1939 ZIS 101A Russian Sport

In 1939, the design bureau of the ZIS experimental workshop developed its own Soviet sports car, the ZIS-101A-Sport, which was not only inspected, but also approved by the country's top leaders: I.V. Stalin! But first things first. In 1938, Soviet motorsport, despite all efforts and zeal, was in its infancy. I already had some experience, but it wasn't enough. There was also not enough aluminum to produce lightweight body parts, nor special tires designed for speeds above 150 km/h, nor spark plugs, nor carburetors. All high-speed car production was limited to mechanics and sports clubs. Evgeniy Agitov's GAZ-GL1, prepared in factory conditions, was not even close to the world level.

In the same year 1938, three young men worked in the design bureau of the experimental workshop of the Stalin plant: Vladimir Kremenetsky, Nikolai Pulmanov and Anatoly Pukhalin. The latter had just graduated from the evening faculty of the Moscow Automobile School and was writing a paper on the topic "High-speed car." It was at his suggestion that the Komsomol members became enthusiastic about the idea of ??creating a sports car. It didn't take long to choose the chassis: it was decided to use the latest modification of the most modern car - the ZIS-101, mass produced since 1936. Everything would be fine, but the “hundred and first” is a limousine! Huge: almost 6 m long, almost 2 m wide and weighing 2.5 tons! Only a madman could make a roadster with a car like that. Or a member of the Komsomol.

Work was in full swing. Pukhalin created the overall design, redesigned the suspensions of the ZIS-101: both, in particular, received transverse stability stabilizers, and a vacuum brake booster appeared. The rear axle with a hypoid gear (by the way, the first in the USSR) was designed by Kremenetsky, and the engine was designed by Pulmanov. He considerably improved the 101 engine by increasing the number of revolutions, the compression ratio, changing the gas distribution phases. The inline eight-cylinder engine with a displacement of 5766 cm3 was increased to 6060 cm3, received a block head, pistons, connecting rods made of aluminum alloy, different crankshaft and camshaft, intake manifold, two MKZ-L2 carburetors without air filter. Power increased by one and a half times: from 90 to 141 hp at 3,300 rpm. In the redesigned gearbox there were conical synchronizers and acceleration gear. The gearbox was standard starting with the ZIS-101A.

The approach to the car's design was fundamentally different from everything that had come before. It did not even occur to enthusiasts to produce a two-seater aerodynamic body on the basis of the ZIS-101 body. It was too simple. It was too simple. So coachbuilder Valentin Rostkov got to work. Luckily, he turned out to be a good designer and, in addition, an excellent watercolor painter. Thus, the sketches of the car were put on the table of the "technical council", and the best one was selected. As the powerplant was very long and heavy, to improve the balance of the axles and load the driving wheels, the two-seater cabin was moved very far back. In addition, the ZIS-101A-Sport received a removable awning, an air intake in the hood lid and integrated optics in the front fender fairings. The base of the car was enormous for a two-seater coupe: 3,750 mm, and the length, 5,750 mm.

But this is not on paper, but in reality... It was not possible to translate the idea into metal. Making cast models, dies for fittings, equipment, a block of wood for the body - for individual hobbyists such a task was practically impossible. It is easier to "get" another 51 out of a 90 horsepower engine. The authorities reacted to the request for help, at least, coldly. The quality of the ZIS-101, of which more and more demands were made, left much to be desired. The State Commission headed by E.A. Chudakov, who at that time was the head of the wheeled vehicle department of the VAMM RKKA, where the well-known Nikitin A.O. worked, identified a number of shortcomings (in particular, the necessary reduction in the weight of the ZIS-101 vehicle by 600-700 kg ), and gave the necessary recommendations. But making recommendations is one thing and implementing them is another. Furthermore, each morning in the workshops there were not enough employees detained for the night. Pukhalin's company was lucky that few people knew about his work; otherwise, one bad morning they would have been missed.

Contributing to this, as was often the case in Soviet times, was another high-profile anniversary - the twentieth anniversary of the Komsomol. The plant's long list of gifts to the Motherland, along with cars previously planned thanks to Kremenetsky's efforts, ta

Fuente:

• ZIS-101A Sprt
  https://dar-web.ru/st_zis101a_sport_adaptiv.php