RAF-2203: owner's reviews, specifications, photos

"Rafik 2203" - a favorite of many motorists, he still evokes in their souls nostalgic notes. And even now, when this model has long been out of production, this minivan remains a valuable rarity for retro and antique lovers.

A smart and maneuverable RAF-2203

RAF model 2203 was produced in Riga from 1976 to 1987. It was intended for a variety of purposes. Most often this vehicle was used as a route car, ambulance and simply as civil and service cars.

The arrangement of the minibus RAF-2203 is carload. Its salon consists of 2 departments:

1. Front compartment, where the driver's seat is located and one seat for the passenger.
2. Rear compartment, equipped with nine passenger seats, behind which there is a luggage space.

It should be noted that the RAF-2203 minivan reviews are exceptionally positive. People who have worked on this "rafika" do not hide their enthusiasm for the named vehicle. According to them, the car is magnificent, fast, durable and economical. In addition, the good assembly, excellent maneuverability and stiffness at turns and turns of this obedient in management of the car are highly appreciated.

Motor - the heart of any car

The RAF-2203 engine with a carbureted fuel supply, which was equipped with a minibus, operated on gasoline. For this model, a GAZ-24 engine was used. It was located in front and operated the rear wheels. The engine had a line layout, 4 valves and 8 cylinders. Actually, I must say that this model was equipped with two types of engines:

• ZMZ 2401;
• ZMZ 402-10.

The fact that the second engine was more powerful was the only difference between them. However, there was one more distinctive nuance - the first engine worked on gasoline AI-76, and the second - on AI-93.

The mechanical 4-speed minibus transmission has synchronizers on all forward gears, which increases the service life of the gearbox.

The machine could develop a speed that was one hundred twenty to one hundred and thirty kilometers per hour.

Body and suspension of a minibus

Body RAF-2203 - bearing, all-metal. The car has 4 single-leaf doors:

• 2 of them - on the right - are intended for passengers landing;
• The door on the left is for the driver;
• The rear door opens access to the cargo area.

The sprung suspension of the minibus with shock absorbers, and as for the brake system "rafika", it is performed by a system of drum brakes installed on all four wheels of the car. If necessary, repair of RAF-2203 could be carried out on many domestic service stations.

Production - Latvia

The very first serial models of RAF-2203 minibuses, photos of which you can see in this article, left the assembly line of the new Latvian car factory in December 1975. And the next year the green street was opened for their mass production. A year later, a separate modification - the ambulance ambulance RAF-22031 - mounted on the conveyor.

With the modification of the car as a minibus, its capacity allowed transportation for up to eleven people in a row. Due to this and other other qualities, RAF-2203 was widely distributed throughout the USSR. After the collapse of the country into individual states, these minibuses were replaced by new models, in particular the Gazelle car. But some specimens are still preserved in some countries of the former union.

Some specifications of the car

Technical data and dimensions of RAF-2203 are as follows:

1. The length of the car reaches 4 m 980 cm, width - 2 m 035 cm, and the height of the car - 1 m 970 cm.
2. The track of the front wheels "rafika" - 1 m 474 cm, the rear track - 1 m 420 cm.
3. The weight of the minibus with the equipment is 1670 kg.
4. Its total weight is 2710 kg.
5. Engine carburetor, 4-cylinder, ZMZ 2203 / 2,445 liters.
6. Number of seats - 11, plus driver's seat.
7. The stopping distance at a speed of 60 km / h is 25.8 m.
8. The front overhang is 1 m 200 cm.
9. Rear overhang - only 1 m 120cm.
10. The height of the step of the machine above the level of the road is 40 cm.
11. Dry single-plate clutch.
12. Manual Transmission.
13. Hydraulic shock absorbers.
14. Spring-loaded front suspension independent on the wishbones.
15. Dependent rear suspension on longitudinal semielliptical springs.

Features of the RAF minibus

The minibuses that fell in love with everyone, affectionately nicknamed them "raffices", were distinguished by the rounded front bumper without the "fangs", the windows of the front doors, the white white lights on the roof, the round rearview mirrors and the chrome wheel hub-disks, like the "Volga" GAZ -21.

Until the end of 1976, the serial minibus RAF-2203 was equipped with an original high instrument panel equipped with round dials. In 1977, the model acquired a new panel with a combination of instruments, adopted by the GAZ-24. Then it was decided to abandon the vent, located under the middle window from the port side.

Reviews about "rafika"

Let's turn to what people say about RAF-2203. The owners' comments, as mentioned above, are very good. There are only some small details that can be considered a minus, but they are not so significant for the overall state of affairs. Representatives of companies, as well as those who purchased RAF for business, argue that given the small price of the machine, the payback is simply magnificent. This is the first, and secondly, an important fact is the absence of problems with spare parts. Virtually everything that is needed, comes from the car "Volga", except for the body iron.

A small reliable "tank" is what some RAF-2203 motorists call it. The responses of the owners are mostly imbued with respect for this auto-laborer. Some noted a comfortable landing in the car, so that you can get used to it literally in one day. And although the dashboard is not rated for the highest score, but most found it quite comfortable. The high clearance of the minibus makes it possible to drive on a dirt road.

From the negative it is said that in the winter with the handling is a bit worse, but again a habit is necessary here. A bit of training for the driver, and skill will come. As a minus, it is also noted that the position of the engine is ahead, because of what the weight of the minibus is shifted to the front part of it. And, of course, to the minus one can include a large fuel consumption RAF-2203.

The characteristics of the minibus (in which all the speakers agreed) make it perfectly suitable for small businesses, since this car is inexpensive and very practical.

The beginning of model 2203 release

In the late 60's, the Latvian automotive industry experienced a catastrophic shortage of production areas. Due to this, it was almost impossible to satisfy the needs of a large country in minibuses. And so in 1969 they started building a new factory, which was located 25 km from Riga in the city of Jelgava.

Actually, this giant plant was originally designed and built for the production of a new model of a minibus and was equipped with the most modern equipment at the time. Officially the production began its work in 1976. It was in the same year that the serial production of a minibus with an index of 2203 began.

Mass production

In terms of production rates, the minivan "rafik-2203" significantly surpassed its predecessor, the 977 model. In 1984, in February, the plant issued a 100-thousandth anniversary RAF-2203 - and this is only 9 years after the launch of series production!

In the 1980s, at the plant in Jelgava, up to 17 thousand minibuses per year were already produced. To do this, all the old workshops and corps of the enterprise in Riga were also involved, but mostly small small-scale batch of cars for special orders were assembled in them. In Riga there was also a design bureau, and a special bureau intended for tests.

Moments of history

The earliest RAF cars have their own distinctive features, such as the front lights from the GAZ-24 and the presence of the factory emblem on the rear door. The boundary of 1978-1979 was marked by replacement of optics from "Volga" with uniform bus repeaters of turns, plus from the rear door the emblem of the plant was removed. Next, for almost 10 years minibuses were produced in this form without making any significant changes.

Quality mark at peak reached

In 1979, the RAF plant received the State Quality Mark for its products. But for some irony of fate right after that, the quality of cars produced every year began to fall. The plant increasingly began to receive complaints, complaints and complaints, especially from medical personnel using an ambulance. An unpleasant incident happened in February 1986, when the state acceptance of almost 13% of new minibuses returned to the plant to eliminate the detected defects.

Disagreements among the top management

In the same year, 1986, a public discussion took place among the management of the plant. The sharply raised theme just touched upon the reasons for the steady decline in the quality of the products of the Jelgava auto plant. In the course of the conflict, they came to a decision that, in order to improve the situation, the plant needed to produce not only new models of minibuses, but also another director.

After the elections he became Victor Bossert. In connection with everything, the Riga bus factory received significant funds from the country's budget for total technical re-equipment, demanding that the technical characteristics of the produced models, including RAF-2203, be significantly improved.

Discontinuation of production

After the collapse of the USSR, RAF plant, like many other similar industrial Baltic giants, was doomed. The break with Russia did not play into the hands of production. Because the cycle of production works of the plant required supplies from Russia, and this involved virtually all components. At the same time, all the same because of the severance of ties with Russia, the sales market declined sharply, because of which production had to be reduced to 4-5 thousand cars a year.

Trying to survive and stay afloat, the management of the plant made attempts to expand the range of products. In production, a number of new cargo-passenger cars and minibuses of special purpose were launched on the basis of RAF-2203. In small lots, the RAF-2920 wagons, RAF-3311 cargo-passenger pick-ups and other cars were produced. But, unfortunately, such measures of success did not bring production, in fact, actually, the basic model "rafa-2203" by this time is completely hopelessly outdated.

The production of the sensational "raffia" was finally closed

1993 was marked by the beginning of the production of the Nizhny Novgorod Gazelle, as a result of which the Baltic factory producing "raffics" finally lost its largest market - Russia. Local, that is, Baltic citizens, also did not show much interest in the products, their preferences were given to second-hand cars from Western Europe.

To help the company could change the basic model, especially since around the end of the 80s the plant created two modern concepts at once, namely Roxana and Stills. These models had high expectations. But in order to proceed to their serial production, it required a radical modernization of the enterprise and significant investments. Investor's search did not bring success, the number of produced "raffics" monthly became smaller, and besides, debts of the plant grew.

The moment came when, in 1997, the Baltic RAF plant produced its last batch of products, and in the spring of 1998 the enterprise was declared bankrupt. This is where the history of the most mass-produced minivan in the history of the Soviet Union was completed, and also the history of the Latvian car industry ended with it.