RAF-977
| RAF | |
|---|---|
3D model of a vehicle from 1959 |
|
| RAF-977 | |
| Manufacturer | Riga bus factory |
| design type | minibus |
| Production period | 1958-1976 |
| axes | 2 |
| engine | R4 petrol engine |
| power | 75 hp (55 kW) |
| length | 4,900 m |
| width | 1,810 m |
| height | 2,050 m |
| Wheelbase | 2700 mm |
| Turning circle | 13.4 m |
| Seats | 9 + 1 |
| Empty weight | 1720 kg |
| Perm. total weight | 2550 kg |
| Previous model |
RAF-10 RAF-251 |
| successor | RAF-2203 |
| Similar models | JerAZ-762 |
The RAF-977 ( Russian РАФ-977 ), often but not all variants with the nickname "Latvija" (Russian Латвия), is a minibus from the Soviet Riga Bus Factory (RAF). The vehicle was produced in series from 1958 to 1976, preceded by two less successful, similar models. The bus is technically based on the GAZ-M21 Volga passenger car and uses its propulsion system and chassis. When production of the GAZ-M21 was stopped in 1970, the development of a successor began. Vehicles were still assembled from leftover parts until 1976, after which production was switched to the RAF-2203. The RAF-977, along with the all- wheel drive vehicles UAZ-450 and UAZ-452 , was the only minibus built in significant numbers in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and was not sold to private individuals.
The Armenian Yerewanski Avtomobilny Sawod manufactured the JerAZ-762 from 1967 to 1996 according to original documents from Riga , which from 1979 onwards used the GAZ-24 Volga as a base. It is the panel van version of the RAF-977 that was never built at RAF due to a lack of production capacity .
Vehicle history
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The later Riga bus factory started operations in 1949 and began manufacturing wooden bodies for minibuses in 1953 at the latest . Based on this experience, the RAF-251 with 22 seats was built from 1955 . In the following years the development of minibuses began. In 1957, the series production of the RAF-10 "Festival" began , which received the technology and the chassis of the GAZ-M20 Pobeda . Since its production was discontinued in 1958, a new minibus had to be constructed at RAF. Based on the GAZ-M21 Volga, the successor, now known as the RAF-977 according to the standardized Soviet designation system for motor vehicles , was created, the series production of which began in small numbers in 1958. Previously, there had also been prototypes of an eight-seater with the technology of the Moskvich-407 , but the car called RAF-08 was not built in series. The similar Moskvich A9 never got beyond prototypes.
In the first few years the number of units built remained very low. The Riga bus factory was not equipped with assembly lines in the initial phase , which very limited production capacities. In 1959 the production of the RAF-10 was stopped. The first minor revision took place in 1960, from then on the buses were designated as RAF-977W. However, major changes only came with the RAF-977D version, which was produced from autumn 1961. With their introduction, the production facilities were also upgraded, so that the number of items produced increased. For this reason, Soviet literature of the 1970s partially skips the production history prior to 1961. The RAF-977D received a new front and a one-piece curved windshield. In the mid-1960s, the panoramic windows in the roof area were completely eliminated . These vehicles were built until 1968.
At the end of the 1960s, the vehicle was modernized again. An M for modernized was added to the type designations, so the basic version became the RAF-977DM. Prototypes were made from 1967, the series production changed in 1968/69. The most important visual distinguishing feature is that the number of side windows behind the B-pillar fell from five to three, while at the same time becoming significantly wider. In 1970 the Gorkowski Avtomobilny Zavod , which supplied the chassis and drive components, stopped manufacturing the GAZ-M21 Volga and began to produce the successor, the GAZ-24 Volga . As a result, a new vehicle also had to be developed in Riga. But it took until 1976 before production could be switched to the successor RAF-2203.
As early as the early 1960s, there were considerations to build a delivery van based on the RAF-977. This procedure was common in the Soviet Union and was also practiced on larger buses such as the KAwZ-651 or the PAZ-652 . In 1962 a prototype was built under the name RAF-977K, but the project failed due to insufficient production capacities. Production was handed over to the Yerewanski Awtomobilny Sawod (JerAZ for short), which was newly founded in 1964 and initially also used the GAZ-M21 Volga and, from 1979, the more modern GAZ-24 Volga as a basis. The vans were built in Yerevan as JerAZ-762 from 1966 to 1995/96, with almost no visual change, but technical revisions have been made over the course of time. All versions that were built as a panel van or for the mixed transport of cargo and passengers come from JerAZ, RAF only produced pure passenger vehicles. The JerAZ-762 was of much poorer quality than the RAF-977, but is much more common today due to its long and later construction period. The RAF-977, on the other hand, has become rare.
In the 1960s, the RAF-977 was the only large-scale minibus for urban transport in the Soviet Union. In addition to him, the all- wheel drive vehicles UAZ-450 and UAZ-452 were built, each of which was also available as a minibus. From 1962 the luxurious ZIL-118 was also manufactured in small series, but it was only intended for special customers. The RAF-977 was also not given to private individuals in the Soviet Union. But it was exported to various countries, including Bulgaria , Hungary , Cuba , Iran , Nigeria and Finland . The Soviet foreign trade organization Awtoexport also produced German-language brochures for the model, but whether the RAF-977 actually came to the German Democratic Republic or the Federal Republic of Germany is unclear.
Model variants
Various vehicles and model variants were built on the basis of the RAF-977. Unless otherwise described, the vehicles were nicknamed "Latvija" .
- RAF-977 - basic version with 9 + 1 seats and first body variant, built from 1958 to 1960.
- RAF-977W - Revised basic version, built in 1960 and 1961.
- RAF-977D - base model, built from 1961 to 1968 with a completely new front.
- RAF-977DM - Basic variant built from 1968 to the end of production in 1976 with fewer but larger windows and 10 + 1 seats.
- RAF-977DMJu - As RAF-977DM, but specially equipped for export to countries with tropical climates.
- RAF-977E - Marketed with the nickname “Tourist” , specially equipped for city tours with nine passenger seats. The city guide was given a separate seat with a microphone. Built in small series from 1962 to 1968, technical status as with the RAF-977D.
- RAF-977EM - As RAF-977E, but on the updated version of the RAF-977DM. Built from 1969 to 1976 in small series.
- RAF-977EMJu - Like RAF-977EM, but specially designed for export to tropical climates.
- RAF-977I - Ambulance based on the RAF-977D, equipped a. a. with a stretcher and a radio . Built from December 1962 to 1969.
- RAF-977IM - Ambulance based on the modernized RAF-977DM, built from 1969 to the end of production. Otherwise like RAF-977I.
- RAF-977IMJu - Modernized ambulance for export to tropical climates.
- RAF-977K - Prototype of a panel van without a window behind the B-pillar , built in 1962. From 1966/67 built by JerAZ as JerAZ-762.
- RAF-977S - 1960 prototype of a military ambulance based on the first RAF-977. Since the UAZ-450A with all-wheel drive did this job better, there was no series production.
- RAF-980 + RAF-979 - Railway based on the RAF-977W with a suitable trailer for passenger transport of the RAF-979 type. Known by the nickname “Riga” , built from 1960 to 1962.
- RAF-980D + RAF-979 - Modernized route tram based on the RAF-977D, built in 1962. Also referred to as "Riga" .
- RAF-21A - prototype with the nickname Alafina , based on the station wagon GAZ-M22 Volga .
Technical specifications
For the basic version RAF-977D built from 1961.
- Engine: four-cylinder in-line petrol engine
- Engine type: "GAZ-21A", from the GAZ-M21 Volga passenger car
- Power: 75 HP (55 kW) at 4000 min -1
- Displacement: 2,445 l
- Bore: 92.0 mm
- Stroke: 92.0 mm
- maximum torque: 167 Nm
- Compression: 6.7: 1
- Mixture preparation: Carburettor, type K-22I
- Firing order: 1–2–4–3
- Starter: ST21, 1.5 HP power
- Alternator: G12, 250 W power
- On-board voltage: 12 V.
- Transmission: three-speed manual transmission with reverse gear, partly synchronized
- Clutch: single-plate dry clutch
- Top speed: 110 km / h
- Fuel consumption: 12.0 l / 100 km
- Tank capacity: 60 l petrol with at least 72 octane
- Brake: hydraulically operated drum brakes on all wheels
- Drive formula : 4 × 2
Dimensions and weights
- Length: 4900 mm
- Width: 1810 mm
- Height: 2050 mm
- Wheelbase: 2700 mm
- Ground clearance: at least 205 mm
- Front track: 1410 mm
- Rear track: 1420 mm
- Turning circle: 13.4 m diameter, measured at the outermost point of the body
- Seats: 9 + 1
- Standing: 0
- Empty weight: 1720 kg
- permissible total weight: 2550 kg
- Front axle load: 1220 kg
- Rear axle load: 1330 kg
- Tire size: 7.00-15 ″
- Number of doors: 2 passenger doors + separate driver's door
literature
- LM Shugurov: АВТОМОБИЛИ России и СССР . Second part. Ilbi / Prostreks, Moscow 1994, ISBN 5-87483-006-5 .
- Ministry of Automobile Transport of the RSFSR ; Vehicle Construction Institute NIIAT: Short Automobile Manual (краткий автомобильный справочник). Transport Publishing House, 6th edition, Moscow 1971.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Website of the Russian car magazine За рулем on the RAF-977 (Russian)
- ↑ a b c d e L. M. Shugurow: АВТОМОБИЛИ России и СССР . Second part. P. 72 ff.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Detailed history of the RAF-977 on the website of the Kharkov public transport company (Russian)
- ↑ a b c d Ministry of Automobile Transport of the RSFSR ; Vehicle Construction Institute NIIAT: Short Automobile Manual (краткий автомобильный справочник). P. 68 ff.
- ↑ Miniature bus RAF-977 - prospectus of the Soviet foreign trade organization Awtoexport, Moscow 2nd half of the 1960s.
