First series (1956–1958)
The design process leading to the GAZ-21 began in November 1953. Alexander Nevzorov, head of the design team, was given a free hand to develop whatever he wanted to reach the objective of competing with American automobiles.[4] Designer Lev Eremeyev decided to follow the fashion set by the Chevrolet Bel Air, Plymouth Savoy, and Ford Mainline; the finished product bears a resemblance to the 1952 Mainline,[4] although according to archive documents, the GAZ-21 was just stylistically inspired by the American Ford and was not mechanically reverse engineered and developed from it. In addition, the two cars are almost completely different mechanically and their dimensions are also slightly different.[5][6] The prototype appeared in the first quarter of 1954, powered by an inline four with overhead camshaft (driven by chain) and cross-flow hemispherical head.[4] Since the OHV engine was not ready in time, production M21s had a 65 PS 2432 cc sidevalve four, based on the GAZ-20's. The Volga was offered with a three-speed transmission, either manual (with synchronized second and third gears) or automatic. Front suspension was independent, while the rear was a live axle with semielliptical springs; lever shock absorbers were on all four corners.[4] Lubrication was by a central oiling system, from a drum and foot-operated pump; the oil lines were prone to puncturing, and not all of the 19 lubricated points were supplied equally.[7] The Volga offered front seats able to fold flat (not unlike a contemporary Nash option) and came standard with cigarette lighter and a radio[8] (still optional on most U.S. cars).[9] The three variants were the standard M21G, an M21B taxi (with a taximeter in place of the radio and bucket seats in front instead of a bench), and a tropical model, the M21GYU, all with the GAZ leaping deer hood ornament.[4][8] Drag coefficient was a surprisingly good 0.42.[8] However, only a few early Volgas had this transmission, and only for a limited time, before a manual transmission was made the only option.[10]
The Volga made its public debut in 1955, with a three cars on a demonstration drive from Moscow to the Crimea, two automatic models and a manual.[4] It was, however, still far from production-ready; in the first year, 1956, only five cars were assembled, the first on 10 October 1956.[4] Full-scale production began in 1957, with a list price of 5,400 rubles.[8] The new 1957 production cars, known as Series Ones, had a brand-new 2445 cc OHV engine, the first model produced by Zavolzhskiy Motornyy Zavod (Zavolzhye Engine Factory, ZMZ). Unusual for the era, it had aluminum block and head, with gear-driven camshaft and compression ratio of 6.6:1; it produced 70 PS at 4,000 rpm and 123 lbft at 2,200 rpm.[8]
The automatic transmission model was soon discontinued, with only 700 built: it was widely criticized as being too difficult for Soviet drivers to maintain, few service stations were available to do the work and few private mechanics were qualified, and a shortage of transmission oil existed.[11] From 1958, a three-speed manual, with synchromesh on the top two gears, was the only transmission available; this was the M21V, while the taxi became the M21A.[12] The automatic did go on to be used in the low-production GAZ-13 Chaika, which was also maintained by professionals.[12] Standard equipment on all models included spare parts and two tool kits, with spanners, wrenches, screwdrivers, a tire pump, and a can of paint to fix minor dings.[13]
Also, export models were built, M21D with the manual transmission and M21E with the automatic, both with a higher 7.2:1 compression engine, producing 80 PS.[12]
Cars produced in the fall of 1958 combined features of the first and second series.
Second series (1959–1962)
Second-series Volgas were introduced in 1959, with a new grille painted the body color or in chrome. Halfway through the 1959 production run (model year 19591/2), a vinyl cover was added to the dash.[14] Added were windscreen washers and tubeless tires.[14] Just before the second-series production concluded, telescopic shocks replaced the lever type. The 1961 Volgas were priced at 5,100 rubles.[7]
Variants of this series included the M21I and M21A taxi with the 70 PS inline-four, and the M21K and right-hand drive M21H (for export) with the 80 PS engine.[7]
The Volga was shown at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair and together with the GAZ-52 truck and the GAZ-13 Chaika it won the Grand Prize.[15]
Third series (1962–1970)
The third series was produced from 1962 to 1970. The 1962 models dropped the leaping-deer hood ornament, and had a new grille.[7] It used a 6.7:1 compression engine of 75 PS, with an optional 7.65:1 compression ratio version producing 80 PS which was usually reserved for export models.[16] The headliner changed from cloth to vinyl, and the radio became optional.[16] It was offered as the standard M21L, M21T taxi, and right-hand drive M21N export model.[16] Also in 1962, GAZ advertised a station wagon/estate model, the M22; most of these were exported or reserved for official use.[16] The first station wagons/estates were delivered in 1963,[16] and were designated M22/M22G (75 PS, M22G being the export model), M22T (export, 85 PS); ambulances were M22B (75 PS) and M22BK (85 PS).
