THE ADVENTURES OF THE “ITALIAN” IN RUSSIA

 

However, the repair proceeds quickly enough dried up, and the production capacity of the MZMA and the Gas is not allowed at least to some degree to provide even the part of the population, whose income was given the opportunity to purchase vehicles for personal use. The machines were distributed to businesses, and to get the right to buy a car, had to wait a few years. The situation has improved with the introduction of Zaporizhia automobile building plant (ZAZ), however, with his participation, the total production of cars in the USSR in the early 1960-ies was about 150 000 copies, and in the retail chain fell only 40 percent of this amount.

 

Preliminary estimations showed that the country needs at least 1 million cars, but to organize the production of so many cars through the rehabilitation of existing plants was impossible. I needed one more plant, capable of producing around 700,000 cars a year. The most quick and qualitative way of solving this problem could be to purchase from reputable foreign car manufacturing firms of the equipment, documentation on modern production technology and the license to produce a modern car.

 

This firm became the largest Italian concern FIAT. It should be noted that the automaker is very successfully sold businesses and licenses not only to the Soviet Union and several other countries. So, in 1967, in Poland at the FSO car plant started serial production of the car, called the Polski-FIAT-125R, and FIAT-124 successfully produced until recently in Turkey.

 

The agreement on scientific and technical cooperation was signed on 4 may 1966 in the city of Turin by the Minister of automotive industry of the USSR A. Tarasov and honorary President of FIAT. Soon after the delivery of the equipment and technological documentation for the production of the FIAT 124, which in 1967 was recognized as the best car of the year. For construction of the plant allocated space in the city of Stavropol-on-Volga, later to be renamed Togliatti. Grandiose construction of the new plant began almost immediately after the signing of the agreement, in 1966, and in early September 1970, the first batch of new cars.

 

 

Five-seat four-door car-a sedan VAZ-2101 “Lada”

 

 

Serial production of the Polish “Italian” Polski-FIAT-125R began in 1967, three years before the domestic VAZ-2101

 

When domestic “Italians” appeared in Moscow — elegant, cherry-brown, with a matte protective wax coating — Soviet motorists have experienced a serious shock. A new, truly mass-market car was a real car — it is modern, fast, dynamic, devoid of the heaviness of “Moskvich” and not serious lightness “Zaporozhets”, reliable, low noise — in short, the same pipe dream that was about to come true!

 

It was a VAZ-2101, inadvertently chosen the name “Lada”. Not only that, the name could be used only in the plural, forcing motorists to invent a very strange grammatical construction (“Lada” raced “Lada” turned, etc.). In several European languages, it was consonant with the infamous word “gigolo”, virtually eliminating for machine foreign supplies. I had to export VAZ-2101 to come up with quite euphonious pseudonym of “Lada”, which became in 2004 the only brand for all cars VAZ.

 

I must say that when defining with the Italian partners the configuration of the future leader of domestic car industry in the design of the FIAT 124 was made a lot of changes. Thus, the Italian prototype was equipped with outdated engine model 1937 with a top drive valves, push rods, and for “Lada” were chosen a more modern overhead valve motor overhead camshaft driven by a crankshaft double row chain. In addition, disc brakes on wheels of the rear axle was replaced on the drums, more suitable for Russian roads. Was also reinforced body — now the car was not terrible and the rural dirt road.

 

VAZ-2101 is a classic three-box four-door car is a sedan with the leading of the rear wheels and the front engine.

 

 

Engine type VAZ-2101 with verhneraspolozhennyh camshaft displacement of 1198 cm³ and a power of 60 HP.

 

 

The geometric scheme of the car-a sedan VAZ-2101 “Lada”

 

 

The layout of the chassis of the car VAZ-2101

 

 

The basic elements of the carrier of the car body

 

 

The front suspension of the car VAZ-2101 — independent, wishbone with coil springs, telescopic shock absorbers and stabilizer bar

 

 

The rear suspension of the car VAZ-2101 — dependent, with a rigid beam connected with a body of one transverse and four longitudinal bars, with coil springs and hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers

 

 

The geometric scheme of the car-station wagon VAZ-2101 “Lada”

 

All body panels were connected by spot welding, including the wings. The latter fact was at first seriously puzzled motorists and tinsmith-tinsmith, accustomed to the fact that, before the VAZ-2101 on all cars mounted body parts were fastened by bolts and nuts, which significantly simplified the repair. Well, to replace the wings on the car “the Zhiguli” it was necessary to master argon or carbon dioxide arc welding.

 

The gutter of the roof was lined with a metallic strip, and the threshold body — chrome plate. Metallized moldings are used and when the trim of the rubber part of the seals windshield and rear window.

 

The car’s interior was extensively used synthetic materials that mimic the skin. Thus, the front panel is molded from soft plastic with black matte finish. Such plastics were also used in finishing of doors. In the upper part of the windscreen located rear view mirror having two fixed positions, allowing the driver to avoid the glare of headlights behind your vehicle. Additional rear view mirror mounted on the left front fender.

 

The Central place of the dashboard held the speedometer, it is located a pointer coolant temperature, fuel gauge in the tank, and also warning lamp turn indicator, brake fluid level in expansion tank, oil pressure and the lamp of the gearshift hand brake.

 

The hood of the engine compartment opened from inside the vehicle by a handle under the instrument panel; trunk lid key, the lid is leaned automatically. And under the hood and in the trunk mounted lights, zagorevskaya when opening the lids.

 

The basis of the power unit of the car was a petrol 4-cylinder gasoline engine power 58 HP and a working volume of 1200 cm3. The degree of compression of the working mixture was 8.5, was used as fuel while unusual for Soviet motorists gasoline AI-93.

 

 

Sporty VAZ-2101 — prize winner at the Races historic cars in the Nurburgring (Germany) 2004

 

By the way, in an effort to reduce the cost of operation of the machine has made the most heroic attempts to improve the octane number of the cheaper and more common 76 octane gasoline — one of the popular measures was an additive in fuel normal… naphthalene. More severe method was to lower the compression ratio of the engine by using a thicker gasket between the head and the cylinder block or special futuros — transition bushings that are installed between the head and the spark plugs. However, the majority of owners are still getting used to the regular fuel, in which the company was smaller, and the power of the bigger engine.

 

Car carburetor type Weber 32DCR, emulsion type, two-chamber, with a falling stream. Had balanced the float chamber and the suction system of crankcase gases for the throttle.

 

Transmission — mechanical, three-way, four-speed, all gears (except reverse) were equipped with synchronizers. The gearshift lever is mounted on the rear end cap of the box and removed through the hatch into the cabin so that his head was located in the vicinity of the steering wheel.

 

Clutch single disc, dry, with Central pressure plate spring with a vibration damper (damper) on the slave drive. The linkage is provided with a hydraulic servopohony on the pedals hanging type.