ILTIS A question for the military types.

Crappy little vehicles.

If your looking ot fix it up get a little VW Diesel engine and mate it to the iltis drive train, replace all the electrics with 12volt system and perhaps a suspension lift with some wider tires.

I would not pay more the $500 for a iltis and if your going to get one get a second for spare parts. Lots of stupid little problems but the basic vehicle is not that bad.
 
Just a thought, would a VW diesel from a rabbit drop in? It would likely help with hill climbing and be dirt cheap on fuel. It would hurt the highway speed though.
 
The CF considered a diesel conversion to go with the one fuel concept in the field, however the gear ratio was not suitable for the diesel. The project was shelved, and just a short 15 years later the Iltis was replaced. We actually phased the Iltis out of service in Cypress back in 1990. They were subject to frame and severe body cracking due to the rougher roads there. They were replaced with a commercial fleet of Pajeros.
 
About the question about the frame, body and steering; there is no frame, just monocoque. The body is steel panels with drain holes. Yah! Every seam and ripple that collects sand, eventually rusts. The floors were bad for rusting as I recall. The steering was much better than the M38A1.

One time I had about 5 '67 Pattern Jeeps for a driver's course in rotation through the mechanic's bay. Two had persistent shimmies over 30 mph from loose steering gearboxes, but they were fine in the mud. Drive slow, and steer into the shimmy to cancel. The Iltis has a different design front end, and none of those troubles. I found they rode like a rocking horse due to the short wheelbase.

Like has been said: rode hard, put away wet too many times, parts hard to find and feckin' pricey when you do, strange plastic "hardware" that shouldn't break but does, rusty body panels, whiney accelleration, and (oh ya, cramped seating for big guys).
 
The Iltis was not monocoque. I replaced a complete body tub on one, so I know of what I speak. The Iltis was a standard ladder type frame, with body mounted onto it. In fact, that's the reason they groaned when you would drive on uneven ground, because the body mounting bolts were loose. This is also why they developed the wrinkles on both sides of the front fenders beneath the windshield.
The M151A2 was unibody, however.
 
Stencollector:

If it is not a monocoque, was someone pulling my leg when he said the front end whould squeeze in when the engine was removed? I understood that was because it was all-one-piece and had some built-in stressors.
 
I understood that was because it was all-one-piece and had some built-in stressors.
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I think Pete just about has it right. Not so much the front crossmember as the front bumper.
Definitely standard body on frame. Next time you see one, just look underneath. You don't even have to crawl underneath to see the body mounts; the first pair are just beneath the grill. When the kiddies would use chains to pull themselves out of the snowbanks, they would bend the front arm of the frame downwards, and you could see these front ones stretched to the max.

Like most vehicles, the frame requires the body tub to be mounted for maximum strength. Kind of like the difference between the strngth of a cardboard box with the lid open, and then with the lid taped shut.
 
Leonidas said:
Just a thought, would a VW diesel from a rabbit drop in? It would likely help with hill climbing and be dirt cheap on fuel. It would hurt the highway speed though.
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The VW Iltis (not Bombardier Iltis) came either with the 1.7 rabbit gas engine or 1.6 turbo diesel. Apparently the diesel was the one the Canadian Forces tested when they were considering the Iltis and it got good grades off-road. Once it got the okay and farmed out to Bombardier for some reason the government changed to the gasser engine and the rest is history. So I would think the 1.6 TD should drop in without issue. Many of the drivetrain parts are stock Audi/VW. Engine is from a Rabbit, the transmission is from a 1970's Audi 80.

I've toyed with the idea of picking one up to play with, but I'd only purchase a German made diesel model, and they're rare and pricey in North America. I can get a Swiss surplus Unimog S404 for cheaper.
 
UNIMOG ! That is a four-wheeler worth saving up your pennies. Who and where? Send me a pm please.

I'd think parts would be available through the normal Mercedes dealership, as well as NOS out-in-the-world.
 
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