Familiarity with this machine was held at last year’s show “autoexotic” (photo No. 11’2006) — a celebration of homemade and vintage of motor equipment, which has now become traditional and held annually in Moscow at the Tushino airfield. Represented the car Alex starilov her new owner. He tells her readers of our magazine.
Designed and built this car minibus in the late 1970-ies Alexey N. Arsenyev, now deceased. He worked as a tinsmith in the garage of the interior Ministry and, as they say, the work knew. In the repair and restoration of broken cars skill to show, of course you can, but the creative approach is unlikely to find application. It is evident, therefore, appeared that van — as a creative outlet of its founder.
Although the car it resembles a minivan (so he called and PTA — passport technical means), but the internal layout can be used correctly by today’s classification to the increased capacity (OLA) or mini-vans (the so-called cars of this type in the West).
Base for the machine was the chassis of the minibus RAF-977Д. More precisely, not the chassis (the van was not frame — bearing, was the body), and a platform bottom with transverse and longitudinal power elements with suspended to it (to them) parts of the chassis. As you know, RAF-977 was designed on the basis of the “Volga” GAZ-21 had a uniform with her units and components, except body the designers of the two plants, in General, coped successfully.
Now Alexey Nikitovich alone decided the opposite problem — adapted, or rather, almost designed-to reshape and remodel the body of the GAZ-21 under the platform of Rafa. With this task master again coped brilliantly: the body of a new car from the side view, compared with the GAZ-21, have changed significantly, but remained recognizable, while the front and the rear almost has retained its appearance, did become a little higher. In this regard I want to note: sorry that the idea of such a design of the van is not called for at the time the designers Rafa — their car would not look like a box from under the Shoe, which it remained in memory of descendants.
a minibus produced industry, which is a pity…
Platform (support base) Rapha — virtually unchanged. That’s just the spare tire swapped with the gas tank and moved from the middle of the platform, with her left hand, under the floor behind the rear bridge is attached there on the reclining cradle. The gas tank also installed in place of the “chute” and next from the other side. Each one has a neckline: one output to the right side behind the door to the salon, the other on the opposite side.
Volgovskoe the body of the GAZ-22 station Wagon underwent substantial alteration, particularly its front and rear. The front end was shortened and the tailgate, on the contrary, is extended an additional insert, cut also from the other of the body GAZ-22. The average portion was moved forward to the point when the driver’s door, as he would be over the front wheel of the car.
Van-wagon (shaded additional inserted elements, in top view, the roof is not shown):
1 — front trunk; 2 — steering wheel; 3 — door; 4 — seat; 5 — engine compartment; 6 — single passenger seat (in the front of the car “Volga” GAZ-21); 7 — left fuel tank (V = 40 l); 8 — triple passenger seat; 9 — spare wheel; 10 — the Luggage compartment; 11 — niche rear wheels (2 PCs.); 12 — right gas tank (V = 40 l); 13 — step; 14 — cabin door; 15 — partition; 16 — front passenger door; 17 — the front passenger seat; 18 — body
The vacant space between the middle and rear part has taken insert from the other body. The joints between the insert and the parts of the body very carefully welded from the inside (in this A. N. Arsenyev was really a virtuoso) and carefully clamped on the outside. The junction between the anterior and middle parts came in the front door pillar and not outwardly visible. The number of doors decreased on the left left one driver and a passenger — welded and well sealed.
Volgovskoe the body was installed on the platform Rafa, and power elements (rails and crossbar) the other design was pulled in several places with ladders and bolts. To cover up these compounds, from the bottom to the sides of the body are welded skirt. But these elements are made as kits and disguise the seam is not needed.
Therefore, the car body has received a specific form: it does not look like rapovski wagon-type, but differed from the hood-tion of “Universal” GAZ-22.
Spars volgovskoe body (the upper longitudinal bearing elements) are on the front of the crossmember platform-Rafa (mid — intermediate piece of pipe of rectangular section)
Under the hood-only heater, expansion tank and… free volume, which can be used for Luggage
a Niche engine compartment located between the front seats; it compactly placed power unit GAS-21A
Cabin separated from saloon by a low partition; the layout of the cab, as in “van”, and equipment — volgovskoe
Steering (POS. 1,2 — from the car “Volga” GAZ-21, others — from a minibus RAF-977Д):
1 — steering wheel column; 2 — shaft of steering gear; 3 — longitudinal thrust; 4 — transverse thrust; 5 — the case of the pendulum arm; 6— pendulum arm; 7 — thrust wheels (2 PCs); 8 — reducer; 9 — timer; 10 — lugs, rods (3 PCs.)
spacious interior — two seat: three seater and single
Large Luggage compartment separated from salon only in the back of the rear triple seat
Spare tire is located under the floor of the rear overhang of the body and is locked there to the descending cradle
Kind of turned out to be and the interior layout of the car. Ahead (call this part of the interior cabin), like Rafa, was located two seats on the sides (driver and passenger), and between the engine compartment with the power unit GAZ-21 AND 75 HP, covered with sound-insulating cover. Cabin from the salon separated by a barrier, but it is low and does not create the impression of separation of the internal space and serves more of a tie between the sides — after all, the interior of the car is very long. But in this long lounge has only two fixed seats — single, behind the driver’s seat, and triple, in the middle of the cabin from side to side. The latter separates the back from the salon a large Luggage compartment. May be similar to the layout of the cabin seem irrational, but such a need was the designer of the machine. By the way, I also quite satisfied (they are not changed, although the extra seat I got ready in the trunk), which is not true of the driver’s seat: my feet are always in a bent position. You can see, the constructor was made “under itself” — because the free volume under the hood remains quite a lot and it was quite possible to move the radiator with the front panel (dash panel) further forward, increasing the space under your feet. It’s going to do.
All the side Windows lowering, in addition to the rear (by the way, they are wider than the other) and the front Windows with pivoting vent
Steering — mixed: “bagel” and the column with the shaft — from the Volga, and a worm gear with a bipod and rods from Rafa. The braking system too, from “vans” in addition to the Parking brake (from the GAZ-21). The shift lever at “Volga” as it is known, was on the steering column, here it is on the floor, as in Rafa. Dashboard — volgovskoe.
Lighting (both internal and external) — volgovskoe. Installed additional rear red reflective category, and front — fog lights and side mirror rear view (from “Volga” there was one in the cabin, and Rafa — left).
Machine maker not became in 1995; the car was in the garage idle, its total mileage is negligible.
In 2003 the car found out and I am the author of this article, and the following summer bought it from the heirs.
A. STARILOV
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