Kijiji 1968 German Auto Union Munga jeep

[Stuart Fedak]

Text removed as information is no longer current

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Stuart Fedak

This is the precursor to the VW model 181 (The Thing) and the VW model 183 (Iltis). Incidentally, the name Munga comes from the German phrase Mehrzweck UNiversal Geländewagen mit Allradantrieb, which translates as "multi-purpose universal cross-country car with all-wheel drive.

Actually, the Iltis is the direct descendant of the Munga - it was the same engineering department which developed the Munga into the Iltis.

Read more at http://www.mapleleafup.nl/newjeep/vw183/index.htm

[BCA]

Sometime in the early 1980's a batch of Mungas were sold surplus in the Winnipeg, Manitoba area by the German army who had used them during training at CFB Shilo. I would appreciate hearing the full story on the release of these interesting vehicles in Canada from anyone who can fill in more details.
I have one of the more common 4-seater models. The tiny 3 cylinder 2-stroke makes a great show-and-tell event and it pushes the Munga along at very respectable road speeds. When parked beside an Iltis the lineage is very apparent, especially in the frame design. The main difference in appearance is because the front fenders on the Iltis were filled-in with integral stowage bins. .....Brian

[rob love]

I recall going to Crown Assets when there were about a dozen of them up for sale. It was interesting in that they were sold complete with their soft tops and all the EIS like jacks and wrenches. This was a big difference from the Canadian sales of vehicles where you were lucky if the batteries were still with the vehicles.

In the end the sales prices did not reflect the difference in my opinion. If I recall correctly most of those Mungas sold for about the $1200 range which was pretty much the bottom price when the M38A1Cdn2 and Cdn3s went for sale a few years later.

Don't quote me on the munga prices mind you as a lot of years have passed since then. But I can guarantee the Jeep prices as I was the bottom feeder taking anything that was less than $1300. If a Canadian Jeep had it's tarpaulin, it would end up selling in the higher range of prices which was $2800 or do. Some of those purchasers were pissed though when they showed up to pay for and pick up their Jeeps only to find an earlier buyer liberated the canvas.

I may have an old sales sheet from CADC for the Mungas in my files somewhere. I'll keep an eye for it next time I am through the files.

I seem to recall a story about a problem with the German sales of these vehicles initially. The German government had not paid duty on them on import, but on disposal in Canada it became an issue. Not sure how much truth there is in the story.

There are still Mungas laying around Manitoba, but they were very susceptible to frame and body rot when left outside for years. I have not seen a lot of them that had the potential to be restored. There are still scrapped parts (and even a body) for them out at my favorite scrapyard.

[BCA]

Rob: Thank you for your recollections - especially that they were sold by Crown Assets. I suspect more than a dozen or so were sold through other sales. Any original paperwork or sales info would be appreciated if you come across old paperwork.

[rob love]

When the German Army was still in Shilo, I would give a ride to our monthly club meetings to one of the permanent German staff who was also a vehicle collector. He would talk about the Munga club back in Germany, and how big a group it was. He had nothing but good to say about these little vehicles. He did not have a similar opinion about their short term replacement, the Iltis. By that time the German Iltis were already gone here in Shilo and replaced by the G-wagon. There were two of the G-wagons going to the scrapyard. Chris was trying to figure out how he could buy them and ship them back to Germany.