GAZ-24

From GAZ-21 to GAZ-24: how the car was developed

The GAZ-24 was developed in the 1960s as a larger, more modern replacement for its predecessor, the GAZ-21, which GAZ had built since 1956. Work on a successor is usually dated to 1958, and the plant's stylists are reported to have made up to six clay proposals between 1959 and 1963 before the shape settled. The wheelbase grew from 2,700 mm to 2,800 mm.

Running M-24 prototypes were on test by late 1964. The design was approved for series production in the autumn of 1966, but tooling the factory took far longer. GAZ assembled around 30 pre-series sedans in 1968 and another 215 in 1969, which is why some references give 1968 or 1969 as the start date. Full-scale production of the GAZ-24 began in 1970, the year the car was shown to the public at the London Motor Show and the GAZ-21 left the line. Exports followed in 1971.

Body and design: how to tell the three series apart

The GAZ-24 is a four-door unibody sedan that changed in three stages: a first series from 1970 to 1977, a second series from 1977 to 1985 and the GAZ-24-10 from 1985 to 1992. The body is 4,735 mm (186.4 in) long and 1,800 mm (70.9 in) wide.

First-series cars have plain chrome bumpers and, until 1975, a ribbon-type speedometer; a wood-effect dashboard insert appeared in 1973. The second series, phased in around 1976–1978, added rubber-faced bumper guards (the "fangs"), yellow fog lamps and extra side indicators. Front and rear seat belts were offered from 1977, and the dashboard gained foam padding.

The GAZ-24-10 borrowed its interior from the GAZ-3102: separate front seats with head restraints replaced the bench, and the rear window gained electric heating. Outside, it gained a black plastic grille and plastic-trimmed bumpers. The first cars of 1985 mixed old and new parts and were known unofficially as the "24M".

Engines and transmission

The standard engine of the GAZ-24 is the ZMZ-24D, a 2,445 cc (149 cu in) overhead-valve inline-four with an aluminium block and eight valves. It produces 70 kW (95 PS) at 4,500 rpm and 186–190 Nm (137–140 lb-ft) at 2,200–2,400 rpm, depending on the source. Bore and stroke are both 92 mm (3.62 in), and the compression ratio is 8.2:1.

Some English-language references quote 82–84 kW (110–112 hp) for the same engine. Those are gross figures; the factory's net 95 PS, a metric horsepower rating, is the usual reference. Taxi versions used the ZMZ-24-01, a low-compression variant for 76-octane petrol rated at 63 kW (85 PS).

The GAZ-24-10 switched to the ZMZ-402 family in 1985. Sources give its output as 72–74 kW (98–100 PS), and it came with a 3.9:1 final drive instead of the original 4.1:1.

All series drive the rear wheels through a four-speed manual gearbox, synchronised on every forward gear, with a floor-mounted lever and a hydraulically operated single dry-plate clutch. A three-speed automatic, the same unit as in the Chaika, was fitted only to the V8 cars.

Chassis, suspension and brakes

The GAZ-24 uses a conventional layout: independent front suspension, a live rear axle on longitudinal leaf springs and drum brakes on all four wheels. The front end uses wishbones and coil springs, and Soviet-era descriptions point out that it kept kingpins rather than ball joints.

The self-adjusting drums have hydraulic operation, a vacuum servo and a split circuit. The GAZ-24-10 gained a tandem master cylinder and a dual-chamber servo but kept drums at the front. Ground clearance is 180 mm (7.1 in). Later cars ran on 205/70 R14 radials; early cars are usually quoted on 175/80 R14 tyres.

GAZ-24 specifications

Figures are for the base GAZ-24 sedan with the ZMZ-24D engine (1970–1985).

Fuel figures come from spec databases, not a factory test. Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h is usually quoted as about 20 seconds for the original car and 19 seconds for the GAZ-24-10, which also reached 147 km/h (91 mph).

GAZ-24 versions and derivatives

Besides the sedan, GAZ built the GAZ-24 as a taxi, an estate, an ambulance, a V8 special-services car and several export versions.

Taxi, estate and ambulance

More than half of all output is usually reported to have gone to taxi fleets. The GAZ-24-02 five-door estate, introduced in 1971 or 1972 depending on the source, was the base for the GAZ-24-03 ambulance of 1973 and the GAZ-24-04 taxi estate. The 24-10 range had its own estate, the 24-12, from 1987.

V8 cars for special services

The GAZ-24-24 combined the sedan body with a 5,530 cc (337 cu in) V8 derived from the GAZ-13 Chaika engine, a three-speed automatic, power steering and a 105 L (27.7 US gal) fuel tank, while keeping drum brakes. Output is given as 140 kW (190 PS) in some sources and 143 kW (195 PS) in others. The cars served as escorts for special services; the V8-powered GAZ-23 had been built for the same users on the GAZ-21 body.

Export and the Scaldia-Volga diesels

Right-hand-drive GAZ-24-54 and 24-56 sedans, roughly 1,000 of them, were built in 1978 for India, Pakistan and Singapore. In Europe, Scaldia-Volga S.A. in Antwerp assembled GAZ-24 kits in Belgium and fitted Peugeot Indenor diesel engines: a 2.1 L (128 cu in) unit rated at 46 kW (62 PS), then a 2.3 L (140 cu in) XD2 with 51 kW (70 PS) from 1980. The Belgian sedans ended by late 1983, while the diesel estate continued.

Place in the Volga family and legacy

The GAZ-24 sits between the GAZ-21 and the GAZ-3102, which grew out of the 24, and outlived that successor's launch by a decade. Hand assembly of the GAZ-3102 began in April 1982, and its engineering upgrades were carried over to the GAZ-24-10 from 1986. The bodyshell then lived on through the GAZ-31029 from 1992 and the GAZ-3110, and later Volga models such as the GAZ-3105 followed.

With 1,481,561 cars of all versions produced between 1970 and 1992, the GAZ-24 became the most numerous passenger model in the history of GAZ. A two-tone white and yellow fleet served the 1980 Summer Olympics and carried the Olympic torch. The rest of the range is listed under all GAZ models.