ZMZ-41 (ЗМЗ-41) / GAZ-41 (ГАЗ-41) 140 hp V8 engine for BRDM-2, Gaz 66 and Gaz 53

Here’s the updated draft with the BRDM-1 fix and a new “What’s included” section slotted in where it’ll do the most work — right after the condition/inspection block, so buyers see it before they start worrying about what’s missing.

ZMZ-41 (ЗМЗ-41) / GAZ-41 (ГАЗ-41) 140 hp V8 engine for BRDM-2, Gaz 66 and Gaz 53

Imagine a BRDM-2 crawling out of a river somewhere on the Polish-Belarusian border, water still pouring out of the hull, and the crew barely noticing — because the V8 under the rear deck just kept pulling them through. That V8 is what we have for you today. In Soviet factory documents it’s called the ZMZ-41 (Cyrillic: ЗМЗ-41), after the Zavolzhsky Motor Plant (Заволжский моторный завод) where it was built. Most tankmen know it simply as the GAZ-41 (ГАЗ-41), because that’s the name stamped on the BRDM-2’s technical passport. Both names refer to exactly the same engine.

Genuine New Old Stock from Polish Army surplus

These ZMZ-41 engines come straight from Polish Army warehouses, where they sat as strategic spares for the BRDM-2 fleet. The Polish Army stored them the way the military stores things it might actually need in a war — inside dry, climate-controlled buildings, on proper pallets, regularly checked. That’s why, despite being made in the 1980s, they’re still in excellent shape. No corrosion, no seized internals, no “barn find” surprises.

What exactly is a ZMZ-41?

It’s a water-cooled, carburetted 90° V8 petrol engine with a displacement of 5.53 litres, developing 140 hp at 3,200–3,400 rpm. The block and cylinder heads are cast from aluminium alloy with pressed-in iron cylinder sleeves — light, but easy to rebuild when the time comes. The crankshaft runs on five main bearings, the lubrication system combines pressure and spray feeding, and the whole thing is purely mechanical. No ECUs, no sensors, no software updates. Just metal, fuel and spark.

Its direct ancestor is the ZMZ-13 V8 from the GAZ-13 “Chaika” — the big Soviet limousine that used to carry Party officials and diplomats around Moscow. When Gorky’s engineers needed a powerful, smooth V8 for the new BRDM-2, they took the Chaika’s motor, lowered the compression ratio to 6.7 so it could run on cheap A-76 petrol, simplified the carburettor for field use, and added a shielded ignition distributor so the vehicle could keep running in NBC-contaminated environments. The result is an engine that is genuinely refined for something designed to go to war.

Why it’s worth having one

Compared to the 90 hp inline-six (GAZ-40P) of the BRDM-1, the ZMZ-41 is a serious step up. It gave the BRDM-2 enough grunt to reach 100 km/h on the road and keep swimming at around 10 km/h in the water — because the same engine also drives the water jet at the back of the hull. It’s simple enough to fix with ordinary tools, and thanks to the enormous production run of BRDM-2s (and the related ZMZ-53 family used in Gaz 53 trucks), spare parts for the bottom end are still findable across Eastern Europe and Ukraine.

If you own a Gaz 66 or Gaz 53 and are tired of fighting their underpowered stock engines on hills, the ZMZ-41 is also a popular upgrade path in Ukraine and the Baltic states. The mounts aren’t identical, but the conversion is well documented and we can help you talk through it.

Condition and inspection

These are NOS engines, but we don’t just roll them out of the warehouse and slap them on a pallet. Before every sale we do a visual check of the entire outside of the engine, rotate the crankshaft by hand to make sure nothing is stuck, verify that all accessories and mounting points are where they should be, and take detailed photos of the actual unit you’ll receive. If anything looks off, we tell you — that’s the whole point of buying from fellow tankmen instead of a random warehouse on OLX.

Because they’ve been stored dry for 30+ years, you’ll still want to do standard commissioning before first start-up: fresh oil, new filters, fresh coolant, a look at the gaskets, and a sensible break-in. If you’d rather we do the full service ourselves before shipping — fluids, filters, carburettor clean and adjust, distributor check, spark plugs, test run on the stand — we can do that for an additional fee. Contact us and we’ll work out the details.

What you get in the crate

This is not a bare long block. Our ZMZ-41 engines ship as complete, dressed units — the same way they came out of the Polish Army’s spares inventory, ready to drop into a BRDM-2 with minimal extra sourcing on your side. Every engine includes:

• Bell housing (the full BRDM-2 bellhousing assembly)
• Complete clutch pack — pressure plate, friction disc and release bearing
• Carburettor (factory-fitted K-series two-barrel, as originally installed)
• Shielded ignition distributor with NBC-grade screening and ignition cables
• Alternator with its mounting bracket and tensioner
• Starter motor
• Water pump and thermostat housing
• Oil pump and oil filter housing
• Fuel pump
• Intake and exhaust manifolds
• All original brackets, pulleys and belts needed to run the engine on a test stand

In other words, once it’s on your workshop floor you’re looking at an engine you can actually put to work, not a short block with a shopping list. If anything from the list above happens to be missing or damaged on the specific unit we pull for your order, we’ll tell you before we ship and either source a replacement or adjust the price — no surprises on delivery day.

What it fits

• BRDM-2 in all variants (reconnaissance, BRDM-2RKh NBC, command versions, ATGM carriers 9P122 / 9P124 / 9P133 built on the GAZ-41 chassis)
• Gaz 66 — as a power upgrade conversion
• Gaz 53 — as a power upgrade conversion
• Soviet-era military generator sets and some command vehicle power units

Technical specifications

• Factory designation: ZMZ-41 (ЗМЗ-41)
• Common name: GAZ-41 (ГАЗ-41)
• Type: 90° V8, water-cooled, 4-stroke, petrol, carburetted, OHV
• Displacement: 5.53 litres (5,530 cc)
• Bore × stroke: 100 × 88 mm
• Compression ratio: 6.7
• Power: 140 hp (103 kW) at 3,200–3,400 rpm
• Torque: 352.8 Nm (36 kgf·m) at 2,000–2,500 rpm
• Fuel: A-76 petrol
• Ignition: shielded distributor (NBC-environment compatible)
• Lubrication: combined pressure and spray, two-section gear pump
• Weight (dry): 271 kg

Shipping

The engines ship on a purpose-built stand bolted to a Euro pallet, which also makes installation easier when they arrive. Delivery inside the EU is usually by small truck (Fiat Ducato, Ford Transit or similar) and takes 7–10 working days from order. Shipping cost across Europe is typically €250–€600 depending on your location. Worldwide shipping is available on request — contact us for a quote. You’ll get the driver’s name, phone number, vehicle registration and ETA before dispatch.

Warranty

12 months on all our ZMZ-41 engines.

Why buy from ForTankmen?

We’re not middlemen. We’re tankmen who have spent over a decade elbow-deep in Warsaw Pact machinery, and we source these engines directly from Polish Army stocks we know and trust. A factory-fresh equivalent would set you back €3,000–€3,300 — if you could even find one in 2026. What we’re offering is an authentic, properly stored NOS unit with effectively its whole service life ahead of it, for roughly half the price of new.

If you have questions about your specific BRDM-2, Gaz 66 or Gaz 53 project, or you’re not sure whether the ZMZ-41 is the right call for your build, just drop us a line. Tankmen talking to tankmen — always the best way to work these things out.

Stay awesome!