LuAZ-967M: specifications, tuning and description

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:42

In the early 1950s, the USSR military department came up with the idea of creating a simple vehicle for delivering ammunition and transporting the wounded in combat conditions. The main catalyst for the emergence of the idea was the experience of the Korean War. The full-size vehicles used during the conflict were unable to fully perform such tasks.

The first pancake is lumpy

As a power unit, customers offered a 23-horsepower engine of the M-72 motorcycle. Such a wish was expressed in order to maximize the unification of technology. Initially, the development order was received by the design bureau of the Irbit Motorcycle Plant. After a rough study and analysis of the project, IMZ was forced to abandon the order. Further work began to be carried out by NAMI with the assistance of IMZ specialists. The vehicle was given the working title TPK (Forward Edge Transporter).

The first draft of the future LuAZ military vehicle was developed by Yu. Dolmatovsky. However, his work was very different from the terms of reference and was rejected by the customer. But thanks to this project, the task was finalized and specified on a number of points.

New concept

The second project was developed by the famous designer B. Fitterman. His car, unlike the first project, had a front-mounted power unit. Initially, the principle of all-wheel drive was incorporated into the design of the machine, which required the creation of a new transmission. To ensure the low height of the car, the wheel suspension was made independent on torsion bars.

Since the customer demanded to ensure the placement of the driver and two bedridden wounded in the cabin of a strictly limited size, the driver's seat was located along the axis of the car. In places for the wounded there were folding benches for seated passengers. Another original solution was a folding steering column, which made it possible to control the machine from a lying position. This decision was dictated by the requirement of the customer to ensure the minimum height of the machine. At the end of 1956, just such a non-standard project of the future TPK LuAZ-967 (LuAZ 967) was approved by the military department.

Fiasco of the second project

The first prototype of a car with a motorcycle engine was built in 1957, after which NAMI continued to work on improving the project. It was during these improvements that the future LuAZ-967M received the famous wheel gears, which made it possible to increase the ground clearance to 262 mm.

The modified prototype under the designation NAMI 032 passed the next cycle of tests, according to the results of which it was rejected. Now the customer was not satisfied with his own requirement - the M 72 engine.insufficient power, inability of the machine to overcome water obstacles and excess weight of the structure.

Light at the end of the tunnel

LuAZ-967M saved the creation of "Zaporozhets" with its V-shaped air-cooled engine. Already in 1961, a second modernized prototype with a motorcycle engine M 72 was being built, but structurally the machine could be equipped with a new type of engine.

A year later, a prototype was transferred to the Kommunar plant for work on the integration of a new "heart". Many designers of the IMZ and NAMI factories moved to a new office in Zaporozhye.

Zaporozhye variant

The final concept of the front edge conveyor LuAZ-967M was created at the new location. A 27-horsepower MeMZ 966 engine was used as a power unit. The principle of transmission has changed - the front wheels received a non-switchable drive, and the rear wheels were connected by the driver as needed.

The rear axle drive was made according to a unique scheme - the box and the axle were connected by a steel hollow pipe into a rigid structure. A drive shaft passed inside the pipe. The axle shafts had freedom relative to the rear axle housing due to the cardan joints on the gearbox and the cracker on the differential. To expand the traction range, a reduction gear and a rear axle differential lock were included in the transmission. The controls for these devices were brought to the driver's seat.

On the front of the machine there was a winch driven by the toe of the engine crankshaft. The main purpose of the winch waspulling plastic drags with the wounded. Volokushi were included in the standard equipment of the machine. In addition, the kit included metal ladders to overcome obstacles. Ladders could be installed along the sides and act as protective screens.

All vehicle control levers were on the floor of the body between the driver's legs. Behind the steering wheel was a typical truck instrument panel. On the dashboard in the center there was a speedometer, to the left of it there were pressure and oil temperature indicators, to the right - fuel and battery charge indicators. In addition, there were several control lamps and switches on the shield. The steering column was equipped with a searchlight and a steering column switch.

Long way to series

The car in this form received the designation ZAZ-967 and after testing was recommended for serial production. But the Kommunar plant did not have the opportunity to launch the production of another model, so the documentation for the car was transferred to the Lutsk Machine-Building Plant (LuMZ). The plant began to master the production of TPK and a civilian SUV model 969B.

If the production of civilian vehicles began already in 1967, then problems arose again with the production of the transporter. The car was officially put into service in 1969 under the designation LuAZ-967 and was intended for deliveries to various types of troops. But each of the military branches put forward its own requirements and comments on the design, which led to constant improvements to the machine. LuAZ-967 was never mass-produced,only isolated samples existed.

Modernization of a non-serial machine

The experience of operating LuAZ-967 SUVs from pilot batches showed the need for a more powerful engine. The situation was again saved by the Melitopol Motor Plant, which began production of the 37-horsepower MeMZ 968 engine. The army version of this engine, under the index 967, was installed on a long-suffering conveyor.

The MeMZ 967 engine differed from the civilian engine in a modified cooling system. It included an additional radiator for cooling the oil with an individual electric fan. The axial fan of the engine did not blow through the cylinder fins, but drew air through them and threw it out of the engine compartment. Since an army vehicle must work reliably in a wide temperature range, the engine was equipped with a 5PP-40A starting device. The device was a syringe with which a flammable liquid (ether sulphide) with a low evaporation temperature was injected into the manifold.

Optionally, the car was equipped with an air preheater SHAAZ 967-1015009-01. Structurally, it was an autonomous heater from ZAZ vehicles, adapted for carrying. The set included metal corrugated sleeves for supplying hot air to the components of the engine being warmed up.

The rest of the changes were insignificant - the elements of the external design of the car changed somewhat, the gear ratio of the wheel reduction gears decreased. In 1972, the first batch of machines fortests. According to their results, the car was again recommended for mass production, now under the designation LuAZ-967M.

The long-awaited series

The car started rolling off the assembly line in 1975, i.e. almost 20 years after the initial technical assignment was issued. The release of the machine was carried out exclusively on army orders and continued almost until the collapse of the USSR. The last copies were collected at the very end of the 80s. The cessation of production was due to the deterioration in funding for the army, which stopped ordering new vehicles. In total, about 20 thousand TPKs were collected.

On the basis of the vehicle, several modifications were created to install various weapons - grenade launchers, recoilless rifles and rocket launchers to destroy ground and air targets. Such self-propelled units were produced in limited experimental runs.

At the same time, a modernized civilian version went into production. The machine was distinguished by its simplicity of design, it continues to be popular today. Tuning LuAZ-969M is widespread. Modification methods are striking in their breadth - the installation of liquid-cooled engines, the installation of all-metal bodies of the original design and much more.

A pilot version of the vehicle was produced under the designation LuAZ-967MP. The transporter was equipped with a radio station and places for the crew on regular places for stretchers. Outside, the patrol version was distinguished by a front bumper, rear-view mirrors and an awning over the passenger compartment.

Serial changes

During production inthe LuAZ-967M design underwent various changes. In 1978, the car received lighting equipment in full compliance with international standards. This change made it possible to use the conveyor on public roads. Instead of a single search headlight on the steering column, two stationary ones were used - at the corners of the body. The rear round lighting fixtures have been replaced by standard model FP133 rectangular combined lamps arranged vertically.

The second major revision was made a few years later and touched upon the issue of the buoyancy of the machine. The leaky tailgate was removed from the structure and a Malyutka household pump was installed, which pumped out the water entering the hull. Rear lights FP133 are now installed horizontally.

The third stage of finalizing the design fell on the mid-80s. They began to install a slightly modernized 39-horsepower engine on the car and improved the sealing of the machine components. The original pump for pumping water out of the hull was reintroduced into the design.

Our days

Shortly after the collapse of the USSR, sales of military equipment from storage warehouses began. Among these machines were TPK machines. Many owners carry out independent refinement and tuning of the LuAZ-967M.

The main direction of external modernization is the installation of power bumpers in the front and rear of the body, as well as the installation of larger wheels with off-road tires. The interior of the car is equipped with more comfortable seats and arcs for the awning. Thanks to tuning, the technical characteristics of the LuAZ-967 are noticeablyare improving. But cars in their original condition are especially appreciated, which often become an adornment of any car collection.