Self-built cars from the east

[Arunas]

I'd like to introduce the first short article I post here at AutoPuzzles. I hope this and future stories (if any) will be of interest.

Here's the first one:

A short article published in Техника – молодёжи. June, 1983 presented a car self-designed and built by Russian cosmonaut Alexander Serebrov.

The author of this car told this:

I sat at at the steering wheel for the first time when I was twelve. Since then cars became my passion. In garage, digging in mechanisms, I have a rest. Driving of sports cars gives me the same pleasure, as downhill skiing. These hobbies, and in particular construction of own car, have helped to get the important skills which were of invaluable use in space.

Unfortunately, nothing else is know about this car, yet. If You know any other details about this creation, don't hesitate to contact me.

---

Picture credits: Техника – молодёжи. June, 1983

[Paul Jaray]

VERY interesting! 

[Otto Puzzell]

That has all the makings of an un-solvable puzzle. Are you planning further installments?

[Arunas]

Already know one - Pangolina. Specially for AutoPuzzles.

WHO WILL OVERTAKE PANGOLINA?

XIX congress of Komsomol has specified the development of scientific and technical creativity of youth as on one of the major problems of the Komsomol and youth organisations of the country. Carrying out congress decisions, Central Committee VLKSM together with Central Committee DOSAAF of the USSR, and also magazines "Youth's technics"* and "At the wheel"** leads this year the next, XVI All-Union automobile race of self-made cars. The best examples of technical creativity will be shown in cities and settlements of seven union republics: RSFSR, the Kazakh, Kirghiz, Uzbek, Tadjik, Turkmen, Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. This unusual car will also be shown.

Small-displacement sports car "Palgolina" - already the fourth design made by me <...>. The first homemade product was small two-seater microcar with a plywood body and motorised carriage units. The same "stuffing" also had "Bolivar-2" - that was something between buggy and jeep. Both of these of cars brought a lot of pleasure for Uchta children <...>. With the third vehicle - a six-wheeled offroader Ukhta the readers are already familiar <...>

And here after one and a half year since occurrence of the first sketches the new car is constructed. The name of it to me was prompted by my friend Jury Vehtev (Юрий Вехтев) with whom I built this car. Pangolina - a small African animal from family of armadillos with wedge-shaped muzzle and a long tail. Hinting at perfection of the form and durability of its armour, and also for melodiousness of the word, we gave the car a name of a rare small animal. What represents Pangolina from Ukhta?

On appearance the car body can be station wagon. Structurally, it represents four swivel parts - the hood, cap, base and rear door. The body is made of fibreglass by a matrix method and has a thickness of external panels of 4-5 mm, and basic up to 10 mm. The engine, axles, transmission, suspension, transmission, steering, heating system are borrowed from VAZ-2101 with partial completions. The engine is displaced in base of 460 mm that has allowed to minimize height of a bonnet and to create a wedge-shaped front part of the car. Layout of the car is settled on the type of "Grand Tourism" (hence the letters "GT" in the name of the machine), that there is a low two-seater sports car body with a spacious luggage compartment, allowing to take a sufficient quantity of goods without having to install outdoor boots that can impair the aerodynamics, the exterior and the stability of the car.

For convenience of access to the engine compartment the car is equipped with canopy doors controled by the pneumatic lift. The pneumodrive also equips a windscreen wiper. Compressed air is produced by the compressor with the electric drive.

* "Техника — молодежи"
** "За рулем"

Based on the original story, written by Alexandr Kulgin (АЛЕКСАНДР КУЛЫГИН), engineer, Ukhta.
Picture credits: Техника — молодежи. За рулем.

P.S. Sorry if some sentences are unreadable. My Russian is quite poor.

[faksta]

Great!
I have somehow missed the birth of this thread.
This is Pangolina today, in Autoreview magazine museum, absolutely impossible to make photos, as you can see...

[Otto Puzzell]

Front Page Featured! 

http://www.autopuzzles.com

[Arunas]

Wow! Thanks! I may add something new soon

[Allemano]

...

[faksta]

Car #5 is surely called Pony (Пони) - this is what is written in Russian on its grille.

[Allemano]

First car might be the "Trud", the 4th one "Kometa" and the last one "Truzhenik".
I haven't found the other cars, yet.

[woodinsight]

Fascinating!
Thank you for opening our eyes to these cars before the information disappears forever.

[Arunas]

You're right, Allemano! Even if the answer for the first one should have been posted in its original place

Ok, here it is some information, I've managed to find:

Kometa-2 (4th picture) was by L. Cheretaev (Л. Черетаев) and it is powered by ZAZ 965. As far as I understand, it was a modified version of the Kometa-1, about which I know nothing.

Tech specs:

Maximum power: 23 hp
Length: 3680 mm
Width: 1450 mm
Height: 1320 mm
Wheelbase: 2020 mm
Top speed (fully loaded): 90 km/h

There was also another Kometa (by N. Osipov (Н. Осипов)), which is unrelated with this Kometa-2, as far as I know.

As correctly identified, car in the first picture is name Trud.

It was built by Oleg Kucherenko (Олег Кучеренко) and was powered by IMZ M-61 motorcycle engine.

The car in the picture #5 is indeed Poni built by A. Razgajlov (А. Разгайлов). Unfortunately, I know nothing more about it.

Finally, the car in the last picture is named Truzhenik (Труженик) and was created by V. Fomin (В. Фомин). No more information about this, as well.

What concerns the other cars, they are real mystries for me. I have no idea abou the cars in the 2nd, 3rd and 5th pictures. However, the car #2 probably is standing right next to the Truzhenik in the attached picture.

In the second picture you can also see a boat with the wheels. It is an amphibian Lastochka (Ласточка) = Swallow and was built by B. Bovikin (B. Бовыкин). I'm adding the drawings of this car.

Tech specs:

Length: 4250 mm
Width: 1400 mm
Height: 1300 mm
Wheelbase: 2650 mm
Weight: 160 kg
Seating places: 3

Engine: motoroller Tula T200
Top speed: 50-60 km/h (land) and 12-15 km/h (on water)

As a bonus, I'm also adding a couple of atmosphere pictures of the 1969 parade. Enjoy!  

[Arthur Dent]

Fantastic - thanks for posting

[faksta]

Arunas, have you identified the second car on picture #7 of Allemano's ones? Seems based on Volga, and judging by the plates comes from Gorkiy...

[Arunas]

Arunas, have you identified the second car on picture #7 of Allemano's ones? Seems based on Volga, and judging by the plates comes from Gorkiy...

I'm afraid, not yet. I think I've never seen it before...

[Vincent Vell Vet]

I'm confident if I never found my way to Auto Puzzles, I would never have seen these cars.
Every day I am facinated by cars like this.
I love Auto Puzzles!!!

[Paul Jaray]

Time to revive this great thread?

[Carnut]

I'm confident if I never found my way to Auto Puzzles, I would never have seen these cars.
Every day I am facinated by cars like this.
I love Auto Puzzles!!!

So where have you gone?!