The history of the ZIL-151 (ZIS-151) car begins back in 1944, when a new four-wheel drive two-axle model that did not pass the standards of the Ministry of Defense ZIS-150 was released at an automobile plant, after which the development of a three-axle four-wheel drive car began instantly. In 1946, two prototypes of the ZiS-151 were built in May, the first version of the machine with gable rear wheels (ZiS-151-2) was ready, and in the fall the second prototype was tested (ZiS-151-1). It had single-sided rear wheels and a ZiS-150 cockpit.

In the summer of the same year, ZiS received a technical assignment for a wheeled three-axle armored vehicle "Object-140". In the summer of 1947, on comparative off-road tests of American three-axle cars "Studebaker", "International", domestic ZiS-151-1 and ZiS-151-2, ZiS-151-1 on bus tires 10.50-20 ″ showed the best passability and higher average off-road speed, except in swampy meadows. Single-sided tires went “track-in-track” and required less energy consumption for laying a track than gable tires.

However, the main army customer insisted on the use of dual-pitch rear wheels, despite the more than favorable road test results for the ZiS-151-1. The ZiS-151 was not a Soviet version of the Studebaker, Internationale, or GMs. They were related by the purpose, layout, design and dimensions of cargo platforms with lattice sides and longitudinal folding benches. At the same time, the ZiS-151 inherited from the GAZ-33 the layout of the drive axles, which were identical in design to the GAZ-63 units and had nothing to do with the ZiS-150.

During the Cold War, the American authorities banned the sale of certain types of special machine tools to the Soviet Union. Among them were gear-cutting machines for the manufacture of spiral teeth of the bevel gears of the main drive. The American firm Gleason was their monopoly supplier for most of the country's automobile plants. When the serial production of the ZiS-151 trucks began in April 1948, the bottleneck that held back the growth of production of these machines was the section for cutting teeth on the gears of the main drive.

The Gleason machine park, acquired even before the war, was insufficient for each ZiS-151, three times as many gears were needed as for a conventional ZiS-150 truck. Director of ZiSa I.A. Likhachev then decided to make the necessary machines at the plant, in cooperation with other industries. The power unit of the ZiS-151 was a 6-cylinder, gasoline, four-stroke liquid-cooled carburetor engine ZiS-121 (the ZiS-120 engine was installed until 1950) with a capacity of 92 hp.

The transmission used a two-disc dry clutch, a 5-speed gearbox, a transfer case with a two-stage range, five cardan shafts with ten joints. The front suspension is on two longitudinal semi-elliptic springs with double-acting hydraulic shock absorbers and Bendix-Weiss-type constant velocity joints, the rear suspension is on two longitudinal springs (balancing). The service brake is a shoe brake for all wheels, with a pneumatic drive and an output for connection to the trailer brake system. The tire size is 8.25-20 ″. The car was equipped with two gas tanks with a capacity of 150 liters.

Until 1950, the car had a wood-metal cab, with wooden steps, stamped plywood lining and a metal front wall, later - a reduced size all-metal one. The body is wooden, of a universal type: with a high lattice front wall and side walls, folding benches and an awning. In the rear of the car there was a special buffer located at the same level as the front. This made it possible to overcome especially difficult sections of the path together with other vehicles of the same type, working as pushers. The car did not have a pre-starting heater for the engine and a heater for the driver's cab. The ZiS-151A modification had a winch installed between the engine and the front bumper.

ZiS-151 became the first domestic car with three driving axles. It was widely used in the post-war years in the Red Army. The ZiS-151 chassis served as the basis for a number of rocket artillery combat vehicles, such as BM-13-16, BM-14-16, BMD-20, BM-24. In 1955, the automatic filling station of the chemical troops ARS-12D was adopted. Also, the ATsV-28-151 tanker for water delivery, the ATZ-3-151 tanker, the VMZ-151 water-oil tanker and many other special vehicles were produced. On the basis of the ZiS-151A, the KMM bridge-stacker (mechanized track bridge) was produced. There were modifications with shielded electrical equipment. The last ZiS-151 left the assembly line in 1958, when it was replaced by a more advanced all-terrain vehicle) - ZIL-157. ZiS-151 cars are still in good condition and are in museums around the world.

©. Photos taken from publicly available sources.

Serial vehicle ZIS-151 (1948-1957).
In 1946, two prototypes of the ZiS-151 were built - in May, the first version of the machine was ready - with gable rear wheels (ZIS-151-2), and in the fall the second prototype (ZIS-151-1) came out for testing. It had single-sided rear wheels and a ZiS-150 cockpit.
In the summer of 1947, on comparative off-road tests of American three-axle cars "Studebaker", "International", domestic ZiS-151-1 and ZiS-151-2, ZiS-151-1 on bus tires 10.50-20 "showed the best passability and higher average speed off-road, except for driving on a swampy meadow. Single-tire tires were "track-in-track" and required less energy consumption for making tracks than dual slopes. ZiS-151-1 road test results.
The power unit ZiS-151 was a six-cylinder, gasoline, four-stroke liquid-cooled carburetor engine ZiS-121 (the ZiS-120 engine was installed until 1950) with a capacity of 92 hp. The transmission used a two-disc dry clutch, a five-speed gearbox, a transfer case with a two-stage range, five cardan shafts with ten joints. The front suspension is on two longitudinal semi-elliptic springs with double-acting hydraulic shock absorbers and Bendix-Weiss-type constant velocity joints, the rear suspension is on two longitudinal springs (balancing). The service brake is a shoe brake, on all wheels, with a pneumatic drive and an output for connection to the trailer brake system. Tire size - 8.25-20 ". The car was equipped with two gas tanks with a capacity of 150 liters.
Until 1950, the car had a wood-metal cab, with wooden steps, stamped plywood lining and a metal front wall, later - a reduced size all-metal one. The body is made of wood, of a universal type: with a high lattice front wall and side walls, folding benches and an awning. In the rear of the car there was a special buffer located at the same level with the front. This made it possible to overcome especially difficult sections of the path together with other vehicles of the same type, working as pushers. The car did not have a pre-heater for the engine and a heater for the driver's cab. The ZiS-151A modification had a winch installed between the engine and the front bumper.

ZiS-151 became the first domestic car with three driving axles. It was widely used in the post-war years in the Red Army. The ZiS-121 chassis served as the basis for a number of rocket artillery combat vehicles, such as BM-13-16, BM-14-16 (aka P-64), BMD-20, BM-24. In 1955, the ARS-12D chemical troops filling station was put into service. On the basis of the ZiS-151A, the KMM bridge layer (mechanized track bridge) was also produced. There were modifications with shielded electrical equipment. The last ZiS-151 left the assembly line in 1958, when it was replaced by a more advanced all-terrain vehicle - the ZIL-157.
In 1956, the plant. Stalin was renamed to the plant. Likhachev. In this regard, part of the ZIS-151 cars at the end of production received hoods with a new ZIL stamping instead of the old ZIS.
I took information for reference from here.

Sometime at the beginning of the year, in the month of January, I already wrote about one ... This means that the package with the model was received by the end of 2015. In the same package there were other cars, which I promised to show, but I had to send them back to the master-assembler for restoration because they had damaged supporting elements of the structure, which could not be removed by simple gluing at home. Some of them came back to me. Just now. Now all that remains is to show them in the sandbox.
The first in the group will be the ZIS-151.
Of course, there were many posts about the model of this truck.
A long time ago, back in early 2013, a colleague showed a two-color red and yellow service truck from the Mosgortrans Museum chortos - was it ... Then he added another slightly more elaborate ... A little later there was a post of a colleague solmi74 O , also from DIP. It is strange that there was no place for the Sarlab model ZIS-151 in Mikhail's collection (in any case, I did not find it by the Sarlab tag) ...
I will repeat, perhaps, that I really like the Mosgortrans models of a bright two-tone red-yellow color and it becomes very difficult to miss them without buying. This also applies to other color combinations ... That is why I ordered a technician in this color scheme.

General front view:

Etched wipers and mirrors:


Etched same protective grilles for the head lighting.
Side lights, however, are painted.
But the radiator grill is through.
But the hole under the curve of the starter is not drilled.
And the bridge is made gracefully:


The all-wheel drive six-wheeled descendant must be placed next to:


ZIS-151 from the Ural Sokol and:


View from above:


Non-four-wheel drive rodsvennik.
It would be more appropriate, of course, to put the ZIS-120 tractor, however, they had a chance to intersect with this car throughout the 60s:


ZIS-151 (Ural Sokol) and:


Left profile view:


Front wheel.
Front wing support brackets are visible:


The outside rearview mirror has a reflective element.
In the cabin, the instruments are painted.
On the door - a handle in a separate part:


There is a technician sofa in the booth.
The booth door - also with an etched handle:


Embossed footboard, on the footboard - canister:


Rear bogie:


Two trucks manufactured by two giant factories of the USSR:


ZIS-151 from the Ural Sokol and:


General rear view:


The body has a wonderful internal jointing:


Side board locks - etched parts.
Grid technology - separate glass parts.
The wheels of the model are equipped with MAESTRO tires:


A passenger car of the GAZ plant on the streets of those times often met with this all-wheel drive:


ZIS-151 (Ural Sokol) and GAZ-M20 "Pobeda" from NAP:


To the right in the direction of travel:


It can be seen, of course, badly (I do not expect more from my optics), but it is clear that on this side of the booth, opposite the bench, there is nothing:

In the body there is an etched tool; sledgehammer, pickaxe, shovel and jack. The first three, however, are made hinged, as evidenced by the mounting brackets on them ...
There is also a spare tire. As expected, without a protruding hub and with holes for fastening bolts:


At that time, ZIS-155 buses were produced at ZIS:


ZIS-151 (Ural Sokol) next to:

The bottom:


Everything is spoiled by the excessive gloss of black:


All the chassis of the Ural Falcon are well-developed:

A very remarkable feature of this machine is the balanced rear suspension.

Each wheel rises independently. For greater visibility, it was necessary to put a coin under the front right pair:


3/4:

And, of course, there is a traffic jam:

I did not find a photo of a prototype of such a technical device ...
Car model: ZIS-151
Prototype production period: 1948-1958
Manufacturer: Ural Sokol
Release date: -
Short Opinion: One More Parrot
Grade:
Quality: 4.75 out of 5. Minus 0.25 - for the gloss of the paint.
Detail: 4.75 out of 6. Minus 0.25 for unpainted front dimensions.
Match to prototype: 4 out of 5. Looks like it for me.
Recognition: 2 out of 2. Yes.
Charisma: 5 out of 5. Yes.
Box: 0.5 out of 1.75. The model was packed in a regular cardboard box, therefore - in accordance with

In 1948, the production of the first three-axle all-wheel drive trucks in the USSR began at the Stalin Moscow Automobile Plant. The ZIS-151 model outwardly resembled American Lend-Lease trucks from the war hard times, and was primarily associated with the most famous then. And such a distant degree of kinship in the title of the material is not declared by chance. In reality, these two machines did not have as much in common as it might seem. What was borrowed from these foreign machines without any significant changes? What did the creators of the new ZIS truck do at their own discretion? What was the evolution of the development of the Soviet machine over an almost 45-year history, (taking into account its modernization -), production? All this, with figures and facts - in the proposed material.

General car layouts

Fig 1. Studebaker US6

Fig 2. ZIS-151

The Studebaker and the ZIS-151 are somewhat similar in appearance. This is emphasized by the overall dimensions of the vehicles as a whole, similar cargo-passenger platforms, as well as twin "six-window" wheels on the rear bogies. In addition, both cars have a similar arrangement of transmission units.

This gave rise to a certain Kochnev from the magazine "Kolesa.ru" in the article "The Legendary Studebaker and the Red Army: What Would Happen If You Were Not?", to conclude that Studer was the prototype of the ZIS-151.

Choking with reverence for this foreign machine (and how else can one assess the title of his material), the author directly states the following. "He (" Studer ") was shamelessly copied in the development of post-war domestic trucks" How could it be otherwise? And in a different way!

Since 1934, a three-axle (6x4) ZIS-6 truck has been produced in the USSR. Just as later on the ZIS-151, on this machine already then the balancing rear leaf spring suspension of two driving axles, and a demultiplier in the transmission, (1.-1.53; 2.-1.00) - an application for an all-wheel drive transmission of a cross-country vehicle. In 1938, real running models of the ZIS-15 machine were built, with an all-metal closed streamlined cockpit, such as the future ZIS-150 and ZIS-151 cabins.

And in 1941, a model of a two-axle all-wheel drive truck ZIS-32 went into production. On this machine, even then, a two-stage transfer case was used, (1.– 1.76; 2.– 1.00).

And here “Studebaker”, about which very few people in our country had heard before the second year of the war? Or will Kochnev try to prove to someone that if the American allies had not given examples with his Lend-Lease three-axle vehicles, our designers would not have "assembled" such a machine from the technical solutions already mentioned and applied earlier? And why exactly "Studebaker", and not "International" or "GMC", was the prototype of the future layout of the ZIS three-axle? But Kochnev, of course, did not think about the answers to such questions. His word (which, as we will see more than once, is worth little), he has already said.

Engines ZIS-151 / ZIL-157

The power units of the American and Soviet cars were similar not only in appearance and in general layout - six-cylinder in-line lower valves, they even had the same nominal cylinder diameters, 4 inches, (101.6 mm.).

No wonder - one of the versions of the Hercules engine was installed on the Studer, and on the ZIS-151, the further development of this American model of the power unit, but already according to the Soviet scenario.

There are two fundamental differences between these motors. Firstly, the American engine had a "side" pump of the cooling system with a gear drive from the camshaft, and the ZIS motor had a "central" pump with a belt drive from the crankshaft pulley. And secondly, the Yankees used a single-plate clutch with a central conical pressure spring, and Soviet designers considered it beneficial to use a reinforced double-plate clutch with peripheral cylindrical pressure springs. Although clutches belong to transmission units, they are performed - they, as you know, are in a common assembly with motors.

On the ZIS-151 machines, produced until the middle of 1950, there was another fundamental difference from the "Studer" - the ZIS-120 engine was installed with a "lower" location, an MKZ-14V carburetor, which was attached under the intake manifold, and provided an upward flow combustible mixture, only due to the discharge in the cylinders. Such a power unit with a working volume of 5.55 liters. and a compression ratio of 6.0 units, developed 90 hp. at 2400 rpm, and 31 kgm at 1200-1300 rpm.

The new ZIS-121 engine, from mid-1950 to the end of 1956, used a single-chamber "upper" K-80B carburetor with a falling mixture flow. This gave an increase in power up to 92 hp. at 2600 rpm And the transition to the K-84 two-chamber device, with a simultaneous increase in the compression ratio to 6.2 units, made it possible to achieve 104 hp power and a torque of up to 34 kgm at the same speed ranges.

The ZIS-121 engine was inherited by the "younger brother", the ZIL-157, where it was used until 1961. There was nothing surprising in this, because already in the first editions of the new car, (eg "Catalog of spare parts for ZIL-157 and ZIL-157V", M. "Mashinostroenie" 1958), it was clearly indicated that the ZIL-157 was a modernization machine ZIS-151.

In 1961, an updated ZIL-157K truck appeared, with a power unit of the same factory designation. The K-84M carburetor allowed once again to slightly increase the power, up to 109 hp. at 2800 rpm, and the fundamental difference of the new engine was in the single-plate clutch.

In 1978, a modification of the 157KD power unit appeared, where the piston group was unified with the ZIL-130 engine. The motor was equipped with a K-88AZh carburetor, and received an increased to 6.5 units. compression ratio. Power increased to 110 hp. at 2800 rpm, and the torque is up to 35 kgm., at 1100-1400 rpm. On this engine, centrifugal oil purification was introduced, instead of the two-stage filtration used since the days of the "Studers" and the ZIS-151.

It is impossible to ignore one more, in its unique design of the motor, which was a continuation of the ZIS engine, and, unfortunately, did not receive a start in life. In the second half of the 50s, a power unit was created for the then promising basic truck of a new family.

It was an in-line engine with the same dimensions of the cylinder-piston group as that of the ZIS-151 / ZIL-157 - 6 x 101.6 x 114.3, and with the same displacement of 5.55 liters. But he had an overhead valve gas distribution mechanism, increased to 7.5 units. compression ratio, and a completely new two-chamber K-86 carburetor.

Let the reader not be confused by the specified compression ratio - it freely "digested" the gasoline A-74 and A-76 already available then. And the famous car "Moskvich-407", known to fans of retro, for example, with a compression ratio of 7.0 units, was ordered to operate on A-72 gasoline.

According to the NIIAT handbook, published in 1958, the promising in-line "six" ZIL developed a power of 140 hp. at 3200 rpm And its torque was 36 kgm. at 1500-1600 rpm The well-known V-shaped 8-cylinder ZIL-130 engine, as we know, was more powerful than only 10 hp. at the same revolutions of the knees. shaft, and its torque was only 5 kgm. more.

But in the days of Khrushchev, as you know, it was customary to prove to the "American guys" that we, too, can do everything the same as they do. And in a directive order on new ZIL trucks, they were obliged to install a two-row "eight". With the worst balance of the moving parts and the entire motor as a whole, due to the mutually perpendicular operation of the left and right connecting rod-piston groups. With the worst filling of the "extreme", 1st, 4th, 5th, and 8th cylinders due to the excess resistance of the long channels of the intake manifold - "spider". With lower efficiency of tilted cylinders. With more complex crank and gas distribution mechanisms. But why this 140-strong overhead valve "six", for example, was not installed on the same ZIL-157 - the question, of course, is interesting ...

The Soviet three-axle ZIS, unlike the American ancestor, immediately received almost double the fuel range - 2 tanks of 150 liters each. Domestic designers did not count on the timely possibility of refueling an army vehicle with a single gas tank, in possible combat conditions. Thus, they thought about increasing the survivability of the car, and the autonomy of its course, in case of damage to one of the tanks. I wonder why the Americans, who were preparing their cars almost immediately for the war, were not puzzled by the same thing?

But, unfortunately, creating something new, sometimes we cannot help but do something worse than what it was before, we will see this more than once. And on the ZIL-157, the total fuel supply was reduced to 215 liters. - main tank 150, and additional - 65 liters. True, with the initial reserve (2x150 liters), all varieties of truck tractors remained (ZIL-157V, -157KV, and -157KDV), but all these machines were originally developed and produced for the same service conditions!

Transmissions ZIS-151 / ZIL-157

As already mentioned, before 1961, and after, the engines of the "brothers" differed in clutches. I personally have a lot of doubt about the meaning of the transition to a single-plate clutch on cars of the "heavy weight category", which were ZIL cars.

The two-disc unit is more durable and wear-resistant by definition, lower loads fall on the damping springs of both driven discs, a smoother transmission of forces to the wheels occurs when driving on heavy and slippery terrain, especially with trailers.

On cars of a closer "family", and of the same weight category - trucks of the Ural Automobile Plant, single-plate clutches, for example, with ZIL engines, have never been used. But it is not for me to judge the Moscow designers from 1961. I myself was just born that year.

The gearboxes of the ZIS and ZIL machines, before and after 1961, differed structurally, gear ratios and gear shifting algorithms.

The ZIS-151 unit, like the Studebaker checkpoint, is five-speed and had a fifth overdrive. Gear ratios differed from American characteristics, (in brackets), and were the following numbers: 1.– 6.24 (6.06); 2.-3.32 (3.5); 3.– 1.90 (1.8); 4.– 1.00 (1.00); 5.- 0.81 (0.79); Z.H. - 6.70 (6.0).

Please note the following. When the "reverse" (gear Z.H.) is switched on in the domestic gearbox, due to the additional gear, which changes the direction of rotation of the gearbox output shaft to the opposite, this leads to an increase in the ratio of this gear in comparison with the first forward speed.

The Americans made it so that their "reverse" in terms of traction loses to the first gear. If this data on the American gearbox is not a typo in the documentation of the Lend-Lease era, then one more clear evidence that the ZIS gearbox was not a copy of the Studer's gearbox. The general concept, and nothing more.

What really, without any significant changes, was borrowed from "Studer" on this topic for the ZIS and ZIL machines - so only the kinematics of the transmission control drives.

If before 1961, a gearbox from the previous model was installed on the ZIL-157 (in essence, from the ZIS-150), then starting with the "157K" model, a gearbox was installed from the promising ZIL-130 truck, with the fifth "straight line" transmission, and relations: 1.- 7.44; 2.- 4.10; 3. - 2.29; 4.-1.47; 5.-1.00; Z.Kh.-7.09.

Already known to us, Kochnev unambiguously stated that the ZIS-151 used American (without "quotes"!), Transfer cases and drive axles. Well at least he did not say that American propeller shafts were also used. But even with the already made statement, he publicly sat himself in a puddle up to his ears. Without thinking at least about the fact that at the time of the start of production of the ZIS-151, there was already a "cold war", and there could be no question of any technical assistance for the production of army vehicles. But - to other facts.

The fact that the ZIS and Studer handouts had different gear ratios, 1.- 2.44, (2.602); 2. - 1.24, (1.55), respectively, Kochnev, for example, might not have known. However, if he considers himself an expert, and has the right to teach others, then he would have to know the following:

1. These transfer cases had parking brakes of different design. On the Soviet car, a disc block mechanism was used, and on the American one, a drum band brake. But the "handbrakes" are tied not so much with the output shafts of the "hand-outs", but with their basic parts - the crankcases. And these are already inevitable differences in crankcases.
2. ZIS and "Studer" were fundamentally different in the connection of cardan shafts, both to the hand-out boxes and to the driving axles. Soviet cars used flange interconnection of these transmission elements, with already assembled cardan joints, and American ones - through detachable "ears" of the crosspieces. And therefore, when connecting - undocking the cardan gears, the Yankees had to assemble the cardan joints "in place" under the car, or disassemble these joints to be able to dismantle the units. So much for the "sameness" - the interchangeability of the handout!

Transfer cases ZIS-151 and ZIL-157 are also not interchangeable with each other. The "little brother" handout has other gear ratios, 1. -2.27; 2. -1.16.

But in any case, it is impossible to install one instead of the other purely technically, due to the size and layout of their parking brakes. In both cases, the nearest frame cross members, which have different configurations and attachments along the length of the frame, interfere with each other.

With the "American" ("quotes" mine - AK) driving axles on the ZIS-151, it is still funnier and stupider. For the American car had hydraulic brakes, and the ZIS was equipped with pneumatics. If Kochnev does not understand that braking mechanisms, by definition, are constituent elements of the overall aggregate assembly of driving axles, then where did he go with such "competence"? And if at least he guesses that domestic and foreign bridges are designed to connect to braking systems that are completely different in design, then how could he "bestow" the ZIS-151 with bridges from the "Studebaker"?

Finding at least four “screaming” differences between American (Fig. 9) and “American” (according to Kochnev) (Fig. 10) rear bogie-bogies is an optional task for readers.

In the front axles of the Soviet trucks ZIS-151 and ZIL-157, just like the Studer, ball CV joints of the Bendix-Weiss type were used. But ball joints were known here even before the Lend-Lease three-axle vehicles, for the GAZ-61-40, (1938) and GAZ-64, (1941)

Figures 11, 12 and 13 show the images of hubs, steering knuckles and hinges of equal angular velocities of the front axles of the Studebaker, ZIS-151 and ZIL-157 vehicles, respectively. They are given without footnotes - explanations, only to illustrate the visual differences of related units, and were not intended to teach readers their detailed structure. And it seems that there is no need to specifically comment on the differences between foreign and domestic designs. For it is clearly seen that the ZIS bridges are neither "gifts" from Truman, nor their high-quality "copies", are not.

Figure 11. Steering knuckle and Studebaker hub

The rear driving axles ZIS-151 and ZIL-157 were made basically the same - with "direct" main gears, fully unloaded axle shafts and separate hubs on double tapered roller bearings. But they differed in the profile of the brake drums, and in addition, the hubs of the rear axles "157" differed in structural elements in terms of air supply to the tires. And the front axles of these machines, as the reader has already seen, had completely different hub designs, and the length of the outer fists of the CV joints. The main gears of all axles of both models, with the number of 6.67 units, were, of course, completely interchangeable.

Undercarriage ZIS-151 / ZIL-157

The front springs of the ZIS-151, like those of the Studebaker, had "ears" and were hinged to the frame with the help of earrings and threaded pins, while in the ZIL-157 these suspension elements had a sliding fit in brackets with rubber pads.

In addition, the early model used front suspension link shock absorbers, and later machines used telescopic units. The rear balancer suspensions of both brothers were made the same, with two pairs of lower reaction arms and one pair of upper ones. The ends of the spring packages had sliding bearings on the bridge beams.

The Soviet three-axle vehicle, like the Studer, had a ten-wheeled chassis, but at the same time it was equipped with two spare wheels, and not one spare wheel, as the “American” did. And again, our designers abandoned "shameless copying" in favor of common sense!

The ZIS-151, in contrast to the Studebaker, never had tires with a reversible tread pattern, but was completed only with a directional herringbone. On cars produced in the 40s, "two-window" rims from the ZIS-5 were also used (Fig. 21), with tires from the ZIS-32. This is evidenced by the pre-war standard of their designation, 34x7, where 34 inches is the outer diameter of the tires along the treadmill, and 7 inches is the width of the inner diameter of the tire along the wheel flange.

And on the “six-window” rims for the new three-axle, a modified “herringbone” was installed, of the new designation standard, 8.25x20, where only the seating dimensions of the disc were indicated in inches, respectively, the width of its shelf and the diameter of the rim. And the ZIL-157 had only one type of herringbone tread and tires measuring 10.0x18.

The anecdote is that having equipped the ZIL-157 with heavier wheels than the ZIS-151 (110 kg versus 75 kg, respectively), the designers abandoned the more convenient and easier fastening of the transported "stocks".

Instead of rolling the wheels, along the folding sidewalls of the holders, behind the cab, as it was before 1958, they now had to be suspended under the body. But how? With the help of attached removable additional winches. And with these winches, as well as self-pulling winches, the machines were completed only "by special agreement" !!!

Imagine that, by a special agreement, the spare wheels themselves, as well as jacks and balonniki, would be attached! And these winches could have been in a fever, and lost, and simply "expropriated" for auxiliary, household and household needs! Moreover, these removable-suspended, (Fig. 15) auxiliary mechanisms did not even have their own, any convenient handle-crank for circular rotation, and to work with them it was prescribed to use ordinary 19x22 wrenches! Indeed, as the famous politician of our time said, "We wanted the best, but it turned out as always ..."

On the ZIL-157, as you know, a centralized tire pressure regulation system was introduced. Until 1968, this system had an in-cab unit of tire valve-valves, and the driver, even while the car was moving, could operate with the "inflation" of any wheel, if the rest of the cylinders did not require it. But on later cars, for some reason they refused from such a distribution unit, forcing the drivers to open and close the wheel cranes with wrenches, running around the car, possibly in the rain ...

I will allow myself to express my personal opinion that such a swap system was, by and large, not needed on this machine. The ZIL-157 outperformed the ZIS-151 in cross-country ability with at least wide-profile tires and single-sided rear wheels that did not give, (in the terminology of NAMI employees), the "bulldozer effect" of the rear bogie.

This advantage did not lead to unnecessary losses of power and traction. And taking into account the peculiarities of the engine (see below), a 10-speed transmission, and a good weight distribution along the axes, with a total weight permissible for dirt roads - 2.8 tons. + (2.9 t. + 2.9 t.), "One hundred and fifty-seventh" could give odds to many other machines.

The lot of such off-road vehicles, which only the lazy does not call "off-road vehicles" (a completely different category of vehicles), are ROADS. Wet, unpaved, with deep ruts, snowy and icy, possibly with steep descents and ascents in rough terrain. But only SUCH cars are suitable for movement.

Why drive these machines into virgin snow, knee-deep and higher, into swampy lowlands and rivers with muddy banks and muddy bottoms - into the "zone of responsibility" of the GAZ-47 tracked snow and swamp-going vehicles and the ZIS-485 amphibians that appeared even earlier?

Centralized inflation assumes the use of softer tires, to allow them to deform and increase the area of ​​support on soft soils. But these same tires are easier to damage on sharp stones, tree stumps and other off-road "accessories". In such a situation, more rigid tires, like that of or more reliable, and therefore preferable. And who is not clear that by releasing the pressure and reducing the ground clearance, the driver forces the car to start earlier "plowing" the off-road with the beams of the bridges?

There are many amateur videos on the Internet about the capabilities of the ZIL-157. There are also almost hopeless cases of "landing" a car in mud or deep snow. But we see how, in most cases, these three-axles get out of there, and at the same time - on "inflated" rather than "flattened" tires.

Yes, pumping helps in case of small punctures to get to the base without changing the wheel. Since replacing it with "157", taking into account all the necessary operations, is almost a more "dreary" task than replacing the double rear slope with the ZIS-151.

But everything will be determined by air leakage through the damaged tire. If at the same time the compressor cannot provide the minimum pressure for normal operation of the brakes (4.5 atm.), Pumping will be disconnected by an automatic valve from the general pneumatic system of the machine. But the tutorials describing the advantages of constantly pumping a damaged wheel on the go are silent about this!

Taking into account all of the above, it seems that if the ZIL-157 had tires of the same dimensions, but with constant pressure and with more rigid sidewalls, hardly any of the drivers of such cars would have lost anything from this.

Control mechanisms

Steering trapezoids "Studebaker", ZIS-151 and ZIL-157 were almost identical in layout, kinematic scheme. But the steering mechanisms are different. The Americans used a mechanism of the type "cylindrical worm and a crank with two fingers", with a gear ratio of 22 units. And both Soviet cars had mechanisms "globoidal worm - three-ridge roller", with a ratio of 23.5 units. Again, not according to Kochnev!

Brake system "Studebaker", as already mentioned, had a hydraulic drive with an amplifier. The amplifier greatly facilitated the driver's work, but did not replace his strength. The Soviet ZIS had a pneumatic brake drive, and the effectiveness of the deceleration of the car depended only on the amount of movement of the brake pedal, and not on the effort of pressing it.

Well, and as the reader guesses, in the event of a leak in the brake mechanisms, in domestic cars, unlike the "Studers", it was not required to unscrew the wheels and remove the brake drums.

ZIS-151 vehicles have always been designed for towing trailers, but double brake cranes for controlling the pneumatic brakes of trailers were received only in 1953.

A little about wheel brakes. It has already been mentioned that the axles of the models "151" and "157" differed in brake drums. And, in order not to make unfounded statements, the following must be said. Since the rear wheels of the ZIS trucks were doubled, a greater efficiency of the rear mechanisms was also required. That is why the “one hundred and fifty-first” rear pads were wider than the front ones (100 versus 70 mm, respectively), with the same front and rear brake drum diameters - 420 mm. But for the ZIL three-axle vehicles, the designers equalized the width of all pads "in a circle" to 70 mm, while reducing the diameters of all drums to 380 mm.

It was already mentioned here that the ZIS-151 and ZIL-157 cars had open disc parking brake mechanisms until 1961, and after they were replaced by closed drum mechanisms. I personally have great doubts about the advisability of such a replacement.

First, in terms of the kinematics of its drive levers, the disc handbrake is a "tick" type mechanism, and provides equal pressing forces of the front and rear pads (see Fig. 16).

By analogy with how the same equal conditions for the inner and outer pads of wheel disc service brakes are provided by "floating" calipers (brake calipers). And in drum mechanisms, the pads do not work completely under equal conditions - only one, "opposite" pad has a self-locking effect.

In those days, when there was no separate braking along the axes, and the working braking system could fail completely, for emergency braking with a "handbrake", I think this was an important factor in favor of the disc mechanism.

Secondly, the disc mechanism is always "in sight" in terms of the possibility of monitoring the state of its pads. And when replacing them, it does not require disconnecting and re-fastening the propeller shaft, removing and installing the brake drum.

And thirdly, as we know, the time has come for working wheel disc brakes on trucks. So was there any reason to move away from disc "handbrakes"?

Electrical equipment ZIS-151 / ZIL-157

Trucks ZIS-151, unlike the "Studers", immediately received 12-volt electrical equipment, although 6-volt "American" electrical circuits were still used on the cars of Uralsky, (Ural-ZIS-5M), and Ulyanovsky, (GAZ-MM ) factories.

In the absence of 12-volt batteries, two 6-volt 3ST-84 batteries were used in series. The same batteries were used later on the ZIL-157, until the beginning of the 70s. Further, the ZIL-157 was equipped with two 3ST-95 batteries or one 6ST-75 battery.

All ZIS-151 had a polarity "plus" to "ground", which was inherited by the first releases of the ZIL-157. However, in accordance with the all-Union standard, introduced on May 1, 1960, in the future, all Soviet cars received a polarity "minus" to "mass"

Until the second half of 1953, the ZIS-151 engines were equipped with ST-15 starters, with a capacity of 1.8 hp. with remote electromagnetic activation and control by a button on the dashboard. Subsequently, ST-15B starting electric motors with direct activation from a foot pedal began to be installed. However, the explanation for this is the simplest - a truck, especially for the army, should have the least number of potential malfunctions - failures. Therefore, the starters on all ZIL-157s were also turned on from the pedal.

DC generators, G-15, ("plus" for ground), and G-108, ("minus" for ground), had the same characteristics - recoil current 18-20A., And power 225 watts. And only on all truck tractors - ZIL-157V, -KV and -KDV, DC generators G-56, with a return of 28A, were used. and a power of 350 watts.

Throughout the history of their production, the Soviet "brothers" had four types of instrument combinations.

On the ZIS-151, from the beginning of production, and until the second half of 1953, a combination of the KP5 type, unified with other brands of Soviet trucks, was used, with a glass common to all devices, internal lamps of their illumination, and a speedometer scale of the "Rainbow" type.

Fig. 17. KP5 combination

In 1953-1956, a combination of the KP5-B type was installed, with separate round "windows" for all the pointer indicators, their external illumination lamps, and a single control lamp for the "high" headlights.

Since 1956, on the last issues of the ZIS-151, and the first batches of ZIL-157, a combination of the KP5-K type was used. The fundamental difference from the previous unit is that separate control lamps for the left and right direction indicators have been added.

The last instrument cluster was a version of KP5-E, with a common indicator lamp for the direction indicator, and a lamp for "high" light.

It is interesting to note that neither on the ZIS-151, nor on the ZIL-157, the electrical circuits of the arrow indicators of the instrument combinations were not protected by fuses at all. The fuses on these machines were placed only for the lighting and signaling systems (stop signals, turn signals, and a horn), and for the 157 model, in addition, for the fans of the “stove” and airflow in the cab.

External lighting devices had a standard assortment, like other trucks of the USSR. Until the second half of the 50s, unified sidelights of the PF3 type were used, with a single-filament lamp only for side light.

With the introduction of the standard for the use of light PF10 under two-filament lamps, and rear direction indicators in separate direction indicators, unified cargo sidelights of the UP5 type lanterns appeared.

Until the end of the 50s, only left rear parking lights and "stop" signals were installed (a lamp of the FP-13 type, with real Rubin glass, and not with a plastic diffuser). But the rear right lights, judging by the already mentioned spare parts catalog, published in 1958, did not yet have the first issues of ZIL-157.

As you know, some of the ZIL-157 machines (modifications with the letter suffix "G" after the digital model index) had shielded electrical equipment to reduce interference with the operation of army radio stations.

The engines of such machines were equipped with R-51 ignition distributors (instead of the standard P-21A devices), B5-A ignition coils (instead of B1), shielded G-112 or G-118 generators (instead of the usual G-12 or G-108 ), as well as shielded wires of the low and high voltage circuits of ignition systems.

In addition, the machines were equipped with filters for the FR-82A ignition coil circuit, and the FR-81A relay-regulator, and also had shielded versions of the regulator relays themselves - RR-24E.

What are the details for? If the reader, in similar materials by other authors, meets only a mention about shielded electrical equipment, in passing, but without any specifics, then he has the right to draw conclusions about the sufficiency of the "superficially ostentatious" knowledge of such an author. In another case, a clever author, what he does not know well, will try to bypass the "tenth road"

Cabins, empennage, bodies ZIS-151 / ZIL-157

The ZIS-151 cars of the first releases had wood - metal cabins, their features are clearly visible in the photo. The roofs of the cabins are not yet solid-stamped, but inlaid. Doors and doorways do not yet have rounded corners at the bottom. And under the door windows you can see moldings - "layouts", reinforcing the attachment points of the outer metal sheathing sheets to their wooden frames.

Some modern "biographers" of the brothers' machines put the cabs "151" and "157" almost on the same level, describing them as "ascetic, Spartan, devoid of all and every comfort." But you can't say that!

When driving a ZIS-151 in winter, in the absence of heated windshields, it was necessary to either rub them with a saline solution against fogging, which still impairs transparency and visibility through them. Or ride "with a breeze" (and this is in the absence of a "stove"!), Partially lowering the glass of both side windows of the doors.

But none of this was required on the ZIL-157, with the advent of a heater and a fan for heating the windows and the cab. By the way, it was ZIL-157 (1958), the first among Soviet army trucks, to receive an electric fan for general heating of the entire cabin. On cars GAZ-63, (since 1952), YaAZ-214, (1956), and even, (1961), only the windshields were forcibly heated, and the cabins could be heated only due to the incoming air flow when the car was moving.

In addition, the ZIL-157 also had a ceiling fan for blowing the cab, ed. 191-8104210. He could act sobering sleep on long and night roads, and helped to endure the heat more easily. Is this also the same disadvantage in terms of discomfort? By the way, the usual two-axle ZIL cars, with a 4x2 wheel arrangement, did not have the last option ...

The cabins of the machines in question were equipped with pneumatic windshield wipers, with a smooth adjustment of the speed of the brushes and a backup manual drive. They, like units, were interchangeable for installation on the chassis of cars, one instead of the other.

Unless, of course, you do not take into account the difference in special equipment for a centralized tire inflation system (pressure control valve, control pressure gauge, and an in-cab unit of tire valves, for cars manufactured in 1958-1968). But the hoods - "butterflies" were not interchangeable. In the "Stalinist" car, they were fixed in the closed position with simple folding external hooks, and in the "Khrushchev" car, they were more complex in design and less convenient for use with internal latches. Who thought of such a senseless "unification" - history is silent about that.

The welded, from the corners and strips, the lining of the radiator "151", perhaps, was designed to "break through" by the machine, if necessary, thickets of bushes and small trees, it is no coincidence that headlight protection was also introduced. But the one-piece stamped sheet metal cladding "157" was more vulnerable to damage.

Universal cargo-and-passenger platforms with longitudinal folding benches along the sides, which appeared on Soviet army trucks, are really the merit of American designers. Before the war, it was customary to transport personnel on transverse removable benches in Red Army vehicles before the war. However, to fall into euphoria about this, - "Well done, Americans, they came up with this one!" - personally, I would not. For, as the well-known (and universal) proverb of professional motorists says, "This does not affect the speed."

When comparing the ZIS-151 and ZIL-157 in profile, the body of the second car, which is pushed close to the cab, is immediately striking. This made it possible to reduce the rear overhang of the frame and body, and to increase the rear exit angle (horizontal cross-country ability) from 32 to 43 degrees.

But the flip side of the coin was the forced abandonment of the second 150-liter gas tank - the only spare wheel was now placed in its place. Did the operators benefit from such a change in geometric cross-country ability more than they lost from the loss of the past and above-mentioned design advantages? Keep the answers to these questions as homework for your readers.

And the frames with the former size of the rear overhang, like that of the ZIS-151, still remained on some of the ZIL-157 chassis varieties ...

Modifications

Since on the chassis of the three-axle trucks ZIS and ZIL, the factories by subcontractors mounted a variety of installations for the army and the national economy, (multiple launch rocket systems, transport-loading vehicles, fire tankers and ladders, aerial platforms) as well as closed special purpose bodies (PARM, PRP, KShM, MTO-AT, ARS), it makes no sense to consider their entire range. It is better to take a closer look at the main modifications of the head plant and the differences in their chassis.

The ZIS-151 car was produced by an onboard platform in two versions - the main model, and the modification "151A" with a winch. Although the car was intended primarily for the army, in those. the documentation always indicated that "the winches are installed by special agreement with the customer." Apparently, the representative of the latter also determined the equipment of the machines with power take-off boxes (PTO), of which there were three varieties.

The three-speed PTO, with the first gear 2, 0 and the second speed 0.739, also had a reverse gear of 1.13, for the forced delivery of the winch cable.

The two-speed PTO had the same gears of the first and second gears, but did not have a reverse, and therefore the cable had to be unwound manually.

Both of these power take-offs (optional) were installed on the main gearbox housing of the car, and were designed only to work with the gearshift lever in the neutral position - they did not allow power take-off from the engine when the car was moving. The same units existed in two versions, with the issuance of their shaft forward in the direction of the machine (to drive the winch), or backward, to drive other special equipment of the car without a winch.

And only a single-speed PTO with a gearbox of 1.0 could be installed on the transfer case crankcase, only for additional equipment. Just like the first two power take-offs, the third one did not allow the operation of auxiliary equipment when the machine was moving.

The ZIS-151 timber hauler was also mentioned in the special literature on timber road trains of that era. However, it was separately stipulated that such machines were not produced by the head plant, or by its subcontractors, but were converted from ordinary "bortoviks" in the forestry enterprises that operated them.

According to some reports, there were cars in the version of truck tractors. But, neither the NIIAT directory, (1958), nor the ZIS-151 parts catalog confirm this. Consequently, if such tractors actually existed, then it seems that it is also impossible to consider them otherwise, as "self-propelled guns".

The modernized ZIS-151 car, which, as we now know, was the ZIL-157 model, received a version of a truck tractor "157V", further - "157KV", and "157KDV"... The obligatory complete set of all "saddlers" included, like the model "151", two identical fuel tanks, and two holders for spare wheels. In addition, all these vehicles had self-recovery winches and a command hatch in the roof above the passenger seat. These machines were equipped with fifth-wheel couplings with three degrees of freedom, - along the turn, and along the longitudinal and transverse angles of swing of the semi-trailer frame, relative to the frame of the tractor-vehicle. By the way, the usual road "saddlers", ZIL-164AN, saddles with three degrees of freedom were far from always.

Rice. 26. The so-called "rocket train" with a ZIL-157V tractor. Early 60s

The ZIL-157 cars, unlike the ZIS, did not have alphabetic indices indicating the presence of a winch, but, just like in the first case, they were equipped with winches only "by special agreement." And the power take-off for the winch, on these machines, had one winding speed - 1.0, and the reverse - 0.76.

But the varieties of cars ZIL-157KE, and ZIL-157KDE, were produced as a chassis for special installations and special bodies of the KUNG type. They had a slightly lengthened rear overhang of the frame, and also two identical fuel tanks.

It was such chassis, as at one time the ZIS-151 chassis, that were used for the manufacture of fire ladders and tank trucks. However, the chassis of fire trucks had their own, additional features, laid down by the head plant - the manufacturer, and before the "intervention" of other subcontractors - factories of fire fighting equipment.

The special equipment of the chassis of Soviet fire trucks - tank trucks, ladders and vehicles of the auxiliary technical service (the three-axle ZIS and ZIL are no exception), in terms of their preparation at the head plant, included the following additional design solutions.

1. Modified exhaust systems with exhaust manifolds for engines:

• Ejector-type gas-jet pumps (on the principle of liquid capture by rarefaction of a passing stream of air, gases, or steam), for filling tank trucks in the field from any open water bodies;
• Heating of the rear cab (combat crew, only on ZIS vehicles), and a water tank in winter;
• To power the alarm gas siren. With a special lever on the floor of the cab, the driver redirected part of the exhaust gases to an alarm siren, similar to how locomotive horns are powered by steam from a boiler.

1. Drives for remote control of engine speed and clutch, for the possibility of controlling the fire pump from the rear compartment of the tanker, or for controlling the swivel barbet of the ladder and extending its knees.

1. Reinforced cooling systems for engines, for the possibility of their long-term operation without overheating at a standing car, in the absence of an oncoming flow of oncoming air, and in a zone of high temperatures at the fire site. For this purpose, additional heat exchangers were installed in the engine compartments, where the water of the main cooling system, through the coils, was in contact with cold water supplied by the fire pump to the place of extinguishing the fire.

1. Auxiliary cooling systems for transmissions and power take-offs to avoid overheating under the conditions described above. In the crankcases of these units, there were coils connected to the engine cooling system. In addition, special impellers - fans were installed on the output shafts of the power take-offs, for external cooling of the transmission units of special fire equipment with air during its operation.

And the chassis of fire tankers were also equipped with additional terminal blocks for connecting special auxiliary electrical equipment - additional lighting for special equipment controls, the fighting compartment and compartments for equipment and trenching tools, control lamps for water level, temperature conditions, etc. The cars also had electric fans for cooling the engine starters, and control of their inclusion from the rear compartment.

In the late 1980s, a batch of ZIL-MMZ-4510 dump trucks was manufactured at the Mytishchi machine-building plant. These machines were assembled on the overhauled and retrofitted chassis of the ZIL-157 machines, while preserving their original cabins and plumage parts. With all the dubious feasibility of such a design (the off-road payload, minus the weight of the dumping equipment, dropped to 2 tons), these were cars produced by the allied ZIL plant. Therefore, they seem to be the last modifications of the "one hundred and fifty-seventh"

Conclusion

What can I say in conclusion of this material? Readers, of course, may know that the ZIL-157 on the assembly line of the Novouralsk Automobile Plant of the full cycle (and not the "screwdriver" assembly), produced before 1993, outlived the Moscow ZIL-131 (produced until 1990). Is this natural? Of course!

The low-speed motors of the "second cousins" were better suited for difficult off-road conditions and deep mud. More high-torque "sixes", all other things being equal, required gear changes less often, without forcing the driver to interrupt the traction force on the wheels once again, which sometimes led to a complete stop and the car getting stuck.

The second undoubted plus of the six-cylinder in-line engines ZIS and ZIL, strange as it may seem, is their lower power and lower throttle response. The driver was largely insured against an erroneous "overdose" of revolutions, the ejection of soft soil from under the wheels, and the car dropping onto the bridges.

Of course, not everything is so simple. Much depends on the skill of a particular driver, and on the condition of the soil under the wheels of a particular car, and on its actual weight. And yet, I think, many professional chauffeurs, both civil and military, who had the opportunity to personally compare the working capabilities of the "brothers" and their descendants, will not dispute this axiom ...

Army 2.5-ton trucks ZIS-151 with all-metal cabins.

The carrying capacity of on-board vehicles on the terrain or unpaved roads was 2.5 tons, on the highway it reached 4.5 tons.The wheelbase (from the centers of the front wheels to the swing axis of the rear bogie) was 4225 mm, the rear bogie was 1120 mm (that is, 3665 +1120 mm). The track of the front and rear wheels is 1590 and 1720 mm, respectively. The ground clearance under the bridges is 265 - 270 mm. The equipped weight of the machine without a winch is 5580 kg, with a winch - 5840 kg. Gross weight - 10.1 tons. Overall length - 6930 and 7245 mm, respectively, width for all versions - 2310 mm, cab height - 2295 mm. Trucks could tow trailers weighing up to 3.6 tons, overcame slopes up to 28 °, side roll at 25 ° and fords up to 0.8 m deep. Their cruising range reached 700 km.

Truck ZIS-151A of the second release with a front 4.5-ton winch. 1951 year.

With a general similarity with American prototypes, the ZIS-151 turned out to be heavier, less fast and economical: its maximum speed did not exceed 60 km / h, and its fuel consumption ranged from 46 to 55 liters per 100 km. Other disadvantages included an inconvenient cabin, heavy control in the absence of a power steering, excessive complexity and increased mass of the transmission, insufficient cross-country ability, large losses in the transmission units and chassis with dual wheels, and the presence of ten wheels led to the need to transport two "spare wheels" ... Until September 1958, in total, the plant assembled 194,559 vehicles of the ZIS-151 series, and the last vehicles had a ZIL stamp on the hood.

Military variants of the ZIS-151

In the 1950s, ZIS-151 cars were the main medium trucks of all types of the Armed Forces of the USSR and the Warsaw Pact countries. They had only a few military performances. The basic cargo versions of the ZIS-151 were equipped with cabins with a round observation hatch in the roof and wooden lattice bodies with longitudinal folding benches for transporting military cargo or accommodating 16-20 soldiers, and also had a rear hitch for towing trailers and various guns of up to 152 mm caliber. Two-axle trailers IAPZ-754V, TMZ-802, GKB-83011 and others were specially produced for working with them. Serial truck with shielded electrical equipment bearing the index 151D, was used in the Signal Corps and in the Strategic Missile Forces, and the option was supplied for export to tropical countries 151Yu... For the transportation of special military cargo, powerful ammunition and radiation materials, the ZIS-151 onboard vehicles and trailers for them underwent additional equipment in accordance with special requirements for their storage, transportation and loading and unloading operations. For their transportation, special metal containers were used, fastened on a cargo platform with an awning with strong chain or cable ties. The awning was equipped with longitudinal rather than conventional transverse removable arches, which reduced the time of their installation and dismantling. All cars were also equipped with grounding circuits hanging under their frames.
The chassis with a cabin for the installation of special equipment had the designations 121 without winch and 121A with a winch. They mounted numerous types of vans, tank trucks, tankers and workshops, various special and engineering equipment, several types of new multiple launch rocket systems, as well as fundamentally new types of mobile vehicles for servicing missile systems. In 1951 - 1958, the plant also assembled a 110-strong special chassis 151P with a power take-off for the drive of fire protection and other equipment. In 1952 - 1955, a 95-horsepower truck tractor was produced 121B with a winch and shielded electrical equipment for towing semi-trailers with a gross weight of up to 6.1 t, and since 1955 its version has been in production 121D with a 110-horsepower engine and an increased permissible load on the coupling device by 1100 kg (up to 7.2 t). In Soviet military literature, the last car was sometimes referred to as the ZIS-151V. Such tractors with single-axle army semi-trailers OdAZ-778 and their special versions were used for transporting missiles, servicing and reloading missile systems. Using the ZIS-151 chassis and assemblies, the ZIS-485 floating trucks, the ZIS-153 half-track transporters, and a number of promising prototypes were created. On a special shortened undercarriage (chassis) ZIS-123 the first Soviet three-axle armored personnel carriers BTR-152 were based, which, in turn, influenced the further improvement of trucks. In 1949, that is, at the initial stage of production of the ZIS-151, another experimental truck was built on its chassis with an all-metal cab and rear axles with single wheels and extended tires measuring 9.00 - 20 from the first armored vehicles of the BTR-152. It received some development in the early 1950s.

Military equipment on the ZIS-151 chassis

In all types of the Soviet Armed Forces, the more powerful all-wheel drive vehicles ZIS-151 immediately became the main base of numerous military types of special equipment of the middle class, first developed in the USSR. They were equipped with new manned box bodies equipped with communication systems, the first radar stations and field workshops, various tankers, new engineering, chemical and military equipment. Since the end of the 1940s, SK bodies were used to accommodate special equipment, which were modified American ST6 frame-wooden structures of the military era. In 1950 - 1952, plant No. 38 developed new CH frame-metal bodies, which for the first time received characteristic side sloping roof slopes. Since 1955, the military plant p / y 4111 - the future Moscow plant of specialized vehicles (MZSA) - was engaged in their assembly. More widely, the ZIS-151 used standard frame-wooden bodies KUNG-1 and KUNG-1M with high semicircular roofs. Since 1953, they have been developed by the SKB at the Central Design Bureau of Furniture of the Ministry of Forestry Industry of the USSR, and the production was launched in 1954 at the Shumerlinsky woodworking plant of the Chuvash Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

ZIS-151 with wooden body KUNG-1M for radio relay station R-400. 1952 year.

In the context of the outbreak of the Cold War and the emergence of new types of weapons, including nuclear, the ZIS-151 vehicles entered the initial phase of active formation of a fundamentally new special vehicles of the middle class, which were included in the first domestic complexes of ground-based technological equipment for servicing and providing missile systems for stationary basing. The first stage in the creation of such vehicles dates back to 1947 - 1952, when the first Russian ballistic systems R-1 and R-2 were developed and launched on the basis of German V-2 (V-2) missiles. By the mid-1950s, out of twenty items of special automotive equipment that worked in auxiliary operations and at launch positions, most of the vehicles were based on the ZIS-151 chassis. These were special rocket fuel tankers, machines for autonomous and horizontal missile testing, water washing and gasoline-electric units, as well as compressor stations, communication and control facilities. To transport missiles to the launch site and reload them, both single ZIS-151 trucks and special road trains with truck tractors based on them were used.

Radio technical means of communication and control

For a very short post-war period, the more powerful and lifting chassis ZIS-151 with special KUNG box bodies and shielded electrical equipment was widely demanded in the Soviet Armed Forces for the installation of a family of new heavier and more powerful communication and detection systems - radio stations of various levels and radar systems. One of the first on ZIS-151 cars with SK bodies was mounted a lamp radio station PAT General Staff, developed in the mid-1930s and also installed on the Studebaker chassis.
RAS« Prunes»- an ultrashort-wave radio station on two ZIS-151 vehicles with SK or SN bodies. Developed in 1947-1949 and produced since 1950. Served to provide telephone radio communication of ground radio stations with aircraft and ground communication between the headquarters of aviation divisions and the regiment. The wooden car vans housed a control room with a disc-cone antenna and a power station. The range of the station was within a range of 90 - 350 km and at an altitude of up to 10 km.
P-118« Tit»- automobile short-wave lamp radio station of medium power on the ZIS-151D chassis, developed at the Leningrad plant No. 210 and put into service in 1951. Belonged to the numerous family of radio stations R-118, produced in the 1950s - 1970s in several versions, including automobile ones. The station was intended to provide communication in the radio networks of the operational-tactical and tactical level of command and control with various ground and aircraft radio stations. It supported radio communication in a parking lot or on the move, could work in a system of communication centers of mobile control points or autonomously, in telephone, telegraph, direct-printing mode or over cable lines up to 15 km long. The radio communication range in different modes is from 30 to 100 km.
P-400- decimeter radio relay station on three ZIS-151 vehicles. Developed at the Research and Testing Institute of Communications of the Ground Forces (NIIIS SV) and put into service in 1950. The first car in the van body housed the control room, the two onboard trucks housed a rigging machine with an antenna mobile installation (AMU) and the first Soviet farm sliding mast "Sosna".
P-3A« Pechora"- a car version of one of the first Soviet radar stations P-3 meter range for early detection of enemy aircraft and target designation. Station P-3 was developed in accordance with the GKO decree of March 20, 1943 at the Research Institute of the Radio Industry (NII-20, later VNIIRT) to replace the RUS-2 stations and was tested in 1944-1945. After the P-3 system was adopted by the Air Defense Forces, the Air Force and the Navy in 1945, it was produced by the Gorky Radio Plant. Initially, the station was mounted on a stationary installation and supplied with two antenna systems - azimuth and vertical, installed at a height of 7 and 11 m from the earth's surface, respectively. The maximum detection range was 160 km, and the height was up to 10 km. In 1947, on its basis, the P-3A automobile station was developed, the prototypes of which were based on the Studebaker trucks. Since 1948, it has been mass-produced under the code name "Pechora" and was mounted in special wooden bodies on the ZIS-151D chassis. In general design and parameters, it was identical to the P-3 station, differed in mobility, simplicity and reliability, replacing the former P-2M and Redut stations. Until 1951, 435 sets of the P-3A station were manufactured in Gorky.

Radar station P-3A "Pechora" in a wooden body on the chassis ZIS-151D. 1950 year.

Radar P-8 "Volga" on two ZIS-151D vehicles with KUNG-1M bodies. 1952 year.

P-8« Volga"- the first Soviet early warning radar with all-round visibility on two ZIS-151 vehicles with KUNG wooden box bodies. The locator was created in 1946-1948 at the Design Bureau of the Gorky Plant No. 197, was successfully tested in 1949-1950 and put into service with the code name "Volga". The station had two remote antennas on its own masts, which worked for radiation and for reception and provided aircraft detection in conditions of passive and active radio interference at a distance of up to 150 km at an altitude of up to 8000 m.Since 1951, it was supplied with a new antenna-mast device that increased the detection range up to 250 km.
P-10« Volga-A"- a modernized early warning radar with frequency tuning, created in 1951 - 1953 as a development of the P-8 station. After testing, it was put into service in 1953 and produced at the Gorky Radio Plant. Its equipment was mounted on two ZIS-151D vehicles with KUNG-1 wood-metal bodies with a semicircular roof. In the first car there was a control room with an antenna station, in the second there was an electric generator station. To protect against noise radio-technical interference in the P-10 station, a transition to another operating frequency was provided. With a detection range of 180-200 km and an altitude of 16 km, the maximum permissible error did not exceed 1 km.

Welding workshop MS on the ZIS-151 chassis of the first production with the SK body. 1949 year.

A new radar station was installed on the latest releases of ZIS-151 vehicles P-15 "Path" with a two-piece antenna unit on the roof of the van body, put into service in 1955. Subsequently, ZIL-157 trucks became its main base.

Field repair shops

The most common superstructures on the ZIS-151 chassis were all kinds of workshops for maintenance and repair of military equipment and various equipment in the field. At first, their equipment was installed in modified Lend-Lease ST bodies, which had the SK index. They housed the first Soviet regimental and divisional field workshops of the 1949 model, which became the starting point for future more advanced mobile repair facilities. They were based on a maintenance vehicle MTO with a front removable crane-boom with a lifting capacity of 1 ton, a tank repair workshop TRM-A-49 with the same crane and a similar workshop TRM-B-49 with additional gas welding equipment, mechanical PMM, welding workshop MS and electric gas welding EGSM, forging and copper KMM, workshops for the repair of electrical equipment MERO-3 and tank weapons and optics MTVO, repair and charging station PRSZ. The most famous among them was the VAREM universal workshop on the ZIS-151A chassis with a trailer.
VAREM- a military automobile repair and maintenance workshop for technical maintenance and current repair of automobile equipment in the field. The first VAREM workshops were assembled in 1949 at Plant No. 38 using American ST6 bodies, renamed SK. At the same time, they were also installed on Studebaker cars. These workshops passed military tests and were put into service in 1951. Since 1952, their equipment began to be placed in more durable domestic frame-metal bodies CH with one frontal and four double side windows, thermal insulation and wood heating. In this form, since 1953, VAREM workshops have been producing the Leningrad Central Auto Repair Plant No. 7 of the USSR Ministry of Defense. In their bodies with internal dimensions of 4000x2250x1850 mm, equipment was installed for checking the technical condition and repairing cars, carrying out mechanical, gas welding, copper-tin, lubrication and filling, carpentry and even painting operations. The set of the workshop included drills, instrumentation, sets of tools and accessories, an air compressor and an M-300 external motor pump. A jib crane with a lifting capacity of 1 ton driven by a winch was installed on the front bumper of the car, and an autonomous power station ZhES-4 with a capacity of 3.2 kW served to power the electrical equipment. In the 1950s, four types of VAREM workshops, differing in purpose and equipment, entered the Soviet Army. VAREM-1, VAREM-2 and VAREM-3 workshops, respectively, served in rifle regiments, brigades and divisions, and VAREM-4 in a tank division. The VAREM-3D workshop was housed in the wood-metal body of the KUNG-1. Subsequently, they were all mounted on the ZIL-157 chassis.

Military repair shop VAREM in a frame-metal body CH. 1954 year.

The second most common in the troops was a mobile (or mobile) auto repair shop PARM the first generation, produced since 1955. In fact, for the first time, it was a set of various specialized military-level workshops for the maintenance and repair of almost all types of mobile military equipment, various units and weapons, which were placed in CH bodies with three side windows. The main specialization of the PARM-1 workshops was the maintenance and repair of cars, tracked vehicles, their units, electrical equipment and weapons, mechanical, welding and forge-copper works. Since 1954, a workshop has been produced PRM-54 for the repair of various steel tanks, equipment and equipping the rear fuel service, identical to the workshop of the same name on the ZIS-150 chassis. Most of the first mobile repair facilities were equipped with their own power plants and light transfer cranes. In Poland, on the ZIS-151, they installed their own universal streamlined bodies with an elevated roof position for the installation of equipment for automobile and tank field repair shops.

A canister truck on a ZIS-151 truck with racks for 144 fuel cans. 1958 year.

Tank trucks and tankers

On the basis of the ZIS-151, for the first time, a fairly complete range of military or civilian tankers appeared for the delivery of up to 4000 liters of various liquids and refueling of army and aviation equipment. This program included simple tank trucks AVTs-28-151 and ATs-4-151 for transporting water and fuel and two types of tankers for different purposes. The most unusual means of transporting fuel was the so-called canister truck, built in prototypes in 1957-1958. It was a ZIS-151 with a low side platform, in which 144 cans with a total capacity of 2880 liters were placed on special tubular racks.

Fuel tanker ATs-4-151 on ZIS-151 chassis without pumping equipment. 1951 year.

AC-4-151(1949 - 1957) - a general-purpose fuel tanker with a capacity of 4000 liters without pumping equipment, structurally identical to the AC-4-150 model, rearranged on the ZIS-151 chassis. In military units, it was used for the transportation and temporary storage of various types of liquid fuel. The gross vehicle weight is 9160 kg.
ATZ-3-151(1950 - 1958) - a special army tanker with a tank with a capacity of 3300 liters on the chassis of a ZIS-151 car, produced since 1950. The vehicle was used to transport and refuel almost any mobile military equipment with filtered fuel. An SVN-80 driven from a car's power take-off was used to pump fuel. All operations were controlled from the rear cockpit with instrumentation, filter and fuel meter. The refueling kit included pipelines, suction and dispensing hoses and taps, electrical and fire-fighting equipment. Tank filling time - 10 - 20 minutes. Curb weight - 6750 kg, full - 9600 kg. All equipment of the tanker was then mounted on the ZIL-157 chassis.
VMZ-ZIL-151(1956 - 1958) - military water-oil tanker on the ZIL-151 chassis with two tanks and a heating system, partially unified with the MZ-150 dual-purpose model. It was put into service in 1956 and was produced only for two years. Subsequently, his equipment was mounted on the ZIL-157 chassis.

Missile systems support facilities

One of the main vehicles for supporting missile systems were special tankers on the ZIS-151D chassis with shielded electrical equipment: 8G11(1955 - 1956) for refueling of R-12 medium-range ballistic missiles with hydrogen peroxide and 8G17(1956 - 1958) for refueling with an oxidizer of missile systems released before 1959, in particular ballistic missiles R-11 and R-11M. The second type of special equipment was a universal compressor station 8G33(1956 - 1957) for compressed air refueling of medium-range ballistic missile systems.
In general, by 1958, several dozen superstructures of the missile systems support system were mounted on the ZIS-151 chassis. For example, only when servicing early operational-tactical complexes R-11 and R-11M on tracked chassis were used special 8T114 rocket fuel tankers, 8G17 series oxidizer tankers, 8N15, 8N154 and 8N16 various test machines, 8N211 control vehicles, 8G33 mobile compressor stations and 8G33U, an 8T39 vehicle for the transportation of spare parts, 8T326 and 8T339 for the delivery of accessories, an 8T328 storage vehicle, an 8T311 washing and neutralization station and an 8T22 truck crane. These were only the first single samples, and subsequently their modernized versions were based on the ZIL-157 chassis. Other vehicles for missile systems are mentioned in other sections.

Chemical troops vehicles

Soon after the war, a powerful auto-filling station appeared on the ZIS-151 chassis. ARS-12 with the main elliptical steel tank for the delivery of up to 2,700 liters of means for degassing and disinfecting weapons and equipment. A new laboratory was put into service in 1948. AL-3 for chemical and sanitary-chemical reconnaissance, which had advanced analysis capabilities. The appearance of new organophosphorus toxic substances in the arsenal of the armies of the potential enemy led to the creation in 1949 of a heavy auto-degassing machine. ADM-48 for chemical cleaning of weapons, equipment and equipment of degassing kits. All its equipment was placed in the tilt body of a serial ZIS-151 truck. Since 1953, when the appearance of atomic and bacteriological (biological) weapons became a reality, the creation of new equipment began not only for degassing, but also for decontamination and disinfection of terrain and military equipment. This is how a modernized car appeared. ADM-48D with additional equipment. It consisted of two tanks with hand pumps for transportation and pumping of various types of degassing solutions, a tank with a decontamination solution, rubber-metal hoses, boxes with tools and dosimetric devices. At the same time, the ARS-12 filling station was modernized in a similar way. Her variant ARS-12D, serially produced in 1954 - 1958, was equipped with additional side tanks with special fluids for decontamination of terrain, buildings and military equipment, as well as for disinsection of large areas and communications. In 1957, the first samples of a washing and neutralizing machine appeared on the ZIS-151 chassis. 8T311, originally created to service the R-12 missile system. Subsequently, its multifunctional modernized versions were based on the new chassis of the Moscow Automobile Plant.

Engineering technology

Apparently, the Soviet engineering troops had long awaited the appearance of a new all-terrain chassis with increased carrying capacity, and with the advent of the ZIS-151, a large number of various middle-class equipment was immediately created on its basis. The championship belonged to various systems of pontoon parks and bridgelayers. In addition to them, powerful domestic AK-5 truck cranes and German ADK-III, DKA-0.25 single-bucket excavators with a backhoe and an autonomous power unit and BKMS-4 compressor stations for driving pneumatic tools were based on the ZIS-151 chassis. In the mid-1950s, on the ZIS-151 chassis, an experienced road belt (roll path) stacker was built and tested, structurally similar to the same machine based on the GAZ-63.

The bridge block of the KMM mechanized track bridge on the ZIS-151A chassis. 1955 year.

KMM- a set of mechanized track bridges with a carrying capacity of 15 tons, which consisted of five bridge-laying vehicles on the ZIS-151A chassis with winches. Served for the operational construction of military track bridges and operational support for the passage of light wheeled and tracked vehicles. Each bridgelayer was equipped with a 7 m long steel track bridge block, which, with the help of a reloading device, was tipped back and laid in the desired area of ​​the terrain, blocking narrow ditches and ditches. To install several blocks on obstacles up to 3 m deep, folding supports were used at the ends of each block. In the daytime and at night, in 60 - 80 minutes, the KMM set made it possible to mount a five-span bridge 35 m long with a track of 1.1 m and a carriageway width of 3.0 m. - 65 km / h. The total mass of one vehicle is 8.8 tons. The combat crew for the entire set of KMM was 12 people. Since 1958, the KMM has been mounted on the ZIL-157 chassis.

The permeability of this truck, which has been in production for over 30 years, can still be called outstanding. The path to its creation was long and difficult, but everyone who worked behind the wheel of these all-terrain vehicles remembers them with a kind word.

Numerous versions of the ZIL-157 model could be found in the Far North, and on construction sites in Siberia, and on laying pipelines in Central Asia, and, of course, in the armies of many countries of the world. Undoubtedly, it was one of the worthy domestic developments, and it deserves to be remembered.

In the late 1930s, when the inevitability of the Second World War was not in doubt, the designers of European factories producing army vehicles racked their brains over how to increase the cross-country ability of cars. Their efforts did not go unnoticed in the USSR, because they paid serious attention to the issues of increasing the defense capability. The greatest successes in this matter were achieved at the Gorky Automobile Plant, where for the first time they mastered in the production of hinges of equal angular speeds, which turned the front axle of a car into a leading one.

The merit of the team of designers under the leadership of Andrey Alexandrovich Lipgart lies in the fact that, having tested various two-axle and three-axle trucks, they proved that all-wheel drive vehicles should have single-sided tires, tires with a special tread for various terrain conditions, special weight distribution along the axes, etc. It is a pity that the war prevented the implementation of plans to produce a family of all-terrain vehicles, and after the war, the country received only one two-axle all-wheel drive truck GAZ-63, although it had a unique cross-country ability.

At the Moscow Automobile Plant. Stalin, before the war, they managed to produce a small batch of two-axle ZIS-32 off-road trucks. At the end of 1940, the designers sought to create the Soviet "Studebaker US 6x6", taking as a basis its technical features and based on the units of the new 4-ton truck ZIS-150. As you know, these legendary all-terrain vehicles with gable rear wheels have proven themselves in battles with the Nazis, including as a carrier of the famous Katyusha launchers.

The three-axle ZIS-151, to the great chagrin of its creators, turned out to be much worse than the Studebaker. Put into production in April 1948, a year later, during a long run on the spring off-road, it was significantly inferior in cross-country ability to both the Lend-Lease prototype and the GAZ-63 all-terrain vehicles, which more than once had to pull the ZISs out of the mud and snow captivity.

Heavy vehicles (the mass of the ZIS-151 exceeded the mass of the Studebaker per ton) with small wheels and insufficient ground clearance, low-power engines and rear axles with double-sided tires among the testers were nicknamed "irons", forcing drivers to remove the second slopes and push the stuck the car by another car, since the design of special rear bumpers allowed this. In the memoirs of the testers, one can read that thick liquid mud easily covered the rear wheels, turning them into four barrels, helplessly spinning in the mud mass.

Removing the outer slopes covered with mud, picking out the dirt with a crowbar, was a real torment, but it was necessary to increase cross-country ability. Dual wheels required more power from the engine, as they laid additional tracks, while the rear wheels of the GAZ-63 followed exactly the track of the front ones.

The mistakes had to be corrected as soon as possible, especially since the ZIS-151 trucks entered the army, and the ways of solving the problems did not look vague. In 1950, the production of the BTR-152 armored personnel carrier began on the basis of modified ZIS-151 units, but already with a single-tire tire for all wheels with larger tires. At the plant, experimental samples of ZIS-151 trucks with single-wheel wheels and a single track of bridges were created, work was launched to increase the engine power, increase the reliability of other units, and design winches.

But the main hopes associated with a cardinal increase in cross-country ability were pinned on the system of centralized regulation of air pressure in tires being created (for the first time in world practice). Shinniks were instructed to develop a design and master the production of special tires that allow the movement of a car with a temporarily reduced air pressure in them. As a result, a tire with a size of 12.00-18 (air pressure range of 3.0 ... 0.5 kgf / cm2) was developed, which allows operation with a variable value of radial deformation up to 35% of the profile height, while for conventional tires the radial deformation is no more than 13 %. The tire was characterized by increased elasticity, achieved by increasing the width of the profile by 25%, reduced to eight layers of cord in the carcass and the use of special layers of very soft rubber.

As the air pressure in the tires decreases, the deformation increases and the specific pressure on the ground decreases. As a result, the depth of the track is reduced and, accordingly, the energy consumption for the formation of the track is reduced or the resistance of the soil to rolling of the wheels is reduced. True, it was possible to move with an air pressure of 0.5 kgf / cm2 only at a speed of no more than 10 km / h.

The change in tire pressure was carried out by the driver using a centralized system, which made it possible to adjust and bring, if necessary, the pressure to normal in all tires while the car was moving. The use of such a system was especially liked by the military. The fact is that with this system, the survivability of the car was higher. The truck could continue to move in the event of damage to an individual tire, since the inflation system compensated for the drop in air pressure in it.

The tests of the new system fully confirmed the theoretical studies, and when developing the new ZIL-157 car, which replaced the ZIS-151 all-terrain vehicle on the conveyor in 1958, the choice was made in favor of a new tire of size 12.00-18. As a result, the designers had to radically revise the layout of the all-terrain vehicle. Reducing the number of wheels from 10 to 6 made it possible to avoid the installation of two spare wheels, which were mounted on the ZIS-151 vertically behind the cab.

This decision led to the elimination of wheel holders behind the cab and made it possible to move the platform to the cab, and to shorten the frame at the rear by 250 mm, which reduced the overall length of the truck by 330 mm with the same wheelbase. The only spare wheel was found under the platform.

Optimization of the layout of the ZIL-157 truck improved the distribution of mass along the axles, while the weight of the vehicle decreased by 100 kg.

At first, a tire pressure control system was used on cars with an external air supply with tubes with hinged joints, but very soon serious shortcomings of this design appeared. While the all-terrain vehicle was driving off-road, the protruding outer tubes were damaged, the seal of the hub in the air supply unit was poorly protected from dirt, and the installation and dismantling of the wheels caused great difficulties. As a result, almost immediately after the launch of the car, the tire air supply unit was redesigned in favor of air supply from the inside of the wheel.

The experience of operating ZIS-151 vehicles revealed their low traction and dynamic qualities, especially when towing a trailer, the engines often overheated, the truck consumed a lot of fuel, had low average speeds on paved roads, while the reliability of the nodes did not suit the operators at all.

All this had to be corrected when creating the ZIL-157. The use of an aluminum block head on an in-line lower valve 6-cylinder engine with a working volume of 5.55 liters made it possible to increase the compression ratio from 6.0 to 6.2, which, together with the installation of a new carburetor, gave an increase in power from 92 to 104 hp. at 2600 rpm and maximum torque from 304 to 334 Nm. The cooling system has also undergone a significant change, which received a six-blade fan and a new radiator.

A new oil pump, new crankshaft seals, water pump seals, a closed crankcase ventilation system were introduced into the design of the motor, the suspension of the power unit was modernized, etc., which increased its operational properties. Constructive measures have led to a decrease in fuel consumption of the ZIL-157 by 7 ... 22%, depending on road conditions.

During the production process, the car's engine was upgraded twice more. In 1961, its power was increased to 109 hp. (model ZIL-157K), replaced the two-disc clutch with a single-disc one, and since 1978 the truck began to be produced with an engine in which a number of units were unified with the engine of the ZIL-130 car (this version was called ZIL-157KD). The gearbox with 5 forward gears and one backward was also strengthened, and until 1961 it was produced with a fifth, overdrive, which was later abandoned.

Compared to the ZIS-151, the two-stage transfer case with forced engagement of the front axle was produced with wear-resistant gears and new seals, and the cardan transmission was redesigned. The transmission of torque to the rear axle was carried out using a promoter attached to the middle axle. The drive axles received significantly reinforced axle shaft covers, new hubs and brakes. The number of wheel studs has increased from 6 to 8.

Among the comments on the ZIS-151 model there were also complaints about the cab: the inconvenience of landing the driver on an unregulated seat, the lack of a heater, its poor dust protection, unsatisfactory air ventilation, as well as ineffective shock absorbers and large forces transmitted to the driver's hands from the wheels. All of the above made the work of the driver difficult, turning it, especially in winter, into outright torment. It turned out that fixing the shortcomings was not so difficult.

The carrying capacity of the all-terrain vehicle on paved roads was limited to 4.5 tons (since 1978 - 5.0 tons), on unpaved roads - 2.5 tons. 65 km / h, consumed 42 liters of fuel per 100 km. At normal tire pressure (3.0 ... 3.5 kgf / cm2) ZIL-157 performed transport work on roads with unimproved hard surface.

With a decrease in pressure to 1.5 ... 2.0 kgf / cm2, he easily moved on soft and loose soil, and at 0.75 ... 1.0 kgf / cm2 he overcame sand, soggy soil and dirt roads washed out after a rainstorm. The pressure in the tires of 0.5 ... 0.7 kgf / cm2 made it possible to move freely through a damp meadow, marshy area, and also successfully overcome deep snow cover. The total mass of the towed trailer when driving on the highway was 3.6 tons.

The car received the Grand Prix for its high performance parameters at the 1958 World Exhibition in Brussels. It was exported to dozens of countries around the world. Serial production of models of the ZIL-157 family, which included a dozen of various designs, continued at the Moscow Automobile Plant. Likhachev until 1988, that is, for many years after the release of more modern ZIL-131 machines. In 1978-1994 the car was assembled at the Ural Automobile Plant (Novouralsk), at that time a branch of ZIL. In total, 797,934 ZIL-157 vehicles of all modifications were manufactured, which many call the "kings of the off-road".