www.allcarindex.com presents: MVTU's experimental microcar - AllCarIndex
this little very unusual car not only had a plastic bodywork, what made it be one of earliest fiberglass-bodied cars in the entire soviet union, but also a rear-mounted engine and the doors that open upwards! the story of the automobile with such unusual features started as early as 1956 when a group of students* at mvtu (moscow higher technical school named after bauman) led by v. s. tsybin decided to build a car of their own design. the vehicle was supposed to be a microcar with a plastic bodywork.
the work started in autumn of the same year. front suspension, steering, front brakes, frame were designed. some units and components were taken from a motorized carriage**. construction and testing of the chassis was finished in summer 1957. at the same time manufacturing of the bodywork was also finished.
the final result was a rear-engined microcar with an independent suspension all round!
the car received a 2-cylinder 2-stroke motorcycle (izh-350 = -350) engine capable of developing 11.5 hp additionally equipped with a fan, starter and more powerful generator. it was carried out in the block with a 4-speed motorcycle gearbox with no reverse gear. to avoid this drawback a rear axle from a motorized carriage was used. it included, in addition to the differential, the mechanism of reverse.
independent front suspension on transverse arms and springs was with no pins. pins were replaced here by two ball joints from moskvich 402 front suspension.
rear suspension was independent (from motorized carriage). frame was welded from one-inch tubes.
mvtu's vehicle was equipped with a mechanical brakes all round ans was chain-driven. it weighed about 400 kg an was able to achieve a top speed of 75 km/h.
however, the most interesting feature of this microcar is, of course, its bodywork. it is entirely a self-made construction, designed and built at mvtu. the raw material used for the manufacturing was fiberglass and bf-2 glue.
initially, cut fiberglass pieces impregnated with glue and stacked in several layers on clay model formed a shape of the bodywork. the result of the process was a rigid, stainless and very light construction. in some cases the thickness of the bodywork was 3-4 mm and the weight of it - 47 kg.
* some sources say this car was a diploma project of a very famous soviet/russian automobile engineer and journalist lev m. shugurov.
** a type of the vehicle that is best represented by smz s-3a. however it is very unlikely that any parts were used of this model, since the production of the s-3a started in 1958.
engine & performance:
position: rear
type: izh-50, 1-cylinder, two-stroke
capacity: 346 cc
power: 11.5 hp @ 3200 rpm
top speed: 55km/h
dimensions:
length: 3100 mm
width: 1320 mm
height: 1350 mm
wheelbase: 1800 mm
track: 1150 mm
weight: 400 kg
text: www.allcarindex.com. prepared with the help of alexander.