CAR ON THREE SQUARE METERS

When the little car was pulled out into the yard, someone said in disappointment: “What a little baby we have!” And indeed, while the car was standing in the laboratory of the Young Motorist Club, its dimensions seemed quite acceptable, but on the street…

Meanwhile, the design of the microcar was meticulously drawn out and the habitable volume of the interior was strictly designed for four people. The tests that began confirmed the validity of the design developments: the car ran quite quickly, behaved well when cornering, and was easy to control.

We present to readers the developers of the car, members of the Young Motorist Club of the Gorky Automobile Plant, schoolchildren in grades 7-10: I. Tyutyukin, D. Levchenko, E. Sumin, E. Mochalov, I. Komissarenko and A. Belozerov.

KYUA is a four-seater car with a 12 hp engine. With. The minimum dimensions and weight provide the vehicle with quite decent maneuverability, as well as acceptable acceleration characteristics. The large glass area provides excellent visibility, which improves traffic safety.

The body is four-seater, all-metal, welded, load-bearing type. Its base and frame are welded from thin-walled steel pipes of various diameters (from 19 to 50 mm). To increase rigidity and strength, the seat frames are included in the power structure of the body base.

All four doors of the microcar are made of 8 mm thick organic glass, edged with a frame made of steel profile.

Between the front seats there is a tunnel connecting the air intake in the front of the car with the engine compartment. In addition, the control drive rods are mounted in the tunnel. At the front, the air intake hole is covered with decorative cladding.

The rear of the body has a hinged lid that provides access to the battery and fuel tank.

The engine compartment is located between the rear seats of the car; it has a removable sheet steel hood covered in faux leather.

Engine – two-stroke, single-cylinder, forced air cooling from the Tula-200M scooter; its power is 12 hp. With. To reduce vibrations transmitted to the body, it is mounted on soft rubber cushions and secured with two articulated reaction rods, eliminating movement in the longitudinal and transverse directions.

The exhaust system consists of a resonator and a muffler. The fuel supply is forced, using a fuel pump from a boat engine.

The transmission includes a four-speed gearbox mounted in the same block with the engine, a main gear (chain), a differential in the block with a reverse gear from the SZA motorized stroller. From the differential, torque is transmitted to the rear drive wheels through axle shafts, each of which has two universal joints.

Chassis. The front and rear suspensions are structurally similar: independent, pivot, on flat triangular swing arms, welded from chromansil (steel 30KhGSA) pipes Ø 32 mm. The swing axes of the levers are located at an angle of 60° to the vehicle axis. The hinges are rubber bushings.

The elastic element of the suspension is a cylindrical spiral spring with a rod diameter of 10 mm. Telescopic shock absorbers are located inside the springs. The design of the suspension allows you to change the vehicle’s ground clearance by moving the spring support nuts along the axis of the corresponding shock absorber.

The wheel rims are split, cast from aluminum alloy AL-4, tires are produced by the Voronezh Tire Plant, size 3.5×5, model V-29.

The steering has a combined lever-chain drive, which made it possible to position the steering wheel on the side without disturbing the symmetry of the steering linkage. The sagging of the chain is compensated by the tension mechanism. The ends of all rods are equipped with spherical bearings of the ShS-12 type.

Brakes are drum brakes, with hydraulic drive on all wheels. Adjustment of the gaps between the block and the drum is forced, using eccentrics.

The electrical equipment of the machine is designed for a voltage of 12 V. The battery is 6ST-54. Electrical fittings include side lights, headlights with high and low beams, brake lights, direction indicators, interior lighting, horn and windshield wiper. The dashboard contains a speedometer, ammeter, fuel level indicator, ignition switch and clock.

Y. LEVCHENKO, A. LEVCHENKO