SEB UAZ 452 vans.

[SEB_UAZ452]

Hello everyone,
I learned some while ago that in the Uk Southern Electricity Board bought 19 UAZ 452 vans in 1979, I managed to track down some photos but to be fair I know little about them. I assume they came in via UMO group, and it was they who converted them to RHD.











SEB fitted them with ladder racks (not sure of the manufacturer but they are very similar to the ones used on Landrovers from the 1980s onwards) and Koenig winches. Not sure if the winches were hydraulic or what but I would suspect electric, can't imagine many power take offs readily available for these. Apparently they has diesel heaters too although I am not 100% sure on that one. I am told they were very good off road. The ones I have details for were all registered in 1979 but were all off the road by 1983 so something went a bit wrong down the line. They had overheating problems too apparently.

So, does anyone know anything more? As I own three ex-SEB Land Rovers I wouldn't mind a UAZ to go with them, if any of the 19 have survived in any condition...

Cheers,
Dan.

[SEB_UAZ452]

After seeing a couple of these in action recently I thought I'd resurrect this thread and see if anything further had been discovered?
I'm especially curious why the Board only kept these vans for 3-4 years, according to the DVLA taxation data I have.

I'd still love to track one down or perhaps create a replica.

[portamurda1]

Yours was the first I knew about them!
I think a hell of a lot of kit was actually owned, and maintained, by the power and water companies…once thatcher sold them all off, there was a free-for-all on subbing everything out and leasing became the norm. That’s why there was a glut of ex services vehicles in the 80’s.
Unfortunately a lot we’re actually scrapped, lots of viva vans, bedfords, transits suddenly appeared at a huge scrapyard in South Yorkshire I used to frequent

[SEB_UAZ452]

The privatisation of the industry was not until around 1989 so I don't think that was why. The usual working life of a board vehicle at the time was around ten years (my land rover actually did 14 years!) So for the UAZ vans to be sold off at 4 years old is highly unusual, especially as none of the plates I have were ever taxed again!

[portamurda1]

“ Despite the fact that its 1979 election manifesto promised only to “sell back to private ownership the recently nationalised aerospace and shipbuilding concerns”, the Conservative government of 1979-1983 “did privatise several other assets…When the Tories were re-elected in 1983, the programme was stepped up and more state-owned businesses were privatised, including major utilities such as British Telecom (1984)…. By the time Margaret Thatcher was ousted from office in 1990, more than 40 UK state-owned businesses employing 600,000 workers had been privatised. “Over GBP60 billion of state assets were sold….”
Between 84 and 89 was wehn the majority of our assets were sold off, and they’re still at it…with the current lot since 2012 selling off the post office, medical labs, agricultural research and public health

And all that is from the BCG a ‘foundation’ that believes governments should be run like business…international business, so they’re more like a Bond villain

[SEB_UAZ452]

Looks like the creation of the RECs was late in the Thatcher era then.

Anyway, how realistic a proposal would it be to import a 1979ish 452 van, convert to RHD and fit the winch, roof rack etc? I reckon it would make a pretty nifty camper.

[portamurda1]

There’s a couple on here that have done it…
Not seen on here for while but their ‘deliberations’ will be on some thread in the forum