The Bukhanka is back! Well, mostly — Andre’s Russian 4×4 van is still a work in progress.
Some of us dream of owning some unique, obscure vehicle where we stand out from everyone else on the road, and that includes Andre. His dream involved importing a Soviet-era UAZ-452 body-on-frame, four-wheel-drive van from Russia over to the United States. Once it was here, he (naturally) swapped a potent LS V8 engine into the Bukhanka (“bread loaf”)…but things didn’t quite go as planned. Nevertheless, with time and money invested as well as a fair share of frustration, Andre has another update! And, well, it’s still a bit of a nightmare.
In the video below, Andre goes through everything that’s happened since the last Bukhanka video, when long-time viewer and friend of TFL Dan Atkinson drove the bread loaf…and it broke once again (check that out to see what happened).
Andre brought the stricken Bukhanka to Ruben at Colorado Transmission, in hopes of getting issues with 3rd and 4th gear sorted. Behind the 4.8-liter LS V8 engine, the 700R4 transmission received quite a few upgrades, including the clutch packs and sprag elements and even a Corvette servo, so this fast loaf technically has some Corvette parts inside at this point. The transmission also gets new governor weights and springs to change when it shifts (taking into account the 4:56 gears), and a calibration kit to increase line pressures corresponding to the 4.8’s increased power output.
After going through the changes in greater detail, the guys take the Bukhanka out for a test drive. One little hiccup notwithstanding — you’ll see that in the video below — Andre managed to get up to 60 (!) mph with no difficulties.
Check out the whole story below, including what Roman and David think of the updates:
