1986 UAZ 469

If you can find a 35 year-old UAZ-469 in better condition than this one, hats off to you. We’re pretty sure we couldn’t and so is the vendor, a man who has seen plenty of these in his time and doesn’t recall ever seeing a finer example.

First registered in 1986, this vehicle will have been one of the very last built before the UAZ-469 designation changed to UAZ-3151 in order to accommodate stricter emissions regulations.

It was until fairly recently living in dry, heated, display conditions as part of a very large private collection in Italy.

The Italian collector is sadly no longer with us. The vendor bought this vehicle at auction in the UK in 2019. He has had the car fully recommissioned.

You’ll see from the attached documentation that this vehicle (VIN: XTU31512700204752) has been authenticated and verified by The Military Vehicle Trust.

The car has been thoroughly restored to a very high standard at some point during (we believe) its time in Italy.

Although we haven’t tried to drive it up Ben Nevis in the dark or managed to stir all (three) gear levers into action at the same time, it goes, stops and handles every bit as well as you’d expect it to.

The military green paintwork is in excellent condition and there’s nothing about the finish to indicate that this car is 35 years old.

The panels and shut-lines are even and clean. They’re probably better than they were when it rolled off the production line in Ulyanovsk in 1986. There are no dinks, dents, scuffs, ripples, warps, folds or creases that we can see.

Clearly, this is not a vehicle that spent any time chasing escaped dissidents across the Siberian permafrost or dodging RPG fire up the Khyber Pass. It really is pretty much pristine.

The hood looks showroom new and fits snugly, with canvas, fastenings and straps of a quality to put a classic yacht to shame. The big spotlights just in front of the wing mirrors look great.

The wheels are in top condition and the seriously chunky tyres look as if they’ve never been outside.

There is no rust that we can see on the exterior panels.

The rubber seals inside the leading edges of all four doors look a little less than immaculate. This may be due to the heat of an Italian sun warming up the rubber, softening the glue and creating a sticky rubber/glue hybrid that’s no doubt functional, but is a bit messy.

Functional is certainly the word here. Don’t look for cup holders, heated seats or vanity mirrors. This is a tough, stark, no-nonsense interior. Unless you are James Bond you’ll find it very hard to break anything inside (or, indeed, outside) this vehicle.

Again, the paintwork looks almost new and there’s nothing particularly unsightly or troubling to speak off. As far as we can tell, everything works as intended.

The upholstery on all seats is in good condition. Although ‘upholstery’ may be stretching the bounds of credibility a tad. You couldn’t describe the seats as being luxuriously padded, although the driving position is actually surprisingly comfortable.

Although there is no ICE head unit currently in place there is a pair of Pioneer speakers underneath the middle row of seats. These look more Moscow gangsta spec than CCCP military issue, and are something of an anomaly.

The door cards are excellent and all the carpeting looks new. The simple door pulls have a bare elegance to them that is authentic and appealing in equal measure.

The inside of the hood is as unblemished and taut as the outside.

As far as we are aware, all dials and instruments work as intended. You may have to brush up your Russian if you want to read the dashboard plate that, presumably, is there to explain what the three gear levers do.

There is some evidence of rust in one or two places where the metal folds and joins, most notably in the seams inside the rear n/s door. Aside from these instances, and a couple of slightly rusty scuffs on the inside of the front n/s door, the only other rust is the odd spot of entirely superficial rust dust under mats.

All in all, the interior is as impressive as the exterior and, although we still wouldn’t want to travel down to the South of France in a UAZ-469, it’s a fascinating place to spend some time and admire the fully restored no-nonsense, tough-as-old-boots functionality of the thing.

Everything on the underside looks industrial and strong. There are no obvious leaks and the only sign of rust is the superficial bloom you’d normally find on an exhaust system.

The engine bay looks an authentically old-fashioned and easy-to-understand place. Everything appears to be in order and in its right and proper place.

The car doesn’t come with an itemized list of restoration work undertaken. But this vehicle is a straightforward, uncomplicated, honest thing.

There’s nowhere to hide anything suspicious on a car so simple you could take it apart with a Swiss Army knife and a club hammer.

We think that it is exactly what it appears to be – a car with a great deal of mechanical and aesthetic integrity that has been restored with no regard to time or expense and must now be one of the very best examples anywhere in the world.

The car has a current MOT certificate valid until 19.10.21 – with no advisories.

If you’re looking for a benchmark classic UAZ-469, this could well be it. All the hard yards have been done. Everything that needed replacing, refurbishing, improving, tweaking or fettling has been taken care of.

This car’s condition is exceptional even for its low mileage, let alone its age. We estimate it'll fetch between £8,500 - £11,000.

We’d be genuinely surprised to see a finer example. And you’ll be waiting a very long time before you’re parked next to another one in the car park at Waitrose.

We like it.

Inspection is always encouraged (Govt. guidelines permitting), and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.