GAZ-13 Chaika ’is the first Soviet representative car to have a bright and memorable design, a spacious and comfortable seven-seater saloon, a robust frame structure and an innovative powerful aluminum engine.
Executive cars produced by GAZ
The Seagull, or GAZ-13, is the most famous executive car manufactured at the Gorky Automobile Plant from 1959 to 1981. The new car was intended to replace the GAZ-12 long-wheelbase six-seat sedan, created in 1948, as an official car for Soviet party domestic workers, but not used to transport top officials. GAZ-12 was the first development of a representative model for a car factory. Prior to this, such cars were manufactured exclusively by the Moscow ZIS plant (subsequently ZIL).
GAZ designers were entrusted with the production of representative cars thanks to their own developments, which were noted for bold and modern solutions. So, on the GAZ-12, for the first time in the world, the installation of three rows of seats on a car with a load-carrying body was applied. A novelty for the domestic automotive industry was the use of a hydromechanical transmission, guaranteeing smooth movement of a large sedan. In the late sixties, the design of the GAZ-12 began to rapidly become obsolete, and the company urgently began to develop the next generation of a representative car.
Creature
Initially, in order to reduce the development time of a new generation of representative cars, the car factory took the path of modernization of the GAZ-12 and created a prototype GAZ-12V, which received the name "Seagull". Despite the updates, which mainly came down to body changing, it became clear that the car was clearly outdated, it would not work to create a modern model on the basis of an old sedan, and so they started to develop new items from scratch.
At the same time, the ZIL plant was developing a ZIL-111 “Moscow” high-class car. Since both enterprises were guided by the Packard Patikain sedan model and a cabriolet based on it, purchased by the NAMI institute for study, the prototypes of Chaika and Moscow turned out to be very similar. In this regard, the designers again had to change the external image of the "Seagull". In 1956, a model was launched for sea trials that already resembled the future GAZ-13 (photo is presented below).
Design
The appearance of the "Seagull" traces the features of American cars of that time, which, however, is not surprising, since the Gorky Automobile Plant already had experience in creating serial models based on American cars.
GAZ-13 received a flying external image, which at that time was called "Detroit Baroque." One of the main elements of this aerospace style was the design of the stern of the car in the form of the tail of a jet plane or rocket, which was used on the "Seagull".
In the front of the GAZ-13 a rapid image was formed;
- headlights recessed into special wells of the front wings;
- wide grille with a pattern stylized as the wingspan of a seagull;
- front bumper with inserts resembling elements of a jet engine;
- straight and wide hood.
In the front silhouette, the solidity of the representative car was created by:
- straight line of the roof;
- wide glazing;
- enlarged doors;
- a large number of curly chrome moldings and trim;
- large arches of the front wheels and half closed to the rear.
All the decisions made made it possible to create a bright, unusual and modern appearance of the new representative model GAZ-13 "The Seagull".
Interior "Seagulls"
The GAZ-13 saloon was distinguished by great spaciousness and comfort according to the parameters existing at that time. The main feature was the availability of three rows of seats. In this case, the first and third row are made in the form of wide comfortable sofas. The design of the second row consisted of folding seats designed for security.
Most of the cars produced did not have a partition, which ranked Seagull as a class of sedans. The interior was made of light gray cloth for officer overcoats, and the interior design was distinguished by rigor and solidity, emphasizing the status of the passenger. Of the new products first used on domestic cars, one should mention the push-button control of the automatic transmission located on the center console, as well as electric windows.
Design features
From the very beginning of the development, it became clear that the representative car will receive a lot of weight, and therefore the designers initially abandoned the supporting body used on the previous GAZ-12 model. A frame option was chosen, with the use of an X-shaped welded frame. This design had increased rigidity and allowed to reduce the floor level in the car.
GAZ-13 received a front-engine layout and an automatic rear-wheel drive transmission. A hydromechanical three-speed automatic was used as a gearbox.
The front suspension had an independent device consisting of levers, special springs, hydraulic shock absorbers and a stabilizer for lateral stability. The rear version is made using two semi-elliptic springs, and telescopic shock absorbers were used to reduce body vibrations.
To ensure confident and safe control of a heavy vehicle, a power steering and a vacuum booster for the brake system were used.
According to the Soviet gradation, "The Seagull" belonged to the first class of cars, only government ZILs were higher, and therefore it was assembled manually on special stocks, which ensured the highest build quality.
GAZ-13 engines
Over the entire long production period, "The Seagull" was equipped with two options for power units. These were gas engines under the designation GAZ-13 with a capacity of 195 liters. from. and GAZ-13D at 215 forces. Other main technical characteristics of the GAZ-13 and 13D (parameters are given in parentheses) were:
- type - four-stroke, overhead;
- mixture formation option - carburetor;
- the number of cylinders - 8;
- configuration - V-shaped;
- number of valves - 16;
- cooling - liquid;
- volume - 5.53 l (5.27 l);
- power - 195 l. from. (215 l. From.);
- compression ratio - 8.5 (10.00);
- gasoline - AI-93 (100).
A key feature of both power units was the manufacture of the following basic elements of the engine from an aluminum alloy:
- cylinder block;
- Cylinder head;
- intake manifold;
- pistons.
This solution was very innovative at that time. Engines similar in design to other automobile companies appeared only in the mid-sixties.
Technical specifications
At the representative car GAZ-13 "The Seagull", the technical specifications with the engine of the 13th model were:
- body type - sedan;
- number of doors - 4;
- capacity - 7 people .;
- wheelbase - 3.25 m;
- length - 5.60 m;
- height - 1.62 m;
- width - 2.00 m;
- ground clearance - 18.0 cm;
- rear / front track - 1.53 m / 1.54 m;
- turning circle - 15.60 m:
- curb weight - 2.10 t;
- total weight - 2.66 tons;
- maximum speed - 160.0 km / h;
- acceleration time (100 km / h) - 20 sec .;
- gas tank size - 80 l;
- fuel consumption - 21.0 l (100 km in the combined cycle);
- tire size - 8.20 / 15.
Modifications
In the Soviet period, the Chaika executive car, even after being written off, could not be sold to private owners, which indicated the special status of the model, but several modifications were produced on its basis. They had the following name and purpose:
- GAZ-13A - the version was distinguished by the presence of an internal partition between the driver and the passenger compartment. This allowed 13A to be classified as a limousine.
- GAZ-13B - convertible (chaise) with an open top. In this case, the soft roof tent was raised and lowered using a special electro-hydraulic system.
- GAZ-13 - with increased comfort and a capacity of 6 people.
All these vehicles were produced directly at the Gorky Automobile Plant.
Separately, a version of the GAZ-13S (approximately 20 copies) was produced at the Riga RAF plant. It was an ambulance in a station wagon, with a cabin configuration that allowed the stretcher to be placed. At the Chernigov enterprise "Kinotekhnika" several GAZ-13 OASD-3 cars were manufactured. They were intended for filming.
The number of legendary Soviet GAZ-13 Chaika cars produced, according to the GAZ enterprise, is 3,189 copies. At present, according to forecasts of automotive experts and collectors, from 200 to 300 cars remain. The cost of surviving "Seagulls" may be, depending on the state, from 25 thousand to 100 thousand dollars.