Single career MAZ-510 and BelAZ-540A: such a different fate

"For everything - time and chance" - so said the wise Solomon. And this immutable truth is true for different car models. What determines the success or failure of any of them? Design developments, good advertising or the right moment to implement the project? All this, of course, plays a huge role. But there is, of course, a much more significant factor mentioned by the biblical sage.


One of the confirmations of the above will be our today's history. It happened in the distant 60s, in a country that has long been gone. It was a state of equal opportunities and complete lack of competition. Under such conditions, there was only a need to convince the “party and government” of the importance of your project. And then it's a matter of technology.


Imagine two very similar samples of mining trucks. Both plants have excellent specialists in the development of such equipment. A country that has vast reserves of minerals and actively extracts them. It would seem that an extra model of such equipment is most welcome, but ... let's not rush - everything is in order.

Career novelty from the factory of the largest trucks in the USSR

At one time, BelAZ owed its very appearance to its “big brother” - a countryman, the Minsk Automobile Plant. A little time passed and they waited for “gratitude” from the residents of Zhodzina. The thing is that the first model of a mining dump truck, handed over for production at the production facilities in Zhodino, MAZ-525 (later on the hood it received the abbreviation of the new manufacturer - BelAZ).


For 15 years of production at two factories, the truck was noticeably outdated and needed to be replaced. Moreover, in Zhodino they wanted to feel like real manufacturers (and not some kind of assembly shop). Therefore, there was an urgent need to create our own model.



The BelAZ Design Bureau understood that the best foreign experience should be applied in domestic models of mining equipment. For example, a number of measures have been proposed to improve the maneuverability and efficiency of the vehicle:

✅ left-hand single cabin
✅ huge engine compartment on the right
✅ ergonomic bucket body

The use of such elements made it possible to design giant dump trucks with a carrying capacity exceeding their predecessors by 2-3 times. But not only their carrying capacity increased, but also maneuverability. It was this promising direction that allowed Zhodino dump trucks to become exclusive Soviet supergiants with a payload capacity of up to 100 tons and more.

How the first prototype looked, each of you knows very well and can double-check right now. Don't understand what I mean? The fact is that he appeared in 1961, and a year later he appeared in the cult comedy "Queen of the Gas Station".


Remember how everyone was surprised at the insatiability of the tank of a huge truck? I assure you, his appearance made an even greater impression on the members of the film crew of the film. After all, none of them had ever seen anything like it! Of course, those who watched the film decades later were no longer so surprised. In the Brezhnev era, huge BelAZ dump trucks became an integral part of the hallmark of the "invincible and legendary" country.

Technical features of a multi-ton truck

When we see a car in a film or in a photo, we admire the fruits of labor of the factory workers and designer Valentin Kobylinsky. For four years of debugging, the initial image of the car has undergone some changes. For example, got rid of the second pair of headlights. In general, the tests were quite successful, and in 1965 the first serial BelAZ-540 left the factory. In technical terms, he also had many fresh solutions:

✅ pneumohydraulic suspension
✅ hydromechanical transmission
✅ minimum dimensions (due to parallel cab and engine compartment)

The last moment provided a minimum base and excellent maneuverability. The design of the suspension made it possible for a truck of enormous weight to show a smooth ride even in quarry traffic conditions. And the lowering of the center of gravity, obtained due to the bucket-type body, had a beneficial effect on its stability.

The comedy showed the truth: the car's gas tank held 400 liters of fuel. True, with a consumption of 125 l / 100 km, this is not so much. The carrying capacity of the 540th was 27 tons, and the maximum speed was 55 km / h. The engine with a working volume of 38,8 liters developed a maximum power of 375 hp. With.

The truck was enthusiastically accepted by the drivers of specialized enterprises. This was confirmed by the gold medals of exhibitions in Leipzig and Plovdiv, received in the first years of production of a mining dump truck. Such a success aroused a feeling of envy among Minsk residents and a desire to repeat it.

MAZ-510 as opposed to Zhodino heavyweights

Although the primary idea hovered back in 1956, two years before the birth of the BelAZ plant, they returned to it in the next decade. It was then that the "five hundred and fortieth" appeared, depriving the engineers of the enterprise of the Belarusian capital.



Unfortunately, in practice, everything turned out exactly the opposite. And it turned out after the appearance of a prototype of a new mining truck. And this is very surprising, because behind its development was the serious work of designers and other leading specialists of the Minsk Plant. After all, it was planned that it would become the beginning for a whole factory line of mining dump trucks, competing with BelAZ (or support in meeting the growing needs of Soviet enterprises).


MAZ plant engineers hoped to fill the niche needs of Soviet quarries with lower production volumes. Mining dump trucks of a similar design, but with a lower carrying capacity, could suit them. The prototype was prepared already in 1962. "Shoals" very quickly crawled out:

✅ cramped cabin
✅ impossibility of unification
✅ no economic effect

The half-cabin was made in Russian: by simply sawing off its right side along with the door. To cover the engine, a metal hood with horizontal ventilation slots was used.

Reasons for curtailing the project

The production of a new spacious cabin would require new dies, which should have entailed additional costs. And the ability to keep the original design with some alterations turned out to be unfeasible. But the Belarusian capital did not want to give up.


Work on the design of the updated cabin continued. For a good example, they turned to the same BelAZ-540 with a wide-hooded angular cabin. A little later, large-scale projects were created, but things did not go beyond this. At the top, further developments were deemed inappropriate, the MAZ-510 project was closed, and the prototypes were disposed of.