The first production car rolled of the assembly line in 1955 but preparation for that was underway for the last 5 years.
Sebastian Machado senior was the founder of the company though for its creation the Uruguayan Government had to intervene. he struck a deal with the state bank to finance his first years of life in exchange of a not so thin slice of the profits, and for this reason Fmu is the country’s Darling.
The result of the 5 years of preparation was the Pampero now called the Pampero MK 1 a small family car with an engine derived from an external engine supplier but improved upon, rumors are that the original engine was a flathead and the rummors are further reinforced by the ex-changeability of parts between those 2 engines.
another thing that made the Pampero more appreciated was the fact that it came with pastel colors from the factory along with more intense hues.
BY the time the Pampero Mk1 was discontinued the car recieved an updated engine, wider tires, and disc brakes
Fast forward to the year 1989 Sebastian Machado the Second was playing “truco” (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truco) with a good friend of his that was the current president of the Union of Cab Drivers, the history said that Sebastian was convinced he was going to win, thanks to a very good hand and way too many shots of whiskola; so he said that if he lost this round he was going to design a brand new taxi for the union. and to his susprise, he lost. and since there were witnesses at the bar he couldn’t back out, and being a man of honor, a promise is debt…
One year later the FMU Taxi was debuted, This car never got sold to the general public but you can find some retired taxis being used as particaular cars roaming the streets of Montevideo, Buenos Aires and other cities of the River Plate Basin.
Engine.
2463 cc all iron DAOHC engine.
Fuel: unleaded ron 91
105 hp at 5200 rpm
184 Nm at 2300 rpm
transmission
4 speed Manual. with open diff. 4wd
Double wishbone in the 4 corners.
Steel unibody and panels
Economy 10.17 Km/l (or 23.92 mpg for the imperials out there).
this is the car before receiving the taxi paintjob, Uruguayan taxis of the era were black bodies with yellow roof and pillars.
isn’t it a bit silly waste money on developent and resources to build such good cars just for taxis . the demand will not be as good as it would be selling them to the public. maybe you could make a police car out of them
Year 1969, It was years after Sebastian Machado Sr passed away, The son, being young man Insisten on bringing a new spin to the company and the first things he commissions was to develop 2 new cars and 3 new engines.
Enter the HSB series the inline 4 with a larger bore of 84mm and a shorter 90mm stroke, and the camshaft was moved to the head.
The Pampero Mark 2 was the first car to roll off the line from the Montevideo Assembly line. it shared almost all the mechanical components with the lest incarnation of the original Pampero, it also was available as a coupe
It was regarded as a sporty car for the family man, and as consequence, the car did fairly well on the local market, and had some Motorsport successes too.
Nice, the 69 Pampero coupe looks promising for a Group 4 rally car for a 1970’s rally championship. Would give solid proof for some of that motorsport success you mentioned I’d like to try and build one if you don’t mind. Contact me via PM if you wish for this crossover to happen.
another thing came into being in 1969. the Cacique came along (chieftain, for those who don’t know spanish) a big luxurious sedan (and Coupe) that were described as “Cosmopolitan” from USA, it came the V8 engine that used to power trucks and big sedans in the late 40s, the engines was thoroughly modified to be dapated to the current times but it preserved the torquey character given by the VERY undersquare configuration, From England it came the fully independent suspension in ALL the wheels, making it a very sure footed car under demanding driving conditions and from France, it came the Hydropneumatic suspension making the ride as smooth as possible and be able to keep control with 2 flat tires.
Fun fact: a 1971 example was used in one of the most memorable heists that happened in the area.
Not so fun fact, During the last dictatorship, many political dissidents were last seen in the back of an olive green $ door cacique and to this day, caciques of this particular shade seem to emit a bad vibe.
. the demand will not be as good as it would be selling them to the public. maybe you could make a police car out of them
I’d like to try and build one if you don’t mind. Contact me via PM if you wish for this crossover to happen.
