GAZ-Valday

GAZ Valdai at a glance

The Valdai was GAZ's answer to a gap in its range. The GAZelle van and pick-up, at about 1.5 tonnes, was too small for many small carriers, while the GAZ-3307 was a heavy, high-framed truck from the 1980s. The Valdai filled the space between them with a low-frame distribution truck for town and regional delivery work, easy to load and drivable by anyone with a category C licence.

How the Valdai was developed

According to the old 1cars text, the first prototypes were designed with cabs from the Minsk Automobile Plant, but the supply arrangement ended. GAZ then developed its own cab on the basis of the mass-produced GAZelle cab, with plastic wing extensions, a new grille, a three-piece bumper with a steel centre section and an extra boarding step. A 4-tonne prototype under the Valdai name was shown at a motor show in 1999, and series production began at the end of 2004.

The chassis, suspension and axles come from the GAZ-3307. The rear axle has its roots in the GAZ-53 but uses a much lower final-drive ratio to suit the slow-revving diesel and the smaller wheels. The old 1cars text gives about 2.42 instead of the original 6.83. The frame uses side members whose height varies from 100 mm at the ends to 210 mm in the middle; inserts riveted to the members provide the different wheelbases without separate frames.

Engines: GAZ, MMZ and Cummins

GAZ originally planned to use its own GAZ-562, a licensed Steyr diesel, but this engine was costly and was never produced commercially. According to the old 1cars text, an Iveco 3.9-litre engine was also considered. The production trucks used two main engines.

The Cummins ISF has four valves per cylinder, a turbocharger and a timing chain on the flywheel side. Cummins claims a chain life of 500,000 km without adjustment. For cold climates the engine has an intake-air heating element and a heated fuel filter, and 220-volt heaters can be fitted for the coolant and sump.

Performance and fuel consumption

The Cummins engine made the truck lighter, faster and more economical, which explains why it became the main choice from 2010. By our calculation it carries about 30 kg of kerb weight per kW, against about 41 kg per kW for the MMZ version. In everyday work the old 1cars text puts consumption at 14–17 l/100 km. The fuel cost calculator turns those figures into a cost per delivery round.

Gearbox, brakes and steering

All Valdai trucks use a five-speed manual gearbox in an aluminium casing, with a first-gear ratio of 6.55 and a power take-off for special bodies. The clutch is a single-plate Sachs unit with a diaphragm spring.

The old 1cars text describes disc brakes on all wheels with pneumatic actuation and ABS, which allowed the truck to tow a trailer with air brakes. Steering is of the recirculating-ball type with hydraulic power assistance, and the front wheels turn up to 45 degrees, giving a turning radius of about 6.4 m. The front springs have rolled eyes and rubber bushes, and anti-roll bars on both axles improve stability.

Dimensions and weights

Valdai versions

Many trucks were fitted with box vans, including insulated and refrigerated bodies built from sandwich panels with polyurethane foam between metal sheets.

Valdai compared with the GAZelle and the GAZ-3307

The Valdai carries nearly three times as much as a GAZelle, yet it is much lower and easier to load than the GAZ-3307. Its smaller relative is the GAZ Sobol, and its successor in the range is the GAZon NEXT.

Successors and the Valdai NEXT

In mid-2015 GAZ began production of the GAZon NEXT City, a five-tonne delivery truck with low-profile wheels and a low loading height, and the original Valdai ended in December 2015. In 2020 the name returned as the Valdai NEXT, which keeps part of the chassis and axles of the first generation but uses the cab and interior of the Foton Ollin and a 2.8-litre Cummins ISF engine.