GAZ-63: That’s What Lend-Lease Gave Him (But There Was More of His Own!)

The development of four-wheel drive GAZ trucks began in the late 1930s. But the car went into production only in 1948. And this car was very different from the pre-war one. The design was based on the serial base GAZ-51.

Direct analogues of the 63rd were foreign trucks, already known in the USSR – they came during the Lend-Lease War.

The 1500-2000 kg payload GAZ‑63 is a four-wheel drive version of the GAZ‑51. The base of the GAZ‑63 is the same as that of the GAZ‑51 — 3300mm, the track is in fact also 1588/1600mm (for the GAZ‑51 the rear is 1650mm). The ground clearance of the GAZ‑63 is 273 mm, more than that of the American counterparts known in the USSR, the Studebaker US6 and Chevrolet G7170 (they have 250 mm each).

The GAZ‑63 frame is simple and durable, reinforced with two crossbars at the installation site of the transfer box.

The frame of the four-wheel drive version almost resembled that of the GAZ‑51. Enough power.

The prototypes of the GAZ‑63, such as the second generation GAZ‑51 (the first prototypes were made in 1939), which were to be put on the conveyor belt shortly after the Great Patriotic War, were made as early as 1943.

On the Gorky prototypes of 1943, cabs of the massive American Studebaker US6 truck were used. Mine wasn’t ready yet.

Gearboxes GAZ-51 and GAZ-63 are also the same, four-speed gearbox without synchronizers (6.40 / 3.09 / 1.69 / 1.00).

The Soviet box is a development of the American one, which was installed on the GAZ-AA (MM) since 1927 – a copy of the Ford AA.

The rear axle of the four-wheel drive version practically repeated the GAZ‑51 bridge. The main difference is the main gear: for the GAZ-51 – 6.67, for the GAZ-63 – 7.6.

The engines of the post-war mono- and four-wheel drive GAZ trucks are the same. The six-cylinder engine with lower valves and a working volume of 3.5 liters (82 × 110 mm) with a compression ratio of 6.2 developed 70 hp. at 2800 rpm. The unit is based on the Dodge design from the second half of the 1930s. A similar, but later engine, installed on well-known passenger-cargo vehicles of the USSR Dodge WC family, with a volume of 3.8 liters (82.5 × 117.5 mm), already developed 92 horsepower. and had a compression ratio of 6.7.

The transfer case GAZ‑63 (1.00/1.96) is an absolutely original design that does not repeat any foreign model.

The release of the GAZ-63 began in 1948. The cabin began to look less like an American one. Especially the mudguards with the built-in headlights were changed. The first GAZ-51 and GAZ-63 cabins were made of wood-metal due to a lack of metal.

Serial GAZ-63 – already with an all-metal cabin and an exterior mirror.

BRAT‑63

Maximum unification with the basic GAZ‑51 made it possible to create a post-war all-wheel drive version very quickly and inexpensively. Just after the war, such a car was needed, the army and the national economy.

The car turned out to be quite successful, with excellent cross-country capabilities. True, because of the narrow gauge and high ground clearance on rough terrain, the GAZ‑63 had a tendency to roll over. But they accepted this in the name of unification with the base machine.

On the basis of the GAZ-63, truck tractors were created, and several factories made four-wheel drive buses. A total of 474,464 cars and Model 63 chassis were produced until 1968. Many of them are still alive.

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GAZ-63: That’s What Lend-Lease Gave Him (But There Was More of His Own!)