GAZ-63

GAZ-63 at a glance

The GAZ-63 was the most common four-wheel-drive truck of the Soviet Army and the wider economy in the 1950s and 1960s, according to the old 1cars text. It was built on the same assembly line as the GAZ-51, which kept costs down and made servicing easy. All GAZ models are in the GAZ catalogue, and the company's story is in the history of GAZ.

Development: from the 1940 GAZ-62 to series production

GAZ began work on a family of off-road trucks before the Second World War. The old 1cars text dates the start to spring 1938. In 1940 the plant built and tested the GAZ-62, a four-wheel-drive truck based on the GAZ-MM, but the war stopped the project.

Work restarted in February 1943. By then GAZ engineers knew the Studebaker US6 and Chevrolet trucks supplied under Lend-Lease, and in November 1943 a team presented a new design that borrowed several of their ideas. The cab was redesigned, the rear axle got large single tyres, the front axle drive could be switched off, and the gearbox came from the new GAZ-51. A pre-series batch was built for trials in 1945, and series production began in late September 1948, two years after the GAZ-51.

Cab, wooden panels and the army body

The two-seat cab is close in shape to the GAZ-51's, with rounded wings and large round headlights, but its look still shows the American influence of the 1943 design. Sheet steel was scarce after the war, so early cabs were partly made of wood. The heater arrived only in 1952. Inside there is a large three-spoke steering wheel, a split windscreen and a simple dashboard with speedometer, fuel gauge, oil pressure gauge, coolant temperature gauge and ammeter, according to the old 1cars text.

The standard military body is a wooden platform with high lattice sides, a front wall, folding longitudinal benches and sockets for canvas hoops. The tailgate opens.

GAZ-51 engine and two-speed transfer case

The engine is the GAZ-51's: a water-cooled side-valve six descended from a Chrysler-type design, also used in the BTR-40 and other military vehicles. The transfer case has a low range for difficult ground and a direct range for roads; with the front axle disengaged on the road, fuel use falls. According to the old 1cars text, the army asked for a second tank, which with the main tank gave a range of about 780 km at full load. Later engines received a pre-heater for cold starts.

Chassis and the single-tyre layout

Both axles hang on longitudinal semi-elliptic leaf springs with double-acting hydraulic dampers. The brakes are hydraulic drums on all wheels, with a mechanical transmission parking brake, and the steering uses a globoid worm with a double roller, without power assistance.

The defining feature is the single rear tyres. With almost identical front and rear tracks (1,588 and 1,600 mm), the rear wheels can run in the ruts cut by the front ones, so the truck pushes through mud and snow with less effort. The price is stability: the narrow track, the high body and 270 mm of ground clearance gave a high centre of gravity, and the old 1cars text notes that GAZ-63s rolled over when taken into corners too fast. In farm use, where trucks were often overloaded, owners fitted twin rear wheels, and the factory later offered them on the tractor versions.

GAZ-63 specifications in metric and imperial units

The old 1cars text adds that the truck could cross about half a metre of loose snow and ditches up to 70 cm deep.

GAZ-63 versions and the BTR-40

In China the GAZ-63 was built under licence from 1958 as the Yuejin NJ-230, alongside the NJ-130 based on the GAZ-51A. East Germany imported GAZ-63s for its army and for reconstruction work, including box-body radio trucks from 1952.

GAZ-63 vs GAZ-51 and GAZ-66: how it compares

Compared with the GAZ-51, the GAZ-63 gives up 500 kg of road payload and 5 km/h of top speed for all-wheel drive. Its successor, the GAZ-66, shares no components with it: it moved the engine under the cab, added a V8, tyre inflation and power steering, and carried 2,000 kg even off-road. Other key Soviet trucks of the period, such as the ZIL-157, are covered in our guide to eight Soviet trucks that mattered.

Collecting a GAZ-63 today

Our verdict: the GAZ-63 is a collector's truck for military-vehicle enthusiasts rather than a practical off-roader. It is slow, heavy to steer and unstable when pushed, but mechanically simple, and many engine and gearbox parts are shared with the far more common GAZ-51. A complete, original winch-equipped GAZ-63A is the most desirable version.

What to check:

• frame and cab for rust and, on early trucks, the condition of any wooden cab parts;
• the transfer case and the front-axle engagement;
• the engine for smoke and knocking, and the cooling system;
• leaf springs, dampers and kingpins;
• the hydraulic brakes, which have no servo.

Other early post-war Soviet vehicles, such as the GAZ-67 field car, are in our 1940s classics.