Humpbacked "Zaporozhets" - he was also loved

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

On the one hand, there is nothing unusual about how the history of this car began. This happened more than once when one of the leaders of the country made a strong-willed decision on the production of a particular car. Quite trivial and the development of the production of such machines. But when all this is put together, the story may turn out to be very interesting for fans of retro technology, especially if details become known regarding such a "famous" car as the hunchbacked "Zaporozhets".

The godfather, so to speak, of this car was Khrushchev himself. In addition to the promise to provide separate housing for all Soviet people, he took care of their motorization and decided to provide each with a personal car, which was supposed to be the hunchbacked Zaporozhets. The machine, of course, is not to blame for the rulers' overruns, especially since the prototype was chosen quite worthy - the Fiat-600. True, the realization of the plan could bedone and better.

The development of a people's car was carried out at the future AZLK, although it did not have free production capacities and, despite the decision of the Central Committee of the Party on the development of a new car, they were in no hurry to create them. As a result, difficulties began with the engine for the new car, since there was simply nowhere to make it. As usual in such cases, the search began from the available analogues.

Instead of the native four-cylinder water-cooled engine, as in Fiat, another one prepared for production was chosen - an air-cooled engine from a Volkswagen Beetle. By the way, he showed the best results in tests relative to other applicants, because he could work in the same conditions that the hunchbacked Zaporozhets had in the engine compartment - the rear engine and air cooling. Under this option, all the documentation and production technology were prepared.

However, the State Planning Committee of the USSR made a strong-willed decision - to transfer production from the Moskvich plant to the Kommunar agricultural machinery plant in Zaporozhye, use an analogue of the BMW engine developed at NAMI as a motor, and involve specialists from this institute. An urgent alteration of all documentation for a new engine, called MeM3965, began immediately.

To install it, a change in the body was required, the motor simply did not fit in the provided dimensions. The gearbox did not fit with such an engine, I had to change it, use other gear ratios in the gears, so a new one was requiredclutch, and had to make other changes, including suspension. Nevertheless, the development was completed, and the car was named ZAZ-965. A positive result of all this confusion can be considered that the experience of the developers of military equipment turned out to be useful in terms of the successful weight distribution of the vehicle, which affected its excellent cross-country ability.

The first car was released in 1960, the people began to call it "Hunchbacked Zaporozhets". The photo shown here also shows that it was quite a nice little car. However, with the start of production, all the flaws and shortcomings caused by such an extraordinary preparation came out, which immediately required a serious modernization of the machine. But the new model, the 966th, was mastered very hard, especially since its main inspirer and ideologist Khrushchev had already been removed from office, and the new ruler, L. I. Brezhnev, despite his love for cars, did not meet the "humped" understanding.

Nevertheless, this car remained desired by many Soviet people, despite all its shortcomings, because they could not get any other. It was repaired, repaired, modernized, it aroused increased interest in itself, this hunchbacked "Zaporozhets"; tuning, which he went through, sometimes worked with him real miracles. And although he remained the hero of numerous jokes, nevertheless, for many it was the first, and sometimes the only car.

Humpbacked "Zaporozhets", withfor all its anecdotes and shortcomings, for many years was the object of blind love for many Soviet people. He opened the world before them from the car window, gave them the opportunity to travel, gave them a sense of inner independence and freedom. And no matter how it is evaluated today, it is hardly possible to diminish the importance of this car in history.