DAZ-150 - a forgotten truck from Dnepropetrovsk

By the mid-forties, the country was in ruins and a lot of transport was required to restore the national economy. First of all, medium-duty trucks and the same chassis were needed, on the basis of which special vehicles could be produced. The victorious 1945 had not yet arrived, and the capital's ZiS was already developing a similar car, but it was obvious: one plant could not provide the country with the necessary amount of equipment.


In 1944, the Soviet government decided to establish an industrial enterprise in Dnepropetrovsk. The plan for the future plant has already been “written out”: 75 thousand pieces of equipment per year. The place was chosen for a reason: near a hydroelectric power station, a river port, many metallurgical enterprises. While the plant was being built, work was in full swing on the truck project, the “donor” of which was the ZiS-150.


This is also not accidental: in order to save money, maximum unification with existing models was required.

Works on "modernization"

The ZiS-150 was subjected to a serious revision, which led to a strong change in the exterior of the car. The cab was moved forward, the wings were put on “their own”, the front end and the radiator grille also differed from the “donor”. The design used head optics, "drowned" in the wings, which was a fairly advanced solution for the then Soviet trucks. Sidelights were taken from a passenger car - "Victory".


Management initially reacted negatively to such alterations. But it immediately became clear that the production of scarce steel body parts in Dnepropetrovsk is much cheaper than in Moscow.


In addition, the cabin elements were easy to manufacture, because they did not need complex deep stamping. It was a paradox: a more modern cabin was cheaper than for a ZiS-150 that got on the conveyor. The management agreed. The technical part has also been changed. The wheelbase was made shorter, but the dimensions of the car remained the same. This allowed the cardan shaft to be installed without an outboard bearing.


Another innovation is hydraulic shock absorbers on the front suspension. They were installed on ZiL much later - during the production of the 164 model. The braking system was also upgraded, as was the clutch. Special mention should be made of the rear axle. Its beam was made not cast, as was customary then, but stamped, using welding. Similar designs at ZiS (later ZiL) began to be made only at the 130th. The main operational parameters of the DAZ-150:

✅ empty car weight - 4,15 tons
✅ length, width and height - 6,89, 2,5 and 2,26 m
✅ engine - 90 "horses"
✅ speed - up to 71 km / h
✅ fuel consumption on the highway - 38 liters per 100 km

DAZ also had negative sides, but there are relatively few of them. This is a difficult access to some engine components - you had to remove the wings. And also a difficult start in severe frosts: the hood required insulation.

Test

In general, they were successful and in 1949 the Ministry gave the go-ahead for large-scale production.


Although there were different opinions about the exterior. The company assembled a dozen cars, one of which is a truck tractor.

Сonclusion

The plant was preparing with might and main for the serial launch of the DAZ-150: they equipped the shops, adjusted the equipment. A variant of a floating car, the DAZ-485, was even developed. But suddenly everything turned upside down: the country needed rockets and tractors more. The enterprise was urgently re-profiled, and the documentation for the new trucks was transferred to the capital's ZiS and the Gorky Automobile Plant.


They did not begin to produce the “improved” ZiS-150, but some technological solutions were later applied to their new models.