"Volga" GAZ-21 is a Soviet passenger car of the middle class, mass-produced at the Gorky Automobile Plant from 1956 (1957) to 1970. The factory model index is originally GAZ-M-21, later (since 1965) - GAZ-21.
The GAZ-21 car was filmed in the video of the German rock band Rammstein.
Specifications GAZ-21/22 Volga:
Number of seats 5
Self weight in
curb
condition, kg total 1460
on the front axle 750
on the rear axle 710
Gross weight, kg total 1885
on the front axle 905
on the rear axle 980
Carrying capacity, kg 50 (sedan with 5 passengers);
80 (station wagon with 5 passengers)
Maximum permissible weight (semi-trailer with load, kg) -
Length, mm 4770
Width, mm 1800
Height, mm 1620
Wheel base, mm 2700
Track width, mm front 1410
rear 1420
Ground clearance, mm under the front axle 200
under rear axle 190
Turning radius, m along the track of the outer front wheel 6.3
outer dimension 6.8
Maximum speed, km/h 130
Fuel consumption, l / 100 km 9.0 (at 40-50 km / h)
Acceleration from standstill to 60 km / h, seconds -
Transmission: 3-speed gearbox, steering column control lever
Gearbox ratios 3.115 / 1.772 / 1.000 / R-3.740
final drive ratios 4.55 (41 and 9 teeth)
transfer case ratios -
single disc clutch, dry, hydraulically actuated
Wheels number of wheels 4 + 1
tire size 6.70 - 15
tire pressure, kg/cm2 1.7 front / 1.7 rear
Suspension front independent, spring, with transverse levers; hydraulic shock absorbers, telescopic double-acting
rear on longitudinal semi-elliptical springs; hydraulic shock absorbers, telescopic double-acting
Steering gear type globoidal worm and double ridge roller
gear ratio 18.2
Brakes stopping distance, m -
working (foot) shoe on all wheels with hydraulic drive
parking (manual) shoe for transmission with mechanical drive
Refueling volumes, l fuel tank 60 (A-72)
engine cooling systems 11.5 (water or antifreeze)
engine lubrication systems 5.6 [in summer, industrial oil 50 (SU) or ASp-5 and AKp-5 oils; in winter, a mixture of 60% industrial 50 (SU) and 40% spindle AC]
gearbox housing 0.8 (gear oil)
rear axle housing 0.9 (oil for hypoid gears)
steering gear housing 0.25 (gear oil)
front shock absorbers 0.14 each; rear 0.23 each (AU spindle oil) [0.24 each in the front and 0.15 each in the rear for lever shock absorbers]
hydraulic brake drive 0.7 (brake fluid)
air filter 0.25 (engine oil)
Carburetor K-22I or K105 until 1962; K-124 after 1962
12 volt electrical equipment
Battery 6STE54EM
Generator G12B; 18 a; 225 watts
Relay-regulator РР24
Starter ST20-B; 1.7 HP
Breaker-distributor R-3B
Spark plugs A14U
Engine:
type M-21, carburetor, four-cylinder, four-stroke, overhead valve
cylinder firing order 1-2-4-3
maximum power, hp 75.0 at 4000 rpm
maximum torque, kgm 17.0 at 2200 rpm
displacement, l 2.445
compression ratio 6.6:1
bore / stroke 92.0 / 92.0
Years of release 1956-1970
Number of cars produced 638875
Wheel formula 4 X 2
Initial period.
The terms of reference for the car were based on the developments on Pobeda, the second generation in particular - the same layout was used with the passenger compartment moved forward somewhat, which, combined with a decrease in the dimension of the wheels from 16 to 15 ", made it possible to make it more spacious with the same wheel base, practically remove the rear wheel arches characteristic of the GAZ-M-20 protruding into the passenger compartment.At the same time, the new car was supposed to be another step forward compared to Pobeda II, having a more modern design, a completely new engine and, according to the original plan, an automatic gearbox, which should have greatly facilitated control for the individual owner. The requirements for the car from the very beginning were very specific due to the objective consideration of the conditions for the production and operation of vehicles in the USSR. The future Volga was supposed to be modern, dynamic, comfortable car capable of developing high for those times with speeds on highways with an “improved” surface with a sufficiently high efficiency, and at the same time - successfully cope with heavy off-road sections that were by no means rare in those years, be structurally simple and not require particularly highly qualified service personnel. Of course, this could not but lead to certain compromises in the design. As a result, the Volga combined advanced technical solutions such as an all-aluminum engine with wet sleeves and an automatic transmission with frankly conservative, if not archaic, such as a pivot front suspension or lever shock absorbers. As the main distinguishing features relative to the previous model - "Victory", originally incorporated in the project of the future "Volga", it can be noted: a bearing three-volume "sedan" body of increased dimensions with a more spacious and comfortable interior; panoramic one-piece front and rear windows; all-aluminum four-cylinder overhead valve engine significantly (almost one and a half times) increased power compared to Pobeda; automatic hydromechanical gearbox; hydraulic clutch on the variant with a manual transmission; three-bearing cardan shaft; hypoid rear axle with semi-floating axle shafts; centralized lubrication of chassis units; separate hydraulic cylinders for the brake pads of the front brake mechanisms (in the rear brakes, both pads were actuated by one common hydraulic cylinder); transmission parking brake instead of acting on the brake mechanisms of the rear wheels.
Since 1952, parallel work has been carried out on two independent projects GAZ-M-21 under the mottos "Star" (designer - John Williams) and "Volga" (designer - Lev Eremeev).
In 1953, mock-ups of both machines were ready. During this period, the Zvezda went through several iterations of a design search, in the final of which it turned into essentially a complete analogue of the Volga from the rear doors forward, but with a fastback-type body with a sloping roof, like that of the Pobeda, and two large fins aft; however, Yeremeev's three-volume sedan was closer to production realities and looked more traditional, and, taking into account the further development of automotive design, more promising, so, in the end, work was continued on the Volga. An image of plaster models of both cars is available at the footnote.
Since 1953, A. Nevzorov was appointed the lead designer for the car, and N. I. Borisov was the chief designer of the plant for most of the design of the car.
The first prototypes were ready in 1954. There are photographs depicting the M-21 prototype with the license plate guards 00-08 on the Gorky Highway (now the M7 Volga Highway), dated July 9, 1954, so at that time the M-21 prototypes were already actively tested.
Comparison with foreign analogues.
During the development, the experience of foreign manufacturers was widely used, for the study of which, according to the tradition of those years, full-scale copies of modern foreign cars were involved, such as two Ford Mainline 1954 model years - with six- and eight-cylinder engines (USA), Chevrolet 210 (in a number sources - Styleline DeLuxe) 1953 model year (USA), Plymouth Savoy apparently 1953 (USA), Kaiser Henry J 1952 (USA), Standard Vanguard 1952 release (UK) and Opel Kapitn (FRG), possibly others. The first two were purchased to study automatic transmissions, as representatives of largely polar schools of their design. Subsequently, these cars were also used for comparative tests along with running models of the GAZ-M-21. It is curious that, according to a number of sources, during the tests, the Standard Vanguard got into a serious traffic accident on the roads of Crimea. It should be especially noted that the automobile plants of the USSR constantly purchased foreign analogues of their products for research, which is a normal practice by world standards and was far from always tied to the development of any of their own designs. In this case, foreign models were involved precisely as they were developed, and were not studied in the previous period. For example, the Ford Mainline, which in a number of sources was announced as almost the prototype of the M-21, actually appeared at the plant no earlier than the summer-autumn of 1954, that is, when tests of the Volga running prototypes were already in full swing, and its own tests began only in November. The nature and technical level of the attracted analogue cars was very different. So, "Opel" and "Stenderd" were very outdated models - the first was still pre-war development, and the second went into production almost simultaneously with the "Victory". Both models by this time were preparing to be phased out. Chevrolet was an extremely successful, but already outdated model, produced since the late forties, generally similar in style and design to the Soviet ZiM, minus a curved windshield, an overhead valve engine and an automatic transmission (two-stage, such as Power -Glide). "Ford" and "Plymouth" were modern, for those times, models - the first went into production in 1952 model year (that is, in the autumn of 1951 calendar year), the second in 1953 (again, in the fall of 1952 calendar year), but of them more the Ford was successful and perfect, and the Plymouth of 1953-54 was considered a “transitional” model to more advanced designs. Separate features of foreign analogues were reflected in the Volga, especially in the design of individual body elements (for example, rotary door locks; nevertheless, the load-bearing base of the body itself was closest in design to the previous GAZ models - Pobeda, M -12 and ZiM-u) and interior design (for example, the final version of the speedometer in the form of a transparent "hemisphere" appeared only after studying the Ford car - the early prototypes of the M-21 had several different options for a completely different design of the instrument panel, completely recessed into the dashboard), which allows us to conclude that they have been carefully studied and that there is not enough personal experience in the design of modern cars. The automatic transmission was generally developed from the Ford-O-Matic Drive transmission of Ford vehicles, which, in turn, was developed for Ford by Borg-Warner. At the same time, the mechanical part of the Volga as a whole was of an original Soviet design, and to a large extent relied on samples already in mass production - it was mainly created on the basis of solutions that had already found application on a large-class car "ZiM" GAZ- M-12, and was even unified with it to a certain extent. This applies primarily to the design of transmission units and chassis. The design of the Volga, starting from the very first layouts and prototypes, was also carried out by Lev Eremeev quite independently, and did not bear a direct resemblance to specific foreign counterparts beyond the unity within the framework of the style of those years (it must be borne in mind that the prototypes had design, in in general, similar to the future "second" series. It should be noted that the Volga was created under the influence of (mainly) the American school of automotive engineering, and in terms of design it was the original Soviet interpretation of the so-called "aerostyle" coming from America, popular in those years during In Europe, models of this class in those years were quite rare and were produced by a relatively small number of manufacturers, many of which were themselves influenced by the American car industry - for example, Opel, Vauxhall, German and English Fords were branches of American companies , and in those years they used the American approach; adhered to the orientation on American stylistic tendencies and many other European car companies, as well as in those years - all Australian and most Japanese. At the same time, many features of the original (represented on the prototypes and, in part, the “second series” of 1959-1962) design of the Volga also go back to the ZiM GAZ-12 - in particular, bumpers were made in a similar style, sidelights - which, obviously, was to emphasize the stylistic unity of the line of cars of the Gorky plant. Thus, in general, both stylistically and technically, the car was created by domestic engineers and designers from scratch. The same opinion is shared, for example, by a prominent researcher of the issue, Ivan Paderin. Some similarity with foreign counterparts is not surprising for cars of the same style and era. For example, the Audi 80 B3 (1987), Opel Vectra A (1988) and, say, the VAZ 2110 (its prototypes were ready in 1990-91), or the Audi 100 C3 and Ford Taurus of the first generations. These were cars designed in the same era, with a focus on the same ideas and trends, sometimes with mutual borrowing, but “from scratch” and without direct copying. If we turn to the opinion of foreign experts, then, say, the English magazine The Autocar, which in 1960 conducted a test drive of the Volga car GAZ-M-21K (the appearance of this modification was close to the appearance of the prototypes of 1954-55), is quite recognized the original Soviet origin of the Volga ("the Volga is entirely of Russian origin ...) and described its styling as "a mixture of recent American and European design trends" ("styling of the Volga is a blend of recent American and European influences" ).
The design of the Volga was already formed at an early stage of development. Its author, an experienced designer Lev Eremeev, based on the trends of the world automotive fashion of those years - first of all, the American "styling", which at that time was dominated by aviation and, partly, rocket and space motifs - managed to create a completely expressive image a modern, dynamic and rather elegant car with a rather complex body plastic, to a certain extent opposite to the predominantly utilitarian-functional appearance of Pobeda or the heavy-weight style of ZiM-a GAZ-12 and passenger cars ZiS-s From the point of view of the world automotive industry of those years , the appearance of the car was relatively restrained and practically did not contain any elements that stood out against the general background of the then style - it is enough to compare it with foreign analogues that appeared around the same time, the images of which are shown in the row on the left. But by Soviet standards, Volga at the time of the start of its production, due to the nature of the selected surfaces, lines and decorative elements, looked very fresh, bold and unusual. In general, in terms of its level, the design of the M-21 prototypes surpassed a significant part of the serial foreign models of the 1953-54 model years, that is, the period of its development.
However, by the time mass production began (1956-57), by world standards, the design of the Volga had already become at least ordinary, and it no longer stood out against the background of serial foreign cars of those years.
Subsequently, the stylistic decisions of the car proved to be quickly becoming obsolete, especially in comparison with the models of the North American market that changed annually in those years (it should be noted that the same fully applies to other models that went into series in those years, since during the fifties, progress automotive design was extremely fast-paced and cars often became outdated in appearance within a few years after being put into production). By the standards of North America, already for the 1958 model year, the Volga was a car with a hopelessly outdated design (it should be noted that by this time, since 1954, when the prototypes of the Volga were built, in the USA, most manufacturers had already managed to change two or three generations of their models, and each of them visually very radically different from the previous one). In Europe, lagging behind the United States in terms of updating model lines, samples of a similar style lasted a little longer - until the beginning of the sixties, and individual models - until the second half of the decade, and even its end. But in general, we can say that the European style changed already at the very beginning of the sixties, after which the Volga began to look like a deeply conservative car in terms of design. By the end of its release, the Volga looked archaic even in comparison with other Soviet cars - Moskvich, Zaporozhets, and, moreover, at that time only the Zhiguli, which had just been mastered in production.
Thus, the history of the development and development in the production of the Volga car showed how high, in principle, corresponding to the world level of the domestic design school that had developed by that time, despite the preservation of its orientation towards the general trends of North American "styling", which was clearly traceable in subsequent years, as well as the backwardness and sluggishness of domestic mass production, which is completely incapable of organizing the production of a modern car within the time frame for which it would retain its constructive and visual “freshness”, all the more so to ensure timely modernization (taking into account the fact that such tasks, as a rule, were simply not set , and the financing of the passenger car industry in the USSR was often carried out according to the residual principle). Nevertheless, given the relatively recent emergence of the Soviet automotive industry, the first completely independent designs in which began to appear only after the Second World War, the Volga GAZ-21 was quite an interesting model for its time in terms of technology and design, approaching these indicators to the world level of those years and at the same time corresponding to the very specific conditions for the production and operation of vehicles in the USSR. The often confusing issue of the design of the Volga radiator lining of various generations requires special mention. The fact is that, although the car originally went into the series with a radiator grill in the form of a horizontal beam with a star in a round medallion in the center, this was still not the original design for the front of the car. At the design stage for the design of the front end of the Volga, Lev Eremeev found for him a rather original, at that time, and very rational solution: for the M-21 prototype, the radiator lining was made in the form of one chrome-plated stamped steel sheet with vertical slots (there were options with their number from 10 to 16). From above and from the sides, the sheet had a border of stamped and cast chrome parts. Thus, the original design option was the one that went into mass production only in the last quarter of 1958, and not the horizontal bar characteristic of the serial Volga produced in 1957 and most of 1958 (for a detailed periodization of the Volga release, see below, in the Periodization section). This was exactly the appearance of the layout (1953) and the first running prototypes of the Volga (1954-55). With this design option for the front end, the design of the Volga was quite unique and original, only at the level of style echoing the products of the American automobile industry in the first half and mid-fifties. This design of the radiator grill favorably distinguished the car from the point of view of both design and technology from most foreign analogues that rolled off the assembly lines during the years of development of the Volga, which for the most part had difficult to manufacture and had a high cost of radiator linings made of massive cast or stamped parts - usually plump horizontal bars made of brass, aluminum alloy or steel. This made it possible not only to significantly reduce the cost of the design of this design element, but also to give the car a rather individual, moreover, very modern appearance for 1954 - the transition from horizontal striped radiator linings to checkered ones was one of the current trends in the world auto design of those years, as can be seen according to foreign analogues that went into series in a few years. However, due to a number of reasons that are not quite obvious, in mass production this version of the design of the front end, despite the protests of both designers and designers and technologists, was nevertheless initially replaced by a more traditional horizontal-striped radiator lining in the form of three bars with a star in round medallion in the center. The theme of such a lattice in the form of a horizontal beam with a round so-called “bullet” has been very widespread in the practice of the world automotive industry since the end of the forties - the “gas” version stood out, perhaps, only with that same star instead of a “bullet”. The horizontal bar itself with built-in direction indicators on the sides, if you look for analogues, vaguely resembled the radiator lining of cars of the little-known brand Kaiser (USA) of 1952-53 model years (and not on Ford, contrary to the statements encountered); however, as already mentioned, in fact, this type of lattice was generally the most common in the first half of the fifties. It is hardly possible to call this replacement successful: firstly, this type of cladding went out of fashion already in the mid-fifties, and turned out to be outdated at the time of the start of serial production (1956-57), in contrast to the vertical radiator grille that fit well into the fashion of those years prototypes; secondly, he made the appearance of the car resonant with a number of foreign models - and, therefore, not individual enough, which, among other things, later gave rise to speculation about the plagiarism of car designers or constructors. In addition, the star on the radiator grill - a symbol of the Soviet state that caused mixed feelings in the world - did not contribute much to the growth of its export sales. And the cost of manufacturing the cladding, which consisted of numerous parts of complex shape made of steel and cast zinc alloy, made with great precision, was simply incomparable with the cost of the originally provided stamped grating. Finally, the stamped radiator grille played the role of a strength element of the body, and its replacement with a purely decorative beam reduced the rigidity of the front end and worsened the performance of the suspension. Therefore, in the last quarter of 1958, the original grille with 16 vertical slots was returned to the car, with some changes compared to the prototypes. There is a legend that the design of the front “with a star” arose due to the fact that Marshal Zhukov (according to another version of the legend, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Bulganin) and the car did not like the original version at the Kremlin viewing after testing, and the car to start its serial production , decided to give a pronounced "party orientation" due to the star on the radiator grille.
Different versions of this legend are actively replicated by the media, however, there is no clear evidence of its authenticity. At the same time, it does a good job of explaining the possible reason for the replacement of a more progressive version of the design of the front end with a deliberately outdated one. It is curious that a similar design of the cladding with a horizontal beam (minus the star) was also characteristic of one of the prototypes developed in parallel with the Volga and with the active participation of the design team of the Moskvich-402 GAZ plant. On which car it appeared earlier, it is difficult to say, but most likely, on Moskvich. In general, during the design of these cars, there was a considerable, and, obviously, mutual influence between them.
Technical features.
Technically, the car was a successful compromise between the American and European schools of passenger car design in terms of operating conditions in the USSR. It side by side with solutions typical of American cars, such as a soft, comfort-oriented suspension or a spacious six-seater saloon, as well as typical European ones - a load-bearing body without a full-fledged separate frame and a relatively economical power unit, in-line four-cylinder, with a relatively small working volume and power. Most of the technical solutions show a high degree of continuity with the previous GAZ models - Pobeda and GAZ-12 ZiM, with the exception of a completely newly developed engine. This applies primarily to the design of the load-bearing body, suspension, transmission. In size, the Volga was approximately in the middle between large European cars (examples - Opel Kapitn, Ford Zephyr) and American light class cars (Ford, Chevrolet, Plymouth, ...). In terms of mass, however, the car was closer to the American models - the overall structural reinforcement, which means overweight, of the power structure of the body and chassis to ensure the survivability and durability of the car in poor road conditions, as well as the lower culture of mass production in the USSR.
In particular, on the first production Volga cars, there was an overweight of about 200 kg relative to the reference sample (1450 kg of the standard curb weight versus an average of 1610 for the M-21B taxi car with a weight of up to 38 kg). Later, the situation improved, but the preponderance was not completely eliminated, and the benchmark indicators were superior to those of foreign analogues of the same class. In general, the body of the Volga for its time had a very high rigidity - higher than that of most foreign samples, especially those that had a lightweight design and reduced thickness of the American steel sheet, and higher than that of the previous GAZ model - Pobeda. The reverse side of this, as already shown above, was the increased mass of the car. To ensure strength, a relatively thick steel sheet was used (relative to American models, including Opels made using similar technologies, but not most European ones of the same class); elements of the upper power belt of the body - such as roof racks and door glass frames - were made extremely massive, which even somewhat affected visibility - the side windows turned out to be slightly smaller in area compared to foreign models, and the windshield and rear had a small one, for those years, bending, which made their openings more durable. The use of a spatial bearing structure of the body made it possible to provide high torsional (torsional) rigidity (compared to cars with a flat separate frame), and massive subframes at the ends gave the necessary bending rigidity, the combination of these solutions ensured a sufficiently high survivability and durability of the body on bad roads. A significant contribution to the strength of the body was made by the "dome", arched with double curvature, the shape of the surfaces of the roof and many other body panels, achieved by the widespread use of stamping with a hood. For the Volga, a completely new engine was developed (designer - Garry Voldemarovich Evart), an overhead valve, with hemispherical combustion chambers located not in a row, but at an angle, valves, an intake manifold on the left and an exhaust manifold on the right side of the cylinder head, chain (and not gear) drive of a high camshaft. Such engines were installed on prototypes of 1954-1955. During testing, however, it proved to be insufficiently economical and did not develop sufficient torque at low speeds with a full load, and subsequently it could not be brought to the proper level. On serial GAZ-21, a redesigned version of this engine was used, which was developed for the GAZ-56, which did not go into the series, and had a more traditional design: valves located in a row, a camshaft driven by a silent textolite gear, wedge combustion chambers and intake and exhaust manifolds on the right . For those years, it was also relatively progressive, and according to individual design solutions it could be called advanced, although its degree of forcing and power output were relatively small. It was an all-aluminum (then very rare solution) gasoline engine with “wet” cylinder liners, a five-bearing crankshaft (rare then on engines of mass-produced cars), a “lower” camshaft and valves arranged in rows in the head, driven by means of rods through rocker arms. . The combustion chambers were of the wedge type. The original project also included an electric fan clutch, which was controlled by a sensor that turned on the cooling system fan only when the coolant reached a certain temperature, which made it possible to improve the temperature regime of the engine and reduce fuel consumption - this system did not go into series (subsequently, such a system was installed on the first "Volga" GAZ-24, but showed itself poorly and since 1972 they stopped installing it). Despite its relatively high technical sophistication for those years, it remained four-cylinder and relatively modest in terms of displacement; therefore, in terms of smoothness of operation and power output (in absolute terms, but not specific, in relation to the working volume), it was inferior to the power unit of the pre-war modernized Emka GAZ-11-73 of the same class with a 3.5-liter six-cylinder engine GAZ- 11 (type Dodge D5) with a capacity of 76 hp. with the possibility of forcing. GAZ did not develop a six-cylinder line of middle-class passenger cars due to considerations of increasing fuel economy and the lack of need for such dynamic cars for the national economy. Modifications of the GAZ-11 engine were used on a large class car GAZ-M-12 "ZiM" and trucks GAZ-51, GAZ-52. For the first time in the practice of the domestic automotive industry, an automatic hydromechanical gearbox was used (at the first stage, it was planned to leave the manual shift box from Pobeda only on the taxi version). It did not last long in mass production due to the low culture of operation and maintenance of cars in the USSR, although the modification with automatic transmission was listed in the production program until 1962 (but after 1958, very few such cars were produced - about a few or dozens, assembled on special orders) . It should be noted that, according to the memoirs of some of the GAZ-21 developers, the automatic transmission for the Volga was perceived from the very beginning at the plant as an opportunity to work out the basis for the future Chaika transmission in small-scale production, without plans for the mass production of a middle-class car in such a set. In addition to the quite obvious concerns about problems with the operation of such a relatively complex unit, it is mentioned that a car with a four-cylinder engine and an “automatic” even at that time simply did not have the proper dynamics due to lack of power. Based on the proven design solutions of ZiM, a modern silent hypoid rear axle, a cardan drive with an intermediate support were developed. The original technical solution was TsSS - a centralized lubrication system for chassis units - a special tube system with which the driver lubricated all rubbing pairs with liquid engine oil by pressing the pedal in the cabin, and not with grease using injection in the pit - a similar system was used on many pre-war German and some expensive American cars, but in domestic practice it was used on a mass model for the first time. However, it should be noted that on domestic off-road, the survivability of the system tubes was low, GAZ specialists could not bring this system to the proper level, and from about the middle of 1960 they stopped installing it. It is curious to note that the door locks on the Volga had a rotary design - a rather technically complex and, in those years, constructive solution that had just entered the practice of the world automotive industry.
In general, the Volga’s very strong and durable load-bearing body and engine, soft, long-stroke and durable suspension providing high ground clearance, a spacious and comfortable interior made its design close to optimal for operating conditions in the USSR, which and became one of the reasons that the car not only lasted on the assembly line for 14 years (which was just not uncommon for the Soviet automotive industry), but many decades after it was discontinued, it remained relevant as a means of transport, maintaining a certain popularity in the secondary market until the nineties, and in the eighties still belonging to the common models. In addition, the machine proved to be excellent in the most difficult working conditions in the taxi service, in which it was widely used until the eighties.
Running prototypes.
By 1955, running prototypes were brought to a state of readiness for state acceptance tests. On May 3, three Volgas - cherry red (prototype No. 1), blue and white - were sent for comprehensive state tests together with various cars of domestic and foreign production. One of the tested cars was with a manual transmission, the rest - with "automatic". In addition, all cars had slight external differences, mainly differed in the number of slots in the radiator grill - from 10 to 16, the design of lighting equipment, interior, and so on. Tests of prototypes took place in a variety of road conditions - from the modern Gorky-Moscow highway to off-road on the territory of the Path to Communism collective farm. Compared to previous domestic models, Volga proved to be a dynamic, high-speed car with high comfort. The car was more economical than its predecessor - "Victory", while surpassing the "ZiM" of a higher class in dynamics. In terms of such indicators as durability and cross-country ability, the Volga left far behind foreign analogues that are little adapted to domestic road conditions (in particular, the durability of the body and the pivotless front suspension of the Ford Mainline car, according to the results of long-term tests, in domestic road conditions did not exceed a modest figure of 50 thousand kilometers; the rest of the chassis units showed themselves no better, up to the frame that had parted along the welds, and the body, in which a large number of cracks had formed). The fourth prototype, ivory with a dark roof, state number GV 00-28, was built in May 1955, and did not participate in the test run. Later, it was transferred to the radio factory in the city of Murom for the final debugging of the A-9 model radio receiver intended for the Volga. Prototypes Nos. 2, 3 and 4 received a "star" grille in the summer of 1955.
Putting into production.
The first conventionally serial "Volga" were assembled on October 10, 1956, they already had the design of the front "with a star" - three copies. There were five cars in total. In the autumn and winter of 1956, eight Volga (experimental 1954-55 and cars from the pilot series of 1956) traveled 29 thousand kilometers along the roads of Russia, the Baltic states, Ukraine, Belarus and the Caucasus. Somewhat later (already in 1957) a larger batch was produced, and the conveyor started working towards the end of the year. The first production cars, as a temporary measure, were supplied with an engine from the export version of the GAZ-69, which was a bored and forced version of the Pobeda engine (developing 65 hp). This engine was aggregated only with a manual transmission. In 1958, from a certain moment, they began to put their own engine of the ZMZ-21 model on the Volga and, for part of the release, an automatic transmission. The final tests of the new model were carried out in taxi companies throughout the country, where cars from the pilot batch (1956 - early 57) were sent. In their course, numerous shortcomings and shortcomings were identified, most of which were immediately eliminated. The rest were either eliminated in the course of further modernization of the model (for example, the glaring upper part of the instrument panel that caused strong criticism already in 1959 began to be flocked (granular matte coating), later, in the sixties, covered with artificial leather), or they pursued it until the end of the "conveyor life" (say, opening at an insufficiently large angle of the hood and trunk lid).
The main modifications of the base sedan:
GAZ-M-21 - 1957 model sedan with automatic transmission;
GAZ-M-21A - 1957-1958, taxi model 1957;
GAZ-M-21AYU - 1959-1958, a tropical version of the 1957 model taxi;
GAZ-M-21A - 1959-1962, taxi model 1959;
GAZ-M-21AYU - 1959-1962, tropical version of the 1959 model taxi;
GAZ-M-21B - 1957, taxi model 1957 with a lower valve engine;
GAZ-M-21V - 1957-1958, base sedan of the 1957 model;
GAZ-M-21VYU - 1957-1958, tropical version of the 1957 model;
GAZ-M-21G - 1956-1957, the base sedan of the 1957 model with a lower valve engine;
GAZ-M-21GU - 1956-1957, a tropical version of the 1957 model with a lower valve engine;
GAZ-M-21D - 1957-1958, export version of the 1957 model;
GAZ-M-21DYU - 1957-1958, tropical export version of the 1957 model;
GAZ-M-21E - export version of the 1957 model with automatic transmission;
GAZ-M-21EYU - tropical export version of the 1957 model with automatic transmission;
GAZ-M-21I - 1958-1962, the base sedan of the 1958 model;
GAZ-M-21K - 1959-1962, export version of the 1958 model;
GAZ-M-21KB - 1960-1962, car kit for Belgium model 1958;
GAZ-M-21KYU - 1959-1962, tropical export version of the 1958 model;
GAZ-M-21L - 1962-1964, base sedan of the 1962 model;
GAZ-M-21M - 1962-1964, export version of the 1962 model;
GAZ-M-21MYu - 1962-1964, tropical export version of the 1962 model;
GAZ-21N - 1964 - export version of the 1962 model with a right-hand drive;
GAZ-21NYU - 1964 - a tropical export version of the 1962 model with a right-hand drive;
GAZ-21P - export version of the 1965 model with a right-hand drive;
GAZ-21PE - export version of the 1965 model with right-hand drive and automatic transmission;
GAZ-21R - 1965-1970, the base sedan of the 1965 model;
GAZ-21S - 1965-1970, export version of the 1965 model;
GAZ-21T - 1962-1964, taxi model 1962;
GAZ-21TS - 1965-1970, taxi model 1965;
GAZ-21U - 1959 (tentatively) -1964, modification with improved design of models of 1959 and 1962;
GAZ-21US - 1965-1970, modification with improved design of the 1965 model;
GAZ-21F - experienced with a prechamber engine;
GAZ-21E - 1965-1970, 1965 model sedan with shielded electrical equipment;