In the first post-war years, the domestic invalids of the Patriotic War at first did not even have wheelchairs. They rode on a quadrangular wooden box with bearing wheels, while pushing off the pavement with wooden blocks. However, shortly after the war, the tricycle "Kievlyanin" appeared, similar to the sidecar of an Indian auto rickshaw. The tricycle had a drive to only one of the rear wheels and was controlled by a long lever attached to the fork instead of the traditional steering wheel. This lever was slightly shifted relative to the longitudinal axis of the crew, so as not to interfere much when driving, it had a motorcycle throttle and swung up and down, which made it possible to turn off the clutch. In addition, there was a curved "starter", like a gramophone, with a chain transmission to the motor. The Kievlyanin engine had a working volume of only 98 cubic centimeters and at 4000 rpm developed a power of 2.3 hp. This power was only enough to get to the store on a flat, good road.
The first “disabled person” with a closed body was the S-1l three-wheeled car, which first rolled off the assembly line of the Serpukhov Motorcycle Plant in 1952. The S-1l, for all its shortcomings, provided protection from the weather and some comfort, since it had a metal body with doors and a folding canvas roof. Comfort, of course, was relative, because there was no heater in the cabin, and from the cod of a two-stroke 125 cc engine. cm, taken from the motorcycle "Moscow", pawned ears. The motorized carriage had a motorcycle-type steering wheel and an independent spring suspension of the rear wheels on wishbones. The body frame was welded from pipes and covered with metal. A weak four-horsepower motor was hardly enough to set in motion a car weighing 275 kg. The speed did not exceed 30 km / h. Therefore, in 1956, the engine was replaced with a more powerful one - from the Izh-56 motorcycle, which developed 7.5 hp. This allowed to increase the speed to 55 km / h.
In 1958, an experimental car GAZ-18 was designed at the Design Bureau of the Gorky Automobile Plant. It was a two-seater small car with manual control.
A two-cylinder engine with a volume of 0.5 liters was a "half" of the Moskvich-402 engine. But the most interesting thing in the design of the GAZ-18 is an automatic gearbox with a torque converter, exactly the same as on the representative ZIM and on the first 21 Volga. It made it possible to do without a clutch pedal, greatly simplifying driving, which is especially important for the disabled. The engine and gearbox are located in the rear of the car, and in front there is a small trunk and a gas tank. In accordance with the purpose of the car, access to the engine and its systems was provided both from the outside and from the driver's seat. To do this, it was only necessary to recline the back of the passenger seat. Wheel suspension - independent, torsion bar. The dimensions of the doorways and the interior of the all-metal body, as well as the adjustable seat, ensured a comfortable fit. However, the party and the government considered that providing such a vehicle for those who lost their legs while defending their homeland would be too burdensome for the national economy, and they did not launch the GAZ-18 series. The designers of the Serpukhov plant at that time did not think to sit idly by. Rethinking the not very successful design of the S-1l led to the creation of the first classic "invalid".
She became the famous C3A (es-three-a, not es-ze-a). In its design, it was very reminiscent of the Citroen 2CV. However, if the French willingly bought their “ugly duckling” and were not at all ashamed of it, then in the USSR, which was by no means spoiled by cars, this “disabled person” was not even considered a car. They called it the term "motorcycle", and gave out yellow motorcycle numbers.
The last of these yellow numbers were changed to black in 1965. Immediately after her appearance, C3A became the hero of jokes, and Leonid Gaidai even filmed her in the film "Operation Y". By the way, the small mass of the motorized carriage allowed Morgunov to move it around the set alone.
Conceptually, the car turned out to be quite progressive. For the first time in the history of the domestic automotive industry, manual steering, independent suspension of all wheels and a rear-mounted power unit were used. The absence of a motor in the front and the flat, thanks to the compact, typical Volkswagen torsion bar suspension, the front axle left enough room to fully extend the legs. It was convenient for those who did not bend them. The brake was only manual, mechanical. There was an electric starter on the engine, but, just in case, there was a lever in the cabin, with which you could also start the engine. The rear axle had a chain-driven differential with a reverse, which made it possible to receive four gears both forward and reverse. An engine from the Izh-Planet motorcycle was put on a motorized carriage. With a cylinder diameter of 72 millimeters and a piston stroke of 85, its displacement was 346 cubic meters. cm. At 3400 rpm, it produced 10 horsepower (the Citroen 2CV first had 9, and in those days it became 12 with an engine capacity of 375 cc). The compression ratio was quite high for those times - six units, but the engine still worked on the 66th gasoline, since the addition of engine oil to the fuel contributed to the increase in knock resistance - the engine was a two-stroke. The maximum speed was limited to sixty kilometers per hour, and from 0 to 40 S3D accelerated in 18 seconds. Fuel consumption was 4.5 liters per hundred kilometers. The length of the car was 2625 mm, and the width was 1315. The maneuverability of the little car was unsurpassed, and the control scheme made it possible to control it with one hand. Due to the abundance of manual labor and 75 linear meters of expensive chromonesil pipes in the design, the cost of the C3A was higher than that of the 407th Moskvich, which was produced at that time. Subsequent upgrades introduced elastic rubber couplings to the rear axle shafts and telescopic shock absorbers instead of friction ones.
Such a vehicle as a motorized carriage, as has been noted more than once, played a very important role in raising the economy of European countries, exhausted by the war. The Soviet Union, which was the proud winner, could not afford to exchange for such a "pot-bellied trifle" and produced expensive and rather large Victories. Even the subcompact Moskvich 400 was removed from the drawings of the cheapest and most compact Opel Kadett. Everything, of course, looked good, only war invalids, of whom there were more than two million, could at best rely on a wheelchair as a means of transportation. 
In September 1945, on the basis of the former Armored Repair Plant No. 8 in Kyiv, the Kiev Motorcycle Plant (KMZ) was created. It was here that documentation and equipment for the production of the Wanderer ISp light motorcycle, which began to be produced in Ukraine under the K-1B brand name already in 1946, were taken out under reparations from the factory in Schönau near Chemnitz (Germany). 
It was on its basis that they decided to create the first motorized wheelchair for the disabled, because it was KMZ that had the technical basis for their production. In order to adapt the K-1B motorcycle to the capabilities of people without one or both legs, the frame was changed, and two were installed instead of the rear wheel. Between the widely spaced wheels, a conditionally two-seater "sofa" fit.
Since the distance from the seat back to the front fork (in the form of a parallelogram) turned out to be quite large, instead of a motorcycle steering wheel, one long lever was installed, prudently offset relative to the longitudinal axis of the crew (so that it does not rest against the driver’s stomach). By moving the lever up and down, it was possible to engage and disengage the clutch. This “sample of functionality” was crowned by a rotating motorcycle throttle.
It was quite obvious that motorized carriage K-1V, created from a motorcycle, turned out to be completely unsuitable for realities. Therefore, in the late 40s and early 50s, the task of creating a motorized wheelchair for the disabled was assigned to the Central Design Bureau of Motorcycle Building (later VNIImotoprom). The production of the S1L motorized carriage began in Serpukhov in 1952.
S-1L became the first Soviet production model with independent spring suspension on all wheels. As a power unit, an engine from an M-1A motorcycle was used, equipped with a fan, located at the back. There was no electric starter; a lever served to start. Tires that were miniature for those times were used on the S-1L.
The absence of controls that need to be acted on with your feet, a spatial frame welded from pipes, a three-speed gearbox, friction dampers, motorcycle-type steering - these are the characteristic features of this motorized stroller. The main gear was chain, and the turning radius was only 4 m. In total, until 1955, 19128 motorized strollers of this model were produced, single copies have survived to this day.
The operating experience of S1L has shown that such a design is also far from ideal and limits the scope. She could not overcome steep climbs even in cities, and was completely useless off-road. Therefore, already in 1955, SMZ built and tested several three-wheeled sidecars with a more powerful (346 cm3, 11 hp) motorcycle engine.
In general, the operation of the S-1L proved that a two-stroke engine is not very suitable for a microcar, it is very uneconomical and short-lived, despite the simplicity of the design.
In 1958, they began to produce a modernized motorized stroller SMZ S-3A- the first with four wheels in our country. In fact, the concept of SMZ C-3A did not differ much from its predecessor. The two-stroke motorcycle engine still acted as a power unit. It was borrowed from the Izh-49 (346 cm3, 10 hp) along with a four-speed gearbox.
The engine was equipped with a fan and a cylinder cooling casing, an electric starter. With a curb weight of 425 kg, tiny 5.00-10" tires and a ground clearance of 170 mm, it was a real challenge to overcome any little off-road. On good roads, the car also did not shine: the maximum speed was only 60 km / h, and fuel consumption - 4.5-5.0 l / 100 km.
Already in 1958, the first attempt at modernization was made. There was a modification motorized carriages S-ZAB with rack-and-pinion steering, and on the doors, instead of canvas sidewalls with transparent celluloid inserts, there were full-fledged glass frames.
In 1962, the car underwent further improvements: friction shock absorbers gave way to telescopic hydraulic ones; rubber bushings of the axle shafts and a more perfect muffler appeared. Such a motorized stroller received the SMZ S-ZAM index and was subsequently produced without changes.
The latest modernization of the Serpukhov motorized carriage was the SMZ S-ZD model with a new closed body, but almost the same chassis. In the people she was nicknamed simply "Invalid". The car was 2.6 meters long and weighed just under 500 kg. The engine of the IZH-P3 model with forced air cooling was frankly weak for a rather heavy structure with an all-metal body and emitted an extremely unpleasant crack during operation (however, generally characteristic of two-stroke engines).
Motorized carriage S-3D had a number of innovative solutions for Soviet cars, for example, independent suspension of all wheels (rear - of the “swinging candle” type), rack and pinion steering, clutch cable drive. All this appeared on other Soviet cars only in the 80s.
In maintenance, motorized carriages were unpretentious. The weak point in operation in winter was the diaphragm fuel pump - condensate froze in it in the cold, and the engine stopped while driving. On the other hand, a two-stroke air-cooled engine was easier to start in the cold and did not cause such problems during operation in winter as water-cooled engines (in those years, private cars were operated mainly “on the water” due to a shortage of antifreeze).
Motorized carriages were issued by social security for 5 years. After two years and six months of operation, the disabled person received a free repair of the “invalid”, then used this vehicle for another two and a half years. As a result, he was obliged to hand over the motorized carriage to the social security and get a new one. The last 300 FDD models left SeAZ in the fall of 1997. FDD was replaced by Oka.
But there were also very interesting projects of wheelchairs for the disabled. For example, SMZ-NAMI-086, created in the second half of the 50s. The air-cooled engine (representing the "half" of the ZAZ-965 engine) was located at the rear. The motorized carriage received an independent torsion bar suspension of all wheels, an electromagnetic clutch, and an autonomous heater.
But its most significant feature was the architectural design of the body. The car was distinguished by fresh for its time forms, good proportions (designers V. Rostkov and E. Molchanov). Unfortunately, SMZ-NAMI-086 remained a prototype, since the organization of its mass production required significant costs.
Other experimental modifications:
* C-4A (1959) - an experimental version with a hard top, did not go into production.
* C-4B (1960) - a prototype with a coupe body, did not go into production.
* S-5A (1960) - a prototype with fiberglass body panels, did not go into production.
| Weight: | 498 kg (without load, in running order) |
dynamic
C -3 D ("es-tri-de")- a two-seater four-wheeled car - a motorized carriage of the Serpukhov Automobile Plant (at that time still SMZ). The car replaced the S-3AM motorized carriage in 1970.
Specifications
The length of the car was 2.6 meters, but because of the all-metal body, the weight was significant - a little less than 500 kilograms, that is, comparable to a four-seater Trabant with a partially plastic structure (620 kg), and even Oka (620 kg) and "humped" "Zaporozhets" (640 kg).
Story
Such cars were popularly referred to as “disabled cars” and distributed (sometimes with partial or full payment) through social security agencies among disabled people of various categories. Motorized carriages were issued by social security for 5 years. After two years and six months of operation, the disabled person received a free repair of the “invalid”, then used this vehicle for another two and a half years. As a result, he was obliged to hand over the motorized carriage to the social security and get a new one.
The last 300 S-3Ds left SeAZ in the fall of 1997.
In general, the S-3D sidecar remained the same unsuccessful compromise between a full-fledged two-seater microcar and a “motorized prosthesis” as the previous model. Even the increased comfort of the closed body did not redeem the very low dynamic characteristics, noise, large mass and high fuel consumption.
During the production of the motorized carriage, there was a gradual drift from this concept to the use of an ordinary passenger car of an especially small class adapted for driving a disabled person. At first, disabled modifications became widespread
I was born in 1944, and almost from the first year of life I was haunted by the sound - the ominous growl of bearings rolling on asphalt. This sound accompanied the movement on small wooden carts of legless invalids who returned from the war ...
And there were a lot of them at that time - according to current estimates, over three million. Most of yesterday's order-bearing fighters disappeared into the vast expanses of our country, but many settled in cities, including in the capital of our Motherland. And their only vehicle at that time was a ball-bearing trolley knocked together from planks, equipped with a pair of rough, iron-like pieces of wood, with which the disabled, pushing off the road, set it in motion ...
The first motorized three-wheeled wheelchair "Kievlyanin", made on the basis of a 98-cc motorcycle
with the same name, resembled a two-seater sofa, to which the front of the motorcycle was attached. True, instead of a motorcycle steering wheel, the tricycle driver used a long lever. The speed of such a hybrid, not protected by anything from an unpredictable external environment, did not exceed 30 km / h.
The next, more comfortable motorized stroller, called S1L, was designed at the Central Design Bureau of Motorcycle Building. Serial production of this vehicle was launched at the Serpukhov Motorcycle Plant (SMZ). 
A little historical background. SMZ started its activity in 1939. At first, domestic motorcycles such as MLZ and J18 were produced on it in small series, and during the war they organized the repair of captured German motorcycles and the assembly of those that entered the country under Lend-Lease - the American Indian and Harley.
The S1L double three-wheeled motorized carriage was strikingly different from the "Kievlyanin" - it had a metal body with a pair of doors and a folding tarpaulin awning that protected the crew from bad weather.
The body frame of the motorized carriage was welded from thin-walled pipes, on which steel panels were hung. Rear suspension - independent, spring, transverse levers. Wheels - with tires dimension 4.50 - 9.
The engine is a motorcycle, two-stroke, with a working volume of 125 cm3 and a power of ... 4 liters. With. - this was barely enough to accelerate a car weighing 275 kg to a speed of 30 km / h. And it was almost impossible to move on a three-wheeled car on a dirt road with beaten two tracks. And the stability of the motorized stroller - especially when cornering - left much to be desired. Lighting was also unimportant - only one 6-volt headlight.
In 1956, the tricycle was modernized - a two-stroke IZH-49 engine with a working volume of 350 cm3 and a power of 7.5 hp was installed on it, which allowed the car, called the SZL, to develop a "frantic" speed of 55 km / h.
In 1957, in the design department of the SMZ, together with NAMI, they developed a more modern SZA motorized stroller - it was launched into a series in 1958.
The new car was made four-wheeled, with tires measuring 5.0 - 10 and with a torsion bar suspension of the front wheels - the same as the Volkswagen car. The elastic suspension elements - plate torsion bars - were located in transversely arranged cylindrical cases welded to the longitudinal tubular spars of the frame. They were also attached to the levers of the independent spring suspension of the rear wheels with friction dampers.
The power unit - a two-stroke motorcycle engine IZH-49 in a block with a four-speed gearbox - was located in the rear of the body. The motor was equipped with a forced air cooling system, consisting of a centrifugal fan and a metal casing. The engine was started using an electric starter, but the engine could also be started manually, using the starter lever installed in the cabin.
By the way, the SZA two-stroke engine did not consume gasoline, but a fuel mixture consisting of gasoline with an octane rating of 72 and AC-8 oil in a ratio of 20: 1, which created additional difficulties - at that time it was not easy to buy gasoline, but getting oil is even more difficult. 
The final drive housing, containing a bevel gear differential and a reverse gear, was mounted under the engine. The torque from the motor to the main gear was transmitted by a bush-roller chain - a transmission of this type provided four gears for both forward and reverse. However, for reversing, drivers used, as a rule, only the first speed.
The brake of the motorized carriage was manual, with a mechanical drive to the rear wheels.
The curb weight of the motorized carriage was 425 kg, which was too much for a ten-horsepower motor, so the maximum speed of the car was only 60 km / h. Despite the low power, the engine consumed about 5 l / 100 km.
When creating a motorized carriage, it was assumed that the cost of specialized disabled cars, which social security agencies distributed among the disabled free of charge, would be small, however, production with a predominance of manual labor, as well as the use of a large number of expensive chromansil tubes for the body frame, made the cost of this vehicle higher than that of produced in the same period "Moskvich-407".
Since 1968, SMZ began to produce a modernized motorized carriage, called SZA-M. The car was equipped with a more efficient muffler, hydraulic telescopic shock absorbers, rubber axle joints and other less significant innovations.
In fairness, it should be noted that the SZA utilitarian motorized stroller contained in its design a number of elements used in our country for the first time - they appeared in the "big" car industry only years later. In particular, a rack and pinion gear was used for the first time in the steering system - the next domestic car equipped with this mechanism was the VAZ-2108, launched into series in 1984.
It is worth mentioning the independent rear suspension on trailing arms - at that time, almost all cars were equipped with a continuous rear beam, and only the "humpbacked" Zaporozhets ZAZ-965 had an independent suspension.
And, of course, the clutch cable drive, which is now equipped with almost all cars. However, it was forced to appear on a motorized wheelchair, since the motorcycle engine is designed specifically for such a drive.
The design of the SZA made a very positive impression - a rounded front end, embossed fenders of the front wheels with headlights attached to them - all this created the impression of a miniature, but proportionate little car in a retro style. However, in our country, for some reason, they do not like to use the accumulated experience, and they begin to design each new car “from scratch”. This is how the brilliant brand of Pobeda went into oblivion, this is how the appearance of the Niva disappeared into dozens of foreign off-road vehicles. And just like that, instead of the “warm and fluffy” baby SZA, another SZD wheelchair appeared, as if knocked together from boards.
Preparations for the production of a new motorized carriage began in April 1967, and it began to be produced in 1970. Designers and manufacturers intended to release SZD to get rid of a number of shortcomings inherent in SZA. So, unlike its predecessors, the new little car had an all-metal body, but the mass of the car, in comparison with the SZA, which had a metal frame-type body, did not decrease, but increased by as much as 70 kilograms!
The trunk was tiny - it housed the spare wheel and heater, and there was practically no room for luggage. That is why many owners equipped their motorized strollers with homemade roof racks, which was not provided for by the design of the car.
However, the SZD had many advantages. So, a closed all-metal body, equipped with a very gluttonous, but efficient gasoline heater, made it possible to use a motorized stroller at any time of the year. The maximum speed has increased - by as much as 5 km / h! Unlike SZA, not only the rear wheels, but also the front wheels were equipped with brakes, while the brake drive was made hydraulic.
The interior of the little car, to the surprise of the owners, turned out to be more spacious than its predecessors. The 12-horsepower IZH-P2 engine (hereinafter - the 14-horsepower IZH-PZ) accelerated the car to 55 km / h (it should be noted that the motorcycle versions of these engines were more powerful - respectively, 15.5 and 18 hp, well and engine modifications for sidecars were deformed to increase their resource).
The carburetor is of the K-36E type, rather primitive by today's standards (later it was replaced by the more advanced K-62).
The muffler is welded, non-separable, with a pair of small-diameter exhaust pipes, which looked very funny. Engine cooling system - air, forced. Clutch - motorcycle type: multi-disc, in an oil bath. The gearbox (as well as the clutch mechanism) was located in the same block with the engine; switching algorithm: by moving the lever from neutral forward - first gear; from neutral in successive backward movements - respectively, the second, third and fourth. 
The main gear mechanism was a gearbox on spur gears with a gear ratio of 2.08. The differential is assembled from two bevel gears and a pair of satellite gears. The reverse gear (reverse gear) is formed by three cylindrical gears with a gear ratio of 1.84.
The electrical equipment of the machine was designed for a nominal voltage of 12 V, a generator of the G-108-M type - automobile, direct current, 250 W. The electrical equipment of the sidecar also included headlights, sidelights, front and rear direction indicators, a rear license plate light and a brake light, as well as an electric wiper and a horn.
The instrumentation was more than modest - it consisted of a speedometer and an ammeter.
The suspension of both the front and rear wheels is independent, torsion bar. Shock absorbers - telescopic, hydraulic, double-acting. Wheels - stamped, disk, collapsible.
The capacity of the fuel tank was 18 liters - when driving at operating speed on the highway, full refueling was enough for 220 - 260 km.
Interestingly, the FDD motorized stroller was designed only for manual control - it did not have pedals. The throttle and clutch handles were located on the steering wheel, the brake lever and gearshift lever were installed to the right of the driver. However, a small series with a different arrangement of controls was also produced for drivers with one arm and one leg.
In operation, the FDD were simple and unpretentious. Many drivers maintained and repaired their motorized strollers on their own, which was greatly facilitated by the fact that spare parts for motors could be purchased not only in specialized stores, but also in those that sold parts for IZH-Planet motorcycle engines.
It should be noted that in the USSR, the creation of disabled vehicles was carried out not only at the SMZ, but also at the Zaporozhye Automobile Plant. In particular, ZAZ mass-produced five varieties of the ZAZ-968 car for drivers with various disabilities.
As already mentioned, motorized wheelchairs were issued to the disabled by the social security authorities free of charge, and after five years they were subject to write-off and replacement with new ones. However, in a number of cities, decommissioned motorized carriages were not disposed of, but were transferred to clubs and stations for young technicians. As it turned out, these mini-cars turned out to be an excellent "constructor" for the technical creativity of young people - if desired, one could assemble "zero" class buggies, compact cars of a wide variety of schemes - from sedans to convertibles and from mini-vans to minibuses, as well as snowmobiles of various designs and types. A lot of these universal "constructor sets" "as an exception" went to amateur designers.
Technical characteristics of the motorized carriage FDD
Length, mm - 2825
Width, mm - 1380
Height (without load), mm - 1300
Base, mm - 1700
Track, mm - 1114
Clearance, mm - 170-180
Dry weight, kg - 465
Curb weight, kg - 498
Weight with full load, kg - 658
The highest speed, km / h - 55
Operating fuel consumption, l / 100 km - 7 - 8
Fuel tank capacity, l - 18
Engine, type - IZH-P2 (IZH-PZ)
Maximum power, hp - 12(14)
Working volume, cm3 - 346
Fuel - A-72 gasoline mixed with engine oil
Cooling - air, forced
Clutch - multi-plate, in oil bath
Front suspension - independent, torsion bar
Rear suspension - independent torsion bar
Brakes - drum, shoe, hydraulic
Rated operating voltage, V. - 12
Generator power, W - 250
One of the most stylish cars made on the basis of the SZA motorized carriage units was the Ant car, designed by the famous designer of the 1960s and 1970s E. Molchanov and built by Moscow engineer O. Ivchenko. The car at one time received the first prize at the all-Union review-competition of amateur designs, and gained nationwide fame after the release of the wonderful film "Racers", where the "Ant" was filmed as an "actor" along with the brilliant O. Yankovsky and E. Leonov.
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Serpukhov in 1970, to replace the S-ZAM motorized carriage, produced a four-wheeled two-seater SMZ-SZD. "Invalids" such cars were popularly called due to the distribution through social security agencies among disabled people of various categories with full or partial payment.
Social security issued motorized carriages for a period of five years. Free repair "disabled" was carried out after two and a half years of operation. The owner used the motorized stroller for another two and a half years, after which he handed it back to the social security and received a new one. Not all disabled people who received such vehicles used them in the future.
The social security authorities organized training for people with disabilities to drive a motorized wheelchair, which required a category "A" driver's license.
History of creation
From 1952 to 1958 he produced a three-wheeled motorized carriage S-1L, which at the time of development was marked as SZL. It was replaced by the famous "morgunovka" - a SZA model with a tarpaulin top and an open body, featuring a four-wheeled design.
SZA in many ways did not meet the requirements for cars of this type. This was the reason for the development of a new generation of cars, which started in the sixties, together with specialists from MZMA, NAMI and ZIL. The created Sputnik prototype, which received the index SMZ-NAMI-086, was never put into mass production, and the automobile plant in Serpukhov continued to produce a four-wheeled "blinker".
The SMZ design department began developing a new generation of motorized carriages only in the early seventies and launched the created car into mass production under the SMZ-SZD index.
The main units, assemblies and components of motorized carriages during the Soviet era were widely used for the hand-made manufacture of vehicles due to their ease of maintenance, accessibility and sufficient reliability. Descriptions and design features of such homemade products were widely published in the magazines "Technology of Youth" and "Modeler-Constructor". The Sobes authorities often transferred decommissioned models to the Young Technician Stations and the Pioneer Houses, where they were used for similar purposes and made it possible for the younger generation to study the automotive industry.
Specifications
The disabled car from the USSR was equipped with rear-wheel drive, a two-seater saloon, a two-door coupe body, a three-spoke steering wheel with paddle shifters, and a rear engine. Despite the criteria typical for sports cars, the brainchild of a conscientious car industry looks very different. A photo of a "disabled woman" can drive you into a stupor, but such a miracle of design thought has been produced for 27 years. In the period from 1970 to 1997, more than 223 thousand cars left the conveyors of the Serpukhov Automobile Plant.
The body of the motorized carriage was assembled from stamped components. With a length of 2825 millimeters, the disabled car had an impressive weight - 498 kilograms, which, in comparison with the same Oka, for example, was quite a lot: a four-seater car weighed 620 kilograms.
Engine range
For the first few years of serial production, the motorized stroller was equipped with a single-cylinder 350 cc engine with 12 horsepower, borrowed from the IZH-Planet 2 motorcycle. A little later, a disabled car from the USSR began to be equipped with a 14-horsepower engine from IZH-Planet 3. Considering the increased operational loads, the engineers decided to deforce the engines in order to increase their working life and elasticity. The power plant was supplemented by a forced air cooling system that drives air through the cylinders. The consumption of a combustible mixture in a compact "invalid" FDD was rather big: 7 liters of an oil-gasoline mixture were consumed per 100 kilometers. The volume of the fuel tank was 18 liters, and such appetites did not revolt the owners only due to the low cost of fuel in those years.
Chassis
Paired with the engine from the "invalid" was a four-speed manual transmission with a typical motorcycle gearshift algorithm: the neutral was located between the first and second stages, and the gears were sequential. The reverse gear of the car was carried out thanks to the reverse gear, activated by a separate lever.
The suspension of the car "invalidka" is independent, of the torsion type, in front with a two-lever design, in the rear - with one lever. 10-inch wheels are equipped with steel collapsible discs. The brake system is represented by drum mechanisms and a hydraulic drive connected to a hand lever.
The manufacturer indicated a maximum speed of 60 km / h, however, in practice, a motorized stroller could only be accelerated to 30-40 km / h. The motorcycle engine installed on the disabled woman mercilessly smoked and was too loud, thanks to which it was possible to hear the motorized carriage a few minutes before it appeared in the field of view. It is difficult to call a comfortable ride on such a car, but it can still be found on the roads in villages and provincial towns.
A tiny car, the rumble of which could be heard in various parts of the country at the end of the last century, attracted a lot of attention and was nicknamed the "invalid". Despite the more than modest dimensions and unusual appearance, reflected in numerous photos, the "invalid" performed an important task, being a special vehicle designed for the movement of people with disabilities.
Perhaps, it was precisely this feature that became the reason that ordinary motorists did not have a proper idea about the technical component of a motorized carriage. In this regard, ordinary citizens were greatly mistaken about the "invalid" car, which served as excellent ground for the emergence of a large number of myths that run counter to existing facts.
Myth: SMZ-SZD is a modernized version of the blinker
Most of the cars produced during the Soviet era had an evolutionary development: for example, the VAZ-2106 was transformed from the VAZ-2103, and the "fortieth" Moskvich was developed on the basis.
A significant difference between the third generation of the motorized carriage of the authorship of the Serpukhov plant was that it was created, in fact, on the basis of a new engine from the Izhevsk machine-building plant, and received an all-metal body of a closed type, despite the fact that at the first stages of the project fiberglass was proposed as a material. In both the rear and front suspension, trailing arm torsion bars have replaced classic springs.
Only the concept of a four-wheeled two-seater motorized carriage combines with the previous model a wheelchair car, but in all other respects the SMZ-SZD is a completely independent design.
Myth: for its time, the SMZ-SZD had a too primitive design
For most motorists, the "invalid" was too wretched and backward car. Both its technical component - a two-stroke single-cylinder engine, and its appearance with flat windows, a simple but functional exterior and a complete lack of interior as such (the latter, by the way, are reflected in numerous photos) did not allow to treat a motorized stroller as a modern vehicle. The wheelchair car, however, in many design solutions and unique characteristics was a completely progressive and, to some extent, innovative vehicle.
By the standards of its time, the plane-parallel design used in the SMZ-SZD was very relevant. The car was equipped with independent suspension, transverse engine, rack-and-pinion steering combined with independent front suspension, cable-operated clutch, hydraulic brake system, automotive optics and 12-volt electrical equipment, which was quite good for a sidecar.
Fact: Motorcycle engine power was not enough
Soviet motorists were very skeptical, and sometimes completely negative, about a motorized carriage, which significantly slowed down the flow of cars.
The IZH-P2 engine, derated to 12 horsepower, was not enough for a car weighing almost 500 kilograms, which affected the dynamic performance of the car. For this reason, since the autumn of 1971, "invalids" began to be equipped with a more powerful version of the power unit, which received the IZH-P3 index. However, the installation of a 14-horsepower engine did not solve the problem: the updated sidecar was too loud, while remaining extremely slow. The maximum speed of a car with a ten-kilogram load and two passengers was only 55 km / h, and the acceleration dynamics was frankly bad. Unfortunately, the manufacturer did not consider the option of installing a more powerful engine on a disabled car.
Myth: a motorized wheelchair was issued to every disabled person indefinitely and free of charge
The cost of SMZ-SZD at the end of the eighties was 1100 rubles. Social security agencies distributed motorized wheelchairs to people with disabilities, and offered the option of both full and partial payment. The car was issued free of charge only to disabled people of the first group: veterans of the Great Patriotic War, people who received a disability while serving in the Armed Forces or at work. For disabled people of the third group, a motorized stroller was offered at a price of approximately 220 rubles, but it was required to stand in line for five to seven years.
The conditions for issuing a disabled car provided for a five-year use and a one-time overhaul two and a half years after the receipt of the vehicle. A disabled person could receive a new copy only after the previous model was handed over to the Social Security authorities. But this is in theory, but in practice it turned out that some disabled people could operate several cars in a row. There were cases when the received "disabled woman" was not used for all five years due to the lack of need for it, however, people did not refuse such gifts from the state.
In the driver's license of a person with disabilities who drove a car before becoming disabled, all categories were crossed out and the mark "motorcycle" was put. For disabled people who did not previously have a driver's license, special courses were organized to teach how to drive a motorized wheelchair. Upon completion of training, they were issued a special certificate of a special category, which allowed only a disabled person to drive a car. It is worth noting that such transport was not stopped by traffic police officers to check documents.
Both fact and myth: in winter, the operation of a motorized carriage was impossible
The lack of a heating system familiar to all motorists in the SMZ-SZD was due to the installed motorcycle engine. Despite this, the car was equipped with an autonomous gasoline heater, which was typical for cars equipped with air-cooled engines. The heater was quite capricious and demanding to maintain, however, it allowed the car interior to be warmed up to an acceptable temperature.
The lack of a standard heating system was more of an advantage for the disabled than a disadvantage, since it saved the owners from the daily need to change water, since in the seventies of the last century, rare Zhiguli owners used antifreeze, while ordinary water was used on all other vehicles which freezes at low temperatures.
In theory, a disabled car was much better suited for operation in the winter season than the same Volga or Moskvich, since its engine started easily, but in practice it turned out that instantly freezing condensate formed inside the diaphragm fuel pump, due to which the engine refused to start and stalled on the go. For this reason, during the cold season, most people with disabilities did not operate the SMZ-SZD.
Fact: the motorized stroller was the most massive model of the Serpukhov Automobile Plant
The pace of production at the automobile plant in Serpukhov in the seventies began to actively increase in order to improve quantitative indicators and exceed the plan, which at that time was very typical for all Soviet factories. For this reason, the plant in the shortest possible time reached a new level with the annual production of more than ten thousand motorized strollers. During the peak period, which fell in the mid-seventies, more than 20 thousand "invalid" were produced per year. Over the entire period of production - from 1970 to 1997 - more than 230 thousand SMZ-SZD and its modification SMZ-SZE, designed for people driving a car with one hand and one foot, left the assembly line of the Serpukhov Automobile Plant.
On the territory of the CIS countries, neither before nor after, not a single car for people with disabilities was produced in such quantities. A compact, unusual and rather funny car from Serpukhov was able to give thousands of disabled people freedom of movement.
