KAWZ-685. Soviet middle class bus

The hero of today's article is the KavZ-685 bus. These machines were produced at the Kurgan bus plant since 1971. This bus, rather, a small class than the average. He had no specific purpose, this general-purpose machine. This transport was calculated for work in rural areas, mainly on unpaved roads. To do this, it was well equipped technically, had the necessary reserves of strength and had high traffic. Let's get acquainted with this vehicle. Old buses are very interesting. They have a special history, now, probably, no one almost does not go to them.

History of the model

The history of this bus begins with the opening of the plant. This was in 1958. The first thing done at the Kurgan plant, there were 651 models. Work on the development of these machines began in the 40s of the last century. The model was built on the chassis and main components of the GAZ-51. So, when in the 60s GAZ started to produce new GAZ-53A, the Kurgan plant prepared for the creation of new buses on this chassis.

In the late 60's, the first prototype KAVZ-685 began to appear. These first cars had a slightly different design, not the same as the basic for them GAZ-53A. There was another radiator lining here. The lighting was presented in the form of a four-factor system. A little later, designers decided to abandon this design. And in a series there were buses with a traditional forward part of base GAS.

In order to launch the serial production of bus equipment, the plant's management carried out a complete reconstruction of the plant. So, the production areas have considerably expanded.

Reconstruction was successful, and in 1971 the first KAVZ-685 went off the assembly line. The standard models had a standard hood, but they were slightly different from the main series with the windshield design. A full-scale production was successfully launched in 1973. In 1974, a 100,000th specimen descended from the assembly line. For all the time of production several times the model has changed both in design and in technical equipment.

KavZ-685: technical specifications

This model was replaced by the 651th bus. However, the design has not changed much. Here we can see a car with a hood arrangement and not too much capacity. The bus was very simple to service, and, as we already know, it was intended for work in conditions of dirt roads.

Although the chassis of the old and new models still had differences, and the old Kurgan bus was also very different from the new one, we see a large overall size in the new model, given that we have Soviet buses and design in front of us. The new vehicle could accommodate 28 people, had good technical, dynamic and traction characteristics. The characteristics of this ancestor of modern buses fully corresponded to the requirements that were presented at that time.

Engine

The first models of the KavZ-685 were equipped with four-stroke carburetor eight-cylinder engines. They were ZMZ 53A. Cylinders in these power units were located V-shaped.

The power of this engine is 120 liters. from. The rotation frequency was 3200 rpm. The engine had a quite good torque at that time - 245 N / m. The volume of the engine was 4.25 liters. The car required 24 liters of fuel per 100 km. The tank of the bus had a capacity of 105 liters. The maximum speed on this motor was 90 km / h.

Transmission

Everything is the same here as in GAZ. KavZ-685 was equipped with a four-speed transmission. It is known that the box was a slightly modified model of the GAZ-5312 transmission. Transmission after the modifications was synchronized in the third and the black transmission.

Coupling on these machines was applied dry, single-disk. The mechanism was spring, peripheral. Clutches were connected by means of a hydraulic drive.

Brake system

The brakes were realized in the form of a two-circuit system. The brakes themselves were drum, which worked on all wheels. To turn on the brake, the engineers also applied a hydraulic drive, which was also equipped with a vacuum amplifier.

Geometry

The body was 6.6 m long, 2.55 meters wide, the height of the bus was 3.03 m. The wheelbase is 3.7 m, and the ground clearance is 265 mm.

The curb weight of this vehicle is 4.08 tons. The total weight is 6.5 tons. The wheel formula of the chassis is 4 × 2. The minimum turning radius of this car was 8 meters.

Body

You can not say anything new here. Like all other buses of the USSR, the body of this bus was also made of solid metal. The body was made in a hood arrangement. The hood allowed to significantly simplify the access of drivers and mechanics to internal units and power unit. Thanks to this, it is possible to quickly and efficiently carry out maintenance and repair work.

Inside

Salon of the bus allowed comfortably to mix 28 passengers. Seating seats were 21. To allow passengers to sit down, the designers gave them only one side door. Another salon had an emergency exit through the back door. About the salon also have nothing to say, but it had an excellent heating system. She even warmed up the cabin in a very cold way. The ventilation system is natural. For this, engineers and designers have provided side windows, as well as hatches.

To make it more comfortable for passengers to use this vehicle, soft seats were provided for them in the cabin. Separately, I want to say about the fabric of the seats. She was very wear-resistant and could easily have served one or two seasons before she was replaced. The driver did not detach himself from the passengers. So, safety standards did not provide for partitions. The driver got to his workplace with a separate door.

Driver's seat

The working place had all the conditions, so that the driver does not get tired on regular flights. The chair could be adjusted to remove from the dashboard, and there were also adjustments for the angle of inclination.

Old buses were not equipped with GUR, but the steering wheel of this car had a large diameter, which simplified control. All the necessary knobs and switches were in convenient places.

On the dashboard was only the most necessary. So, designers and engineers took care that the attention of the driver is not dissipated.

Mirrors were unrealistically large. They advocated the dimensions of the body. So it turned out to significantly improve the road survey. The windshield had a partition. Each part was equipped with a windscreen wiper. This allowed to keep the glass clean and did not interfere with the wheel.

About repair and service

It is worth mentioning that these models practically did not cause problems for drivers or mechanics. The car was based on the GAZ-53A base, which, before using it to build a bus, passed many tests. The chassis at the Kurgan plant was well prepared for work in the absence of asphalt roads.

Since the engineers at that time, creating a new model, tried to build a machine so as to unify the basic nodes with the old models as much as possible, then at that time without any problems they got the necessary spare parts. The KAVZ-685 bus and its design allowed mechanics to easily detect faults in case of breakdown and also work quickly on elimination.

Modifications

On the basis of this model there were various modifications. They were created for use in parts of the country with different climates. Model 685C was designed for driving in the northern regions. There prevailed very low air temperatures, so the car was equipped with a warmer cladding, double glazed windows and engine warming.

There were also other models. For example, 685G was intended for mountain areas. To ensure that the car can safely overcome the serpentines of mountain roads, the bus was equipped with special additional brakes and retarders, and in the passenger compartment, seat belts were installed .

As a conclusion

For its time it was an excellent bus. The engineers did their best. Sometimes these machines can still be seen somewhere on rural roads. They are still working somewhere - that's what Soviet quality means.