AGD Passenger Cars and Buses, Part II

By Alexey Dyakov and Fedor Eliseev

Part I was recently published so we continue the AGD story now in Part II.

The AGD artisans in Kaliningrad were primarily interested, not in making money, but in making unique models for their personal collections, because it was their hobby. Thus, they produced only those cars that they wanted for themselves personally, so the number produced for most passenger cars was about 10-15 units, with the exception of the Moskvich 400 and ZiS-101 model ranges (seen in Part I).

In the early 1990s, AGD expanded its product range in a new direction.
Two models of pre-war buses were made in the workshop – ZIS 16 and AREMKUZ. It wasn’t easy to cast such large white metal bodies, but they did it successfully. Only about 10 models of the ZiS-16 and AREMKUZ buses were produced. The ZiS-16 was a rather beautiful American-style bus that replaced the outdated ZIS-8. It was a fairly common bus, more than 1,000 units were produced from 1937 to 1941. AREMKUZ was a Moscow manufacturer and produced bodies on truck chasses to provide Moscow with its own buses.

In 1993, AGD added the ZIS-8. The master was created by the Companion Company from Krasnodar, Russia. This company was very famous in the modeling business for their models of plastic (resin) trucks and buses. At that time, Companion also implemented white metal technology after communicating with the founder of AGD. Companion did not make the ZiS-8 models from white metal itself, but only made the pattern. AGD did produce and release several ZIS-8s, probably no more than 10 pieces.

The Kaliningrad workshop also successfully cooperated with AAA Manufacturer from Poltava, Ukraine. AAA designed the ZAZ-965 for Kaliningrad, and this made it possible to expand their range of passenger cars. AGD produced a basic and export version called Yalta.

The ZAZ-965 was the first car produced in Zaporizhia, Ukraine, where a new automobile plant appeared in 1960. The goal of the government was to provide citizens with really cheap cars. The designers took the Italian Fiat 600 as the prototype to base the ZAZ on. The Fiat and the Soviet car use basically the same technology. The ZAZ-965 was produced for about 9 years. Many people laughed at it, but actually in the Soviet Union it was not so bad to have a car like this, because the alternative was to ride the bus or walk. In the communist economic system, you had to wait 5-7 years for your car, because of manufacturing limitations at the factories.

AGD was also fond of the forgotten pages of auto history. In the mid-90s, one of the employees of the AGD met one of the experts on Soviet cars at the Moscow Collectors Club. He was looking for someone who could make a 1:43 scale model of the 1933 L-1 Krasny Putilovets limousine, called the Soviet Buick. He had the necessary photographs for this model. The collectors from AGD were also interested in this car, and they got to work. A few months later, a great model was created. All the details – the body, front grille, wheels and interior – were brilliantly modeled. Only a few units were ever manufactured.

As for the real car, this is one of the mysterious stories of Soviet industry. In 1932, a group from Leningrad decided to copy the American Buick 32-90. This car was very progressive and had some incredible technical solutions. Some of these cars were exported to the USSR. Enthusiasts chose the Putilov plant in Leningrad for production. This company produced replicas of Fordson tractors in the 1920s, but had no experience in the automotive industry. The factory’s specialists disassembled the original Buick and made drawings. They were given the task to build several cars by May 1, 1933. At that time, it was a common practice to show the world that Soviet people were capable of the impossible.

In fact, it was propaganda, and the goal was to overestimate achievements in various fields. Anyway, by May 1933, the plant had produced six cars. After the Communist demonstration, they went to Moscow to show the country’s leaders and prove that the machinery works perfectly. No one knows for sure the results of the Leningrad-Moscow meeting, but after demonstrating the car to the leaders and returning back, all work on this project stopped. There were rumors that all the cars had major technical problems and their production was suspended. Another version is that the Soviet government decided to use the Putilov plant as a tank manufacturer, and the development of the L-1 project became impossible.

Also in the mid-90s, the workshop created the LOISE-969 A (also called a ZAZ-969 or LuAZ-969). This Ukrainian four-wheel drive car was created on the basis of ZAZ underpinnings. The very lightweight and compact design proved excellent over cross-country terrain. There were different variations. but the AGD modeled the early generation using two versions – with and without an awning.

In the mid-90s and into the 2000s, AGD introduced a huge range of special and fire trucks, which soon became the main line of production. But the factory did not forget about the subject of passenger cars.

The ZIL-111G luxury limousine was introduced in the late 1990s. AGD became the first workshop in the former USSR to produce a model of this car. Here, the craftsmen implemented nickel plating of most metal parts. A convertible version of the updated ZIL-111D was also added to the base limousine. These were incredible and expensive models.

The main purpose of the ZIL-111D was to transport the head of state and ministers. Production of the limousine began in 1963 and ended in 1967. It was made per Nikita Khrushchev’ order to replace the outdated ZIL-111G, which was inspired by Packard models from the 1950s. It became the first car in the USSR where air conditioning was standard. Convertibles were used for military parades.

Another model range of passenger cars appeared in the late 90s.. They have released a full range of the KIM-10-50 and 10-51 and its prototypes. In the late 1930s, the Communists said that in a few years every Soviet citizen would have the opportunity to own a car. Therefore, the engineers tried to create a compact car, based on the British Ford Prefect. The prototype was introduced in 1940. It had separate headlights not built into the front fenders and side running boards.

When Joseph Stalin saw this car, he got very angry. He didn’t like its design and two-door body. He believed that a people’s car should have four doors. So everyone had to follow his orders. But the parts for 500 two-door bodies have already been manufactured. That’s why Stalin gave them special permission to assemble them, but the design had to be changed.

In the production cars, the headlights were integrated into the body, and there were no running boards. There were two body types – the 2-door KIM 10-50 sedan and the 10-51 convertible. Before the start of the war, 450 cars were built in Moscow. The designers had started work on the 4-door body but did not have time before the German invasion.

AGD modeled this entire KIM lineup. They even created a car from the 1941 Soviet comedy movie “Hearts of Four”, where you can see a chic convertible. In fact, this is a model of the British Ford Prefect, which served as a prototype for the Moscow model.

In the mid-2000s, AGD stopped producing most passenger car models, but not all! Even now, some things are still in the works. Now AGD is mainly focused on fire engines, but Part III will focus on sports cars made for racing.