in the Forces) Landrover 101 Radio Bodies in what was then West Germany. They are like the Volvo in that they are a similar size (Volvos are bigger than Pinzgauers) leaf sprung on solid axles but don,t have the portals that the Volvos have. Over a Landrover 101 and a Pinz I,d choose my Pinz any day. But the story of my Pinz is again not the same, I have a 'Pinzmeister' Mercedes 5 cyl diesel conversion, only the Pinzmeister can tell you if the performance is comparable to an aircooled as I have never driven one, my MPG is over 30 so that is fair compensation for me. I also have a Unimog 1300L and there is just no comparison...I used to drive heavy trucks and the cab and seating are just like a truck, the driving position is just like a truck, the Air Brakes are just like a truck.....the Unimog is Light years ahead of the Pinz off road, it is 15 years younger and built for a different military role (Thought they are both comrades in arms having both served in the Swiss Army.)

I should have added that the Pinzgauer is way ahead of the Landrover 101 - Off Road (Which simply relied on a V8 engine and 9.00x16s). I suspect that the Volvo is comparable to the Pinz off road but only because of its Portals/difflocks and ability to sport taller tyres.