1965 ZAZ 965 "Zaporozhets"

ZAZ-965 "Zaporozhets"- Soviet minicar, produced from 1960 to 1963.

ZAZ-965A "Zaporozhets"- modification with a 27 hp engine, produced from November 1962 to 1969.

A total of 322,166 cars of all modifications were produced.

PRICE

At the time of its appearance in 1960, the Zaporozhets cost 18,000 pre-reform rubles - however, in reality, only a small batch of cars was produced that year, mostly sold by ZAZ allied factories, the very first commercial cars went on sale after the monetary reform, at a price of 1,800 rubles. According to legend, the price was determined as the total cost of 1,000 bottles of vodka (1.80 rubles each).

With the average wage in the USSR in the early 1960s, this value correlated approximately as 20:1, that is, "Zaporozhets" could be bought for about 20 average wages in the country.

The modern cost of ZAZ-965 in the secondary market varies greatly depending on the seller and the safety of the car, ranging from several thousand rubles to several thousand dollars.

MODIFICATIONS

• 965/965A - standard modification

• 965E / 965AE "Yalta" - an export modification, it was distinguished by sloping side moldings, improved interior trim, enhanced sound insulation, as well as an ashtray and an exterior rear-view mirror on the left side. Also, dealers independently installed a radio receiver on 965E / 965AE Yalta cars. Imports were carried out through the Finnish company Konela (under the name "Jalta") and the Belgian Scaldia (under the name "Yalta").

• 965B / 965AB - a modification designed for disabled people with injured legs and healthy hands.

• 965R / 965AP - a modification designed for disabled people with one healthy arm and one healthy leg.

• 965C / 965AC - a mail van for collecting letters with a right-hand drive. The car had modified air intakes of the cooling system. The rear side windows have been replaced with metal panels.

• Pickup truck for internal use, did not have its own index. They were made from defective bodies of mass-produced cars.

ZAZ-965 IN THE PEOPLE

An early version of the ZAZ-965 can be seen in the movie "Queen of the Gas Station".

Also, the car appears in the cartoon "Winter in Prostokvashino" -

... and they bought an old Zaporozhets, collapsed ...

"ZAZ-965" is briefly shown in the Soviet cartoon "Well, you wait!" in the fifth issue, when the Wolf tries to force the Hare out of the phone booth. When he lights up a lot of cigarettes, he begins to swing and he goes out onto the road, where he is almost run over by a green Zaporozhets. A car similar to the ZAZ-965 can also be seen in the 20th episode of “Well, you wait!”

"ZAZ-965" also starred in the films "Three plus two" (1962), "Until the thunder strikes" (1967), "One day twenty years later", "Detective" (1979), "The Casket of Mary Medici" (1980) , "Golden Eye" (1995), "Patriotic Comedy" (1992), "BUGS. Episode 1 "(2009); Georgian short films "Saturday Evening" (1975) and "Three Rubles" (1976). An export version of the ZAZ-965AE can be seen in the film "Accelerate" (1987), and a home-made convertible based on the ZAZ-965 can be seen in the film "Be my husband" (1981). In the series "In an adult way" of the animated series "Barboskiny" a scale model of "ZAZ-965" with a convertible body is present as Druzhka's car.

Also, ZAZ-965 is one of the heroes of the video for the song "Hey Guy" by Chris Kelmi and the Rock Atelier group.

• Popular nicknames: “Zhuzhik”, “Constipation”, “ZAZik”, “Kid”, etc. lovers of this model.

• Air intake louvers, the so-called "Gills", have another name that has an interesting history. During the development process, among the main problems of the car, was the overheating of the motor. The solution was found by one of the designers of the Kommunar plant (ZAZ), by the name of Wasserman. After testing, the idea was approved, and after this detail, the nickname "Wasserman's grater" was assigned.
• Since, thanks to the design, the car was distinguished by high cross-country ability, the people joked: “Where a foreign car slows down,“ constipation ”on the belly will creep!”.

• Among the modifications of the "zhuzhik" was a model for the disabled with one arm and one leg ZAZ-965AR. The main feature was an automatic electromagnetic clutch - only two pedals and a gear lever were used to control the car. Subsequently, it was recognized as insufficiently reliable - the ferromagnetic powder lost its properties over time, in addition, due to the increased moment of inertia of the armature, the fast gear shifting necessary for intensive acceleration of the car was not provided, and the gearbox synchronizers were significantly overloaded and worn out more. Therefore, over time (already on models based on the ZAZ-968), a clutch with a vacuum drive was introduced instead.

• ZAZ-965 was the last Soviet car with a turn signal toggle switch (in fact, the early ZAZ-966 also had a turn signal toggle switch in the middle of the instrument panel) and with a door that opens against the movement of the car.

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TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VEHICLE ZAZ-965A and ZAZ-965AB

common data

Vehicle weight (without useful cargo, oil, gasoline, spare scaffolding, tool kit, parts and components of the body heating system)	610 kg (+18 kg)
Equipped vehicle weight: without load
with full load
Curb weight distribution vehicle with full load axes:
to the front axle
on the rear axle
Dimensions (nominal):
height (no load)
Base (distance between axles)
Front wheel track (on the ground)
Rear wheel track (at full static load)
Ground clearance (under the bracket- us front suspension at full load)
The smallest turning radius (according to track of the outer front wheel)
Overhang angles (with full load): front
The highest speed on the horizontal tal section of a flat dry highway ce with a load of two people (incl. tea driver)
Applied fuel	Automobile gasoline A-72 or A-76 (GOST 2084-67)

The control consumption of gasoline per 100 kilometers in the summer for a serviceable, pro-
run-in car, with a full load, at a constant speed -
35-40 km / h in 4th gear on a horizontal and even highway - 5.5 liters.

Note. The control consumption of gasoline is an indicator,
determining the health of the car, and operating costs
cannot serve fuel.
The plant does not set a norm for operating fuel consumption.

Engine

engine's type	Petrol, four-stroke, carburetor rotary, overhead valves, air cooling
Number and arrangement of cylinders	4. V-shaped, camber angle
Cylinder diameter
piston stroke
Cylinder displacement	887 cm3
Compression ratio (nominal)
Maximum power, (at 4000-4200 rpm)
Torque, maximum (at 2800-3000 rpm)
The order of operation of the cylinders
Specific fuel consumption, mini small	275 g/e l. With. hour
cylinders	Cast iron, with cooling fins, sensible
crankshaft housing	tunnel type magnesium alloy
cylinder heads	Aluminum alloy, removable, common for every two cylinders, sockets plug-in valves, made of bleached iron guna
	Made of aluminum alloy, have two compression and two oil scraper rings
Crankshaft	Cast iron, cast, tricycle
main bearings	Three, aluminum alloy
	Upper, located obliquely in the go- dexterous cylinders
Connecting rod bearings	Thin-walled, made of steel tape, for- cast aluminum alloy
Valve timing	Inlet valves: opening 10° to TDC, closing 45° after BDC; release- valves: opening 45° to BDC, closure 10° after TDC
Inlet gas pipeline	Common for four cylinders
Lubrication system	Combined: under pressure and splashing
Oil cleaning	Crank Centrifuge
Oil pump	Gear, drive from crankshaft that motor shaft
Engine cooling	air, forced
Fan	Axial, located on the armature shaft generator
Oil cooling	Air-oil cooler
Carburetor	Vertical, downstream K-125
Air filter	Combined inertial-oil- ny, with filter element
petrol pump	Aperture, has a lever for manual fuel pumping
crankcase ventilation	open

power transmission

Clutch	Single disk, dry. outer dia- driven disc meter 170 mm
Transmission	Three-way, four-stage. It has four forward gears and one back. Gears 2, 4 and third gears are helical and equipped with synchronizers
gear ratios	First gear - 3, 73:1 second gear - 2, 29:1 third gear - 1.39:1 fourth gear - 0.964:1 reverse - 4.76:1
main gear	Pair of bevel gears with spiral ny teeth: gear ratio - 4, 63:1 (37 and 8 teeth)
Differential	Conical, with two satellites
	Fully unloaded type
Transmission of pushing forces	Rear suspension arms

Chassis

	Low pressure, tubeless, raz- measures 5, 20-13
Front wheel hubs	Cast ductile iron together with tor- brain drum
Front wheel suspension	Independent, torsion, working
Rear wheel suspension	Independent; spring, working with two shock absorbers
shock absorbers	Hydraulic, piston, double- front action, telescopic type

Steering

	Shoe for four wheels
Brake drives	1. Foot - hydraulic, operates to all wheels from the pedal 2. Manual - cable, acts on rear wheels

electrical equipment

Wiring system	Single-wire, "minus" is connected to weight
Rated voltage
Generator	Type G -501, alternating current, three-phase - ny, with a power of 250 W, or G-502 with built-in silicon rectifier.
Rectifier	Type B-310, selenium, for generating Torah G-501.

Relay-regulator	Type RR-310, consists of vibration- th voltage regulator and relay cheniya
Interlock relay	Type RB-1, consists of an electromagnet relay and rectifier bridge made of diodes, to power the electromagnetic relay
Accumulator battery	Type 6-ST-42, capacity 42 Ah
Ignition coil
Distributor	Type R-114 with centrifugal and vacuum ignition timing controls - niya and octane corrector
Spark plug	Type A6US with thread SP-M14X 1, 25 mm
Oil Temperature Gauge	Type TM-101
Emergency oil pressure sensor	Type MM-102, adjusted to pressure pressure 0.4 - 0.7 kg/cm2
	Type ST351B, sequential awakening, with a capacity of 0.6 liters. s., with electric magnetic traction relay PC 900A Traction relay control - remote - No, from the ignition switch The control circuit provides for additional relay (type RS-502) and relay- blocking RB-1 protecting the starter from spacing during overexposure of switching on and protective contacts terminals "CT" ignition lock from burning. The auxiliary relay is located on engine compartment wall
	Type FG-110, with two-filament lamp high and low beam 60 and 40 St.
Sidelights	Type PF-215, with two-filament lamp- mi: for parking light 4 sv. and for point- turn 32 St.
Rear lights	Type FP-225 - left, FP-225-B - right; with double filament lamps: for parking light 4 St., for the indicator Gate 32 St. and single filament lamp for brake light 21 St.
License plate light	Has one light bulb in 3 St.
Central light switch	Type P-38, has three positions koyatki: lighting off, on light for city driving, light on for country driving; there is a rheostat for regulation of illumination of scales shield - instrumentation
Foot light switch for ZAZ-965A	Type P-39 (switches the far- dipped headlights or dipped beam headlights - sidelights).
Manual light switch for ZAZ-965AB	Type P46-B2
Engine compartment lamp	Type PD1-M with a lamp of 6 St.
Thermal fuse	Bimetallic PR-2B, in the appreciation of lighting scheniya is installed under the instrument panel ditch on the steering bearing bracket shaft
Fuses	Type PR-103. In circuits: signal, at- hogs, windshield wiper; fuse box threads is located in the trunk on front panel

	Instrument panel KP-211A contains: gasoline gauge, pointer oil temperature, turn signal and high beam headlights, speedometer with sum- a meter of the distance traveled; the combination is illuminated by a lamp of 1 St.
Lantern of a control lamp of emergency oil pressure	Type PD20-V with a lamp of 1 St.
Wiper	Type SL-210, electric with two brushes. Has a switch for two positions: on and off
	Type PK-110, one, with a lamp 3 light, with a switch
Stoplight switch	Type VK-12, includes a brake light when pressed on, brake pedal; situated on the brake master cylinder
Sound signal	Type C-44, electromagnetic, vibration tional. Located on the front panel in the trunk
Check glow plug heater,	Glows when the heater is turned on within 12 - 20 sec. Installed under dashboard
Heating indicator lamp body	Type PD-20B, lights up at the moment of start of heater operation (after 45 -60 seconds after switching on), in 1 sv.
Heater switch	Type P-300, has three positions
socket outlet
Turn signal breaker	Type RS-57B, located on the left under dashboard
Ignition lock and switch starter	Type VK21-D, located on the panel appliances
Gasoline gauge sensor	Type BM-110A
Switches (for pointer gate and wiper switch body)	Type P-17A
Flexible speedometer drive shaft	Type GV-120, shaft length 2530 mm

body type	Closed, two-door, all-metal personal, bearing
Body equipment	Front trunk, mirror rear view, two sun protection visor, windshield washer, floor mats semi
	Front - soft, sponge rubber ny, separate, adjustable in pro- longitudinal direction under the height of the driver and passenger. The seat backs are adjustable tilt and recline back for sleeping arrangements Rear - soft, spring, with two- local solid cushion and backrest
Body ventilation	Local, draft-free, implemented is made by turning part of the glass two- ray or lowering the windows in the doors
Body heating	It is carried out by independent heating telecom, where the air is heated and is given to the body and for blowing the wind glass

Equipment

Refueling capacities and norms

petrol tank
Engine lubrication system	2.8L (2.5kg)
Air filter
Gearbox and main housing transmission	1.5L (1.3kg)
Steering gear housing
Front wheel hub	100 g (each)
Hydraulic drive system brakes
Front shock absorbers	185 cm3 (each)
Rear shock absorbers	145 cm3 (each)

Adjustment data

Clearance between valve stem and rocker toe (on a cold engine gatele)	For inlet - 0.08 mm For graduation - 0.1 mm
Oil pressure (for control, re- not adjustable)	Not less than 1.2 kg/cm2 at 3000 rpm and oil temperature 85°С
Normal oil temperature engine	80-100°С
Fan Belt Deflection
The gap between the interrupt contacts body	0.35-0.45mm
Distance from the plane of the connector float chamber of the carburetor gasoline level when checking glass tube
Gap between spark plug electrodes
Clutch pedal free play
Free travel of the brake pedal	3 - 6 mm (not subject to adjustment)
Tire pressure:
front wheels	1.3kg/cm2- 1.5kg/cm2
rear wheels	1.7kg/cm2- 1.9kg/cm1
Toe-in of the rear wheels (with pendicular position of the plane	Checking with an optical instrument type "Exact";
wheels to floor level)	-10" to +35"
	Tension thread test
	Right wheel. left wheel
	2 to 6 mm 0 to 6 mm
Toe-in of the front wheels (with distance from the bottom tube ki to the supporting plane of the wheels 254 mm and coupler of wheels behind with effort 10+0.5 kg	When measuring with a ruler between shi- us on the protruding parts of the sidewalls: 1 - 3 mm When measuring with optical instruments ramie: from + 8" to +23"

Location of engine, chassis and body numbers

The engine number is stamped on the right side of the crankcase next to the
fuel pump mountings.

Chassis and body number is stamped on the shelf of the front panel.

Factory numbers of the engine, chassis (the chassis number is the number of the car-
mobile) and bodies are also embossed on the nameplate located in the
thorny compartment.

It is surprising that in the worst times for private motoring in the USSR, a car appeared that was oriented for sale to private owners. As it turns out, I.V. Stalin had nothing against private cars. Thanks to Stalin's order, KIM was designed specifically for private owners. The war intervened in his fate, but as soon as it ended, in May 1947, the People's Commissar of the Automobile Industry of the USSR S.A. Akopov issued a decree allowing the sale of new Moskvich and Pobeda cars to private owners.

And under Khrushchev, prejudices raised their heads, as if a private car was an "alien phenomenon." The chief designer of MZMA, A.F. Andronov, was forced to cover himself with statements that "the plant makes cars for export." In 1962, at the Italian exhibition in Moscow, FIAT showed a model of an automobile plant proposed for construction in the USSR and similar to the future VAZ. But only when Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev came to power, such a project became a reality, like the other two - the reconstruction of the MZMA and the duplication of the production of Moskviches in Izhevsk.

How did it happen that Zaporozhets saw the light in those years? Very simple. So far, no one knows who came up with the idea to replenish the type of Soviet cars with a small-sized vehicle for the front line, whose task is to bring weapons and ammunition to the battlefield on the way "there", and take out the wounded on the way back. The problem is that this machine was required in small quantities, and its production would become unprofitable. But before my eyes was the experience of Volkswagen and DKW, which produced small-sized military and civilian vehicles on the same base.

From the side of the NAMI institute, which was entrusted with the project, a counter proposal came - to execute several machines on the same units:

1. Passenger car for general use, suitable for export.
2. A car for the disabled, superior to the Serpukhov motorized carriage.
3. Small-tonnage pickup truck, van, and miniature bus in unified bodies.
4. Light all-terrain vehicle for the village.
5. Staff car with the simplest body for the army.
6. The front edge conveyor itself is in wheeled and tracked versions.

Actors and performers

Boris Mikhailovich Fitterman, who headed the NAMI Passenger Car Laboratory in the 50s and 60s, “attributed” the development of the first Zaporozhets to himself in the late 80s, and now many sites thoughtlessly call him “the chief designer of the ZAZ-965”. But everything was different. Fitterman really headed research work on the study of European minicars and motorized sidecars, supervised the testing of purchased foreign cars, among which were products hardly suitable for public roads with 1-2-cylinder motorcycle engines, the simplest bodies for 2 people. But there were also full-fledged cars, albeit the cheapest ones: FIAT-600, DAF, Citroen 2CV and, of course, the famous Volkswagen Beetle. Fitterman developed the forward edge conveyor NAMI-032 and the double invalid NAMI-031 unified with it. And it was not US, but OGK MZMA, who was engaged in a civilian car.

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As it was in reality, Alexander Fedorovich Andronov described in his memoirs. He was summoned by the Minister of the Automotive Industry (in the recent past, the chief engineer of GAZ) Nikolai Ivanovich Strokin and instructed to develop a minicar. Andronov refused - OGK MZMA was engaged in modifications of Moskvich, jeeps of the 415/416 series, a promising model was already being conceived. Andronov himself offered to hand it over to US. Strokin replied that for such work a team is needed, which is not in NAMI, therefore the institute will not cope with the task, and no one in the country knows small cars better than Andronov and his subordinates. Strokin also added that he likes the FIAT-600, which should be taken as a sample.

The minister knew perfectly well how Andronov hated to copy foreign cars and had just completely independently developed the original Soviet Moskvich-402 family with modifications. Therefore, he made the reservation that there was no need to “rip off FIAT”, but the most important articulation of body units for automotive production would have to be repeated in Italy. External form (ie design) Andronov can change as he wants.

We add that Fitterman described in detail the structure of the FIAT-600 body units, justifying that this is a good modern car, convenient for mass production. But he was engaged in pure theory, and all the rough practical work fell on the shoulders of Andronov and the designers of the OGK MZMA. There was practically no experience in designing rear-engined vehicles with independent suspension of all wheels in the USSR. Two "avant-garde" projects by Yuri Dolmatovsky showed how difficult it is to make such a machine.

The first development of NAMI-013 was hardly "taught to ride." The second, Belka, turned out to be uncomfortable for the driver (the owner of the car) and the passenger (a member of his family), who were seated directly on the front axle, and even under the cap of the end door leaking in the rain. On the move, "Squirrel" showed dangerous handling for an inexperienced driver. NAMI-013 and Belka came out unrepairable and incompatible with mass production technology.

Andronov had to mobilize all the WGC, repair and technological shops of the plant. Designers and production workers worked in two shifts, did not sleep at night. Andronov also wrote to Strokin to the Moscow Economic Council: we are “suturing up”, give extra people, allocate space, finally write out money. They didn't answer him. But the platoon perfectly fulfilled the order - in three years, the designers of the OGK MZMA developed the body and chassis. The gearbox of the design bureau of the MZMA chassis under the direction of K.I. Faibisovich did not only for his car, but also for NAMI-031 and NAMI-032. The production of a minicar at MZMA was out of the question. The close "old territory" of the plant excluded the simultaneous release of the Moskvich and the rear-engine novelty. The Moskvich-444 index was used temporarily for drawing up drawings and specifications, and in Zaporozhye, documentation and modernized prototypes were already transferred as Moskvich-965.

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Meanwhile, in NAMI, Alexander Semyonovich Aizenberg, who before the war had designed an 8-cylinder overhead valve "king engine" for the ZIS-101, conjured over the engine. One option was rejected, the second, the third. As with FIAT, it is impossible - the customer in uniform needs air cooling for the TPK so that the radiator is not shot through in battle. The "air" motor had to be designed as many as 6 times. Andronov's team found a system error. Almost instantly they rejected the “opposite” from the Ural motorcycle, unsuitable for a 4-seater car. Tests have shown that the car is not capable of running on two cylinders - it is necessary, without options, four. For comparison, Eisenberg's group introduced boxer or V-shaped 4-cylinder variants. The first one barely fit in the small engine bay, guaranteed cooling and maintenance problems. The second one turned out to be so compact that there was room for an autonomous gasoline heater on the left in the engine compartment, and free space on the right.

Moskvich-965 with a boxer engine

The design service of ZAZ was recruited from the most experienced gaz workers. Muscovites from MZMA and from US did not want to go to Zaporozhye, losing their Moscow registration. The documentation from the MZMA was handed over to the Gorky designers Grigory Moiseevich Wasserman, Yuri Naumovich Sorochkin, Ivan Alekseevich Sandalov. They successfully brought the Zaporozhets to the assembly line. The production of engines was mastered by a diesel plant in Melitopol, 112 km away. from Zaporozhye, which is included in the same production association with ZAZ.

FIAT, Moskvich and Zaporozhets

The ZAZ-965 accepted for production differed from the Moskvich-444 not only in the engine. In Moscow, they held on to the "Fiat" front suspension with a transverse floating spring. Testers proved that it is not suitable for off-road use. The chief designer of NAMI, the famous A.A. Lipgart ordered to copy Volkswagen's torsion bar suspension. Interestingly, such a suspension has already been tested on NAMI-031, and not just anyone, but the linkers of the OGK MZMA found it “impossible” to install it on Moskvich-444. The rear suspension has practically remained from the FIAT-600 and the same Volkswagen with the same form of levers. Therefore, at the ZAZ-965, the rear wheels were at an angle to the vertical, and ridicule sounded about his “clubfoot”.

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Not quite ordinary wheels came from MZMA. Firstly, for the first time in the USSR, 13-inch tires were used at Zaporozhets. But at FIAT they were generally 12-inch! Secondly, the Zaporozhets was distinguished by light discs in the form of a "donut" with a large hole. This is the legacy of the first samples of Moskvich-444, in which, in order to somehow insert a motorcycle engine into the car, it was necessary to supply the rear wheels with final drives protruding outwards. The doors of the first samples had “beggarly” sliding windows, but normal windows and power windows were introduced in the MZMA body design bureau.

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Andronov just then attracted professional designers with art education to the design bureau of bodies. They corrected the external form as much as possible. Unlike the FIAT-600, the ZAZ-965 has a "stepped" rather than a "sloping" tail. At FIAT, the line of the front fenders “goes” into the stamping on the door and breaks off like a “path to nowhere”. From the bottom of the rear wheel arch there is also a rib, which also breaks. There is nothing terrible in this, only the MZMA artists Boris Ivanov and Efim Mastbaum did much better. The sidewall of the Moskvich-444 gained integrity when a smooth horizontal line appeared, going from nose to tail, and connecting the front fenders with the hind wings.

The sidewall of the Zaporozhets resembles the Pobeda M-20, which is not surprising. The people who created it saw Victories walking in a continuous stream on the street every day. In preparation for production, unnecessary decorations were “gone”: a “comb” on the rear wing, a horizontal rib on the door, which made the look whole and concise. Only the original front fenders did not take root - the “Fiat” ones were easier to mass-produce.

Doors opening against the course with external hinges seemed to be an “atavism” of pre-war bodies. But OGK MZMA deliberately left them from FIAT. Andronov proposed a sound idea. The disabled car should not be made in the form of an original model that requires separate preparation for production, like NAMI-031, but as a modification unified with a public car. The experience of developing disabled options for Muscovites at the plant was accumulated by the designer B.V. Efremov, who walked on prostheses of his own design. The wide "Fiat" door opening against the move was perfect for the disabled. In terms of ease of use and driving performance, Zaporozhets could not be compared with Serpukhov motorized carriages.

Growing pains

The rebuilt plant of agricultural machines hardly mastered the car. According to the plan, ZAZ was counting on 150 thousand cars a year. Documentation for model 965 MZMA transferred to ZAZ from December 1958 to March 1959. In the fourth quarter of 1960, the first 537 commodity Zaporozhets passed through the sales department, and in 1961 only 8297 cars went into the distribution network. For the next two years, production gradually "revived", approaching 20 thousand cars a year. But one could only dream of the design capacity of the plant, so in 1966 about 45 thousand Zaporozhets saw the light. Several thousand were disabled cars, a little more than a thousand a year - a modification for medical care. The exotic postal ZAZ-965S with a right-hand drive was built for two years: 200 cars in 1962 and 450 in 1963.

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The Cossacks dispersed throughout the country, but no one thought about pre-sale preparation or after-sales service. Private traders unofficially repaired the Volga in taxi companies, and Muscovites - at the communications and medical service depots. Nobody knew what to do with Zaporozhets, especially in the outback.

There were complaints about breakdowns, lack of spare parts and questions about where to repair such a car. Growing pains were inevitable. But who overcame the difficulties, he appreciated that Zaporozhets can turn around “on a patch” in a cramped city courtyard, is not inferior to all-wheel drive vehicles in terms of cross-country ability (it is light and with heavily loaded drive wheels), that it is not difficult to start it in frost, having previously “fired up” heater. True, the flammable stove did not forgive mistakes and required careful study of the instructions.

The “cramped” interior turned out to be not so cramped, and many owners of the Zaporozhets drove Muscovites in the “420th body”. And then a small 4-seater enclosed car on four wheels is a fundamentally different level of convenience compared to a motorcycle. Let me remind you that there were a lot of private motorcycles in the USSR even before the war, and by the 60s they had become massive.

New Zaporozhets, cargo Zaporozhets, military Zaporozhets

From 1961 to 1966, the ZAZ OGK developed the Zaporozhets of the new generation ZAZ-966 with a more spacious interior and a more advanced suspension. All the speculation that he was “copied from the NSU Prinz” turned out to be untrue. Neither ZAZ nor US had such machines purchased as analogues, the creators of ZAZ-966 did not know anything about this NSU model at all, and under the imaginary similarity of the external form there is a completely different division and design of body units. In December 1966, ZAZ barely mastered two (!) Commercial copies of the “new Zaporozhets”, and for the entire 1967, only 933 cars were put on sale.

ZAZ-965 and ZAZ-966 could well coexist in the USSR - they belonged to different groups of a particularly small class, differed in capacity, consumer qualities and price. The hasty decommissioning of the ZAZ-965 in May 1969 was unanimously condemned by car owners - the cheapest car left the market. Outraged voices sounded until the 80s, when they announced the upcoming release of Oka. Despite the technical solutions frankly borrowed from FIAT and Volkswagen, the ZAZ-965 sold well in Europe, which cannot be said about the ZAZ-966. Where it was possible to sell hundreds of "old" Cossacks, a few dozen "new" ones could hardly find buyers.

As for the family of cars for various purposes, the role of a public car was played by Zaporozhets himself, the role of a disabled person, as already mentioned above, was his modifications. A car for agriculture with the same power unit was released in the late 60s, like the LuAZ-969 in different versions.

ZAZ-970 wagon layout in the form of a van, pickup truck and mini-bus, was designed, tested and abandoned halfway. I also did not see the serial production of ZAZ-971D with the simplest open body and rear engine. And the leading edge conveyor, for the sake of which the whole project was started, got to the Lutsk conveyor for a long time. The first commercial batch of LuAZ-967 was produced only in 1975.

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Exactly 55 years ago, in November 1960, at the Kommunar plant in Zaporozhye, the serial production of the ZAZ-965 minicar, the famous "humpback", which became the hero of many films and jokes in the USSR, began.

The history of the creation of this model began in the mid-50s. Then the USSR was restoring the national economy after the Great Patriotic War, which left the country not only devastation, but also hundreds of thousands of disabled people who became such during the hostilities. Many of them needed vehicles because they could not move independently. True, since 1952, at the motorcycle factory in Serpukhov, for the disabled, the production of motorized strollers was launched, but they were distinguished by an extremely unaesthetic design, low level of comfort and were rightfully considered a parody of a car and a mockery of war invalids.

At the same time, Soviet leaders, including Nikita Khrushchev, understood that people who gave their health for victory should drive good cars. And in general, such a car would not hurt Soviet citizens, because their level of well-being grew. What was needed was a small, reliable, easy-to-drive, cheap-to-manufacture, affordable, and pleasing car. And soon it was decided to release such a minicar.

Undercover passions

The development was entrusted to specialists from the Moscow Small Car Plant (MZMA, later AZLK), whose chief designer at that time was Alexander Fedorovich Andronov. Here is what he wrote about this in his memoirs: “A call from N.I. Strokina:

Come to me today at seven o'clock, we need to talk about one task.

Appeared. I'm listening.

I endorsed the Decree on the Zaporozhye plant here. It asks you to design a car. Deadlines are short, so keep that in mind. Draw up the characterization yourself, coordinate with US and give it to me for approval. I have to say that I like the FIAT-600. It is technologically advanced, so the exact same division of the body and methods of connecting its panels should be an indispensable condition in the task. But we should not “rip off” FIAT, this is a prerequisite ...

Nikolay Ivanovich! But we started designing the 408 model, there are not enough people, there are no premises, no one wants to develop the engineering service - neither the plant nor the SOVNARKHOZ. Let someone else design. Here at least US!

Well, here's more! I said that I endorsed the Decree. This is just right for you, and your people know small cars ... This issue is resolved, proceed with the implementation. In NAMI, I instructed Lipgart to prepare the task and characteristics with you. So hurry up in this matter ...

But even here there were difficulties. Lipgart, represented by NAMI, ran into a desire to copy the front suspension of a Volkswagen car. It's high time not to "rip off". They argued ... But when approving the terms of reference and characteristics, Strokin accepted the wording of NAMI. There was a question with the engine. At first, a two-cylinder, V-shaped, air-cooled was recorded. And I must say that the design of the engine depends on the design of the entire rear-engine unit, including transmission and suspension, and, in addition, the design of the power unit to a large extent affects the design of the entire rear of the machine.

Having designed a car, a body and a good air-cooled engine, we already foresaw the imminent completion of work, but then changes in the task for the engine rained down, and all were approved by Strokin. Lipgart proposed a two-cylinder boxer engine from BMW, with the subsequent purchase of a license. And that too was approved. We have redesigned the entire rear of the car. And after a while, another engine was proposed. The next option is a four-cylinder, V-shaped, air-cooled. NAMI undertook its design... For the sixth time, the rear of the car was redesigned... Finally, the project was ready. The shape of the body was based on a sculpted model, and the principle used on the FIAT-600 car was laid into the scheme for dividing and connecting body panels. For the first time in the body of a passenger car, front and rear windows of the same size and shape were used. The front suspension is torsion bar, similar to that of the Volkswagen company. The scheme of the car is vitally strong, the parameters of both suspensions are chosen successfully for all types of roads. High ground clearance ensured the ride on country roads. Light weight with relatively high strength and reasonable detailed unification with the Moskvich distinguished this car.

Go!

The novelty was supposed to be produced at the Kommunar plant in Zaporozhye, and the engines were supplied from the Melitopol Motor Plant. Actually, the plant became "Kommunar" under the Soviet regime, and it was founded back in 1863 by the Dutch entrepreneur Abraham Koop.

The main products at all times are agricultural machinery. It is not surprising, therefore, that there was no equipment or specialists for auto production in Zaporozhye. Everything had to be organized from scratch. A great merit in this belongs to the then director of the enterprise, Yevgeny Gobelko, who personally traveled to all the automobile plants of the Soviet Union and got acquainted with the experience accumulated there.

Gobelko, first of all, set about creating design and technological services, which, in addition to their main duties, took on the training of workers, debugging technology, the production of pilot batches of parts, pilot assembly of machines ... They also helped to establish quality control.

When the plant was able to produce cars, Gobelko was transferred to another place of work, and the ZAZ-965 model - the famous "humpbacked" Zaporozhets - went into production at the end of 1960. At the same time, the designers reworked it for a long time, without ceasing to fight against the “childhood diseases” common in such cases, so that the car was slightly different from that developed at MZMA.

The Zaporozhets cost 1800 rubles - only 20 average monthly salaries of an ordinary Soviet person, which was much less than the price of cars from other car factories. This is what ensured his success. Although, in order to buy a minicar, it was necessary not only to save up money, but also to stand in line for several years. For the disabled, cars were provided according to special lists, but even here the queue could not be avoided. Nevertheless, people received a four-seater car that could travel at speeds up to 80 km / h, consuming only 5.5 liters of fuel per 100 km in the most economical mode. And nothing that this mode accounted for a speed of 40 km per hour!

There was an export

The plant simultaneously produced cars for general use and modifications for people with disabilities - ZAZ 965B; 965AB; 965AP. In addition, pickup trucks - 965P were assembled for in-plant use. There was also a right-hand drive version of the 965C with stubs instead of rear windows.

A special case is the export modification 965E / 965AE, also known as Yalta. It differed from cars intended for operation in the USSR in improved interior trim, enhanced sound insulation, the presence of an ashtray and an exterior mirror on the driver's side, and side moldings. Such cars were shipped through the Finnish company Konela and the Belgian Scaldia. Some of their dealers even installed a receiver in the car.

True, in Europe, even in an improved version, the Zaporozhets did not come to court. But in the USSR, the "965th" was sold with a bang and became not only an integral part of Soviet reality, the cheapest car of domestic production, but also what is commonly called a cult car today. "Humpbacked" was loved, he was forgiven for design flaws, and a lack of comfort, and dynamics that were disgusting even for those times.

A few years after the appearance of the car became a "movie star". Henrikh Oganesyan was one of the first to shoot her in the comedy Three Plus Two, which was released in 1963. But people's love sometimes took very unexpected forms. So, it is unlikely that any of the domestic cars can compete with the "humpback" in terms of jokes, the hero of which he managed to become.

In 1963, the model was modernized, and a few years later it was discontinued. It was replaced by a more modern ZAZ-966.

Author Edition Autopanorama №11 2015 Photo

Moskvich-400(401)- passenger rear-wheel drive car, produced by the factory MZMA(Moscow plant of small cars - that's what AZLK was called in 1945 - 1968) ...
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ZAZ-965

ZAZ-965/ZAZ-965A. Photos characteristics.
1960-1963

History of ZAZ and goes back to 1863, when in Aleksandrovsk (until 1922 the glorious Soviet city of Zaporozhye was called, also known as the location of the large-scale DneproGES), Abraham Koop (Dutch) opened a plant for the production of agricultural machinery. In 1908, the Melitopol Motor Plant (now a division of ZAZ) was opened for the production of internal combustion engines, from this date the actual history of the ZAZ company begins.

Since 1923 the factory "Kommunar"(the old name of ZAZ) produced combines and agricultural machinery. Cars at the Kommunar plant began to be produced only in 1960 (ZAZ 965). In 1961, Kommunar was renamed ZAZ, so sometimes the official history of ZAZ is considered from that time.

photo of ZAZ-965

ZAZ 965 "Zaporozhets" (1960-1963)

"Soap dish", "Hunchback", "Fafik" - as soon as they do not call the little nimble "Zaporozhets" ZAZ-965. Many of us started our “auto” biography with him. Not everyone, however, knows how motley was the history of this first among the "Cossacks".

Interest in small cars, as they were then called, arose and grew like an avalanche in the mid-50s. Numerous samples appeared in different countries - from a primitive car surrogate to a reduced copy of a traditional small car. Work on such designs was launched in our USSR as well. The impetus was the fact that since 1956, MZMA stopped the production of a small-sized (length 3855 mm), light (840 kg), four-seat Moskvich-401 and switched to a more spacious, comfortable and expensive Moskvich-402. And the demand for a compact, light and simple car has not disappeared.

Our factories and research institutes in 1955-1960 designed, built and tested many prototypes of minicars and motorized sidecars. Here are just a few of them: "Squirrel" IMZ-A50, NAMI-048, NAMI-031, GAZ-18, NAMI-059, MVTU. All these designs made it possible to more clearly define the requirements for ultra-small machines.

photo of IMZ-NAMI-A50 "Squirrel"

photo NAMI-031

photo GAZ-18

Just in those years, it was decided to reconstruct the Kommunar combine plant in Zaporizhia and the light diesel plant in Melitopol in order to expand the production of small cars from 1960. The design, construction and fine-tuning of the prototypes of the new car was entrusted to the team of the Moscow Small Car Plant - MZMA (now AZLK). Their development began in the fall of 1956. Taken as a sample FIAT-600, the most successful car of this class. An important circumstance that predetermined the choice was the fact that this machine was the latest (its production began in 1955) and that it best met the conditions of mass production.

Moskvich-444 1957

photo Moskvich-444

The first prototype of the car - she was given index "444"- was ready just a year later, in October 1957. In its appearance and the design of the knots, the influence was felt FIAT-600, but nevertheless, even at this stage, there were significant differences.

For a small machine, the wheel diameter is always the decisive factor. Taking into account the road conditions of our country, the designers increased the landing size for the tire from 12 to 13 inches. This step required significant changes in the kinematics of the wheel suspension, forced to increase the volume of wheel arches and make adjustments to the overall layout. Another important difference is that the car did not have a four-cylinder water-cooled engine, as in FIAT, but a two-cylinder boxer MD-65 of the Irbit motorcycle plant, which had air cooling. Engine had a drawback, and very significant, from a layout point of view, was a very developed crankcase - its depth (the distance from the axis of the crankshaft to the bottom of the oil pan) was 184 mm. Therefore, in order to obtain an acceptable clearance at the rear wheel hubs of the Moskvich-444, it was necessary to install wheel reduction gears similar to those used today on LuAZ-969M .

photo Moskvich-444

In addition, the first sample of 1957 - let's call it conditionally "444-57" - differed from the Italian car, in addition to the above, in the shape of the rear part of the body, a different design of the front end, and a reinforced gearbox. A triangular emblem on the front, a convex arrow-shaped stamping on the door, a decorative “comb” in front of the rear wheel opening (a motif borrowed from the Moskvich-402) and four round air intakes on the rear wing, reminiscent of miniature firefighter helmets - these were other distinctive body details. By the way, already at this stage, the car had interchangeable windshield and rear windows - a valuable feature for a mass model. The next year, MZMA built new samples (let's call them "444-58") with modified design elements: a front wing with a higher upper part, a different form of lining. One of them, painted in ivory, with a carrot-colored roof, was exhibited in the winter of 1958/59 at VDNH USSR. This car, on the emblem of which instead of “444” was “650”, the front suspension on the transverse spring and sliding (non-lifting) windows in the doors are still preserved from the first sample.

ZAZ-965 engine

photo Engine MD-65

Engine MD-65, created on the basis of a motorcycle, turned out, as tests revealed, unsuitable for a car. On a motorcycle with a sidecar, which weighs 320 kg, this engine worked in more favorable (in terms of load) conditions than on a minicar, twice as heavy. In addition, MD-65 at the stand developed power only 17.5 liters. With. Hence the poor dynamics of the car: sluggish acceleration and a shortage of maximum speed (80 km/h instead of the design 95 km/h). The motor was very noisy and did not cool well. But the main drawback was that the engine was short-lived: its service life before overhaul could hardly be 30 thousand km.

For these reasons, first at MZMA in 1957, and then at NAMI, the design of a new, special engine began. Created at MZMA, two designs of a two-cylinder boxer engine of the Citroen 2LS type with air cooling and working volume 748 cm 3 in the second half of 1958 were just bench tests. As a temporary measure, an improved version, which received the designation "444-BKR" (that is, without a wheel gear), was equipped with a BMW-600 engine - also from a minicar. This engine had a much smaller crankcase, similar to the designed MZMA and NAMI engines. The elimination of gearboxes made it possible to reduce the unsprung weight by 6 kg. At the same time, the car received a front suspension on longitudinal balancing arms and plate torsion bars and side air intakes in the form of an elongated grille.

In 1959, new prototypes of the future Zaporozhets were released. At the same time, the MZMA design bureau, with the help of a team of ZAZ engineers who arrived at the end of 1958, began to produce drawings for pre-production. In April 1959, all the technical documentation for the 965 was transferred to Zaporozhye. The prototypes of 1959, unlike the FIAT-600, no longer had sliding door windows, but sliding ones, as on most cars. The arrow-shaped notch on the wing and the “comb” disappeared. The rear lights were equipped with reflectors not in the middle, but in the lower part. Sidelights were installed in separate housings on the wings. Later, samples were made with modified front fenders and stampings on the front panel. In these cars, sidelights remained on the front fenders, but the ZAZ emblem and the inscription "Zaporozhets" appeared on the front panel in rectangular letters.

In June 1959, the first two four-cylinder ZAZ- 965 . One ( 965G) had a horizontal opposed arrangement of cylinders and a working volume of 752 cm 3, another ( 965B) - V-shaped and a working volume of 746 cm 3. In terms of power performance, both designs were equivalent, but the 965V engine had a number of advantages over the 965G, was original and modern in design. It was accepted for mass production. In 1960, ZAZ was preparing for the production of a new car. The plant assembled the first batch on November 22 and produced about one and a half thousand Zaporozhets by the end of the year. This is how the first Soviet minicar ZAZ-965 began its life. It would be more correct to call it small-sized (4 seats, length 3330 mm), given modern terminology. Along with the base model, the factory built a modification of the 965C for the transport of mail (with a right-hand drive, metal panels instead of rear windows and a letter box in place of the rear seat); as well as ZAZ 965B with manual control for the disabled.

photo of ZAZ-965

photo of ZAZ-965

photo of ZAZ-965

From October 1962 to May 1969, the modernized Zaporozhets ZAZ-965A rolled off the assembly line with a more powerful 27-horsepower engine, the working volume of which was increased to 887 cm 3. It was also distinguished by a steering wheel with a warmed hub, sidelights mounted in the wings (and not on them), a decorative molding along the body sidewall, a modified factory sign (a rectangle instead of an asterisk), a decorative grille on the front panel.

photo of the ZAZ-965 interior

"Zaporozhets-965" from the very beginning was well received by the consumer. In fairness, it should be noted that (especially on the first production cars) the front suspension torsion bars often lost their elasticity, and in hot weather the engine overheated. But, despite these "childhood illnesses", the minicar immediately showed its best side in rural areas, areas with bad roads. ZAZ-965 owes good cross-country ability to a smooth bottom, independent suspension of all wheels, sufficient loading (60% of the total mass) of the drive wheels. In especially difficult cases, when the car was unable to get out of the mud itself, its crew, with some diligence, could always release a car weighing only 665 kg from captivity. The townspeople quickly appreciated in "Zaporozhets" its maneuverability, good economy, high strength of the body. The latter quality was facilitated by the presence of only two doors, the openings of which did not weaken the sidewall as much as on machines with four-door bodies. And of course, the engine with separate cylinders, relatively light and easy to dismantle, was always quickly and easily removed, repaired on its own “in the kitchen” and put back in place without much loss of time. This car has been produced for nine years. And today it is still often found on the roads, and many of its owners consider their ZAZ-965 famous car.

ZAZ-965AB (1963-1969) and 965AR (1966-1972)

Controls ZAZ-965

ZAZ-965AB produced on the basis of the main model ZAZ-965, production was started in 1962. This modification was intended for the management of disabled people who, as a result of injuries, lost one or both of their legs. The manual control of the clutch and brakes of this modification was carried out in such a way that the conventional brake and clutch pedals were retained in the vehicle's drive mechanism. These clutch and brake foot controls have been retained in order to enable drivers who do not have foot injuries to drive the car.
The hydraulic brake lever was located to the right of the steering wheel and was mounted on an axle that passed through a tunnel on the floor of the body. The hydraulic brake drive is produced by moving the lever forward, which is pivotally connected to the brake pedal and pusher, and the intensity of braking depends on the change in the force applied to the handle of this lever. There is no latch on the lever. And here is the management clutch occurs with the help of two levers, which are located on both sides of the steering wheel. Plastic handles are installed at the ends of the lever rods. The clutch mechanism is driven by levers, which are connected through a pusher to the clutch pedal and the intermediate rod pivotally.

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