| GAZ-51 | |
| Manufacturer: | GAZ |
| Aka: | FSC Lublin-51 (Poland) Sungri-58 (North Korea) Yuejin NJ-130 (China) |
| Production: | 1946–1979 (production in the USSR halted in 1975) |
| Layout: | FR layout |
| Engine: | 3.5L GAZ-51 I6 |
| Transmission: | 4-speed manual |
| Wheelbase: | 32891NaN1 |
| Length: | 57261NaN1 |
| Width: | 22791NaN1 |
| Height: | 21351NaN1 |
| Weight: | 27100NaN0 |
| Predecessor: | GAZ-MM |
| Successor: | GAZ-53 GAZ-66 |
The GAZ-51 (Russian: ГАЗ-51) is a light truck manufactured by the Soviet vehicle manufacturer Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod. The vehicle was designed before the Second World War and mass-produced together with the all-wheel-drive version GAZ-63 after the end of the war. Under the designation GAZ-93, a tipper was produced on the basis of the GAZ-51.
The GAZ-51 was a 4x2 2.5 ton truck while the GAZ-63 had all-wheel drive.[1]
The ideas for the development of the GAZ-51 date back to the mid-1930s. The GAZ-AA proved to be increasingly outdated, even by Soviet standards. The American model, the Ford AA, had already been taken out of production in 1931. Accordingly, the GAZ-11-51 was designed from February 1937, a light truck with a more powerful engine and a completely revised cab.[2] The latter was visually similar to that of the UralZIS-355M, which was produced later.
The installed six-cylinder gasoline engine was a copy of the Chrysler flathead engine as used in the Dodge D5 passenger car. As early as 1936, the Soviet Union had bought a large quantity of these engines in order to replicate them. Production began at GAZ in 1937 under the name GAZ-11. Before the war, it was initially only installed in passenger cars, for example in the GAZ-11-73 and the GAZ-61. It was not until after the war that it was also used in production trucks – as originally planned.[3]
By 1939, two prototypes of the GAZ-11-51 had been completed. Due to the war, work on the project was interrupted and not resumed until 1943. Further prototypes were built, incorporating many components from the Studebaker US6, which proved very reliable and durable when in service with the Soviet army.[4] In June 1945, pre-series production began. On July 19, 1945, a presentation took place in the Moscow Kremlin, after which large-scale production was approved. This began on January 6, 1946. Models from this early stage can be recognized by the fact that the side windows do not yet have the rounded upper edge that would later be typical.[5] [6]
From 1955, the modernized version GAZ-51A was produced. In the summer of 1957, Molotov's name was deleted from the factory name, which was reflected in the fact that "Gorkovsky Avtozavod" (Горьковский автозавод) was now engraved on the fenders instead of "Avtozavod imeni Molotova" (Автозавод имени Молотова). In 1958, annual production reached its peak of 173,000 units. In 1961, production of the successor GAZ-53 started and a few years later there was the GAZ-52. Nevertheless, the GAZ-51 continued to be built until April 2, 1975 and some special versions such as the GAZ-93 tipper until 1976. In total, 3,481,033 GAZ-51 trucks rolled off the assembly line in almost 30 years.
Based on the GAZ-51, countless modifications and special vehicles were created over the course of almost 30 years of production. The following list is therefore not complete and is only intended to provide an overview.[7]
In addition to the listed versions, the GAZ-51 was built under license in some states. In Poland, the FSC Lublin-51 was built in the Fabryka Samochodów Ciężarowych. It was produced on a trial basis from 1948 and in series production from 1952, and by July 1959 17,497 to 17,840 units had been built, depending on the source. In China, both the GAZ-51A and the GAZ-63 were built under license from 1958 onwards, manufactured by the later Nanjing Automobile Group. The model was given the name Yuejing NJ-130/230.
In North Korea, too, a licensed version was created with the Sungri-58, which was produced in the Sungri Motor Plant from 1958 onwards. With some modifications, this happened until the 1990s, and the GAZ-63 was also rebuilt there.[8] In 1979, the truck received a new cab and continued mostly unchanged mechanically until the 1990s.[9] Modernized versions of this truck were still being built until the 2010s, but it is unknown if they are still produced today.[10]
The GAZ-51 engine also turned out to be quite resilient and durable. Being in production since 1946, in addition to the GAZ-51, was used for many years (boosted to 90 hp by installing two carburetors and equipped with a fluid coupling) on GAZ-12 passenger cars, and also in the BTR-40, BTR-60, and BRDM-1 armoured personal carriers, and it was used in the GAZ-52 truck until 1989.
The GAZ-63 (Russian: ГАЗ-63) is a light truck with four-wheel drive by the Soviet vehicle manufacturer Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod. It is a development from before the Second World War and is based on the GAZ-51, which does not have all-wheel drive.
Apart from these, it is largely identical to the GAZ-51, and only differs in that it has a higher stance and all-wheel drive. It was built until 1968, when it was replaced by the new and more modern GAZ-66, with which it shared no components or parts. The GAZ-63 was used in the Soviet Army as a transport vehicle, but also for special superstructures such as the BM-14 projectile launcher. The GAZ-63 served as the basis for the BTR-40 armoured personal carrier.
For the basic model GAZ-51A, as of 1965.
Dimensions and weights