Moskvitch 400-420

Moskvitch 400-420
Overview
Manufacturer Moskvitch
Production 1947-1956
Body and chassis
Body style
  • 4-door sedan
  • convertible
  • station wagon
Layout FR layout
Related Opel Kadett K38
Powertrain
Engine 1.1L MZMA-400 I4
Transmission 3-speed manual
Chronology
Successor Moskvitch 402
Postage car Moskvitch 400-422, 1950. The stamp of Russia, 2011
Moskvitch-400-420A interior

The Moskvitch 400-420 was a car introduced in 1947 by the Soviet manufacturer Moskvitch.

In 1940 and 1941 500 units of the KIM 10-50, the first Soviet compact car, were produced. It was inspired by the similar-sized four-door Ford Prefect and despite its low price equipped with such features as a mechanical clock and indicators of the level of oil and the temperature of water in the radiator,[1] but national priorities changed with the German invasion in Summer 1941, and the production of the new car was not resumed after the war. It was Joseph Stalin who personally chose in June 1945 a four-door Opel Kadett to become a first mass-produced popular Soviet car, so plans and tooling of a four-door version had to be reconstructed with help of German engineers, who worked upon them in a Soviet occupation zone.[1] The Soviet Union was not the only country to adopt the design at that time: the Kadett had impressed Louis Renault and heavily inspired his Renault Juvaquatre produced in 1937-1960.[2][3]

Development began in 1944, following a prewar plan to produce a domestically built car able to be used and maintained by citizens living outside major cities.[4] The KIM factory was selected to build the car, with the prewar KIM 10-52 (not built due to the Second World War) as a basis, with production approved in May 1945 and prototypes intended to be ready in December; by the end of May, however, these plans had faltered.[5]

At war's end, the Soviet Union deemed the plans and tooling for the 1939 Opel Kadett K38[6] as part of the war reparations package,[7] since the tooling in the Rüsselsheim factory was largely intact;[8] residents dismantling the Kadett production tooling and loaded fifty-six freight cars,[9] bound for Moscow and the newly built "Stalin Factory" (ZIS).[10] However, according to recent Russian sources, the Kadett plans and tooling were in fact not captured from the factory, because they did not survive there (and what survived was appropriate for producing a two-door model).[11]

In any event, after KIM was renamed MZMA (Moscovskiy Zavod Malolitrazhnyh Avtomobiley, Moscow Factory for Making Small Cars) in August 1945,[12] the new car was ready for production before the end of 1946 (somewhat behind the planned June deadline): the first 400-420 was built 9 December,[13] "400" meant a type of engine, and "420" the (saloon) body style. With unitized construction, independent front suspension, three-speed manual transmission. and hydraulic brakes, it was powered by a 23 hp (17 kW; 23 PS) 1,074 cc (65.5 cu in) inline four (with a compression ratio of 5.6:1).[14] Acceleration 0–50 mph (0–80 km/h) took 55 seconds, and achieved 9 L/100 km (31 mpg-imp; 26 mpg-US) (the best of any Soviet car at that time).[15] With a wheelbase of 2,340 mm (92 in)) and ground clearance of 200 mm (7.9 in)), it measured 3,855 mm (151.8 in) long overall 1,400 mm (55 in) wide, 1,550 mm (61 in) tall.[16] Approved for mass production by the Soviet government on 28 April 1947, 1,501 were built the first year, with 4,808 for 1948 and 19,906 in 1949, the same year a mesh oil filter was introduced.[17] In 1951, synchromesh was introduced on the top two gears, and the gear lever relocated to the steering column.[18]

In 1948, a prototype woodie wagon, the 400-422, with an 800 kg (1,800 lb) payload, was built, but never entered production.[19] Neither did the similar 400-421 estate or pickoupe.[20] The 400-420A cabriolet debuted in 1949.[21]

KIM 10-50, rejected in favour of the Opel Kadett

Most of the Opel tooling removed to Russia was for the two-door Kadett model, and the Russians converted this into a 4-door configuration that visually was near identical to the original Kadett 4-door. Although Opel was U.S. property, GM did not recover control of the factory until 1948 and were therefore unable to contest the transfer.

The 400 went on sale in Belgium in October 1950, making it a very early Soviet automotive export product, priced at ₤349: below the Ford Prefect and Anglia, and well below the Morris Minor.[22] Motor praised its engine's quietness, the caliber of its finish, and the quality of the ride.[23]

The 100,000th Moskvich was built in October 1952.[24]

Several prototypes were also built. In 1949, proposal for an improved 26 hp (19 kW; 26 PS) 401E-424E and a 33 hp (25 kW; 33 PS) 403E-424E saw only six examples built.[25] Following this, in 1951, the factory produced the 403-424A coupé with a 35 hp (26 kW; 35 PS) four. The "stunning" 404 Sport of 1954 used a new 58 hp (43 kW; 59 PS) overhead valve hemi engine.[26]

Moskvitch 401

Moskvitch 401

1949 Moskvich 401-424E
Overview
Manufacturer Moskvitch
Production 1954-1956
Assembly Moscow
Layout FR layout
Powertrain
Engine 1.1L MZMA-400 I4
Transmission 3-speed manual
Chronology
Predecessor Moskvitch 400-420
Successor Moskvitch 402

The Moskvitch 401 (full designation: Moskvitch 401-420) was introduced in 1954, an improved variant of the 400-420.[27] It weighs 885 kg (1,951 lb).[27] and was powered by an 1,074 cc (65.5 cu in) sidevalve inline four engine, uprated from 23 hp (17 kW; 23 PS) to 26 hp (19 kW; 26 PS),[28][28] thanks to a higher compression ratio, of 6.2:1, and improved intake and exhaust manifolds.[29] Other changes included a new starter motor, dynamo, wheel bearings, and handbrake.[30]

Both models were externally identical.[27][31] It had a top speed of 90 km/h (56 mph).

The 400-422 sedan delivery variant was renumbered 401-422.[28] (Its production continued until December 1956.)[32] There was also a pickup version, the 401-420B.[33]

Some of the production was exported, among other countries to East Germany and Norway. Production ended in 1956, when the design was heavily outdated. Private users in Norway at the time needed a license to buy a new imported car. This did not apply to Russian cars that as a "friendly gesture" were supplied in exchange for fish.

Production of the saloon ended 20 April 1956, when it was replaced by Moskvitch 402.[34] 247,439 had been built, counting both the 400 and 401.[35][28] after

References

  1. 1 2 KIM-10-50, azlk-avto.ucoz.ru
  2. ↑ Odin, L.C. World in Motion 1939 - The whole of the year's automobile production. Belvedere Publishing, 2015. ASIN: B00ZLN91ZG.
  3. ↑ "Automobilia". Toutes les voitures françaises 1938 (salon Paris Oct 1937). Paris: Histoire & collections. Nr. 6: Page 72–74. 1998.
  4. ↑ Thompson, Andy. Cars of the Soviet Union (Haynes Publishing, Somerset, UK, 2008), p.74.
  5. ↑ Thompson, p.74.
  6. ↑ Thompson, p.74.
  7. ↑ http://www.manager-magazin.de/finanzen/artikel/0,2828,1809,00.html Manager Magazin 2013
  8. ↑ Thompson, p.74.
  9. ↑ Thompson, p.76.
  10. ↑ Claus Jacobi (managing editor), Rudolf Augstein (proprietor & former managing editor) (21 January 1959). "SOWJET-AUTOS". SPIEGEL-ONLINE. p. 26. Retrieved 2013-05-19.
  11. ↑ Moskvich-400-420A, "Avtolegendy SSSR" Nr.5, DeAgostini 2009, ISSN 2071-095X (in Russian)
  12. ↑ Thompson, p.76.
  13. ↑ Thompson, p.76.
  14. ↑ Thompson, p.76.
  15. ↑ Thompson, p.76.
  16. ↑ Thompson, p.76.
  17. ↑ Thompson, p.76.
  18. ↑ Thompson, p.76.
  19. ↑ Thompson, p.76.
  20. ↑ Thompson, p.76.
  21. ↑ Thompson, p.76.
  22. ↑ Thompson, p.78.
  23. ↑ Thompson, p.78.
  24. ↑ Thompson, p.76.
  25. ↑ Thompson, pp.78 & 80 caption.
  26. ↑ Thompson, p.78.
  27. 1 2 3 Lev M. Shugurov, Avtomobili Rossii i SSSR. Ch.1, Moskva, 1993, (Russian), p. 192-195
  28. 1 2 3 4 Moskvitch-400-420A, Avtolegendy SSSR Nr.5, DeAgostini 2009, ISSN 2071-095X, (Russian)
  29. ↑ Thompson, p.81.
  30. ↑ Thompson, p.81.
  31. ↑ Thompson, p.81.
  32. ↑ Thompson, p.81.
  33. ↑ Thompson, p.81.
  34. ↑ Thompson, p.81.
  35. ↑ Thompson, p.81.
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