The GAZ-12 car, or ZIM appeared in production program GAZ plant in 1949 and remained on the assembly line throughout the next decade. Over the years, only about 21,500 copies were built, so today this car is a rarity.
Prerequisites for the emergence
By the end of the 40s, the USSR produced a small-class car Moskvich-400, a medium-class M20 Pobeda and a high-class ZiS 110. The latter was never sold to private hands and relied only on the top leadership of the country, which predetermined the small production volumes and the highest value of the car. However, there was a whole category of people who, by position in society or by duty, needed a more prestigious car than the M20. It was with this niche in mind that the ZIM GAZ-12 was created. In addition, one should not forget about the tacit rivalry between the GAZ and ZiS plants, which tried to create more and more advanced designs.
Lightning development
For development new car extremely short timeframes were allocated, less than 2.5 years in total. The lead designer was the M20 developer A. Lipgart. Work began in 1948. In order to reduce the time, the development of the general power structure of the body and units was carried out on a modified M20 body. Such a car (according to the terminology of the plant - “mule”) was built on the basis of the serial M20, in the body of which an insert 500 mm long was installed. Thanks to the insert, the base reached the required value of 3200 mm. By the 31st anniversary of the October Revolution, the third running prototype of the car was ready, which was the first public demonstration during the festive demonstration.
In February of the following year, the GAZ-12 prototype was presented to the country's top leadership, and in the fall of 1950, small-scale production began. The first mass-produced cars went through a cycle of mileage tests the following year, and in 1951 the production of commercial cars began.
Until 1957, the GAZ-12 index was used in in-plant documentation. And the car was everywhere designated as ZIM (Molotov Plant). And only the last two years of production the car went to customers as a GAZ-12.
Modifications
In addition to the basic 6-seater sedan, versions for a taxi and an ambulance were produced.
The GAZ-12A taxi had a simplified trim of interior elements - leatherette instead of fabric, interior elements painted like wood. The TA49 taximeter came from the factory. The cars were used in taxi companies of large cities (often as fixed-route taxi) and for transportation between cities. At the end of the 50s, one of the taxi companies in Moscow had about 300 ZIM cars. ZIM did not serve as a taxi for long, and by 1960 the M21 Volga had been completely replaced.
The sanitary version of the GAZ-12B also had a simplified interior with a glass partition behind the rear sofa and a modified trunk lid that allowed a stretcher to be rolled into the cabin through it. There were two places left in the cabin for the medical staff and accompanying persons. There was a searchlight on the left front wing, and an identification lamp on the roof above the windshield. The sanitary version was produced until 1960, i.e. the longest. Many ambulances have survived long life and still met in the ranks until the end of the 70s.
There were also several test samples with open salon, but they did not get into the series.
Body design features
The design of the GAZ-12 combined both new advanced technical solutions, and compromise borrowing units from other models.
The first obstacle for the designers was the body. The American school of that time built such big cars using a classic frame chassis. This design had two critical drawbacks - weight and a long time to fine-tune the structure. Weight was critical due to the lack of a serial powerful engine.
By that time, GAZ had a lot of experience in creating and improving the M20 monocoque body, so when developing the GAZ-12 body, they decided to implement the same solution. The body structure provided for a short subframe in front for mounting the suspension and engine. Thanks to the rejection of the frame, the designers managed to reduce the weight of the car by more than 200 kg. Special attention was given torsional rigidity of the body. The designers managed to ensure high tightness of the cabin, which is important for a car of this level. The body made it possible to overcome half-meter water barriers without the risk of flooding inside.
The resulting load-bearing body for a car of this class was the first development of its kind in the world.
One more distinctive feature was the design of the hood opening system. The hood could open sideways in both directions, and after unlocking both locks, it was simply removed from the car.
The body was painted with nitro enamel in several layers with drying and intermediate polishing of each. The color palette was very poor - the bulk of the cars were black. There were white, cherry and green cars. Taxis were painted grey, while the ambulance version was painted ivory. Under the order the combined coloring in two colors was offered.
Engine
The GAZ-12 engine was based on the GAZ-51 truck engine, which, in turn, had a high degree of unification with the M20 engine (up to half of the engine parts were identical).
The power of the base 51st engine was clearly insufficient, and to increase it, the intake channels were expanded, an aluminum head with a compression ratio increased to 6.7 (A70 gasoline was required) and a double carburetor were introduced. The engine was started by an electric starter from a button on the instrument panel.
Because a car engine runs on more than high revs, the designers introduced symmetrical connecting rods. This measure reduced the risk of damage connecting rod bearings at high speeds - a disease of the 51st motor.
After all these events, a 90-horsepower engine consumed no more than 19 liters of fuel per 100 km, which was a good indicator for an almost 2-ton car. In addition to ZIM, this engine was used on buses, all-terrain vehicles and armored personnel carriers developed by the GAZ plant.
power transmission
ZIM was equipped with a specially designed gearbox with three speeds forward and one reverse. Gear shifting was carried out by a lever on the steering column. This box subsequently became mass-produced and was used on the M20 and M21, the GAZ-69 SUV, minibuses of the Riga (RAF-977) and Yerevan (ErAZ-762) factories.
For the first time in the automotive industry of the USSR, a car was equipped with a hydraulic clutch. It was located in the kinematic chain between the engine and the clutch and was a separate toroidal crankcase filled with turbine oil. In the crankcase there were two rotors that did not have a mechanical connection between them. Each rotor was made in half a torus. The pump rotor-flywheel had 48 compartments internally, the conventional clutch turbine rotor-flywheel had 44 compartments. The compartments were formed by blades in the cavity of the rotors. Since the crankcase is sealed and the minimum distance between the wheels is ensured, the liquid is supplied to the blades during the rotation of the pump wheel turbine wheel transmitting torque. Moreover, because of the low maximum speed ZIM engine (not higher than 3600 per minute), this moment on the pump and turbine is almost the same.
Due to such a clutch, the car could move off in any gear, even according to the instructions, the first gear was used only with bad road conditions. When stopping, it was not necessary to disengage the gear, since with the transmission brake pressed and the gear engaged, the engine could run at Idling due to slippage of the pump rotor relative to the stationary turbine rotor. Since the car was held in this case parking brake, then it was required to maintain it in a fully operational condition.
ZIM was equipped with a continuous crankcase rear axle with hypoid gearing and two-link cardan shaft. Due to the reduction in the dimensions of the bridge, it was possible to practically get rid of the propeller shaft tunnel. A less noisy gearbox required a special hypoid oil for operation, which for a long time rare in the USSR.
Suspension and wheels
The car was equipped with suspensions similar to the M20 with lever shock absorbers. The front suspension was independent with springs and pivots, the rear - on leaf springs. The car was immediately completed with 15-inch wheels.
Due to the reduction in the diameter of the disks (16-inch disks were on Pobeda), new ones were created for ZIM brake drums and mechanisms. However, the brakes were ineffective for such a heavy machine. But since the intensity of traffic in those years was not great, they put up with this shortcoming.
Salon GAZ-12
The interior trim of ZIM was distinguished by the use of high-quality materials, but did not carry luxury. The "wooden" elements of the interior were, in fact, realistically painted metal parts. fabric upholstery soft colors were made of thick cloth. The tube radio came as standard.
The front sofa was not adjustable, so it was very crowded for a tall driver to sit behind the wheel. There was no classic partition between the first and other rows of seats on any standard GAZ-12.
Behind there was a sofa for three passengers and two folding seats in the middle row. With the middle row folded for the legs of the rear sofa passengers, up to one and a half meters of free space was released. In terms of the volume of the compartment for passengers, the ZIM was not inferior to the more prestigious ZiS-110.
For heating and ventilation of a large volume of the rear of the cabin there was a separate radiator and fan. This fan was controlled from the rear of the cabin. There were also handrails in the back of the front seat and on the sides of the cabin, a cigarette lighter, several ashtrays, an additional ceiling light and a number of other comfort elements for passengers.
GAZ-12 modernization project
In the mid-1950s, an attempt was made to extend the life of a rapidly aging car. The project was called ZIM-12V. As planned by the designers, it was planned to increase engine power, introduce a full-fledged automatic transmission, and refine the brakes. Global external changes were not planned and were limited to a change in the design of the grille, headlights and rear lights, installation of a panoramic windshield.
But these plans never became a reality. The main forces were thrown into the creation of the new GAZ-13 "Seagull".
ZIM in private ownership
Although the ZIM was originally created as a machine for officials, some copies fell into private ownership. Due to the high price (two to three times more expensive than Pobeda and three to four times more than Moskvich-400), the buyers were representatives of the scientific and creative elite of the USSR. In addition, ZIM was issued as an addition to the awarding of the Order of Lenin for 25 years of impeccable service.
These cars were often driven by hired drivers. As an example, it is worth recalling the film "Different Fates", where the professor and composer are the owners of ZIM, but they do not drive.
In noticeable quantities, cars began to fall into the hands of private traders only from the end of the 60s, when ZIM began to be massively written off from institutions.
Car owners at that time were bribed high degree unification of the design with the mass M20 and M21 and the dimensions of the GAZ-12 car. Feedback from owners about the smoothness of the ride and the spaciousness of the cabin was generally positive. However, many have complained about high flow fuel when driving around the city and a small trunk.
But now these shortcomings are insignificant, since hardly any of the ZIM owners use it as an everyday transport for traveling to work or to the country.
ZIM today
Currently GAZ-12 is a collector's item. Found as restored models of cars varying degrees authenticity, and modified in accordance with modern requirements for comfort and appearance.
Tuning GAZ-12 ZIM is very costly both in finance and in time. In the course of such work, the body is restored with full color, noise and vibration isolation is carried out. Seats from prestigious foreign cars are installed, a full-fledged partition is made in the cabin between the rear and driver's parts. Installed air conditioning system, panoramic sunroof. At the request of the customer, the salon can be equipped with high-class acoustics and other additional equipment.
The power unit, transmission, suspensions are almost always replaced. For example, one of the restoration workshops, during the restoration of the GAZ-12, installed on it new engine"Toyota" with a capacity of 225 hp Still supplied automatic transmission and modified suspensions from GAZ-31105.
Restoration of the GAZ-12 in an authentic form requires even greater financial investments. There are a number of reasons for this. The main difficulty is the search for authentic GAZ-12 spare parts. Many details and finishing materials are simply not produced in our time, and large restoration workshops are establishing their own production.
The ZIM car (Gaz 12) is one of the best cars of the Gorky Automobile Plant. It was on it that everyone first appeared famous icon deer, symbol Nizhny Novgorod. This model for a long time occupied an intermediate position between the luxurious ZiS and Pobeda ...
“Here, ZiM is driving along the road, and I will be crushed by them.” Such verses were very common in their time. What is this very ZiM? I met him at the earliest possible age. I was taken home from the maternity hospital in a taxi of this model. It was by no means the father's desire to show his coolness that took place, just an accident - there were no other cars.
I never had to ride a ZIM again. And a few years later, a huge (as it seemed then) white car with a lot of headlights, standing near the children's hospital, remained in my memory. I was terribly interested in whether the red flag in the middle of the hood glows at night. Now it is clear that the red light in front is not correct. And in general, I learned a lot about ZIM. Maybe you will be interested... 
At the end of the 40s of the last century, many "middle hand" bosses, including the regional party leadership, found out with chagrin that they were left "horseless". Preserved from pre-war times ZiSy-101 and captured passenger cars gradually fell into disrepair, the new ZiS-110s were basically not assigned to them by rank, and the Pobeda M-20s of the first series produced at that time were very “raw”, often broke down at the most inopportune moment, had low level comfort, and their release (as well as the post-war Emka GAZ-11-73) was quantitatively very modest. One way or another, the decision to create and conveyor production quite comfortable car.
In May 1948 Gorky Automobile Plant named after Molotov received a government assignment to develop a six-seater ZiM car (from the Molotov Plant), also known as the GAZ-12, which, in terms of comfort, economy and dynamics, was to take an intermediate position between the prestigious ZiS-110 and the mass Pobeda.
All work, including the release of the "zero" series, was given 29 months - a period unprecedented for our automotive industry. To meet it, it was necessary either to completely copy a similar foreign car (the American Buick was strongly offered to the plant), or to create your own, making the most of the units available at the plant in its design, primarily the engine. And to the credit of the gas designers, headed by Andrey Aleksandrovich Lipgart, despite the powerful pressure from the leaders of the ministry of the automotive industry, the second option was chosen.
Looking ahead, we note that the creators of ZiM managed to borrow about 50% of engine, transmission and chassis parts from the then-produced GAZ-51 and M-20. 
Choosing the option of independent design was a desperately bold step by Lipgart - after all, it was in those days that the production of Pobeda had to be suspended due to childhood illnesses, which angered Stalin, who ordered the chief designer to be removed from his post. The leadership of the Minavtoprom managed to put the matter on the brakes and keep Andrei Alexandrovich in his post (the directors of GAZ were removed). But now, in the event of a failure to launch a new car in a series, Lipgart risked not his position, but his head ...
The most acceptable engine for a relatively large car, produced at GAZ, was an in-line lower valve six with a working volume of 3.48 liters, developed back in 1937. After the war, she appeared on trucks GAZ-51 and GAZ-63. The power of the truck-mounted engine was 70 hp. It was possible to increase it without compromising the reliability of the motor by a maximum of 20 "horses" - obviously not enough for a car of the planned dimensions, which has a conventional frame structure.
And then the Gorky residents took a step that had no analogues in world practice - they used a load-bearing body structure on a car with a wheelbase of 3.2 m. This made it possible to reduce the curb weight of the car, in comparison with frame classmates, by at least 220 kg. The body has become the most important constructive element when creating a new GAZ, because if it were not possible to solve all the problems that arose during its design, it would be possible to forget about putting a new car on the conveyor within the deadline.
However, there is an opinion, confirmed by specific figures, that such big car the load-bearing body with additional amplifiers did not give any gain in mass, in comparison with the frame structure. No wonder the frame was used on subsequent GAZ-13 and GAZ-14.
The engine power was increased to 90 hp. - by expanding the intake channels, using a dual carburetor and increasing the compression ratio to 6.7, which required A-70 gasoline, which was then rare. As a result of design improvements in the engine, the car was provided with good efficiency (fuel consumption did not exceed 18-19 liters per 100 kilometers - for that time a good indicator for a car with a curb weight of 1940 kg) and quite high maximum speed- 125 km / h. 
A relatively low number of revolutions, corresponding to the maximum power, led to an almost silent operation of the engine. This version of the engine, after the cessation of production of ZiM, was installed for many more years on buses PAZ-652 and caterpillar conveyors GAZ-47. But gasoline was already recommended A-72.
For the first time in domestic automotive industry on ZIM instead of the flywheel was used hydraulic clutch, through which the torque is transmitted from crankshaft on the clutch drive. The fluid coupling provided smooth starting at second speed without the danger of turning off the engine when insufficient pressure on the gas pedal.
cardan gear open type consisted of two shafts with an intermediate support, which made it possible to reduce their diameter and lower the front swing point of the cardan to the limit. Combined with hypoid final drive this design made it possible to lower the axis of rotation of the propeller shaft by 42 millimeters, place it under the cabin floor (by the way, even, without a protruding tunnel). But here's the problem - the hypoid rear axle required a hypoid transmission oil, and then it was not thick with him. When pouring nigrol, which was common in those days, it failed in a matter of hours.
Another innovation that first appeared on our cars was 15-inch wheels (before Winter, Soviet cars had at least 16-inch wheels). Reducing the diameter of the wheels required the use of a new type drum brakes- with two pads and two brake cylinders.
If we are talking about wheels - two words about their suspension. From the front she was independent, on wishbones with coil springs, at the rear - on longitudinal semi-elliptical leaf springs, which were shot-blasted to increase durability. The front suspension was equipped with a stabilizer roll stability. Shock absorbers were installed hydraulic, double action. 
When developing the bodywork, the focus was on ensuring its strength and torsional rigidity. The designers managed to solve this problem, which is evidenced by the fact that during the test runs, a high tightness of the body was noted, which made it possible, in particular, to overcome fords up to 550 mm deep without water entering the passenger compartment. With a 1500-kilometer run on rural roads, which took place in summer at air temperatures up to +37, dust did not penetrate into the cabin either.
In accordance with the terms of reference, the car was supposed to carry 5 passengers, but the designers found the opportunity to place three passengers in the back seat and increase the total number of seats, including the driver, to 7. To do this, they pushed the niches rear wheels, increasing their track to 1560 mm (the front track was 100 mm less). This decision required the expansion of the tail section of the body, which was done due to the protruding wings of the rear wheels. From a design point of view, this made it possible to break the monotony of the long sidewall, making it more dynamic. Although the two additional rear seats were stored folded in the back of the front sofa, they were located in working order in the direction of travel.
It was quite easy to drive the car - the gear ratio increased to 18.2 in the steering mechanism and the large diameter of the steering wheel helped. By the way, with a length of just over five and a half meters, the ZiM had a turning radius of only 6.85 meters.
The salon was richly decorated for that time, supplied with a three-band tube radio, mechanical watch with electric winding, two electric cigarette lighters, ashtrays, a complex and powerful heating system with two fans. At the same time, the radiator of the heating system was far ahead, next to the main one.
Interesting features of ZIM were the hood, which opens to any side or can be removed at all (the locking handles were located on the left and right under dashboard), as well as bent, for the first time in our automotive industry, rear glass. It was on the front of the body of the ZIM that the now well-known emblem with the image of a deer first appeared. There was only one brake light at the back, in the center of the trunk lid. Some cars were equipped with headlights instead of conventional headlights. And there was also a trunk lighting lamp that automatically turned on with a mercury (!) Switch. 
The car required frequent maintenance. For example, the operating instructions prescribed daily checking the fastening of the generator, carburetor and starter. If the temperature dropped below 15 degrees below zero, then again, it was necessary to drain not only the water from the radiator, but also the oil from the crankcase every day.
When parking for more than ten days, in order to avoid damage to the tires, it was necessary to install the body on stands. And it was also recommended to use not new tires in winter, but repaired ones. New ones had to be stored until better times, i.e. until the summer. In the absence of such an opportunity, the repaired tires had to be put on the front wheels, and the new ones on the rear. Now such recommendations sound, to put it mildly, strange.
On November 7, 1949, a prototype GAZ-12 took part in a festive demonstration in Gorky. Three months later - on February 15, 1950 - the car, as was customary, appeared before the heads of state. They liked the car, even Stalin, they say, could not resist praise.
In October 1950 (just in time) the first industrial batch of machines was assembled in Gorky and started mass production. Naturally, the new car was first of all sent to the nomenclature structures. Later, in a simpler version - the velor trim was replaced with leatherette - the car began to arrive in taxi fleets (the fare was one and a half times higher than in Pobeda, which was then our main taxi car).
ZiM was even on free sale, but due to the price of 40,000 rubles of the time, it was available only to the "aristocracy". In particular, it was acquired by Ukrainian writers M. Rylsky and P. Tychyna, hated by local schoolchildren (“Better to Eat a Brick / Than to Teach Pavel Tychyna”). 
In the same year, on the basis of ZIM, the assembly of an ambulance (GAZ-12B) began, which had a glass partition behind the front seat, two folding seats located one after the other, and a stretcher that was pulled out and pushed into the car through the trunk lid, equipped with reinforced outer loops.
GAZ-12B had an identification lamp on the roof, a searchlight on the left front fender and was painted - unlike the rest of the mostly black ZiMs - in White color. Separate copies remained in service with the Ministry of Health until the early 80s and rolled out their lives in provincial cities. But the GAZ-12A phaeton did not go into production due to problems associated with the strength of the body.
Immediately after the start of production, ZiM caused a stir among officials. Many passionately desired to transfer from the modest "emok" and "Pobed" to much more representative cars. The struggle for possession of the gas flagship acquired such forms and such scope that the magazine Krokodil was forced to publish the feuilleton Stop! Red light! ”, which stigmatized the activities of nomenklatura workers who went to all sorts of tricks in order to obtain a personal Zim. 
In 1959, the car gave way to the "Seagull" GAZ-13, and the following year, production of the sanitary GAZ-12B ceased. "The Seagull", unlike Zim, was assembled in small quantities on stocks, did not work in taxis and "Ambulance" and did not go on sale within the country. Surprisingly, in the 60s and 70s, even the first secretaries of the regional committees, the sovereign masters of the regions, often drove ordinary (at least outwardly) Volgas. In rather big Kharkov, for example, until the mid-70s there was not a single "Seagull" (then one or two were transferred to the "Palace of Weddings" after a major overhaul). And there were relatively many ZiMs at one time.
Unfortunately, they did not differ in longevity. The long load-bearing body still sagged over time. No wonder the instruction recommended not to leave the doors open for long term(however, this may be due to the danger of discharging the battery through the interior lighting). And in the early 70s, ZiMys were already a rarity on the roads. For the same reason - the deformation of the body - the surviving specimens are now very difficult to restore. However, some cars worked at the turn of the 80s - 90s. At that time, I remember ZiM with full cabin vegetables, who brought them to a roadside market on the Kharkiv-Simferopol highway. True, his condition was quite rusty. 
In total, including the Ambulance, 21,527 cars were produced, practically unchanged (with the exception of the introduction in October 1951 of an electromagnetic starter traction relay with the replacement of its activation pedal with a button on the instrument panel).
Below, with some abbreviations, is an article from the Motor magazine of the 90s.
"Chassis No. 100"
The first owner of this car was the head of the special purpose garage (GON). Chassis No. 100, year of manufacture - 1950. For seven years, the car lived a normal nomenclature life, without lack of quality gasoline, oil and attention.
In 1957, the anti-party activities of Malenkov (Chairman of the Council of Ministers), Molotov (Minister of Foreign Affairs), Kaganovich (Minister of Railways) and “Shepilov, who joined them” (Secretary of the Central Committee), were exposed. Leapfrog followed with the renaming of factories, mines, steamships and kindergartens. The Molotov plant was renamed back to GAZ, and the factory index GAZ-12 was returned to the Molotov car. Naturally, the ZiM abbreviation on the sides of the hood and on the radiator lining was also replaced. 
The population reacted to these innovations indifferently, from the nameplates it was only possible to determine the year of manufacture of the car - before or after 1957. But the owner of chassis No. 100 had to replace everything in the car that was associated with the name of the disgraced Minister of Foreign Affairs. Otherwise, the Kremlin "winter owner" risked being misunderstood and going, for example, after Malenkov to build a dam. Even a button sound signal with the inscription ZiM was replaced by a button with a deer from the Volga that had just entered the series. GON did this procedure with all his cars - quickly and secretly, as they carried Stalin out of the Mausoleum. Rave?
But 40 years ago people lived in a completely different country.
Black lacquered giant affably opens heavy doors. Rear open against the move. Velor interior smells not at all engine oil- a capsule was fixed on the central pillar of the windshield, into which either a flavored extract or perfume was poured. The capsule was empty, but the salon smelled so much of the habits of the party nomenclature that it would last for a long time.
The dashboard itself is a monument, like a "Stalinist" house. A huge round speedometer, a clock is symmetrical with it, in the center is a three-band tube radio. At the top of the panel, also in the center, is a toggle switch for turning on the “wipers”. All switches and buttons are made of special ivory-look plastic. 
A complete illusion is created that the panel and window frames are lined with expensive wood, but this is just textured paint for metal. The application method was invented at the plant a few months before the start of production of the GAZ-12.
ZIM - a car for a passenger. Huge space for those sitting behind was obtained due to the convenience of the driver - the front sofa is very close to the steering wheel and fixed tightly. In this regard, both Pobeda and Volga, from the driver's point of view, are more ergonomic.
There are handles and a clock in the back of the sofa. rectangular shape. Actually, there should be a hefty ashtray in their place, but the first owner, apparently, did not encourage smoking and preferred to set the clock. Under the back are two folding seats - straponten. Their layout is made in three stages: the seat leans back, half of the back is out of the seat, then another half of the back. Despite the apparent fragility of the design of folding seats, they are quite comfortable and allow you to withstand long way. Although the owners of life did not sit on them.
The rear sofa is simply royal. It is designed for two passengers, but there will be no problems with the placement of the third. In this case, you can stretch your legs and put them on the unfolded straps. On the sides of the sofa wheel arches, there were ashtrays - one on each side. The rear side windows open like windows. 
Turn on the ignition, the starter button is on the left edge dashboard. The hood moved slightly and calmed down. The lower valve motor is almost inaudible, the inline six is the optimal configuration.
Idling - 300-400 rpm, maximum power is removed at 3600, and the maximum moment - at 1900 rpm.
All three pedals are floor mounted. The gear lever is located on the right side of the steering column and has the same algorithm as on the Volga. We turn on the first, let go of the clutch, but the car stands still. The hydraulic clutch is designed in such a way that idling engine is missing. To do this, press the gas pedal. If you take your foot off the pedal, the car will stop but not stall. Starting can be classified as "the most smooth".
Accelerating dynamics of such a device is useless. According to the passport, it takes 37 seconds to accelerate to hundreds.
We start off according to the instructions: “In good road conditions, you should start off in second gear, and in bad road conditions, in first.” The first is useful only when you start moving along a muddy country road, or uphill.
Go. Slowly we switch to the third - direct. The low-speed engine seems very flexible, and the hydraulic clutch eliminates frequent switching. Second gear can be used from 0 to 80 km/h. Almost automatic - turned on and went. “Switching from second gear to direct and vice versa can be done at any speed” - this is also from the instructions. 
Entering a turn low speed reminiscent of a slow motion movie - the car slowly turns, bringing first a flag on the hood, then the driver, then back. It seems to the driver that everything revolves around him. Hydraulic drive It does not have a brake booster, but it does not require titanic efforts - the two-ton colossus slows down very confidently and willingly.
There was no talk of power steering in those years either. Steering wheel large diameter allows you to drive the car without straining. The cross section of the steering wheel calls not to cling to it with a stranglehold, but to steer, placing your palms on the rim or spokes. The car obediently obeys without forcing the driver to make sudden movements. The machine demands tenderness and pays in kind.
The smoothness of the ride is taken for granted - the passengers of the ZiMs were not simple.
Moreover, the higher the speed, the greater the smoothness of the ride. When you pass over 90, there is a feeling of flight. Almost two tons of tinned metal hide the speed and all external irritants - road roughness or side wind.
You drive and, as it were, ask: “Where to, Comrade General?” And when you sit on the back sofa, you involuntarily begin to give commands "turn there, turn here." 
It is said that metal accumulates information. And this ZiM can tell a lot about his time. The speaker of the tube radio, creaking a little, gives out quite a decent sound, and now - after 46 years - you can find out about the intrigues in the Kremlin. But in this car I want to listen to Claudia Shulzhenko and smoke cigarettes.
In May 1948, the Molotov Gorky Automobile Plant received a government assignment to develop a six-seater passenger car, which, in terms of comfort, economy and dynamics, was to take an intermediate position between the prestigious ZiS-110 and the mass Pobeda (although the concept of "mass" was somewhat arbitrary in relation to "Victory", which cost 16 thousand "then" rubles and for this reason remained pipe dream for 99% of the citizens of the USSR). All work, including the release of the "zero" series, was given 29 months - a period unprecedented for our automotive industry. To meet it, it was necessary either to completely copy a similar foreign car (the American Buick was strongly offered to the plant), or to create your own, making the most of the units available at the plant in its design, primarily the engine. And to the credit of the gas designers, headed by Andrey Alexandrovich Lipgart, despite the powerful pressure from the leaders of the Ministry of the Automotive Industry, the second option was chosen. Looking ahead, we note that the creators of ZiM managed to borrow about 50% of engine, transmission and chassis parts from the then-produced GAZ-51 and GAZ-20 Pobeda.
The choice of the "independent design" option was Lipgart's desperately bold step - after all, it was precisely in those days that the production of Pobeda had to be suspended due to "childhood illnesses", which angered Stalin, who ordered the removal of the chief designer of GAZ. The leadership of the Minavtoprom managed to "put things on the brakes" and keep Andrei Alexandrovich in his post. But now, in the event of a failure to launch a new machine in a series, Lipgart risked not his position, but his head ...
Emblem gas 12 ZIM The most acceptable engine for a relatively large car, produced at GAZ, was an in-line lower-valve "six" with a working volume of 3.48 liters, developed back in 1937. After the war, she appeared on trucks GAZ-51 and GAZ-63. The power of the truck-mounted engine was 70 hp. It was possible to increase it without compromising the reliability of the motor to a maximum of 95 "horses" - obviously not enough for a car of the planned dimensions, which has a conventional frame structure.
And then the Gorky residents took a step that had no analogues in world practice - they used a load-bearing body structure on a six-seater car with a wheelbase of 3.2 m. This made it possible to reduce the curb weight of the car, in comparison with the frame "classmates", by at least 220 kg. The body became the most important constructive element in the creation of the new GAZ, because if it had not been possible to solve all the problems that arose during its design, one could forget about putting the new car on the conveyor within the deadline.
For testing power unit and the undercarriage, a "platform" was created, which was an elongated "Victory". The first Soviet "stretch" was obtained by replacing the middle pillar and part of the roof with a 0-centimeter insert.
Engine power was increased - by expanding the intake channels, using a dual carburetor and increasing the compression ratio to 6.7: 1, which ensured stable operation of the engine on standard gasoline with octane rating 70. As a result of design improvements in the engine, the car was provided with good efficiency (fuel consumption did not exceed 18-19 liters per 100 km of run, which at that time was a very good indicator for a car with a curb weight of 1940 kg) and fairly high dynamics (maximum speed - 125 km / h, acceleration time to hundreds - 37 seconds). A relatively low number of revolutions corresponding to the maximum power - 3600 min-1 - led to almost silent operation of the engine.
For the first time in the domestic automotive industry, ZIM used a hydraulic clutch instead of a flywheel, through which torque was transmitted from the crankshaft to the clutch drive. The hydraulic clutch provided smooth starting at second speed without the danger of turning off the engine if the gas pedal was not pressed enough and allowed the car to move without gear shifting in the speed range of 0 - 80 km per hour. The first gear was engaged only when starting on a hill or when driving in difficult road conditions; straight third was used on the highway.
The open-type cardan transmission consisted of two shafts with an intermediate support, which made it possible to reduce their diameter and lower the front swing point of the cardan to the limit. In combination with the hypoid main gear, this design made it possible to lower the axis of rotation of the cardan shaft by 42 millimeters, to place it under the cabin floor (by the way, even, without a protruding tunnel).
Another innovation that first appeared on our cars was 15-inch wheels (before Winter, Soviet cars had at least 16-inch rims). Reducing the diameter of the wheels required the use of a new type of drum brakes - with two pads and two brake cylinders.
If we are talking about wheels - two words about their suspension. It was independent at the front, on wishbones with coil springs, at the rear - on longitudinal semi-elliptical leaf springs, which were shot-blasted to increase durability. The front suspension was equipped with an anti-roll bar. Shock absorbers were installed hydraulic, double action.
When developing the bodywork, the focus was on ensuring its strength and torsional rigidity. The designers managed to solve this problem, which is evidenced by the fact that during the test runs, a high tightness of the body was noted, which made it possible, in particular, to overcome fords up to 550 mm deep without water entering the passenger compartment. With a 1500-kilometer run on rural roads, which took place in summer at air temperatures up to +37, dust did not penetrate into the cabin either.
In accordance with the task, the car was supposed to have 6 seats, but the designers found the opportunity to accommodate three passengers in the back seat. For this, the niches of the rear wheels were moved apart, increasing their track to 1560 mm (the front track was 100 mm less). This decision required the expansion of the tail section of the body, which was done due to the protruding wings of the rear wheels. From a design point of view, this made it possible to break the monotony of the long sidewall, making it more dynamic.
The body housed three rows of seats. Medium (the so-called strapontens) could be folded and put in the back front seat. At the same time, unprecedented space was freed up for the legs of passengers sitting in the back (the distance between the backs of the front and rear sofas exceeded 1.5 m). The front seat was not adjustable, so there was not enough space for a driver of solid build.
The steering wheel did not have a servo drive, but it was quite easy to drive the car - the gear ratio increased to 18.2 in the steering mechanism and the large diameter of the "steering wheel" helped. By the way, with a length of just over five and a half meters (5.53), ZiM had a turning radius of only 6.85 meters.
The salon was richly decorated for that time, supplied with a three-band radio, a clock with a weekly plant, an electric cigarette lighter, and ashtrays. In addition, there were lights on the dashboard that signaled a tightened handbrake and about increased (more than 90) water temperature in the cooling system.
Interesting features of ZiM were the hood, which opens to any side or can be removed at all (the locking handles were located on the left and right under the dashboard), as well as a curved (for the first time in our auto industry) rear window. And finally, it was on the front of the Zim body that the now well-known emblem with the image of a deer, the symbol of Nizhny Novgorod, first appeared.
On November 7, 1949, a prototype GAZ-12 took part in a festive demonstration in Gorky. Three months later - on February 15, 1950 - the car, as was customary, appeared before the heads of state. They liked the car, even Stalin, they say, could not resist praise. However, having learned that Lipgart was the chief designer of ZIM, he threw out with displeasure: “Why not punished?”, Meaning the “puncture” with Pobeda.
The leader's remark was remembered. In December 1951, the holder of three Orders of Lenin and two Red Banners of Labor, the winner of five Stalin Prizes, the last of which was received for ZiM, Andrey Alexandrovich Lipgart was removed from the post of chief designer of GAZ, and a few months later he was sent as an ordinary engineer to UralZiS. Only after the death of Stalin in March 1953, Lipgart was returned to leadership work (though not at GAZ, but at NAMI).
In October 1950 (just in time!) The first industrial batch of machines was assembled in Gorky and their mass production began. Naturally, the new car was first of all sent to the nomenclature structures. Later, in a simpler version - the velor trim was replaced with leatherette - the car began to arrive in taxi fleets (the fare in ZiM was one and a half times higher than in Pobeda, which was then our main taxi car). ZiM was even allowed to be sold to ordinary citizens, but, we emphasize, it was the 50th, the country was just rising from the post-war ruins, and it would be ridiculous to assume that some hard worker would be able to pay 40 thousand rubles for a car. gas 12 ZIMV In 1951, three prototypes of ZIM with a four-door chaise-type body were manufactured in Gorky. The car did not go into the series - the strengthening of the body, associated with the "removal" of the roof, led to an excessive weighting of the car for a 95-horsepower engine, and its dynamic performance turned out to be unsatisfactory.
In the same year, on the basis of ZIM, the assembly of ambulances (GAZ-12B) began, which had a glass partition behind the front seat, two folding chairs located one after the other, and a stretcher that was pulled out and pushed into the car through the trunk lid.
Immediately after the start of production, the GAZ-12 caused a stir among officials. The first secretaries of the regional committees had the ZiSs they were supposed to, and they reacted with restraint to the appearance of a new car. On the other hand, the deputies of the "firsts" passionately desired to transfer from the modest "emoks" and "Pobeds" to much more representative ZiMys. The struggle for possession of the Gazovsky flagship took on such forms and such scope that the magazine "Krokodil" (supervised by the Central Committee of the CPSU) was forced already at the beginning of 1952 to publish a caustic feuilleton "Stop! Red Light!" for the sake of getting a personal Zim.
In the summer of 1957, GAZ lost in its name the name of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Molotov, who fell into disgrace. The "top model" of the plant received the official "name" GAZ-12; in 1959 it gave way to "The Seagull" (factory index - GAZ-13), and the following year the production of sanitary GAZ-12B ceased.
In just ten years of existence, 21,527 cars of the ZiM and GAZ-12 models were manufactured on the assembly line. ZiM became the same symbol of that time as the film "Kuban Cossacks" or "Stalin's" houses ...
After the Great Patriotic War, captured German cars formed the basis of the fleet of passenger cars in the USSR. Due to lack domestic cars, they worked as official vehicles in many garages, including car companies that served the authorities. replace them domestic cars, having at its disposal only the ZIS-110 and Pobeda, it did not work out. ZIS was expensive and produced in small quantities, and Pobeda was too small to replace German executive cars.
In April 1948, the Government instructed GAZ to urgently develop and put on the assembly line a high-class car, more “democratic” than the ZIS-110, but capable of becoming worthy replacement representative Mercedes-Benz or Horch. Copying some American car was excluded, since all models prestigious cars in the USA in the 30s and 40s they were equipped with powerful 8-cylinder engines. There was no such engine at GAZ, and it took years to develop it. The only engine of the new car could be a forced modification of the GAZ-11 or GAZ-51 in-line lower-valve Gorky "six" mastered in production.
A team of experienced GAZ engineers led by the famous Chief Designer AA. Lipgart and the Lead Designer for this model N.N. The Yushmanovs had to create a machine that combined incompatible qualities. With a given overall length of 5.5 meters, the body inevitably turned out to be very heavy. By installing a two-chamber carburetor, increasing the compression ratio and strengthening the connecting rods, the 6-cylinder engine was only boosted to 90-95 hp. With such power, the motor could provide acceptable dynamics and speed only relatively light car the size of an Emka or Pobeda. Lipgart, Yushmanov and their colleagues began to look for reserves to reduce the mass.
At that time, almost all cars with an overall length of more than 5 meters, including the Soviet ZIS-110, were not equipped with load-bearing bodies, but were based on a powerful frame, like a truck. It was the frame that determined the large mass of the entire car. The Gorky residents had fresh successful experience in developing the Pobeda monocoque body. To reduce weight as much as possible, they decided to try to make the body of the new high-end car also load-bearing. But with a length of 5.5 m and a wheelbase of 3.2 m, it seemed almost impossible to provide the load-bearing body with the necessary rigidity. Various tricks, from an X-shaped cross member on the bottom to a partition as high as the back of the front seat, linking the right and left B-pillars together, made it possible to achieve the desired result.
The first experimental GAZ-12 vehicles were tested in 1949. The car had a salon with three rows of seats. Between the front and rear sofas were folding chairs - "straponten", as in ZIS limousines. But for the first time in the domestic automotive industry, the GAZ-12 received a full-fledged rear trunk. In the cabin, it was possible to make a flat floor without a cardan shaft tunnel. In the rear axle gearbox, a new one was used for the late 40s hypoid gear. The pinion axle was lowered to the limit, and this made it possible to carry out cardan shaft below a flat floor surface. The large length of the shaft required it to be made in two parts with an intermediate support fixed to the bottom of the body. A three-speed gearbox with mechanisms taken from the Pobeda box turned out to be weak for a 90-horsepower engine, and in order to provide it normal work, the transmission was supplemented with a unique unit - a fluid coupling. It consisted of two impellers, not mechanically interconnected, but located in one reservoir filled with oil. The driving impeller was mounted on the engine flywheel, the driven impeller was mounted on the input shaft of the gearbox. The engine and wheels did not have a direct mechanical connection between themselves, and oil transmitted the torque from the leading to the driven impeller. This device not only ensured the starting of the car without jerks and smooth switching gears, but also simplified the work of the driver.
GAZ-12 became stock car in October 1950. Since from the mid-30s the Gorky Automobile Plant bore the name of the second after I.V. Stalin, leader of the country V.M. Molotov, then the second most status car in the country after the ZIS received the name ZIM (Molotov Plant), under which it went down in history. The scale of production of ZIM vehicles made it possible not only to quickly replace captured service and personal cars. Since 1952, ZIMs began to arrive at taxi companies, first in Moscow and Leningrad, and then in other cities. These cars were sold to private owners, but their price was more than twice the price of Pobeda (40 thousand rubles against 16 thousand for the GAZ-M20 in terms of prices in 1947). Therefore, ZIM in the 50s was considered an expensive "status" thing. However, due to the unification of parts with Pobeda and GAZ-51, the production cost of the GAZ-12 was much lower than the production cost of the ZIS-110.
The ambulance became widespread medical care GAZ-12B. The stretcher with the patient had to be loaded directly into the trunk, but in terms of speed and smoothness, the sanitary ZIM was significantly superior to the ambulances based on GAZ-MM and GAZ-51 trucks.
ZIM lived on the assembly line for 10 happy years. In the late 50s it was planned to modernize it. For example, equip with a one-piece windshield without a jumper and an automatic transmission. And in the 60s, such a car was considered prestigious, it could take an intermediate place between the Volga and the Seagull. But the government of N.S. Khrushchev tried not to expand, but rather to reduce the lineup high-end cars, "fight the privilege." Therefore, with the start of production of the Chaika GAZ-13, ZIM cars were discontinued: first in 1959, a passenger modification, and then in 1960, a sanitary modification. GAZ-12s served in state garages until the early 70s, and in the hands of private owners, many ZIMs have survived to this day.
Presented at the ZIM Museum in the 50s, he worked as an official car in the Special Design Bureau of A.N. Tupolev, and the famous aircraft designer himself rode it. In the first half of the 60s, during the unleashed N.S. Khrushchev's campaign to reduce the staff of personal cars, company car Tupolev, registered in the city of Zhukovsky, had to be transferred to the taxi convoy of the Lyubertsy district of the Moscow region. However, one of the SKB security officers kept in touch with the head of the column, knew serial numbers and new registration plates car that served A.N. Tupolev. When the taxi fleets finally abandoned ZIMs in favor of the Volga, the above-mentioned security officer managed to buy the car from interesting history into your own property. Many years later, a young SKB engineer bought this car from him. In the 2000s, he gave the Museum old car, who remembered the great creator of domestic aviation technology.
Technical specifications
