Gas 24 engine from a foreign car. Diesel engine on the Volga

Choosing a new engine for the Volga

Although the standard GAZ-21A engine is not as bad as it seems, and is not so outdated, at least in our country (as is clearly evidenced by UAZs and modern Volgas, which are equipped from the factory with a descendant of this engine, differing from it only in some details ), sometimes you want something more. And the question arises: what kind of engine should I use then?

There are two camps here. Some are for imported engines, from American and Japanese cars. It may not be bad, but ready-made solutions does not exist. Alterations (sometimes very significant) must be done at your own peril and risk. Moreover, by and large, it is wrong to change only the engine - you also need to change the transmission, that is, the gearbox and rear axle, because they are selected for a specific engine by the designers, and you should not consider yourself much smarter than them. This also includes modern Volga engines ZMZ-406 and 405 - with all their advantages, they cannot be installed on a GAZ-21 in two hours.

The other camp is supporters of the magic word “viate” (V8), meaning an 8-cylinder engine. However, the Volga was not originally designed for such a motor, and installing it on the Volga is only the beginning of a lot of work with an ambiguous outcome, the meaning of which is ultimately unclear. In pursuit of a powerful engine, you can end up with an uncontrollable tank, which, at best, can only produce interesting results in a straight line.

We won’t even mention those who replace the GAZ-21A engine with a ZMZ-402 or 24 from a GAZ-24 and other Volgas other than the GAZ-21. After all, by increasing the compression ratio of the GAZ-21A to 8.2 and installing a two-chamber carburetor, the result is an engine that is practically not inferior to the 402 in power. If you really want to get exactly its performance, you can just take its cylinder head... But there are more than enough problems when installing such an engine: you need to digest the oil pan, since the front beam is in the way; it is necessary to install a gearbox from a GAZ-24, since mating the original one with this engine is a different story due to a different clutch, it is necessary to change the radiator again on the 24th, because the original one is too close to the pump and will be punctured by its axle at the slightest bump ... So it's just a pointless endeavor.

There is, however, a much more interesting option, namely, installing an UMZ engine (from UAZ). These engines (UMZ-451, UMZ-414, UMZ-417 and their variants) are installed instead of the GAZ-21A as siblings, since they are its direct descendants. There is no need to overcook the pan, move the radiator forward, or do anything tricky with the gearbox. But the best part is that the 2.9-liter UMZ-421 engine has very good power, especially in the version for AI-92 gasoline! Moreover, there is an injection version of it UMZ-4213! Its power is 115 hp. and a torque of 22.5 kg m versus the native 75 and 17 - one and a half times more powerful than the GAZ-21A!! Of course, installing an injector is not an easy task, but in any case, the engine itself is installed without any digestion, rearrangement, adapter plates or other fuss. Unless it makes sense (but not necessary) to replace the main pair in the rear axle with a faster one from the GAZ-24-10 in order to improve fuel consumption and increase the maximum speed. If you don’t have the desire (and money) to fool around with injection, there is also a carburetor option, it is not much worse in terms of traction.

In general, it is not even necessary to change the motor. You can bore the standard GAZ-21A block to install 100 mm liners and, using a two-chamber carburetor and electronic ignition coupled with 92 gasoline, “remove” if not 115, then at least 100-110 hp from the standard engine.

It hardly fits into modern standards of driving dynamics. Low liter power and torque make it difficult to move the Volga in space. The minds of inquisitive Russian car enthusiasts of classic cars are attracted by the possibility of installing a domestic, native, more powerful eight-cylinder ZMZ V8 engine. Namely, the engines of GAZ-53, GAZ-66 cars, PAZ buses, or more powerful engines from armored personnel carriers and GAZ-13, GAZ-14 Chaika. The GAZ-53 and GAZ-66 engines have a displacement of 4.3 liters; the PAZ bus has a displacement of 4.7 liters, respectively. The GAZ-13, GAZ-14 seagull engine and the BTR engine have a working volume of 5.5 liters. More details technical specifications ZMZ V8 engines, as well as their differences, are described in.

A powerful eight-cylinder heart can radically transform a slow-moving car. So, as a result of installing the engine, the acceleration dynamics naturally improve, and with a competent approach to the transmission, the maximum speed also increases. Naturally, installing a heavier engine worsens handling, but this can be overcome by improving the suspension characteristics - lowering the body, widening the wheel track, installing low-profile sports tires. But that’s not about that now. Let's talk in more detail about engines.

So, as I have already listed above, we have V8 options from GAZ-53, GAZ-66, GAZ-13, PAZ, BTR and their modifications. So, among them, only the Chaika GAZ-13 engine - ZMZ-13 has a compression ratio suitable for efficient combustion of high-octane gasoline, all the others are content with the 76th. This should be taken into account when purchasing an engine. Naturally, the “Tchaikovsky” engine will cost an order of magnitude more, and its maintenance will be much more difficult. But as a result, you can get as close as possible to the characteristics of factory GAZ 24-24 cars, and GAZ-24-34 from the factory equipped with this engine.

Of course, the compression ratio of a V8 engine can be increased, but there is one very important nuance- this is by no means as easy to do as in the case of an engine. Here, difficulties arise with the adjustment of the intake manifold of a tricky design, because when milling the head by a couple of mm, after installation they will “diverge” to the sides and problems will arise with the alignment of the parts.

A more logical and efficient way in this case is to install a supercharger, but given the overall size of the engine and its layout in the engine compartment, this is not so simple. It is easier to install a mechanical supercharger, a turbocharger is more difficult due to problems with the layout of the exhaust system.

Next, you should take into account the nuance with installation in the engine compartment - naturally, the wider engine will be hampered by the jibs. They need to be removed and the spars strengthened to compensate for the loss of rigidity. You will also need to trim the engine shield in order for the engine to fit into place.

The engine mounts will have to be made locally. The radiator will also require increased heat transfer - an old and clogged one from the ZMZ-24 will not be suitable for heat removal capacity.

A separate topic is the gearbox, you can use the Volgovskaya through an adapter plate, the process is described in sufficient detail and I will not dwell on it.

So we have the engine installed, but in the original version of the GAZ-53, it still doesn’t differ much high power, here you should be smart. Since the engine is initially a cargo engine, it has a rev limiter so that drivers on long climbs do not use high revs for a long time and thereby overload the transmission with high power. The vacuum speed limiter must be removed. Now the engine will spin no worse than the original one and provide increased output.

The enormous fuel consumption on the Volga worried people's minds even in Soviet times, not to mention today, when the price of gasoline reaches one dollar per liter of fuel. Therefore, most Volga drivers install gas equipment on their Volgas. But it's not best way solutions to the problem, especially on a station wagon, where a normal gas cylinder cannot be installed. And on a sedan, it eats up most of the trunk, into which they have learned to shove the spare tire.

That's why diesel engines are installed on the Volga. Most often you can see the installation of naturally aspirated Mercedes diesel engines. The motor is excellent for the Volga in all respects. And if the 2-liter is sluggish (but very economical), then the 3-liter provides excellent speed and traction characteristics. Naturally, conversion requires knowledge of the hardware, diesel is not gasoline, it has its own specifics.

Diesels from Ford Sierra and Ford Scorpio with a volume of 2.4 liters are also installed. This diesel engine has excellent economical characteristics. There are also modifications with VW and BMW turbodiesels.

Engine donors are usually cars that have not cleared customs; they can be found on the market at fairly bargain prices, and after the engine and transmission parts, wiring, and electronics are removed, the remaining spare parts can be sold via the Internet or in other ways. The event budget fluctuates around 1 US dollar, which is much cheaper than buying a car of the same class with a diesel engine. If you want to carry out the conversion, then you need an engine from a “clean” car. To do this, you need to check the database in the traffic police and consult with experts in the traffic police before alteration. And write applications in advance.

You can also install serial engines ZMZ-514 and GAZ-560 Steyr on the Volga. However, it should be taken into account that these engines have characteristic childhood diseases, as well as some maintenance nuances.

Naturally, these alterations will lead to problems with the traffic police, because if stopped, the inspector can easily smell the aroma of diesel fuel, not to mention the sound of diesel, which cannot be masked in any way. Therefore, a path to legalization is needed. To do this, you need to prepare documents at NAMI (for Russia) or through the State Enterprise “State Motor Transport Research and Design Institute” (DerzhavtotransNDIproekt) in Ukraine.

Another issue that is not so easy to solve is noise. The noise of old diesel engines at idle is much louder than the noise of a Volgov engine. And this noise will be very clearly audible in the cabin. Therefore, we need total. By full program and the highest quality materials. Otherwise, you will not feel the economic effect of installing a diesel engine - it will blow your mind with its rattling much faster. As an option, of course, many will say - louder music, but this is the lot of rednecks.

Conclusion, as always, diesel savings are more expensive than expected and absolutely do not always bring any tangible savings to your wallet. It should be borne in mind that spare parts for foreign-made diesel engines cost incredible amounts of money; often diesel repairs can take several thousand dollars out of the budget (yes, this is the reality of a diesel engine, turbines and fuel pumps cost 1000-1500 euros). So maybe you shouldn’t have a brain?

Diesel engine for Volga