ГАЗ-51: Советский грузовик и его история

A 2.5 ton 4×2 standard variant was joined in 1947 by almost identical 2 ton 4×4 GAZ 63. Both variants were powered by 6 cylinder 3485 cc engines. GAZ 63s was manufactured with some changes until 1968 and production of the GAZ 51 continued until 2 April 1975. The trucks were also manufactured under Soviet license in Poland (as the FSC Lublin 51), North Korea (as the Sungri 58) and China (as the Yuejin NJ 130).

Design of the GAZ 51, which was originally called GAZ 51 420 (and not GAZ 11 51, as is sometimes claimed) according to the “chassis model number body model number” system, copied from Ford, began in February 1937. The concept of the vehicle was formulated extremely clearly: a simple and reliable universal truck, assembled from the best components of the time, well proven and tested by world practice. In June 1938, production of components began, in January 1939, assembly began, and already in May the first car entered road tests, which ended in July 1940. In the summer of 1940, a prototype GAZ 51 (with a new cabin and lining) was exhibited at the All Union Agricultural Exhibition in Moscow among the best examples of Soviet mechanical engineering. Successful tests allowed the plant to begin preparations for mass production of the GAZ 51 in 1941, but the Great Patriotic War began. A number of GAZ 51 units (engine, clutch with centrifugal weights that increase pressure on the pressure plate, gearbox, cardan joints on needle bearings) were by that time assembled by the plant and found wide application in other cars produced in those years. In 1942, the carrying capacity of the designed GAZ 51 was raised from 2 to 2.5 tons by strengthening individual units and increasing tires there is a legend that this was done on the personal instructions of Stalin, but this has not been confirmed and may be fiction. Production resumed in 1943. The rapid development of technology during the war years made inevitable adjustments to the design of the GAZ 51. Leading designer A. D. Prosvirnin radically reconfigured and modified the truck, and essentially only the name remained from the pre war GAZ 51. The accumulated experience in operating six cylinder engines on combat vehicles has made it possible to significantly improve the engine and the systems that serve it. GAZ 51 prototypes used the same cab as the retired Studebaker US6 truck, but the latter trucks did not have the same cab, although the styling remained relatively the same. The reason for this may be that GAZ wanted to develop a completely new car rather than directly copy another. The project included a well proven hydraulic brake drive in world practice, and designed a more modern and comfortable cabin and lining. The tire sizes were increased , the vehicle's load capacity increased to the optimal 2.5 tons, it was possible to achieve even greater (up to 80%) unification with the all wheel drive version of the truck GAZ 63 , which was designed in parallel on adjacent layout boards, and in terms of the engine with the four cylinder engine of the future "Pobeda". In May and September 1944, two new models of the GAZ 51 were built (with different hood design options), and in June 1945, two more, finally developed (pre production) ones were built. Confidence in the high quality of the new truck design allowed the plant to immediately begin preparations for its production. On June 19, 1945, the GAZ 51, along with other new Soviet cars, was shown to members of the government in the Kremlin and received full approval.

The plant set up production of the car very quickly the wartime experience had an impact Already at the end of 1945, an initial batch of two dozen vehicles was produced, and in 1946, even before the completion of tests, the country received 3,136 production trucks of the new generation. In 1947, the creators of the GAZ 51, together with the chief designer of the plant, A. A. Lipgart, were awarded the Stalin Prize. Since the late 1940s, the assembly of the GAZ 51 was additionally organized at the Irkutsk (1950 1952) and Odessa (1948 1975) plants. In a short time, the GAZ 51 became the most common car in the country. In 1958, the annual production of GAZ 51 reached its peak over 173 thousand. The truck was produced for 29 years a rather rare longevity. The last GAZ 51A rolled off the assembly line on April 2, 1975 and was sent to the factory museum. The total circulation of “lawns” was 3,481,033 copies, including 11,418 cars produced at the Irkutsk Automobile Assembly Plant. Polish production of Lublin 51 trucks lasted from 1951 to 1959 and amounted to 17,479 units. In 1958, production of the GAZ 51 (under the name “Seungri 58”) began at the Tokchon Automobile Plant in the city of Tokchon.

The progressive layout of the “lawn” (the engine and cab were moved forward, which, with a relatively short base, made it possible to have a fairly long platform) has become traditional for trucks with a bonnet layout. The car's engine was a further development of the GAZ 11, which at one time was created on the basis of a Dodge power unit (in turn, a former version of the Chrysler lower valve engine), the production license for which was acquired by the plant back in 1937. Despite being quite old, by American standards, (the engine went into production back in 1928), it was also quite advanced in design for the 1940s (its variants were installed on passenger cars of various branches of the Chrysler company until 1959 inclusive, on pickup trucks until the early 1960s, and for various types of commercial vehicles and stationary installations until the mid 70s), which was especially noticeable in comparison with the archaic Ford A type engines that were in production at GAZ in those years. Many technical innovations used in the car were later used by Soviet automakers on other cars. These include wear resistant engine cylinder liners made of special cast iron, chrome plated piston rings, radiator shutters, a pre heater powered by a blowtorch, and an oil cooler, the use of which dramatically increased the durability of the engine, and thin walled bimetallic crankshaft liners (steel babbitt, instead of filled with babbitt bearings without liners, and later steel aluminium). On the GAZ 51, for the first time in the USSR, and quite successfully, such solutions that later became generally accepted as an aluminum block head, plug in valve seats, adjustable mixture heating, double oil filtration, closed crankcase ventilation, easily removable brake drums, and much more were used. These advanced technical solutions for those years were later used by other car factories, in particular, when modernizing the ZIS 5 and ZIS 150 cars, and the rear axle of the GAZ 51, brought to possible perfection, was later almost completely repeated on the three axle ZIS 151. The machine has been constantly modernized over the years. Its improvement was carried out by leading designer B. I. Shikhov. The power supply system was improved, the wooden cabin first became combined (in 1950), and then all metal. In 1954 it began to be heated. The car's own weight decreased from year to year, dropping by 1962 to 2296 kg. On the GAZ 51A, the production of which began in 1955, the platform was enlarged, folding side walls were installed on it, and a more reliable and effective hand brake was installed. For the first time in the country, a hydraulic vacuum brake booster was used on the GAZ 51P truck tractor. The GAZ 51 engine also turned out to be quite resilient and durable. Mastered (in an early version) back in the early 1940s, it, in addition to GAZ trucks up to their latest models, was used for many years (boosted to 90 hp by installing two carburetors and equipped with a fluid coupling) on GAZ 12 passenger cars, buses, tractors, special vehicles and was produced until 1989. The design of the GAZ 51 influenced the design of other trucks the Kutaisi KAZ 150 and the Ural UralZIS 355M. But since the 1960s, GAZ, for the sake of fleeting fashion, moved away from this successful stylistic decision, although to some extent it was revived in the design of the cabs of the GAZ 3307 family of trucks. Even after production ended in 1975, the legacy of the GAZ 51 continued. The rear axle of the GAZ 63 (GAZ 51 variant) was later used in the GAZ 53, and then in the GAZ 3309 until the end of the 2010s. Some parts are also used in the GAZon Next truck, but are heavily modernized.

In December 1948, a decision was made to begin production of trucks under the license of the GAZ 51 model at the pre war Lilpop, Rau i Loewenstein plants in Lublin. The agreement with the Soviets was signed on July 22, 1950. According to initial assumptions, the plant's annual production was to be approximately 12,000 copies, but at the end of 1950 the production capacity was increased to 25,000 pieces per year. The first copy of this truck was assembled on November 7, 1951, from parts supplied by the licensor. Modernizations were carried out during production. A new type of carburetor with a vacuum controlled saver was used, the vacuum wiper drive system was replaced with electric motors and a fully metal cabin was put into production. Despite the modernization, it was not possible to eliminate the basic drawbacks of this vehicle: too low load capacity for a truck and high fuel consumption. Production ended in June 1959, after 17,479 units had been produced. Various versions of bodies were mounted on the chassis of the FSC Lublin 51 model, such as a cargo box, van bodies produced by Zakłady Budowy Adżużu Samochodowych in Nysa, bodies for traveling cinemas, repair workshops and sanitary bodies type N 243, produced by Zakłady Budowy Adżużu Samochodowych in Nysa (Jelcz). The model was replaced by the Polish developed FSC Żuk delivery vehicle. A total of 17,479 examples of the FSC Lublin 51 were produced.

GAZ 11 51: Precursor of GAZ 51.

GAZ 51: Standard production version. Produced 1946–1955. GAZ 51B: Dual fuel (LNG and gasoline) version. Produced 1950 1956. GAZ 51D: Shortened version (for dump body). Produced from 1958. GAZ 51DU: Export version. GAZ 51DYu: Export version for tropical climates. GAZ 51I: Cowl chassis version (for buses). Produced 1950–1973. GAZ 51IU: Export version. GAZ 51IYu: Export version for tropical climates. GAZ 51K: Ambulance chassis (for GAZ 653 and later PAZ 653). Produced 1951 1957. GAZ 51KYu: Export version for tropical climates. GAZ 51M: Cab chassis version (for fire trucks). Produced 1948 1967. GAZ 51N: Troop/cargo carrier version, with an extra fuel tank and GAZ 63 body. Produced 1948–1975. GAZ 51NU: Export version. GAZ 51Zh: LPG powered version. Produced 1954–1963. GAZ 51ZhU: Export version.

GAZ 51A: Modernized GAZ 51. Produced 1956–1975. GAZ 51AS: Farm truck version. Produced 1956 1975. GAZ 51AU: Export version. Produced 1956–1975. GAZ 51C: Farm truck version. Produced 1956–1975. GAZ 51P: Tractor trailer version. Produced 1956–1975. GAZ 51PU: Export version. GAZ 51PYu: Export version for tropical climates. GAZ 51R: Passenger and freight taxi version. Produced 1956–1975. GAZ 51RU: Export version. GAZ 51S: GAZ 51A with an additional fuel tank. Produced 1956 1975. GAZ 51SE: Version with shielded electrical equipment. GAZ 51ShM: Lengthened version (for van bodies). Produced 1956 1965. GAZ 51T: Cargo taxi version. Produced 1956–1975. GAZ 51V: Export version. GAZ 51Yu: Export version for tropical climates. Produced 1956 1975.

GAZ 51AZh: Prototype dual fuel (LPG and gasoline) version. Produced in 1963. GAZ 51PZh: Prototype LPG fueled tractor trailer version. Produced in 1956. GAZ 51F: GAZ 51 with experimental stratified charge engine. Cancelled due to complexity and numerous malfunctions. GAZ 51Shch: Prototype version with an alkaline iron nickel battery. Produced in 1958. AP 41/GAZ 41: Prototype halftrack based on the GAZ 51. Produced 1949 1953. GAZ 93: Dump truck version (built by OdAZ). Produced 1951–1958. GAZ 93D: Crop truck version. Produced 1954 1956. GAZ 93A: Modernized GAZ 93 (built by SAZ). Produced 1958–1976. GAZ 93B: Version with a larger all metal dump body, replacement for GAZ 91D. Produced 1956 1958 at OdAZ, then transferred to SAZ in 1959.