SovAvto Website.
| Model | GAZ-M-21 "Volga" | |
| Seating | 5 | |
| Curb weight, kg [lb] | TOTAL | 1,460 [3,608] |
| front axle | 750 [1,650] | |
| rear axle | 710 [1,562] | |
| Gross weight, kg [lb] | TOTAL | 1,885 [4,147] |
| front axle | 905 [1,991] | |
| rear axle | 980 [2,156] | |
| Payload [carrying capacity] weight, kg [lb] | 50 [110] for sedan models w/ 5 persons; 80 [176] for station wagon models w/ 5 persons; | |
| Permissible [semi-]trailer weight, kg | - | |
| Length, mm [in.] | 4770 [15'8"] | |
| Width, mm [in.] | 1800 [5'11"] | |
| Height, mm [in.] | 1620 [5'4"] | |
| Wheelbase, mm [in.] | 2700 [8'10"] | |
| Track width, mm | front | 1410 |
| rear | 1420 | |
| Minimal ground clearance, mm [in.] | under front axle | 200 [7 10/12'] |
| under rear axle | 190 [7 1/2'] | |
| Minimal radius of turn, m [yards] | b/n curbs (outer front wheel) | 6.3 [6.9] |
| b/n walls (extreme exterior dimension | 6.8 [7.5] | |
| Maximum speed, km/h | 130 | |
| Fuel consumption, liters/100km | 9.0 (@ 40-50 km/h) | |
| Acceleration time from 0-100 km/h, seconds | - | |
| Transmission | gearbox | 3 speed, steering column gearshift |
| gearbox ratios | 3.115 / 1.772 / 1.000 / R-3.740 | |
| main gear ratio | 4.55 (41 and 9 teeth) | |
| transfer case ratio | - | |
| clutch | one disc, dry w/ hydraulic drive | |
| Wheels | number | 4 + 1 |
| tire size | 6,70-15 | |
| tire pressure, kg/cm2 | 1.7 front / 1.7 rear | |
| Suspension | front | independent, spring suspension w/ wishbone arms; hydraulic telescopic double-acting shock absorbers |
| rear | on longitudinal semi-elliptic springs; hydraulic telescopic double-acting shock absorbers | |
| Steering | gear | cone worm and 2-ridge roller |
| gear ratio | 18.2 | |
| Brakes | braking distance, m | - |
| service (foot) | drum brakes to all wheels w/ hydraulic drive | |
| parking (hand) | drum brake to transmission w/ mechanical drive | |
| Filling capacities, liters | fuel tank | 60 (A-72) |
| engine cooling system | 11.5 (water or anti-freeze) | |
| engine lubrication system | 5.6 [in summer-industrial oil 50 (SU) or ASp-5 and AKp-5 oil; in winter-mix 60% industrial oil 50 (SU) and 40% of spindle oil AU] | |
| gearbox housing | 0.8 (transmission oil) | |
| axle housing | 0.9 (hypoid gear oil) | |
| steering system cylinder | 0.25 (transmission oil) | |
| shock absorbers | each front 0.14; each rear 0.23 (spindle oil AU) [0.24 each front and 0.15 each rear for lever-type shock absorbers] | |
| hydraulic brake drive | 0.7 (braking fluid) | |
| air filter | 0.25 (engine oil) | |
| Carburetor | K-22I or K-105 until 1962; K-124 after 1962 | |
| Electric equipment | 12 volts | |
| Accumulator battery | 6STE'54E'M | |
| Generator [alternator] | G12B; 12 amps; 225 watts | |
| Relay-regulator | RR24 | |
| Starter motor | ST20-B; 1.7 hp. | |
| Timer-distributor | R-3B | |
| Spark plugs | A14U | |
| Engine | engine type | M-21, 4 cylinder, carb., 4-stroke., ohv |
| cylinder work order | 1-2-4-3 | |
| maximum horsepower, hp | 75.0 @ 4000 rpm | |
| maximum torque, N·m | 17.0 @ 2200 rpm | |
| displacement, liters | 2.445 | |
| compression ratio | 6.6:1 | |
| bore/stroke, mm | 92.0 / 92.0 | |
| Years of production | 1956-1970 | |
| Total units made | - | |
| Wheel arrangement | 4 X 2 | |
| Pictures | 29 KB (b/w, side view, 1955
prototype [5]) 37 KB (color, front view, 1955 prototype, 3 cars [5]) 35 KB (color, front view, w/ our friend Boris in Saint-Petersburg in summer of 1998 [30]) 19 KB (color, interior view [4]) 27 KB (color, side view [40]) 20 KB (color, rear view [111]) 14 KB (b/w, front view, w/ tow truck [9]) 53 KB (b/w, front view /w technical info [1]) 9 KB (b/w, side view, drawing [103]) 9 KB (b/w, side view, drawing [105]) 17 KB (b/w, front view, 3 different models [B,I,L] [3]) |
|
* There were numerous modifications of this car and even though they didn't differ by much, I will list them below
** The gear box ratio numbers given are for regular, manual gear shift GAZ-M-21 "Volga". However, there were also made a few series of cars with hydro-mechanical automatic transmission with the following data: hydro-transformer (transformer coefficient 2.1) and planetary gear box w/ automatic shifting. Gearbox ratios: I-2.84/II-1.68/III-1.72/ R-3.78.
| Model | Comment | Years of prod. | Distinguishing features | Photos |
| GAZ-M-21G "Volga" | basic model | 1956-1957 | had a 65 h.p., SV engine | - |
| GAZ-M-21B "Volga" | taxi model | 1956-1957 | had a 65 h.p., SV engine | - |
| GAZ-M-21V "Volga" | basic model | 1957-1958 | had a 65 h.p., OHV engine | (29 KB color, front view [111]), (81 KB color, side view [4]), (70 KB color, side view [4]), (20 KB b/w, front view [16]) |
| GAZ-M-21A "Volga" | taxi model | 1957-1962 | had a (1957-1958 65 h.p.) 70 h.p., OHV engine; lacked radio, antenna and cigarette lighter | - |
| GAZ-M-21I "Volga" | basic model | 1958-1962 | had a 70 h.p., OHV engine | (17 KB color, front view [7]), (41 KB color, front view [29]), (32 KB color, front/rear view [29]), (28 KB color, side view [29]), (29 KB color, front view [29]), (46 KB color, front view [29]), (11 KB b/w, front view [124]) |
| GAZ-M-21K "Volga" | export model | 1958-1962 | had a 80 h.p., OHVengine | - |
| GAZ-M-21L "Volga" | basic model | 1962-1965 | had a 75 h.p., OHVengine | (51 KB color, interior view [31]), (38 KB color, side view [31]), (28 KB color, side view [159]), (65 KB color, front view [111]) |
| GAZ-M-21M "Volga" | export model | 1962-1965 | had a 85 h.p., OHV engine | - |
| GAZ-M-21T "Volga" | taxi model | 1962-1970 | had a 75 h.p., OHV engine; lacked radio, antenna and cigarette lighter | - |
| GAZ-21R "Volga" | basic model | 1965-1970 | had a 75 h.p., OHV engine | (16 KB color, side view [106]), (27 KB b/w, interior and side view [159]) |
| GAZ-21S "Volga" | export model | 1965-1970 | had a 80 and 85 h.p., OHV engine, fenders w/ molding w/ "Volga" inscriptions in Cyrillic on them | (50 KB color, front view [32]), (46 KB color, rear seat view [111]), (51 KB color, dashboard view [111]), (46 KB color, engine view, air filter and electric windshield-washer are upgrades from later Volgas [111]), (26 KB color, radiator view [111]), (16 KB b/w, front view, racing [111]), (33 KB b/w, rear view [7]) |
| GAZ-21N "Volga" | basic model | 1965-1970 | had a 75 h.p., OHV engine; same as GAZ-21R except that gear shifter located on floor | - |
| GAZ-21P | export model | 1965-1970 | steering mounted on the right side of the car | - |
| GAZ-M-22 "Volga" | universal (5 door station wagon) | 1962-1965 | 2nd row of seats can be folded down to increase cargo space | (38 KB b/w, side view, prototype utilizing M-21I trim [3]) |
| GAZ-M-22B "Volga" | universal (5 door station wagon) ambulance | 1962-1965 | with red cross light on the roof and search-light on left side | - |
| GAZ-22V "Volga" | universal (5 door station wagon) | 1965-197? | 7,00 x 15 or 7,15 x 15 tires, reinforced suspension; 2 people + 400 kg load, 2nd row of seats can be folded down to increase cargo space | (38 KB color, side view [4]), (8 KB color, rear view [7]) |
| GAZ-22D "Volga" | universal (5 door station wagon) ambulance | 1965-197? | 6,70 x 15 tires, regular suspension; 4 people + 1 on stretcher; with red cross light on the roof and search-light on left side | - |
| GAZ-22M "Volga" | universal (5 door station wagon) export model | 1965-197? | - | |
| GAZ-M-2? "Volga" | pickup with 2 doors | - | - | (53 KB b/w, front view [33]) |
| GAZ-23 | sedan for KGB, discontinued because of poor handling characteristics | 1962-1970 | GAZ-21 body but with power steering, automatic transmission and  GAZ-M13
"Chaika" engine; 603 cars made |
- |
Interestingly, a few editions of GAZ-M-21 "Volga" were made with automatic transmissions. Overall, 638875 GAZ-M-21 and GAZ-M-22 between 1956 and 15 July 1970 [end of production] were made. The volume of the trunk of the sedan model is 0.48 meters cubed.
| These pictures are of GAZ-21R that belongs to Maxime Bujakov in Boston, usa. |
| 68 KB (color, side view, when it belonged to previous owner in Latvia [29]) |
| 31 KB (color, front view, from now on it is in the US [29]) |
| 35 KB (color, "Volga", Maxime and his son [29]) |
| 36 KB (color, side view [29]) |
| 36 KB (color, interior view, dashboard [30]) |
| 28 KB (color, rear view [30]) |
| 21 KB (color, front view, myself next to Maxime's 'new' 1968 "Volga" [29]) |
| 28 KB (color, front view, "Volga" and its owner [30]) |
| 31 KB (color, front view, outside Maxime's office building [30]) |
| 22 KB (color, rear view, with Maxime [29]) |
This [Maxime's] Volga was imported from Latvia to Massachusetts, USA in March 1999. It is the first GAZ registered in the state of MA. Maxime's Volga is one of the models which have the gear-shifting lever located on the steering column.
| These pictures are of GAZ-21R that belongs to Dmitry Kuznetsov near Novosibirsk, Russia [122]. Dmitry's Volga was one made in April of 1966 and was one of about a dozen special edition cars for his Siberian Department of the Academy of Sciences [this edition had fully chromed bumpers, 21-A engine adopted for A-80 fuel with 88 h.p., and self-adjusting braking cylinders] |
| 30 KB (color, side view) |
| 28 KB (color, rear view, winter scenery) |
| 25 KB (color, front view, winter scenery) |
| 28 KB (color, side view) |
| 24 KB (color, left side rear view) |
| 33 KB (color, rear view) |
| 22 KB (color, GAZ logo on Volga's hood) |
| 35 KB (color, interior view and steering wheel through open driver's door) |
| 33 KB (color, interior view through rear right passenger door) |
| 32 KB (color, engine view in exceptional condition w/ GAZ-24 relay-regulator) |
| 27 KB (color, engine view in exceptional condition w/ GAZ-24 relay-regulator) |
| 29 KB (color, side view of headlights and radiator grill) |
| 32 KB (color, radio view) |
| 23 KB (color, view of a sticker with directions on how to clean engine oil filter) |
| 42 KB (color, view of a sticker with a warning to let out water from radiator to prevent freezing up) |
| These pictures are of GAZ-M-21I that belongs to Jan Volgovodov in Sweden [121] |
| 38 KB (color, side view, in front of McDonald's) |
| These pictures are of GAZ-M-21R that belongs to Claes Norr in Sweden [158] |
| 41 KB (color, side view, with his son) |
Below are a few photos from 14 November 1999. [the date on photo is
different because Maxime must have forgotten to change the time after he came
back from Russia]. In it you can see Maxime's
1968 GAZ-M-21R Volga and Tim's 1959 GAZ-12 ZIM.
| 53 KB color, front view, Maxime and his son next to the Volga, Tim next to his ZIM, and myself in the "elegant British" cap in the middle [29] |
| 55 KB color, front view Maxime's wife and son on Volga, Tim on ZIM, and myself in the middle again [29] |
| 37 KB color, front view of Volga and ZIM |
| 52 KB color, side view of Volga and Tim on his ZIM |
| 52 KB color, rear view of Volga and ZIM |
| 39 KB color, front view of Volga and ZIM with city streets lights after dark |
| 31 KB color, "what do we see when looking out the ZIM windshield?" rear view of Volga |
Special "Thank You" to Maxime Bujakov for many of the photos on this page. Here is a list of them: [its quite long]
These are photos of Maxime's "new" Volga that has forsaken its mother Russia and now resides in Boston 34 KB, 31 KB, 35 KB, 36 KB, 36 KB[30], 28 KB[30], 21 KB, 28 KB[30], 31 KB[30], 22 KB[30]
These are photos of Bujakovs' Volga in Russia 41 KB, 32 KB, 28 KB, 29 KB (here Volga is in front of MGU - the most recognizable university in Russia - Moscow State University), 42 KB (here Maxime is pictured with his cousin Vova)
I believe that the Bujakovs' family undying love and commitment of being proud GAZ-M-21 "Volga" owner deserves a round of applause from all of us. (yes, that includes you -- the visitors). Take a look at Maxime's other favorite wheeled friend: it is the legendary "Kwas" (Russian malt drink) cistern. This is an "undercover" shot taken in summer of 1999 to expose Maxime's secret passion for Kwas in Moscow :-) 20 KB
On a more
personal note, my grandfather used to own a GAZ-M-21 "Volga"
in the mid-1960's through mid 1970's.
Page created on Thursday, September 24, 1998. Page last updated on Tuesday, June 04, 2002 08:04:57 PM EST.
