The most advanced engine of the USSR: like BMW, only cooler

Less but more

The Moskvich-412 engine was serially installed on cars of the same name at the end of 1967. The unit with a working volume of 1.5 liters developed 75 horsepower. at 5800 rpm. Such a ratio for budget models was considered quite acceptable even in the 1990s.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the engine of Moscow cars was simply revolutionary. After all, the GAZ-21 unit produced the same power of 2.45 liters.

The Moskvich engine was even more powerful! Veterans of the factory said that the chief designer Alexander Andronov deliberately underestimated the power on the nameplate, although serial engines easily put out 80 or more forces.

But the experienced Andronov understood: with any ministerial control, the plant would be better off if a conveyor motor produced the declared parameters with a margin.

Original or copy?

Rumors later circulated that the MZMA designers copied their engine from the BMW engine. This is not completely true.

The Moskvich-412 1.5 liter engine (87×70 mm) is similar to the BMW M10 (originally M115). The German engine with a capacity of 1.5 liters (82×71 mm) also developed 75 hp in the basic version. at 5300 rpm.

But Soviet unity was not a copy. And it differed in very important elements. The German engine had a cast iron cylinder block and a different combustion chamber, as well as a completely different arrangement of attachments.

And in the aluminum block of Moskvich-412 there were removable covers. This design made it easy to repair the unit in Soviet conditions.

Opportunity engine

The most famous modification of the engine in Soviet times is the Moskvich-412D. The reduced version had different pistons, a compression ratio of 7.2 instead of 8.8 and developed 68 hp.

Such units were primarily intended for Moskvich-21406 – the so-called rural version of Moskvich-2140 with crankcase protection, different tires and other changes.

Many appreciated the lowered engine, despite the loss of power. After all, it is designed for cheaper 76th gasoline.

Forced modifications to the MZMA were also made from the birth of the new engine. A standard 1.5-liter unit with a compression ratio increased to 9.5 and two Weber carburettors already developed 92 horsepower. And it was far from the limit!

Two-cam engines were made, including increased displacement. A two-shaft unit with a volume of 1.7 liters (85×75 mm) with a compression ratio of 9.6 and a pair of carburetors developed 117 horsepower. Later they also created a variant with a volume of 1.8 liters (82×85 mm) with a power of no less than 124 hp.

Highly tuned engines were intended for racing and rallying. The requirements for them, especially for the resource, are completely different. However, with certain modifications, some engines may also appear on serial modifications of the Moskvich.

These engines were tested on prototypes of series 3-5 and C. But even conventional series units were missing from the factory. And so it happened that AZLK, having transferred production to Ufa, ceased to own the engine, which he designed and brought to mind.

Non-Evolutionary Development

Production of the 412th engine was started at the aircraft engine plant in Ufa, since there was no space and equipment for this in Moscow. The Moskvich-408 engine at AZLK was to be discontinued.

But the launch of the Izhevsk plant led to the fact that the new generation of engines was not enough. And the 408th engines continued to be installed on some Moscow cars.

Now it is hard to imagine that in the 70s and early 80s, the Moskvich-412 (UZAM-412) engines had the highest reputation not only in terms of design, but also in terms of reliability. By the way, the good export of Moskvich-412 was largely due to the dynamic characteristics of the car and the reliability of the engine. This was also noticed by foreign journalists, who just as actively criticized Moskvich’s brakes.

In the best years of its life, the 412th engine did not need to be topped up with oil from replacement to replacement. Muscovite owners had no problems with smoke due to oil getting into the cylinders. Engine maintenance (let’s say adjust valves) was easy and convenient. One thousand 150 km motors cared for without any problems. And the presence of removable cast iron sleeves simplified the overhaul.

The most inconvenient maintenance operation was the replacement of a removable oil filter element in an aluminum housing that hung from the bottom of the engine. Particularly careful handling required a thin sealing gum of this case. But later this problem was solved by installing a conventional oil filter, already familiar to the Zhiguli, on the engine.

The quality started to decline in the early 1990s. Oil was leaking from all places. It even came to defective (elliptical) sleeves and therefore oil in the cylinders.

Bigger, bigger, more powerful

By that time, the engine (now called UZAM-331) had been upgraded so that its power dropped to 72 horsepower. The new, heavier Moskvich-2141 lacked it. But the Moscow plant had no choice.

The Ufa plant began to develop the production of larger volume engines. The UZAM-3317 unit with a volume of 1.7 liters (85×75 mm) produced a pretty decent 85 horsepower. With him, the 41st Moskvich rode more cheerfully. Unless, of course, you were lucky with the build quality of the engine, which was unstable.

Engines of 1.8 liters (82×85 mm) with a capacity of 100 hp were produced in small quantities. And even a 2-liter unit (88×80 mm) with a declared power of 112 hp. These engines were gradually installed on Izhevsk Odes (formerly Orbits).

In 1996, another interesting event took place in the life of the famous engine: the Ufa company Master Motor installed a 2-liter 100-horsepower engine in an elongated Niva VAZ-2129. The car benefited from a 100 hp unit, but this idea fell through.

The engine is still alive. Lives on the current Lada Niva, repeatedly modernized Zhiguli engine. But the Ufa unit simply lost its scope – its “carriers” simply disappeared. And without a car, the motorcycle will soon become a thing of the past. And so it happened.