M-72 all-terrain vehicle
GAZ M-72 "... Tourist Caravan" from Moscow to Vladivostok, "organized by the Central Motor Club. But its members do not just want to get acquainted with the eastern regions of his native country, each one has its own creative plans and objectives. Writer Victor Urin intends to create a book of travel essays, and poems about the people leading the Sixth Five-Year Plan. Igor Tikhomirov removes color documentary film "In the Footsteps of the Motherland," which will be his thesis work. People do not just overcome the road space, I stop them in the city, farms, MTS, talking with people familiar with the local attractions ... From Omsk "Victory" with an expressive sign "Moscow - Vladivostok" will go on the route Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Baikal, along the Amur River through Khabarovsk to Vladivostok. Vladivostok car should arrive November 7 ... "
/ Omsk However, in 1956 /
The car, in which three travelers have decided to go to the rally was so dangerous GAZ M-72.
Minister of automotive Strokin personally ordered them to sell out of turn is very scarce in those days a car that is less than a year ago began producing GAZ. He also gave a written instruction to all subordinate organizations to carry out without delay Minavtoproma necessary repairs and maintenance of the vehicle. In minneftehime gave a paper on the smooth filling machines for the whole route. General Command of Mapping has issued a set of maps. Central automotor helped with the purchase of sports equipment. The money has given the Union of Soviet Writers - as an advance for not writing a book.
So adventure of three young people became a reality and soon completely failed. Two years later a book, then read that many. In cinemas twisted documentary on the run, about the movie he wrote, "Soviet Screen". Travel notes printed magazine, "Behind the wheel."
All the way from the capital to the Pacific car broke down three times. Went where everyone else skidded vehicles. And it's those days when prehistoric road is worth a lot!
What was of itself this wonderful car - GAZ M-72? She gathered in Gorky in 1955. The national economy then experienced the need for a car that could combine the best qualities of a jeep (or rather all-terrain vehicle, jeep or SUV words in those days did not know) and city car. Of course, the best solution would be a special development, but, as always, the most practical output was a compromise. They became a hybrid of a GAZ-69 and Victory.
The leading designer of machinery appointed Gregory Moiseevich Wasserman and his associates were among AI Gore, AI Chernomashentsev, OI Pelyushenko, SG Zislin, NT Mozohin, Vladimir Solovyev, and other. Wasserman had the experience of a four-wheel drive vehicles: a GAZ-69 was created under his leadership. Not surprisingly, the sites and mechanisms of a spring suspension, all-wheel drive transmissions have been borrowed from the GAZ-69. But the jeep was a frame, and the victory had a monocoque body. Faced a difficult, even by modern standards, work on strengthening the body. The more complex that the body of the Victory at the outset was neravnoprochnym. That's when the plane experiencing the destructive overload engineers prochnistam issue premium, if the structure collapses at 98% of rated load. In contrast, punished, if at 102%. That's because strengthen weak spot is relatively easy. But too strong, the design has to recalculate peretyazhelennuyu all over again, because do not know exactly where the excess metal, heavier aircraft. Much the same happened with Victory: weaknesses strengthened, but the count and to facilitate her certainly did not, did not air the weight culture. On the job of designing M-72 all out just three days.
M-72, 70kb
M-72, 106kb
In addition to strengthening the weaknesses car, it was necessary to increase the clearance of the road to the body floor, that is to raise the body. To this end, it was decided not to install rear springs under the rear axle beam, as in the M-20, and above it. In this body up to 150 mm. When they lifted the body, between it and the wheels were formed cracks. They covered their rear panels, and reduce the depth of cut in front of the wings. Instead of the front independent suspension on coil springs front springs set. But how to place their attachment without altering the body? Wasserman helped find: he proposed rear ends of the springs inside the rails podmotornogo subframe, excluding these places the bottom shelf. To compensate for this attenuation, the amplifier quickly to the top of the spar. Thus, the design of the front springs were designed specifically for the new all-terrain vehicle, while the rear used by Victory. The rear suspension used M-72 anti-roll bar. Victory has a similar device is installed in the front suspension and a GAZ-69 had no stabilizers at all.
When placing the transfer case had to abandon the cross-box amplifier underbody, as well as the longitudinal amplifier - closed driveline tunnel, which was characterized by the body of the Victory. To compensate for not having any of these security elements, as well as increase the longitudinal and transverse rigidity of the body as a whole in its construction was introduced 14 additional amplifiers floor spar racks and roof. Particular attention is paid to strut frame - Victory weakest spot.
Then deputy chief designer of AI-bodies Gore has determined how to strengthen the floor and the body in the right places, and this was quickly done in the design and prototype. When tested on the stand rigidity M-72 was not only lower than that of M-20 but increased at a bend at 30 percent and torsional - 50 percent. This has created a reserve for high stress on the roads.
Despite the strengthening of the body and the introduction of additional units, vehicle weight increased only by 300 kg. Do not forget about the corrosion resistance - to protect the body was introduced phosphate coating.
Engines M-20 and GAZ-69
capacity jets, cm3/min
Jets \ K-22A Carburetor K-22E K-22e
Chief 200 315 220
compensation 220 225 280
Idle 52 52 52
The engine of the new car, unlike the Victory engine, got the cylinder head with higher compression ratio - 6.5 vs. 6.2, designed for petrol A-72 instead of A-66. Increasing the compression ratio, change jet carburetor and intake system improvements to increase in torque at high revs and more power to 55 hp In the oil system included an oil cooler. Oil in a fall from coarse filter, and cooled in the radiator, flowed into the oil pipe. Oil cooler can be switched off special tap. Given the characteristics of operation of all-terrain vehicle - the possibility of a prolonged low-speed driving on low gear in heavy traffic conditions, it was decided to use shestilopastny fan and heatsink on the increased volume of 2 liters. Since the radiator outlet on the side, and had to change the thermostat housing.
To reduce the transfusion of fuel through the main jet nebulizer in gradeability and stronger shaking the car float mechanism carburetor needle valve equipped with a spring and an additional thrust rod. This carburetor is set to the time on all passenger all-terrain vehicles GAZ, has received the designation of K-22e.
On the mashie used the same gearbox with a lever on the steering column, as in most Wins (GAZ-69 had a control lever on the floor of the cabin CAT). At transmissions M-72 was not only a speedometer drive gear, which was placed on the secondary shaft razdatki.
Of GAZ-69 car was just a new transfer case. Because the unit had no direct transmission (upper transmission gear ratio was 1.15), the maximum speed M-72 was lower than that of Victory.
Front spring M-72
front axle and suspension M-72
Separately to say about the design of the rear axle car. It was designed specifically for the M-72 and mounted only on the specified machine. The rear axle had polurazgruzhennye half that relied on single-row ball bearings. Removable hub was not, and the wheels were attached directly to the flanges axes. The same was done later on all the Volga, but the latest machines hypoid final drives. In the M-72 were the main transmission lines, like the Victory and GAZ-69. For comparison, a half-victory was discharged on 3 / 4, removable wheel hubs rotate on roller bearings single row cylindrical, while the rear axle GAZ-69 half-full type of unloaded and detachable hub mounted on twin tapered bearings roller. The front axle on M-72 design is similar to the bridge from the GAZ-69, but the track was already at 85 mm.
The front wheel is driven by constant velocity joints such as Bendix, proven more on the military Willys. Steering linkage in general repeated trapezoid GAZ-69. Just as the GAZ-69, M-72 machine had a central transmission parking brake on the jeep and bus were taken to the lugs, the dimension of 6.50 × 16.
Body of new equipment-wheel drive vehicle was the same as that of the M-20: The soft upholstery, heater, clock, dual-band (long and medium wave) radio. To control the wheel drive transmission, new levers. Under the combination of instruments enhanced by the driver plate with a reminder - it is the control circuit range-table maximum speeds in each gear. Given the need to work on the muddy roads, M-72 for the first time in the USSR was used windscreen washer - mechanical nasosik, who was naked from the press at a special pedal.
As a final touch, the radiator grille with the emblem set label M72-like logo and decorated the hood of the car. "Victory", by the way, this car is never called.
Road tests of the prototype M-72 showed its high permeability and driving performance. The car was moving steadily through the dirty rough roads, on the sand, plowing, snow-covered terrain, take rises to 30 degrees. Due to the streamlined body at highway speed reached 100 km / h and fuel consumption was less than the GAZ-69. By February 1955 the prototype was more than 40 thousand kilometers, which revealed some weaknesses and to address deficiencies. In May, the car experienced in the mountains of the Crimea, and in June began the mass production of M-72 on GAZ.
M-72 became the world's first all-wheel drive passenger car with frameless (carrier) in the body and vyluschena years 1955-1957 in the amount of 4677 copies.
M-72 was well received by rural drivers and forced to take a fresh look at the idea of a jeep. M-72 appeared in places never before visited any car: in the mountain passes, in the forest, crossed dangerous fords, and the like. The small issues are not allowed GAZ M-72 to become widely known, comparable to the GAZ-69, however, estimating the M-72 on a global scale, we can say that for the time of release, he was at the level of international counterparts, and in many respects ahead of their .