Before 1930s Soviet Union did not produce its own limousines for top officials, which did not fit in with the status of a great power - after all, such cars were the face of the state, demonstrated its degree of development. This situation led to an order "from above" to produce a large passenger car with an outstanding level of comfort.
In 1932, the Krasny Putilovets plant was instructed to begin assembling exact copies of the brand new American Buick 32-90 car. It was this date that became the starting point in the Soviet "limousine industry". Double "Buick", equipped with the latest technology, called "L-1". Eight-cylinder 105-horsepower engine, three-speed gearbox, suspension with adjustable hydraulic shock absorbers and spacious salon with a partition between the passengers and the driver - all this was completely the same as that of the American car.
It was clear that the "L-1" was only a temporary consolation and the question of a representative car remained open. In total, six copies of the Buick were assembled, two of which went to the ZIS to further develop the idea of a Soviet limousine. A little later, for a detailed study, the original Buick was also brought to the plant, which became the basis for a new car, which received the name ZIS-101.
Selection of a team to create a representative vehicle for high-ranking civil servants, the director of the ZIS, I. A. Likhachev, was involved, which once again confirmed the special importance of the project. The chief designer was appointed engineer Evgeny Vazhinsky, who decided to borrow the stuffing from the Buick, but build his own body. The body was designed by the American company Budd, which, after the work done, was enriched by a whopping 1.5 million dollars for those years. Despite this amount, the details were hardly flawless, and this is not surprising - Budd was the first to develop body elements.
In 1935, the first parts were received from American partners for the ZIS, in 1936 the ZIS-101 layout was ready, and at the end of April of the same year, a prototype was born. A private display of the novelty, which was attended by Khrushchev, Mikoyan, Ordzhonikidze and Stalin, took place on April 29.
It was hard not to appreciate the excellent interior decoration of the 101, which could boast of comfortable armchairs upholstered in leather and cloth. highest quality, decorative inserts made of natural wood, a radio and even a heating system. The only drawback of the car was a very small trunk, but the problem was solved by a special luggage rack in the back of the limousine. A curious solution was the doors for passengers that opened against the direction of travel.
The power unit for the ZIS-101 was the already mentioned in-line eight-cylinder 5.77-liter engine, but with a capacity of 90 hp. with., accelerating a three-ton colossus to 115 km / h, and a three-speed manual gearbox with synchronizers in second and third gears took over the transmission of torque to the wheels. Necessary for such a massive car were vacuum clutch and brake boosters.
Until the end of 1936, 11 handmade cars were built, and after the ZIS-101 was put on the conveyor at the beginning of the next year, 17 units were assembled per day. Later, a modification of the ZIS-101A was created with a boosted by 20 liters. With. engine and a modified radiator grill, as well as a version with open body.
8752 copies - this is how the first edition was released soviet limousine. Its owners were mostly officials, but a few cars went to ordinary citizens for special merits. The successor to this model in 1945 became.
The internal trunk of the ZIS-101 was very small. Therefore, for bulky items (suitcases, boxes), there was a folding luggage rack and leather fastening straps in the back
The gas tank neck with a chrome-plated cap just sticks out of the body of the ZIS-101 - they haven’t guessed to hide it under a special hatch yet
The rear sofa ZIS-101 provided the top of comfort for two passengers, the third person was completely useless there
On the ZIS-101, side lights were installed next to the headlights on the wings, and not direction indicators
When the development of the Soviet executive car was entrusted to the ZIS plant, the designers took the American Buick as a model, retaining only its spar frame with an X-shaped cross member, an overhead valve engine and a three-speed gearbox. The design of the car body was carried out by the American company Ambi-Budd. The first two prototypes of the car, called ZiS-101 were ready in March 1936. On April 29, 1936, the cars, one painted black and the other cherry, were presented in the Kremlin to Stalin and the top leadership of the country. It is known that Stalin, Molotov, Ordzhonikidze, Mikoyan and others very scrupulously studied new car, compared with foreign models expressed their views. Stalin advised to build a separating one behind the front seat, rearrange the lamp that was above the back seat in the middle of the cabin, and also replace the talisman figure on the hood. He proposed that the emblem be a flying red flag with a star. Serial production of the ZiS-101 began only in 1937., because the plant took a lot of time to install and master the equipment. In its design, for the first time, many technical innovations. This applies to the limousine style body with a dividing sliding glass behind the front seat. In addition, wood, in particular beech, was used in the manufacture of the body frame, which was only possible for highly qualified carpentry specialists. ZiS-101 was considered a very comfortable car. The interior was heated by a heater, and in the summer, using rotary windows, the interior could be quickly ventilated. The car had a trunk and an additional luggage rack trimmed with chrome trim. The front seats were upholstered in leather, while the interior seats were upholstered in fabric. In some of the "hundred firsts" a radio was installed. The ZiS-101 engine was considered one of the most progressive in those years. The in-line "eight" with a working volume of 5766 cm3 developed a power of 110 hp. at 3200 rpm if the engine had aluminum pistons, and 90 hp. at 2800 rpm if the pistons are cast iron. The motor had a crankshaft with counterweights, a torsional vibration damper crankshaft, a two-chamber Marvel carburetor with exhaust gas heating and a thermostat in the cooling system that maintained the temperature in the cooling system and controlled the opening of the blinds. The solid weight of a limousine combined with soft dependent suspension wheels on long springs and double-acting hydraulic lever shock absorbers created the softness of the car. A vacuum booster was used in the brake system, which was called a “brake booster” at that time, although its work led to the fact that the left wheels braked somewhat stronger than the right ones. Depending on the type of engine, the ZiS-101 reached a speed of 115 or 120 km / h, but the fuel consumption was 26.5 liters per 100 km. In total, from 1937 to 1941, 8752 ZiS-101 vehicles were manufactured. various modifications. At the end of 1937, two modifications with an open body were developed at the plant. The first is of the "phaeton" type with a folding awning and sidewalls fastened with buttons with celluloid windows. The second is a “cabriolet”, also with an awning, but with windows that slide out of the doors in frames that fit flush into the grooves of the stretched fabric top. On the basis of the ZiS-101, an ambulance was produced in small batches, while the layout of the rear of the cabin was somewhat changed, and a distinctive lamp with a red cross was installed above the windshield. A small part of the ZiS-101 cars in large cities was used as taxis, while a taximeter was installed at the right windshield pillar. In June 1940, after modernization, the ZiS-101A model appeared. The increase in engine power was achieved thanks to the installation of a new MKZ-L2 carburetor. Now the mixture entered the cylinders not in an ascending, but in a falling flow, due to this, their filling and power improved. ZiS-101A was produced only with aluminum pistons. In total, about 600 cars of this model were manufactured. Before the start of the war, the plant's designers created prototypes of two new products: ZiS-101B and ZiS-103. The war prevented the implementation of plans.
Emblem ZiS-101
A passenger car should carry a new emblem - this was decided at the factory. For its selection, a competition was announced in which
everyone could participate. The winner among fifty different drawings was an inconspicuous sketch, made with a soiled chemical pencil on a piece of paper torn from a school notebook in a box. Its author, a simple worker of the plant's reinforcing shop, managed to grasp the main requirement for such an emblem: it must be concise and at the same time reflect the symbols of the Soviet state. So a fluttering red banner appeared on the radiator grille of the ZIS-101.
Specifications ZiS-101
The strict pediment of the radiator grille and the red flag on top personified the inviolability of the Soviet ZIS-101
First Soviet executive car ZIS-101 rolled off the assembly line on January 18, 1937. This model was distinguished by many technical solutions that were not previously encountered in practice. domestic automotive industry. The car had a dependent spring suspension of all wheels, a spar frame, a vacuum brake booster, rod-driven valves located in the cylinder head. After modernization (in 1940), she received the ZIS-101A index.
Years of release - 1937-1939
Number of seats - 7
Engine: type - four-stroke, carburetor
Number of cylinders - 8
Working volume - 5766 cm3
Power - 90 l. s./66 kW at 2800 rpm
Number of gears - 3
Length - 5647 mm
Width - 1890 mm
Height 1856 mm
Base - 3605 mm
Tire size - 7.50-17 inches
Curb weight - 2550 kg
Top speed- 115 km / h.
ZiS-101A-Sport
ZiS-101A-Sport - a sports car produced in one copy at the ZiS plant in Moscow
Pullmanov was engaged in boosting the engine from the serial ZIS-101 - he increased the speed and compression ratio, changed the valve timing and intake manifold
But ZIS 101 Sport has become an exception to the rule. Firstly, the plant where it was created was named after the leader, and secondly, the car was made for the twentieth anniversary of the Komsomol - the All-Union Leninist Communist Youth Union
ZiS-101A-Sport- a sports car produced in one copy at the ZiS plant in Moscow. Created on the ZiS-101 chassis. The name ZiS-101A-Sport is unofficial. sports version The ZiS-101 model was designed on its own initiative by a group of young engineers from the design bureau of the ZiS experimental workshop: Anatoly Pukhalin, Vladimir Kremenetsky, Nikolai Viktorovich Pulmanov. Designer — Valentin Rostkov. The prototype appeared due to the fact that in 1938 young engineers managed to add the car to the list of "gifts to the Motherland" for the 20th anniversary of the Komsomol. At the XVII Moscow Party Conference in 1939, the car was presented by the People's Commissar of Medium Machine Building I. A. Likhachev and received the approval of Stalin and Kaganovich. An eight-cylinder ZiS-101 engine with an increased compression ratio, displacement (up to 6060 cm³) and power (up to 141 hp at 3300 rpm) was installed on the car, a carburetor with a falling flow was used for the first time, forged aluminum alloy connecting rods operating on the necks of the crankshaft without liners. Stabilizers were used in the suspension roll stability. For the first time in the USSR, a hypoid main gear was used. According to calculations, the car was supposed to develop 180 km / h, while testing the ZiS-101A-Sport showed 162.4 km / h.
Technical specifications:
Length width height: 5750x1900x1856mm
Base: 3570 mm
Maximum speed: 162 km/h
Engine: gasoline, carburetor, in-line
Number of cylinders: 8
Displacement: 6060 cm3
Location: top
Power: 141 HP at 3300 rpm
Gearbox: mechanical three-speed
Front suspension: dependent, on longitudinal springs
Rear suspension: dependent, on longitudinal springs
Brakes: mechanical, drum, with vacuum booster
Modernization of the ZiS-101
The weight of the ZIS-101 exceeded by 600-700 kg imported analogues. The fact is that for the sake of strength and reliability, many nodes were too heavy, and as a result, dynamic performance suffered. For big and solid car 90 hp engine With. turned out to be rather weak, so the first modernization touched on the chassis. By replacing the cast-iron pistons with aluminum ones, it was possible to increase the engine power by 20 hp. with., which provided the car with a maximum speed of 120 km / h. But more substantial modernization was required. The car has been thoroughly redesigned. Not having achieved a serious reduction in the weight of the car, a more powerful 116-horsepower engine and an improved transmission were installed on it. The maximum speed at the same time increased to 125 km / h. At the same time, a new grille was installed on the limousine. The upgraded vehicles were named ZIS-101A and began to roll off the assembly line in 1940. There were also options with six-cylinder engines Packard and Studebaker, ZiS-101E ("Extra") - armored (glass thickness 70 mm, 2 copies were produced), ZiS-101L with a telephone (1936, 1 copy was produced). On the basis of the ZiS-101A, a sports car ZiS-101A-Sport was created.
It was not possible to prepare the production of the ZIS-101 for release without anecdotal cases. For a car executive class it was necessary to make a good passenger seat, and the upholsterers at the ZIS were simply wonderful, they worked cleanly and beautifully, but they could not get the required softness of the seat. There were no necessary materials: cotton wool, merino wool and eider down. The masters could not please I.A. Likhachev, who all the time compared the seat of the ZIS-101 with the seat of the Packard. And the upholsterers decided to play Ivan Alekseevich. They moved the upholstery from the Packard cushion to theirs, and the upholstery from the ZIS put on the American seat. Likhachev came in the evening and immediately asked: what, they say, could they achieve in a day? He was invited to try today's sample (Packard seat under our upholstery). The director sat on it: “Nothing, but still far ... to the Packard,” and, moving onto our seat, upholstered in Packard leather, he remarked: “This is another matter, you immediately feel that the springs are correctly selected, and the pitching is good.” Then the upholsterers revealed to him the secret and showed that he had fallen for the bait. At the same time, Likhachev not only was not offended, but burst out laughing joyfully and ordered more seat do not touch.
The communist cars of the executive class, which aroused the envy of even the capitalists!
Anatoly Nikolaev
By the 30s of the last century, many issues had not been resolved in the Country of Soviets, but the issue of organizing the production of cars was resolved. For example, the GAZ-A car was produced in Nizhny Novgorod, and it was a licensed copy of the Ford-A. Since the end of 1932, the domestic analogue of Ford went under the hammer to the masses. In total, more than 40,000 cars were stamped at the Gorky Automobile Plant (and later at the Moscow KIM Plant). GAZ-A, of course, was also bought for employees of party and government bodies. But since the middle class car did not meet the requirements of all authorities, it was decided to develop a car for the highest level. This task was entrusted to the Leningrad plant "Red Putilovets".
Already in March 1933, Leningrad-1 (L-1) saw the light. The manufacturers did not hide the fact that they were creating a "Soviet Buick": the Buick-32-90 of the 1932 model was taken as the basis.
For a month, "Red Putilovets" assembled six cars that took part in the May Day demonstration, becoming the subject of universal pride. And on May 19, these cars took part in the run to Moscow and back.
In general, the party, represented by the head of the People's Commissariat for Heavy Industry G.K. Ordzhonikidze, was satisfied with the creation of the Leningrad plant. A plan was made for next year: 2000 cars. Ideally, it was planned to produce 20,000 L-1 cars per year. But these plans were not destined to come true.
"Leningrad-1" was unfinished. The developers did not have enough experience in developing such complex equipment. The run between the two capitals revealed a number of technical problems, not all cars covered this distance without breakdowns. As a result, the production of cars for the first persons was transferred to Moscow. The development was taken up at the ZIS. And the director of the ZIS, I. A. Likhachev, did not disappoint.
ZIS-101
Engineers under the leadership of E. I. Vazhinsky, unlike their Leningrad predecessors, did not copy, but took up production own car. And in 1936 the plant. Stalin released the ZIS-101.
It would not be entirely true to say that the ZIS-101 did not borrow anything from its competitors.
Eight-cylinder overhead valve engine migrated from Buick, steering And rear suspension borrowed from Packard. Appearance commissioned to develop the American bodywork studio The Budd Company. And the Americans coped with their task. The car turned out not in a communistic elegant way.
The first copies went out into the world in the spring of 1936 and were presented to Joseph Vissarionovich, who was pleased with the development. And since the beginning of 1937, ZIS launched a conveyor assembly.
Characteristics
Length - 5750 mm; width - 1890 mm; height - 1870 mm; ground clearance - 190 mm; weight - 2550 kg (full - 2970 kg); engine capacity - 5750 cu. cm; tank volume - 85 l; fuel consumption - 20 liters per 100 km.
For the first time in the history of the domestic automotive industry, the interior of the car was heated. Some cars were even equipped with a radio. ZIS-101 developed a power of about 110 liters. With. and a speed of 115 km/h.
Modernization of the 101st
Despite the fact that the creation of the plant. Stalin was warmly received, ZIS had a number of shortcomings. The car was about half a ton heavier than its competitors; the motor was not impressive compared to analogues. In addition, the plant faced both financial and personnel problems: Vazhinsky, the project manager, was arrested, and in 1938, according to the cruel context of the era, he was shot.
Despite the difficulties, the designers managed to squeeze the maximum out of the project. In August 1940, the ZIS-101A was released. The wood was no longer used in the production of the body. Carburetor - with a falling stream. The motor in the upgraded ZIS had a power of 116 hp. With.
At the same time, they released the ZIS-102 with a convertible body.
At the plant, they understood that progress could not be stopped and that the car produced was giving way to time. Based on this, it was decided to "hit with a doublet." The plant was preparing two modernized versions at once: ZIS-101B and ZIS-103. The first was distinguished by a protruding trunk, the difference of the second was an independent front suspension. ZIS-101B gave life in May 1941. In total, only two samples were released.
It is noteworthy that the ZIS-101 was at the disposal of not only officials, but also ordinary people. In Moscow, there were more than 50 cars of this brand, and most of them were used in the taxi service. In total, almost 9,000 ZIS-101 vehicles were produced. Production of the ZIS-101 ceased on 7 July 1941. Continued the story domestic auto industry bright ZIS-110. But after the war.
ZIS-110
Everything continued in 1944, when ZIS engineers began designing a new representative car model. They got down to business thoroughly: the head of the project, B. Fitterman, knew what a responsible task was entrusted to him and what results were expected at the top.
The engineers of the Stalin plant knew about Dzhugashvili's love for American cars. Therefore, it was decided to take the Packard in the 180th body of 1941 as a basis. Indeed, at first glance, the new Soviet executive car turned out to be similar to its overseas counterpart. But only at first glance. Domestic automakers have brought a number of both visual and technical changes(an armored version was also developed, but more on that below). Landing steps are hidden under the door, changed for the spare wheel back body. And yes, we can say that the body of the new car was completely designed and prepared inside the country (before that, friends from America helped Soviet designers with the design at that time).
Since Stalin personally followed the project, the development was carried out very briskly. In July, the first sample, the ZIS-110, was born.
Characteristics
The new ZIS, like its predecessor, was designed for 7 seats. An eight-cylinder engine accelerated a six-meter car to 100 km / h in 28 seconds. The engine of the new ZIS (power 140 hp at 3600 rpm) was considered the most powerful engine Soviet production until 1950.
The designers did a great job: the engine ran quietly and smoothly. The maximum speed is 140 km/h. Weight - 2575 kg (full - 3335 kg). Width - 1960 mm. Height - 1730 mm. Fuel consumption - 28.0 liters per 100 km.
The gearbox was located on the steering column. The box is mechanical, three-stage. On dashboard there was a speedometer, a fuel gauge, a thermometer, an ammeter, an oil pressure gauge, control lamps for the left and right direction indicators, high beams, and ignition.
The cabin had a radio, cigarette lighter, clock, heater.
Modernization of the 110th
For the needs of the ambulance, the ZIS-110A was developed. This modification differed in that it had a lantern with a red cross above the windshield, a sunroof in the rear of the body that leaned upwards, a special first aid kit, and a retractable stretcher in the passenger compartment.
ZIS-110B - a phaeton with a folding fabric roof.
ZIS-110V - convertible, only three pieces were produced.
ZIS-110Sh - experimental all-wheel drive vehicle. Four copies were created, which were subsequently destroyed, but gave life to the full-fledged all-wheel drive ZIS-110P.
ZIS-110Sh - staff car.
And finally, the ZIS-115 is a government vehicle with armor protection.
ZIS-115
If outwardly the first premium armored car did not differ from the serial ZIS-110 (except that there were no white stripes on the sides, tires of a larger diameter and powerful fog lamp set in the middle front bumper), then the design changed radically.
All chassis units were reinforced due to the weight (it's no joke, 7 tons!). The clutch, gearbox, rear axle, front and rear suspension (for the same reason). The ZIS-115 had a more powerful (162 hp) engine with two carburetors.
The armor was made by one of the defense factories. All armor panels were subjected to test fire. Since there were few armored ZISs (some 32 copies), it was knocked out on all body parts individual number car.
It was impossible to buy these cars (due to the specifics of the time), one could only earn them.
For example, one of these cars was presented by the head of the atheistic state to Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexy the First with the wording "For help in the fight against the Nazi invaders." Igor Kurchatov (the father of the Soviet atomic bomb) and Kim Il Sung (the founder of the North Korean state, if anything) also rose to the ranks of ZIS.
A total of 2072 copies were issued. Production ceased in 1958. Having handed over the palm to ZIL, the ZIS-110 went to rest.
ZIL-111
In July 1956, the Stalin Moscow Plant was successfully renamed the Likhachev Plant. But the modernization of the plant did not stop with the change of name. By the beginning of the 50s, it became clear that the flagship of the Soviet automobile industry, the ZIS-110, was hopelessly outdated.
The first sample of a new car "not for everyone" was shown at the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (now VDNKh) in 1956. The car, codenamed ZIS-111 "Moskva", like its predecessors, was stylistically similar to American high-end models of the first half of the 50s. But here's the problem: external design American models changed dramatically by 1955. Against their background, the domestic counterpart looked inexpressive. "Moscow" in Moscow was greeted coolly.
Lev Eremeev from GAZ was involved in designing the design. For inspiration and study, the party constantly purchased American high-end cars: Cadillac Fleetwood-75, Chrysler Imperial Crown, Packard Executive Patrician, Packard Executive Caribbien, Packard Executive Caribbien. The result was sometimes a direct borrowing of both technical and stylistic solutions from the American automotive industry. Robert Turnquist states in his book The Packard History that the ZIL-111 is a copy of the Packard Caribbien.
And he is not so far from the truth: the ZIL-111 is really similar to the 1956 Packard Patrician. Body contours repeat the Chrysler Imperial Crown, and the mechanical part and interior are identical to the Cadillac Fleetwood-75.
Characteristics
ZIL-111 design: frame chassis with independent spring suspension of the front wheels, V-shaped “eight”, automatic transmission gears, power steering, vacuum brake booster, automatic drive windows, antennas, soft top and air conditioning, and on the outside of the body - an abundance of chrome decorative details. The American counterparts had all this, but the ZIL differed in size, and it seemed heavier.
The car was longer than its predecessor (6 m 14 cm) and wider (2 m 4 cm). It had an overhead valve V8 engine with a volume of 5.969 liters and a power of 220 liters. With. The engine accelerated the car to 100 km / h in 23 seconds. The maximum speed is 170 km/h. Fuel consumption - 29 liters per 100 km. But thanks to the large tank (120 l) of the 111th, the cruising range was also great. Front suspension - spring, rear - spring.
Modernization
Here the Likhachev Plant first encountered the unthinkable - competition, and within the Union. GAZ-13, popularly known as the "Seagull", in all respects approached the flagship. The only way out of this situation was urgent modernization.
The result of this modernization was the ZIL-111G. It had a four-headlight headlight system, round taillights, and swept-back side moldings. Air conditioning appeared on all cars from now on. As a result of the changes, the car became longer (by 50 mm) and heavier (by 210 kg). All visual changes were adopted from the 1961 Cadillac models (they say that according to the wishes of Khrushchev himself). ZIL-111G was produced from 1962 to 1966.
In addition, several phaetons were built on the basis of the ZIL-111G. If the model with an opening body was called ZIL-111V, then the new phaeton was called ZIL-111D.
ZIL-111, unlike ZIS-110 and 101, was not massive. In total, only 112 cars of all modifications were assembled.
An open ZIL was presented to Fidel Castro on behalf of Khrushchev in 1963, when a distinguished guest from the Island of Freedom visited the plant.
Until 1968, ZILs were an integral element of all parades. At the same time, the plant assembled the first batch of brand new high-end ZIL-114 passenger cars, distinguished by their strict design and finish. It is noteworthy that the new cars, although they retained certain American features, but in general (finally!) Did not look like any of the American models.
- there is an opinion that six copies of the Leningrad-1 (L-1) car, which was the forerunner of the "one hundred and first", assembled in 1933 at the Krasny Putilovets plant, appeared formally at the direction of the All-Union Automobile and Tractor Association, but in fact at the suggestion of the Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party ( b). The prototype of "Leningrad" was american car, but not beloved by Stalin Packard - he was large and belonged, along with Cadillac, to the very upper class North American cars of those years - and Buick 32-90 1932, standing half a step below the "Packard" in the hierarchy and belonging to the American upper-middle class. The task was not to make a car for the government, but to master a more or less serial one and at the same time quite large and luxury car- read, catch up and overtake America.
In this regard, it is interesting to note that the L-1 was practically a copy of the Buick 32-90, but this circumstance, oddly enough, was not in the least considered shameful: in Soviet newspapers promising development so they called it - "Soviet Buik" (yes, with a small letter and without a soft sign). From the “American”, the Leningrad prototypes almost completely inherited their appearance, as well as a number of elegant engineering solutions: dual carburetors with automatic air control, an automatic thermostat that opens and closes the radiator shutters, and even adjusts the stiffness of lever shock absorbers from the driver’s seat…
The time for mastering the machine seemed to be good: in the early 1930s, the Fordson tractor was discontinued at Krasny Putilovets, as a result of which space was freed up. However, the plant did not have the capacity to launch a new car model, as well as skilled workers to assemble such complex equipment - some of assembled cars On the way back, the Leningrad-Moscow-Leningrad run broke down. Four more cars were assembled from the already manufactured car kits, bringing the total number of prototypes to ten, but in the end they did not modernize the Leningrad plant for the production of a new passenger car, but entrusted it with the task of a more familiar profile - the development of the T-28 tank, thereby finally transferring the enterprise to development of tractors and armored vehicles. And the refinement of the L-1 was delegated to Moscow, to the ZIS.
In 1934, a package of necessary documents and another, completely new Buick of the 90 series were delivered to the ZIS - so to speak, for study. At the Moscow plant, the project was headed by Evgeny Ivanovich Vazhinsky, who had just taken the position of chief designer. Vazhinsky's right hand in the development of the ZIS-101 was Grigory Georgievich Mikhailov. And the work on the complex new body and its introduction into production was headed by Ivan Fedorovich German, who had once graduated from the St. Petersburg Art School - he drew beautifully, and therefore partly took on the functions of the project designer. However, there is a separate story about the design of the first Soviet limousine, which should be told separately.
Pictured: Buick Series 90" 1932 The Moscow team left at the heart of the car many advanced technical solutions of American cars of the period 1932-1934. Soviet version The limousine received an overhead-valve in-line eight-cylinder engine, which was structurally based on Buick (and, in fact, “moved” from the L-1), with a volume of 5.8 liters, producing about 110 hp. at 2,800 rpm. Engine with cast iron block had a crankshaft with counterweights and a vibration damper, a gas distribution system with suspended valves (driven from the camshaft through push rods), a two-chamber heated carburetor working mixture and a thermostat with the function of controlling the shutters (“curtains”) of the radiator. There were diaphragm fuel pumps and oil and gas pumps that had not yet become generally accepted. air filters. Steering and rear suspension car almost borrowed from Packard. Suspension of all wheels with drum brakes was dependent.
Some of the frills were immediately abandoned - they went “in the minus”, for example, automatic control clutch and shock absorber adjustment - of the six American modes in the Soviet car, only one was needed - "for the most bad road". Something was decided frankly to the detriment of progress in the name of reliability and cost reduction - so a simple two-disc clutch appeared on the car. But the mechanical brakes received an innovative vacuum booster. And in general, the car turned out to be comfortable and justifying the status laid down - the base of 3,650 mm provided space in the cabin, which also had a heater (absolutely unprecedented for the Soviet automobile industry of that era!), And besides, it was decided to equip some of the cars with radios, which in those days was a very luxury option.
As a kind of summary of the novelties, we present the following list. On the ZIS-101, for the first time for a Soviet car, the following were used: a cabin heater, a radio, a thermostat in the cooling system, a crankshaft torsional vibration damper, a two-chamber carburetor, vacuum clutch and brake boosters and a three-speed gearbox with synchronizers in second and third gears.
The chassis of the "original" L-1 (or Buick) was revised and thoroughly strengthened - in order to fit in the Russian expanses. But with the body it turned out more difficult. Their strength to design their own body, albeit with a serious eye on the Buick, was not enough. Therefore, the work was entrusted to the American Budd Company, instructing her to take as a basis the sketches provided by the Soviet side. The design embodied by the Americans, although secondary in terms of the trends of those years, still inspires awe - of course, the appearance of this limousine is the embodiment of elegance and chic. Under the contract, the Americans also supplied all the equipment necessary for production and 500 finished stampings. All these conditions have been met.
One bad luck - Budd Company made original bodies for ready-made chassis for small-scale, if not piece production, and therefore the architecture of the body was appropriate: under large stamped metal parts that were afraid of deformation during assembly, there was a beech frame, assembled by hand on screws, with numerous filigree adjustments required in order to avoid the slightest creak on the go - and after all, the GAZ-M1 “emka” already produced in those years had an all-metal body. Why, even the experimental L-1, which, as we know, developed into the ZIS project ... The contract with Budd Company was completed in 16 months and cost the Soviet state $ 500,000.
In the photo: GAZ-M1 "1936–1943 In the history of the ZIS-101, you can consider a lot of interesting "near-automobile" moments. For example, one of the first (if not the first) case in Russia, when the information about the expected car presented in the magazine turned out to be ... to put it mildly, inconclusive, if not “very inaccurate”. In October 1934, Vazhinsky himself wrote in the magazine “Behind the wheel” about the ZIS-101 car: “The appearance of the car will be very close to the 1934 Buick car with closed body sedan type. In the photo - really a sedan, that is, a body without a "deep" limousine rear, but with a pronounced trunk. But no ZIS-101 sedans went into production - although much later a prototype ZIS-101B was built with a protruding luggage compartment but he was also a limousine.
In the photo: ZIS-101B Experienced "1941 And if we return for a minute to L-1, then there is another interesting journalistic story. According to the observations of Sergei Trufanov (“The Short Life of a Soviet Buick”, M-Hobby, No. 3, 2012), the interpretation of the letter “L” as “Leningrad” was first made already in 1993 - almost at the same time, such a decoding of the name appeared in the magazine “ Behind the wheel" and in Lev Shugurov's book "Cars of Russia and the USSR 1896-1957". Before that, in the literature of the 1940s-1980s, the L-1 index passed without any decoding at all, but in the 1930s, the letter “L” in the name of a car model simply meant “car”.
In the photo: ZIS-101 Pre-production "1936 Two prototypes of the ZIS-101 were assembled in the spring of 1936 and on April 29 were shown in the Kremlin to the top of the Politburo - Stalin and Ordzhonikidze. Interesting fact: it was from this moment that a tradition appeared in Russia to present all new models to the first persons of the state. The factory workers were very worried that day, but the Secretary and People's Commissar were in a good mood. The latter assured Stalin that the car turned out to be no worse than the American one, which the “father of nations” could not help but like. He meticulously examined the car - a limousine, and even according to American patterns, obviously, was very interesting to him - and at the end of the inspection he approved the ZIS-101. They say that it was Stalin who proposed using a star with a red banner as the emblem of the car. Everything was great. The trouble started later.
In the photo: ZIS-101 Pre-production On November 3, 1936, the assembly of the first batch started at the ZIS (it is this date that is considered the birthday of the “one hundred and first”), and conveyor production began on January 18, 1937. The fate of serial ZISs turned out to be difficult, but interesting: they transported not only (and not so much!) Top party officials, but completely different categories of citizens. It turned out so largely because the model had serious problems- both with build quality and design. The conveyor of the plant, which did not always cope with the plan even for trucks, did not allow me to be scrupulous about assembling the wooden frame of the limousine body, and on most of the assembled ZISs it began to creak almost immediately (and on the rest the creak appeared after the wood dried), and in general the design and auto assembly technology proved to be so complex that often the workers coped with their operations somehow or other. Machines as far as possible brought to mind after leaving the assembly line.
In the photo: ZIS-101 "1936–39 To the people
Although in 1937 the ZIS-101, along with the GAZ-M1, represented the USSR at the World Exhibition in Paris, his life at home was far from cloudless. At first, the assembled limousines, according to their rank, were sent to the Special Purpose Garage, but they did not take root there, because they lost to foreign cars there in terms of technical characteristics. Then the cars were transferred to the garage of the operational department of the NKVD as escort vehicles for the transport of the first persons of the state, but even there the ZISs did not come to court. As a result, they began to be transferred to regional committees, people's commissariats, embassies ...
In the photo: ZIS-101 "1936–39 The ZIS-101, rejected by the elite, has become a car much closer to the people. No, of course, he didn’t go on free sale, but, in addition to being assigned to middle and low-ranking officials, the cars were “distributed” among scientists and artists - Alexei Tolstoy had, for example, “one hundred and first”. In addition, in the pre-war years, it could be won in the cash and clothing lottery (at least in theory - the car was regularly included in the list of prizes). But there was a more real way to ride a novelty - in big cities, limousines worked in taxis on long routes!
In 1936, the 13th taxi fleet was created in Moscow, which included 55 "one hundred and first". The body color of these cars was different from the "bureaucratic" black - it could be blue, light blue or even yellow. Since 1938, these vehicles have served routes linking railway stations, airports and major highways, as well as the cities of Noginsk and Bronnitsy with Moscow. It is also known that in 1939 three "one hundred and first" were registered in a taxi in Minsk. In some places, ZISs were even used as ambulances.
In the photo: ZIS-101 "1936–39 Flaws as a crime
In October 1937, literally a year after the release of the first batch of limousines, simple drivers and mechanics who had a chance to deal with ZIS spoke out - "Behind the wheel" published an open letter from three employees of the Narkomtyazhprom motor depot, which employed as many as 14 "one hundred and first". The letter was titled “Several Questions for the Automobile Plant. Stalin ”and, in fact, did not contain any questions - it described in detail the typical shortcomings of ZISs: engine knock due to a defect in the crankshaft, breaking valve springs, unreliability of the power system, capricious electrical equipment, requiring frequent replacement of plastic (!) Brake pads, poor quality control devices body seals that do not cope with their functions, planting the battery sound signal and titanic fuel consumption - at the level of 28-31 liters per 100 km, while the American Lincoln, similar in class, noticed "Behind the Wheel", consumed only 22.5 liters. According to the magazine, the problem was partially solved by changing the carburetor from the native to the Buick carb, although it is not entirely clear where the car depot employees could get one.
In the photo: ZIS-101 "1936–39 IN Soviet time such publications were not made just like that and the consequences could have been very serious. In the same 1937, the lead designer of the ZIS-101 Evgeny Vazhinsky was removed from his post and "demoted" to the head of the chassis department. Most likely, by such a measure they tried to save him from more serious consequences, but they did not save him. A few months later, in March 1938, Vazhinsky was arrested, recognized as an enemy of the people, and shot, and although this was not directly related to the ZIS-101, it certainly mattered. The “Red Director” of the plant was seemingly harmlessly transferred to the post of head of the People’s Commissariat of Medium Machine Building of the USSR, but even despite the fact that the plant once entrusted to him would later be named after him, the “hand” punishing for mistakes in mastering the limousine got him too.
In June 1940, a special commission was created to analyze the defects of the limousine, headed by a member of the USSR Academy of Sciences Evgeny Chudakov, automotive expert and, in fact, the founder of the discipline "Theory and design of the car" in our country. Based on the results of the commission meeting, a government decree was issued that automatically brings the problem with the ZIS-101 to the highest, state level. In the conclusion of the commission, in particular, it was said: “It is necessary to note the presence of a large number of defects in cars ZIS-101, manufactured by the plant. Stalin, in particular: a strong smell of gasoline in the back, the noise of the gearbox, the sound of the engine and increased consumption gasoline, frequent breakdown springs and suspension stiffness, quick failure of electric clocks, petrol gauges, windshield wipers, etc. The presence of these defects is the result of a careless attitude to the quality of manufactured machines both on the part of the former director of the plant named after. Stalin, now People's Commissariat for Medium Machinery Comrade Likhachev, and the current director of the plant. Stalin comrade Volkov, especially recently ... Narkomsredmash comrade Likhachev both as a people's commissar and as a former director of the plant. Stalin allowed the production of low-quality machines from the factory, did not take measures to eliminate defects and hid the presence of these defects from the government ... ".
In the photo: ZIS-101 "1936–39 Updates and prototypes
All these mistakes were recognized at the ZIS and were ready to be corrected, however, there were not enough resources, both financial and personnel, for a full-fledged modernization. In fact, the decapitated design staff of the plant (Vazhinsky was no longer alive), besides constantly losing valuable specialists (arrests and disappearances of people have become the norm), did what they could: under the leadership of the former deputy Vazhinsky, Mikhailov, they managed to develop and transfer to production an all-metal body, as well as launching a motor with aluminum pistons and a compression ratio raised from 4.8 to 5.5, which made it possible to achieve a power of 116 hp. Plus, on the ZISs, a single-plate clutch and a carburetor with a falling (Stromberg type), and not an upward (Marvel type) flow, as before, appeared. Externally, the upgraded version, called the ZIS-101A, could be distinguished by an aerodynamic front end - a more rounded (in the top view) grille ("mask") and elongated, teardrop-shaped headlight housings.
In the photo: ZIS-101A "1940–41 With all this, somehow it was even possible to create modifications based on the basic model - alas, most of them remained at the stage of single prototypes. In 1936, a single ZIS-101L (“luxury”) equipped with a telephone appeared. At the end of 1937, a modification of the ZIS-102 appeared with a body open type"phaeton" and opening along the car with all four doors ( rear doors"one hundred and first" were opened against the move). In 1938, eight of these gray-silver cars were created. In January 1939, two more open machines with the same designation, ZIS-102, but they were already called convertibles - the cars differed from the phaetons by lowering, hiding in the doors, and not by "attachment" side windows. In August, another phaeton was made, but with the use of modernized components and an updated appearance: it received the ZIS-102A index, participated in the parade on Red Square on May 1, 1941, and after the war "lit up" in a photograph taken in 1949 in Krasnodar region and has come down to our days. In addition, it is known about two armored ZIS-101E (“extra”) with 70 mm glass and one single most beautiful roadster ZIS-101A-Sport, built in 1939 ...
1 / 2
2 / 2
The upgraded version of the "one hundred and first", ZIS-101A, went into production in August 1940, and in parallel with it, albeit almost piece by piece, they began to make ZIS-102 convertibles. It was clear that it was impossible to stop the progress of the model, because overseas "analogues" were updated literally every year. Therefore, the plant began to prepare two options for further modernization at once. Firstly, at the beginning of 1941, a single ZIS-101B was built, which had a pronounced closed trunk, which replaced the traditional aft grille, sixteen-leaf springs instead of nine-leaf ones, a new instrument cluster with rectangular dials and a new steering wheel with a chrome signal ring. And secondly, a version of the ZIS-103 was conceived, which, as follows from the index, could generally be positioned as independent model- it was planned to have a modified body design and an independent front suspension, most likely tailored according to American progressive schemes with springs and forked levers. A 130-horsepower version of the engine could have appeared on this machine, and the “one hundred and third” was seen as a slightly more distant prospect, but the start of production of the ZIS-101B was planned for 1942 ...
In the photo: ZIS-101A "1940–41 Tests of the "beshki" started in May 1941, on July 7 they stopped producing the initial version of the ZIS-101 limousine. And on the 22nd, the war began, the first airstrikes swept through Moscow. But work on new car on ZIS ... we went right up to October! Meanwhile, on October 13, the Germans were in Kaluga, on the 14th - in Kalinin, and only on October 15, 1941, all work on passenger car at the ZIS were stopped. In just four days, a state of siege was introduced in Moscow. But already in 1942, a government decree was issued on the development of a new representative class model at the ZIS. Yes, the ZIS-110 is a completely different story, but the bumps stuffed by designers and technologists on the "one hundred and first", as well as the experience of its modernization (say, that same independent front suspension) definitely came in handy for the "one hundred and tenth".
In the photo: ZIS-110 "1945–58 Piece heritage
However, it is worth recognizing that not a single executive car after the ZIS-101 even got close to it in terms of mass and “popularity” - in the next ten to twenty years, limousines turned into a piece product and finally became the prerogative of Soviet celestials. The One Hundred and First managed to produce 8,752 pieces, of which, unfortunately, only about 600 were modernized ZIS-101A, and literally within a few dozen - open ZIS-102. In the first post-war years, the ZIS-101 was the most common taxi in Moscow - these cars could be seen on the Garden and Boulevard Rings, as well as on the route Rizhsky Station - Sverdlov Square. Such popularity was explained simply: the GAZ-M1 emki in large numbers were “stuffed” in the war, and the “hundred and first” for the most part did not get to the front due to relatively poor cross-country ability, and therefore stood on conservation throughout the war. When peace reigned, they found work again. But in 1946-1947 they began to be gradually replaced with more modern ZIS-110 and, of course, . The victory was both more perfect, and simpler, and more compact, and more economical, which was especially appreciated in the post-war period.
With Pobeda, the ZIS-101 had somewhat similar fates: both had a huge bouquet of "childhood illnesses" that hit their reputation hard, but in the case of Pobeda, the situation was rectified. If circumstances had turned out a little differently (if we imagine some ideal world in which there are no repressions and wars) - and the ZIS-101 could have had a much more successful life path ... Very few “one hundred and first” have survived to this day - we are talking, most likely, about multiple instances. There is no evidence of the surviving open ZIS-102 at all, just as there is no information about the pre-war prototypes of the ZIS-101B and ZIS-101-Sport. And alas, of course, not one of the ten L-1s built on Krasny Putilovets has reached our time.
In the photo: ZIS-101 "1936–39 Those ZIS-101s that occasionally shine at exhibitions are usually equipped with non-native engines - in the post-war years, with the “capital” of the car, the manufacturer recommended repair plants to put on the “one hundred and first” engines from trucks and, as well as from the ZIS-110 and ZIS-120. But whatever one may say, the surviving "one hundred and first" still remind us of those times when a simple Russian driver could at least imagine himself in the place of his overseas colleague - driving a powerful, large and truly beautiful car.
At 3,200 rpm
Characteristics
Mass-dimensional
| Width: | 1 892 mm |
Dynamic
At Krasny Putilovets, in the early thirties, the obsolete Fordson tractor was just taken out of production, respectively, production areas were freed up.
It was practically exact copy car Buick-32-90, which by American standards belonged to the upper-middle class (higher than most brands, but lower than Cadillac or Packard).
As a result, "Red Putilovets" was reoriented to the production of tractors and tanks, and the completion of the L-1 was transferred to the Moscow "ZiS".
At the ZiS plant, the ZiS-101 model was created on the basis of this car. The work was supervised by Evgeny Ivanovich Vazhinsky.
History of creation
At the plant. Stalin in Moscow, the designers did not copy the Buick, but went along the path of creating their own car based on its design solutions. From the design, in particular, such dubious - difficult to manufacture and not distinguished by reliability - components, such as automatic clutch control, remote adjustment of shock absorbers, were eliminated. The frame and chassis were reinforced for use in the road conditions of the USSR, which also required their processing.
Nevertheless, the Buicks of the 1932-34 models still remained at the heart of the ZiS design, in particular, the car inherited from them a very perfect overhead valve (OHV) eight-cylinder engine; some design solutions were also borrowed from Packard models - for example, steering and rear suspension.
Since the body of the Buick was no longer in line with the fashion of the mid-thirties, it also had to be redesigned. This work was entrusted to the American bodywork studio "Budd" (Budd Company), which, based on Soviet sketches, designed an elegant and outwardly modern body for those years, and also supplied all the equipment necessary for serial production. It cost the state half a million dollars and took 16 months.
Stalin at the car ZiS-101
beech) frame, then stamped metal panels were sewn onto it. It was difficult, mostly handmade. The manufacture of the frame was especially time-consuming, and perhaps the most difficult was to achieve noiselessness on the go - the joints of wooden parts are prone to creaking at the slightest fit defects. The abundance of large-sized, easily deformable stamped sheet steel parts also did not contribute to the acceleration of machine assembly. This technology was well suited for small-scale assembly of cars in body shops, but it made mass production very difficult. Mass models, such as GAZ-M-1, in those years already had all-metal bodies.
It is noteworthy that in the magazine "Behind the wheel" for 1934, an early prototype of the car was shown, which had a sedan-type body (not a "limousine") with a protruding trunk, outwardly copying (as noted in the article) "Buick" model 1934 , and it was claimed that the car would be produced in this form and with this type of body. Nevertheless, the car went into the series with a significantly modified design and a limousine body.
The first prototypes (two cars) were made in the spring of 1936, April 29, 1936 in the Kremlin, prototypes were shown to the Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks I. V. Stalin. Conveyor assembly began in January 1937.
Unlike the later ZiLs, the ZiS-101 cars (as well as the later ZiS-110) served not only top party and government officials, but also ordinary citizens. Of course, there could be no talk of selling for personal use in those years (although the ZiS-101 could be won in the lottery). But in major cities In the USSR, representative ZiS models were widely used as taxis on long routes.
In 1936, the 13th taxi fleet was created in Moscow, equipped with 55 ZiS-101 cars. Unlike government ones, they had a "cheerful" color - blue, light blue, yellow. Since 1938, the "101st" ZiS from the 13th taxi fleet began to enter the routes connecting railway stations, airports and main transport routes, as well as the cities of Noginsk and Bronnitsy with Moscow. Such taxis were also operated in other cities. For example, in 1939 there were 3 ZiS-101 taxis in Minsk.
After the Great Patriotic War, for some time, the ZiS-101 turned out to be one of the most common Moscow taxis: the bulk of the Emoks were sent to the front during the war years, where they ended their days; ZISs, on the other hand, were distinguished by relatively poor cross-country ability, therefore, until 1945, they stood on conservation. Immediately after the war, they cruised along the Garden and Boulevard rings and on the line Rizhsky Station - Sverdlov Square. Their gradual replacement by cars of the Pobeda and ZiS-110 brands began only in 1946-47.
Design and characteristics
During those years, each new model The car was a milestone for the Soviet automobile industry, and the ZiS-101 was no exception: for the first time in the industry, such innovations as a cabin heater, a radio receiver, a thermostat in the engine cooling system, an engine shaft torsional vibration damper, a two-chamber carburetor, vacuum servo clutch and brake boosters were applied. The three-speed gearbox, also an industry first, featured synchromesh on II and III gears. The suspension of all wheels is dependent, on longitudinal springs, the brakes are drum-type, with a mechanical drive.
Modernization
| External images | |
|---|---|
