GAZ 69: tuning the iconic car

The GAZ 69 can be called a truly iconic car. It was produced from 1952 to 1972, until 1975 in Romania. The model was created by a team of designers to replace the already outdated GAZ-67B. A rather interesting point is that the development of the project began almost immediately after the end of the war in 1946, and the first prototypes were presented to a narrow circle in 1948. Production of the model was almost completely transferred to Ulyanovsk to the plant, where trucks and semi-trucks were produced during the war.

An interesting point is that during the entire production of this model, about 600 thousand cars were sold, which were exported to 56 countries. The first tuning was carried out by various auto repair shops during the existence of the USSR. It was represented by the removal of the awning and the installation of an all-metal roof. Today, this car can be found almost only in showrooms, at parades and very rarely on the road. As a rule, a decrease in the number of available models for purchase creates great interest among lovers of rare cars, and also increases the cost of the vehicle itself. Today it is quite difficult to buy a GAZ 69; its cost in decent condition is about the same as that of many used very good foreign cars. Why might you need a car whose production was discontinued almost 50 years ago? The answer is quite simple - for restoration work and various tuning. Let's look at the features of the car and what kind of tuning it is carried out in more detail.

What kind of tuning of the car in question is carried out and why?

Having studied various photos of tuning on the Internet, we can say that in most cases, tuning is carried out to obtain an off-road SUV with an open top. A similar car can be found in the line of modern Jeeps, when the SUV has no roof, but only a frame for stretching the awning.

Why do many people decide to make an off-road SUV from Gazik? The answer is quite simple - it is ideal for the task for several reasons:

Often, a car is not purchased for a lot of money, but is found in poor technical condition and is simply taken for next to nothing at the price of scrap metal. Note that the old engine and gearbox, the terrible technical condition of the body are the reason for such a low price. A car in good condition can be worth quite a lot, especially if it has been restored.
Almost everything from the car is thrown away, as it becomes unusable due to obsolescence. An exception is the case of restoring this car for a personal collection or showroom, then you can look for an expensive offer in good condition.
Increased cross-country ability is due to the fact that the car has a very short wheelbase. When installing a transfer case to redirect torque to two axles, the SUV can handle almost any obstacle.
It is generally accepted that the light weight of a car due to a short wheelbase and lack of a roof is the main advantage, but this is not always the case. With a significant reduction in vehicle weight, there may not be enough pressure on the wheels to provide better traction. Therefore, the car is suitable for dirt, but not very suitable for conquering peaks or moving quickly along the highway. The truth still depends on the skills of the individual driver.
The SUV body is suitable for installing various power units. At the same time, you can modify the body and fastenings almost beyond recognition to install and fasten the necessary units.

In general, we can say that Gazik is ideal due to the possibility of completely changing the body. Thus, it is only possible if you have a cutter, grinder and welding. Let's take a closer look at the features of the tuning work being carried out.

Body tuning

The first production of GAZ 69 had a covered canvas awning for the body. Also included were 2 reinforcing frames and two fuel tanks, one of which was located under the rear seat. The following models were practically no different. And many experts recommend leaving this feature, despite the fact that it negatively affects the sound insulation of the cabin.

A suitable solution for tuning would be:

re-equipment of rear seat mountings using sound-insulating lining;
adding rear metal bodywork;
installation of shockproof power grid;
replacing the frame on a UAZ-415.

The latter, in turn, is considered quite resistant to dynamic loads. The impact-resistant grille will protect the radiator from debris or dirt getting inside during vehicle operation.

There are other body tuning options. For example, it can be coated with a special “Raptor” product, or repainted in the color of wet asphalt - this will also be a tuning option. It all depends on the desires and imagination of the owner.

It is only worth noting that in most cases such changes are made to improve the visual component. For example, you can additionally replace the fenders, expand the sills, etc.

Features of SUV exterior tuning

The design of the SUV is made in the old Soviet style. It is not strange that the body of this car is almost never changed. This is due to the following points:

1. It is ideal for mounting large diameter wheels. In order to increase the vehicle's maneuverability, wheels with large tread are installed. By changing the suspension, you can install simply huge wheels. In addition, an important point is that the wheels are located outside the body, and the wings only emulate its continuation.

2. Refinement of the body quite often involves removing rust and applying a primer, after which paint is applied to the surface. Excessively damaged and unnecessary areas are removed and replaced. To do this, you can use a cutter or grinder.

3. The car body has a removable awning, which is mounted on a metal frame. As a rule, this moment is also restored.

4. The key feature of the car in question is the windshields that rise forward and upward. This element is also left in place so that movement during the hot summer does not cause many problems. When folding the awning, you can completely fold back the glass. For fixing, you can use special hooks. Note that many cars reach their last owner in good condition.

5. An electric fan was often installed in a Soviet-era car, which supplied air to the windshield. Warm air came only from the hood while driving. Therefore, the main modification, which does not affect the body, is the installation of additional heating.

6. The side panels of the hood could be removed in order to improve engine cooling when driving at high temperatures.

7. The car has eight seats, the driver and passenger are placed in the front, and there are two benches in the back that can accommodate 6 people. This method of arrangement is not very comfortable, so you will have to dismantle the standard seats and install new ones. Given the small wheelbase, it is enough to install 2 seats in the front and 2 seats in the rear.

8. The compact SUV in question has a tailgate that can be folded down for loading and unloading items.

9. A car with index “A” has only one fuel tank, without index – two. It should be taken into account that the standard fuel system did not have a fuel level sensor on two tanks. To check the level in the second tank from the driver's seat, you could use the dipstick to check the fuel level. An additional tank can be installed under the passenger seat.

In general, we can say that the car body is ideal for creating a cross-country SUV. Therefore, modification of the body does not cause many problems. If necessary, you can install a body kit, additional light sources - everything you need can be purchased and then installed on the car in a variety of ways.

Tuning of the GAZ 69 chassis

If you invest your money, you should pay attention to the chassis. With the right investment, a car can be made very passable. Standard cross-country ability will not be quite enough to drive through swampy or wooded areas. After prolonged heavy rains, the vehicle's ground clearance may become insufficient.

There will be no problems with installing wider disks, since the traction rods are independent and, as previously noted, are located behind the car body. If necessary, upgrading the chassis will allow you to install the wheels even further, increasing cross-country ability. As a rule, the modification of the chassis is represented by the following works:

The length of the rods increases, which allows the installation of larger radius wheels.
You can install large springs and shock absorbers. In this way, you can significantly increase the size of the clearance.
The brake drums will also have to be replaced and installed with a larger diameter. This is due to the fact that with an increase in wheel diameter, the load on the braking system increases significantly.
It is recommended to add a power steering system to the chassis for brakes and steering. This way you can significantly improve the handling of an SUV. To install hydraulics, you will need to enlarge the crankshaft. Therefore, it is possible to upgrade the steering only when installing a different engine.

Important! When tuning the chassis, the load on the engine increases significantly. Initially, R16 wheels were installed, after modification it will be possible to install 24-inch wheels with deep tread to significantly increase the vehicle's cross-country ability. Some experts recommend installing the chassis, which was previously installed on the UAZ-452.

Wheels and wheels...

I tried to sell my original I-248 wheels to collectors and to whomever I tried. As a result, I sold it to an ordinary driver for a modest price. Next I bought a nickel I-192. There was no limit to my joy, but Susanin still did not correspond to the image that was in my head. Time passed, the gas station was being built. And then a good opportunity came up to buy a maxxis 8090 35x12.5 on 15x8 rims with an offset of -19. They didn’t ask for a lot of money, either because of an acquaintance, or because the wheels were bald. And I changed my shoes to normal human wheels!

Ya-192 did not seem serious. Bought maxxis 8090 35×12.5

Engine and other systems, units of “Kozlik”

When considering the technical features of cars, attention should be paid to the following points:

The car was equipped with six and four in-line engines with a power of 55 horsepower and a volume of 2 liters. The design is not only outdated, in comparison with modern engines it is several times inferior in basic characteristics. Therefore, car tuning is represented by replacing the engine - there is no need to repair it. You can install a wide variety of engines: from those of domestic origin to imported ones.
The clutch installed on the car is single-disc, dry. Therefore, it is necessary to replace the clutch for more sensitive control of the car on the road.
The clutch needs to be changed for a new box. The factory installed a three-speed two-way gearbox on the car, which could also be found on the GAZ-M-20 Pobeda. We select a new box for the engine, make sure that the clutch fits.
Great cross-country ability is due to the fact that torque can be supplied to two axles at once. The transfer case is also outdated and unlikely to be in good condition. You can try options from UAZ.
There are three cardan shafts, if they are suitable for the variable transmission box and transfer case, then you can leave them.

In addition, you will have to rearrange all other elements of the fuel system and remove everything unnecessary. For example, GAZ 69 had an engine preheating system, which consisted of using a blowtorch.

In order to transfer the entire technical part, any domestic car can be taken as a basis or several power units can be combined. You can buy them all separately at a fairly low price, and then adjust them to each other.

Technical tuning of a Soviet rarity - replacing the engine and gearbox

The first element that needs to be changed in a car is the engine. Most power units supplied with the latest UAZ and GAZ models are suitable for this. When choosing a motor, you should pay attention to power and torque. It is best if you manage to find an “engine” with a capacity of at least 110 hp. With. and a torque of more than 180 Nm. You can install the new power unit yourself. To do this you will need:

lift;
set of wrenches;
screwdriver set;
bolts for mounting a new motor;
welding machine;
drill;
aluminum angle for mounting the engine.

Replacing the engine of a GAZ 69 car

Changing the interior of the GAZ 69

As a rule, quite a lot of attention is paid to the salon. This is due to the fact that during the production of the car, no attention was paid to the comfort of the driver and passengers. You can change the interior of the GAZ 69 as follows:

1. To begin with, everything that has come down to us is dismantled. At the same time, quite often there are cars that already have many modifications. The entire interior can be disassembled almost to the very foundation to check the condition of the body.

2. If many cars of domestic origin are recommended to be modified by improving sound insulation, then in this case it is enough to waterproof the surface to protect it from exposure to high humidity. You can also perform vibration isolation to reduce the spread of vibration throughout the body.

3. You can simulate a car interior using plywood, the thickness of which is about 15 millimeters. In addition, you can use drywall. An example of use is the creation of armrests, various niches and compartments.

4. When creating the interior, do not forget that the car does not have various air ducts for installing a stove. Therefore, in order to make driving an SUV comfortable in cold weather, you should create an air duct system and install a stove.

5. The central panel is very simple. Therefore it should be slightly changed. Quite often, a handle is installed so that the passenger can hold himself while traveling off-road. The instrument panel can be classic, or you can install another one. It is important to add good lighting, since the information is practically unreadable in the dark.

6. Standard seats do not provide the necessary comfort. That is why they should be replaced. Kits that include sports seats with lateral support are very popular. You should not pay attention to the type of fastening, since almost any type of fastening can be welded on the body.

7. Depending on what type of transmission was installed, the type of design of the gear shift lever depends. If it's automatic, you can use the trim that was used on the original car. The manual transmission can be designed in different ways.

8. Between the seats, you can install a special panel made in the form of a glove compartment for storing important substances. This design element will be relevant due to the fact that the glove compartment itself is in the car.

9. You can install additional rear-view mirrors to increase your already good visibility.

On the Internet you can find a large number of different examples of interior design, some of which can be taken as a basis. The job of refinishing the interior shouldn't take much time, but it can cost a lot of money if you purchase all the trim elements new. You can save significantly on tuning by using materials that are sold at car dismantling sites.

Car painting: making an SUV attractive

The original color of the car not only attracts, but even repels. Therefore, you should apply a bright color. Features of body painting include the following points:

To protect the body, as well as ensure even distribution of the paint, priming should be performed. When performing such work, you can solve problems with unevenness and various body defects. Priming should only be done after all corrosion has been removed.
When choosing paint, people often pay attention to camouflage patterns. This is due to the fact that the car is used while hunting or fishing. Camouflage colors make the SUV less noticeable in the forest.
Some elements of the car must first be removed for painting. It is best to start the painting work itself with the roof and, having brought it to the desired shade, you can move directly to the body. It should be taken into account that it is recommended to apply the paint in several layers. Handles and other elements, for example, glass, can be sealed to protect them from paint.

After painting, the car is transformed almost beyond recognition. It is possible to make it even more unrecognizable by using modern stickers. Materials made from vinyl are suitable for this.

The process of applying vinyl stickers is quite simple. To do this, you need to wet the part of the body on which the sticker will be applied, and then peel off the protective film and wet the sticker itself. We apply the film, and then remove the bubbles using a spatula. It is quite important to remove all bubbles, since otherwise the sticker may be damaged due to mechanical stress.

What the experts say

Sergey. He was engaged in car repairs. Once they brought me a GAZ 69 and offered it for almost nothing. I decided that it would make a very attractive SUV for traveling with friends through the forest. It took about one month to replace the engine, transmission, chassis and restore the body; there was little work, so I decided to spend my time wisely. It took about another month to complete the interior and exterior. The result was to the taste of all our friends - a lightweight off-road SUV.

Maksim. I was looking for a GAZ 69 in good condition for a long time, but I had to take what I came across.
As a result, for several thousand I got a slightly rusty and rotten Gazik, without an engine and a type with a gearbox. But all I needed was the body, everything definitely needed to be changed so that this car would at least weigh like a UAZ. The work cost more than 30,000 rubles, but the car turned out to be very perky and with increased cross-country ability. All the forests, mud after the rain - there are no problems with cross-country ability. If you need a car with high cross-country ability for the summer, then you should pay attention to tuning the GAZ 69.

Cooling system

We replaced the original cooling fan with an electric one and attached it to homemade brackets. The toggle switch that controls the fan has three positions: 1. Automatic switching on (from the sensor, of course) 2. Forced on 3. Forced off Airflow, apparently, is noticeably better than that of the original fan.

The thermostat for our Gas-69 was installed from a Niva VAZ-21213 . Now the car warms up faster and, in theory, should maintain the temperature and not overheat, although tests will tell.