Automobiles with a station wagon body were produced by many automakers by the 50s of the last century. Therefore, when developing the second generation of MZMA cars, the designers initially laid the possibility of creating a station wagon based on a sedan of a car with a cargo-passenger body.
Car making
The car was created primarily for the national economy and government agencies, and not for sale to individuals. In the first sketches, the car was a three-door - two doors in the front and one folding back up. Such a solution made it possible to unify the design of the station wagon with a van, in which there was an even greater need. However, this decision had many drawbacks and was eventually abandoned.
The new project included a five-door body. The car received the designation "Moskvich 423" and was ready for serial production in 1957. She became the first car in the USSR with a body of this type.
The Muscovite of this model lasted only about a year in production. In 1958, the basic model of the Moskvich 402 sedan was changed to the advanced Moskvich 407. The station wagon based on the new sedan received the Moskvich 423N index. About 29,500 such cars were produced. At the next modernization of the base sedan in 1963, the car became known as "Moskvich 424".
Design and technical features
The machine was equipped with a supporting body. The bodywork used a serial side panel of the sedan with a gutter curved directly behind the rear door. Only a little more than 1,500 such cars were produced, and now only a few surviving cars are known. A photo of Moskvich 423 early series is presented below.
The rear panel of the body also remained from the sedan, which predetermined a high loading height (760 mm). The back door with glass leant back on two hinges to the left.
The rear seat had a metal lining at the back and was easy to fold, which made it possible to create a cargo compartment with a load capacity of up to a quarter ton. The length of the compartment with a flat floor was nearly 1.5 meters with a width of about 1.2 meters. A characteristic feature was the removable floor panel, under which there was a spare tire in the niche.
The powertrain and transmission were entirely borrowed from the basic sedan model. The early version of Moskvich 423 had a lower-valve 35-horsepower engine with a three-speed gearbox. After upgrading to 423N, the power of the new overhead valve motor grew to 45 forces, and then a four-speed transmission appeared. On the Moskvich 423N there were shortened chrome "comb" on the rear doors, on the hood under the factory logo was the inscription "Moskvich".
Due to the higher load capacity, the machine was equipped with rear suspension springs extended by 5 mm.
The plant practically did not supply Moskvich 423 for free sale. The bulk of the vehicles were distributed to government agencies and used to distribute small consignments or mail. Many of these machines came to private owners only after decommissioning.
Technical characteristics of "Moskvich 423"
- Overall dimensions 4.055 / 1.54 / 1.6 m.
- Ground clearance up to 200 mm.
- Base 2.37 m.
- Empty weight 950 kg.
- The maximum weight is 1430 kg.
- Speed up to 105 km / h.
- Fuel consumption up to 11 l / 100 km.
- Fuel capacity 35 l.