A wonderful work of a futuristic pickup truck based on the ZIL-130, made by Vladislav Luzin, was accidentally discovered on the Internet. Despite the fact that the drawn pickup truck was only part of Vladislav’s imagination, similar domestic light-duty trucks still existed. The story will be about the history of experimental ZIL trucks, better known by the nickname “Cheburashka”.
During testing in 1958 of the new executive class passenger car ZIL-111, the need arose for an accompanying high-speed truck to transport fuel, spare parts and technical equipment. Since the trucks existing at that time could slightly exceed the speed of 50 km/h, a lightning-fast idea arose to create a small light truck with a carrying capacity of 600-700 kg, capable of reaching speeds comparable to the ZIL-111 limousine (120-140 km/h). It would have taken considerable time to create such a revolutionary truck from scratch, so they did it simpler by installing a cargo platform and a truck cab on the limousine frame.
A truck capable of driving on equal terms with a government limousine was made already in 1959-1960. A cabin from a ZIS-151 and a wooden side platform with a folding tailgate were installed on the frame from the armored ZIS-115 (modification of the ZIS-110). The limousine-based truck could carry one and a half tons of cargo and move at a speed of 120 km/h. The truck received State registration number 83-81 MOX. The passenger cargo vehicle accompanied the tests until the end of the 70s. In addition to testing, the truck was used for factory transportation, in particular, it was used to deliver parts from out-of-town branches to the ZIL head office.
The ZIL-111 was replaced by the ZIL-114, which required a new passenger truck for its needs. One of the options was a pickup truck based on the ZIL-115, but probably due to expensive body work they abandoned it and went according to the previously proven scheme. The chassis was taken from the ZIL-114, and the cabin from the ZIL-131. The cabin was slightly modified by installing two additional air intakes on the hood, removing the front windshield bridge, and installing double headlights with transparent screens. The front mask was taken from a ZIL-133GYA truck. After testing the vehicle with a load simulator, a cargo platform measuring 3030x1780x1140 mm with a vinyl awning was installed on it. The curb weight of the car was 3286 kg, and the overall dimensions were 5200x2000x2200 mm. The new passenger truck was capable of accelerating to 170 km/h, which was already a fantastic result for such a vehicle.
Despite the seemingly awkward appearance: a low-slung cargo platform, a cabin from a military truck; the passenger truck looked very elegant for those years. The truck's dark cherry cab, roof spoiler and four headlights arranged in pairs with transparent screens in front of them added to the charm. Inside what seemed like an ordinary truck cabin there was a dashboard, a steering column adjustable in height and angle, a pedal assembly, a powerful stove, a car radio and luxurious leather seats. The interior of the cabin hinted at family ties with luxury cars.
The new car received the unofficial factory index ZIL-113G, and for its awkward, elegant appearance the car received the nickname “Cheburashka”. The car received the State registration number 06-31 MY, and after re-registration in the 1980s - 96-48 MNP.
The truck was so successful that in 1983-1984, two trucks based on the ZIL-4104 limousine were already built for the needs of the ZIL automobile plant. For the new cars, they took standard cabins without any special changes from the ZIL-131, the wooden bodies were unified with the ZIL-130. The body was equipped with seats for transporting people. The wooden body was 3/4 covered with an awning.
Both cars were assigned to the department of design and experimental works of the ZIL automobile plant. "Cheburashki" received the following State registration numbers: 95-50 MNP and 95-51 MNP. All three trucks were used for run tests at the passenger car workshop. In addition to testing, the vehicles were used for factory freight transportation, delivering components from factory branches in Ryazan, Roslavl, and Mtsensk. “Cheburashkas” repeatedly appeared in the Kremlin, carrying out cargo flights there for the needs of the Special Purpose Garage (GON), whose fleet included many ZIL brand limousines.
Delivering cargo according to the instructions of the automobile plant, passenger trucks on domestic roads constantly attracted the attention of both ordinary citizens and traffic police officers, who sometimes stopped a passenger truck, only to find out the make and performance characteristics of the awkward truck they were interested in. “Cheburashkas”, due to their high speed characteristics, acquired legends among the owners of “Zhiguli”, “Muscovites” and “Volgas”, who could not catch up with the strange truck with the well-known ZIL-131 cab that suddenly overtook them.
All three Cheburashkas survived safely until the collapse of the USSR. The firstborn with a cherry cabin and number 96-48 MNP was last seen at the plant in 1992, after which its traces were lost. The car with number 95-50 MNP was dismantled for scrap in June 2000. Only the remains of a car with the number 95-51 MNP, which are located on the territory of the ZIL plant in the passenger car workshop, have survived to this day. Surprisingly, the history of the departmental “Cheburashka” does not end with the collapse of the USSR...
In the early 90s, hard times came and the plant found itself in a difficult economic situation. The demand for ZIL products has decreased significantly. On the ruins of the USSR and the cooperatives conceived under the USSR, a new entrepreneurial life began to rapidly create. Small businesses were widely promoted and born, the needs of which required not six-ton trucks, which were already in abundance in the vast expanses of all the former Soviet republics, but small-tonnage, economical trucks, adapted not for off-road conditions, but for asphalt roads. The automobile plant has set a course for creating a new mass-produced light-duty truck. As a result, the rather successful ZIL-5301 “Bull” was born.
While the Bychok was being created, ZIL, in search of a new light-tonnage truck, returned to the well-proven Cheburashkas. In 1992, at a large display at a competition to create a new light-duty truck, a vehicle created back in the 80s with State registration number 95-51 MNP took part. The use of very expensive components from government limousines greatly inflated the price of the Cheburashka in mass production. And powerful engines from limousines called into question the economical operation of the car.
To solve this problem, another “Cheburashka” is being created at the plant. The new truck was manufactured in March 1993. The unit base was taken from the five-seater ZIL-41041 sedan with a wheelbase of 3380 mm, the “Cheburashka” heart was the 150-horsepower ZIL-508.10 gasoline engine with a five-speed manual gearbox. The cabin was taken from the ZIL-131, the onboard platform used parts from the ZIL-130 and the front side from the ZIL-4331. The vehicle's carrying capacity was 2 tons, and its total weight was 5 tons. The cargo platform was noticeably raised. Having lost a powerful engine, the car was inferior in speed characteristics, reaching speeds of only 120 km/h.
The new "Cheburashka" received the official factory index ZIL-4305. The car received a license plate number 50-38. After some time, the plant created another “Cheburashka”, which may have received the index ZIL-43051. After a competition with other competitors of the created Bychka, both cars were dismantled, their fate is unknown.
While creating the ZIL-4305, we involuntarily thought about its appearance. Work was carried out in the direction of improving the plasticity of external forms, increasing aerodynamic characteristics, developing the front part and individual elements, using serial cabs and a hood from the ZIL-131. Since 1992, design artists began to develop the promising appearance of the good old Cheburashka, presenting it, in addition to a truck with a loading platform, also in the form of a pickup truck. As a result, they only managed to sculpt the plasticine cabin of the future Cheburashka, but history decreed otherwise. The place of the serial light-duty truck was taken by the half-hood ZIL-5301 “Bychok”.
But even this is not the end of the story of the cartoon character in the domestic automotive industry. Enthusiasts built cars very much reminiscent of the very first Cheburashka. So in Kyrgyzstan, in Bishkek, an original car was created by crossing the Volga chassis, the ZIL-157 cab and the ZMZ-523 engine. The created homemade product received the original name Mad Cabin (“Mad Cabin”) and became very famous after its demonstration at the 2003 Motor Show in Moscow. Unfortunately, this crazy cabin does not have a cargo platform.
In Georgia, in Tbilisi, a similar pickup truck was created by crossing a frame from a UAZ-452, a cab from a ZIL-157, a ZMZ-4021 rear axle engine, and a gearbox from a GAZ-24. This car already had a simple body behind the cab on a tubular frame made of sheet metal and partially covered with corrugated aluminum. The creator of the Georgian version of “Cheburashka” was Noah Sirunyan.
The culmination of the homemade "Cheburashki" was a pickup truck, crossed from a cab from a ZIL-131 with the lining and tail from a ZIL-130 and a chassis from a Ford E-250 (Econoline). The author of this modification was Roman Bodnar, whose love for the legendary domestic truck grew into something more. This amazing pickup truck has been created since November 2009 in a retro workshop in the city of Zelenograd.
The chassis was taken by the author from a wrecked Ford E-250, and the Ford 4.2 V6 engine and Ford 4R70W automatic transmission came from it. The cabin from the 1976 ZIL-131 was purchased from geologists. In the cabin, the engine shield and floor were almost completely redone. The 1956 Ford F 100 was taken as the prototype for the homemade product being created. The pickup truck was demonstrated at Autoexotica-2012, where it took 1st place in the Domestic Custom nomination, 2nd place in the Retro Custom nomination, and 3rd place at the Autoexotica Grand Prix 2012. In the fall of 2013, Roman decided to install a Viper V10 engine. An interesting fact is that the author learned about the existence of ZIL Cheburashkas only in the process of creating his pickup truck. The car created by Roman was named ZIL-130 SRT-10. At this point in the history of domestic automobile “Cheburashkas” we can temporarily put an end to today’s story, especially since the last described example is most similar to the graphic work of Vladislav Luzin, with which this story began.
(c) Yuri Doroshenko
