AvtoKuban

Bus "Kuban" series G1

Krasnodar mechanical factory original equipment (Ru:Краснодарский механический завод нестандартного оборудования), commonly known as AvtoKuban (Ru:АвтоКубань), was a company that for many years produced buses based on Gorky Automobile Factory (GAZ) chassis.

History

The first plant in Soviet who specialized in the production of special vehicles for cultural institutions, has become Krasnodar mechanical plant. It was he who for 30 years was the main producer of theater buses, auto clubs and avtobibliotek brand "Kuban».
In 1962, the urgent need of campaign buses. For the production of bus and found the furniture shop Krasnodar Rempromkombinata, which was reorganized into the extra "Krasnodar mechanical factory original equipment».
As the first bus to be shown the leadership of the Ministry by the end of summer and quickly created a bus with a wooden frame body "Kuban-62" on a truck chassis GAZ-51 A. Based on the bus Kuban-62 in Krasnodar and began to make autoclubs avtoknigolavki "Kuban-62A." In 1963 came the modernized bus Kuban-63 , which in the summer was presented to the public at the exhibition business trust "Glavpromsnabsbyt" the Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR, and in the winter went to the series.
At the time there was an acute shortage of various special vehicles for the needs of the Ministry of Culture, which could only give Krasnodar plant. Therefore, the plant was carried out violent activities to create new types of emergency vehicles. By the mid-1960s has had a decent material basis for a significant increase in mass production. Growth was evident: in 1963, 293 cars were produced, and in 1966 - already 955.
Production of buses on a wooden frame grew, and with it the work was done to improve the design produced buses. One after another came into being modernized car club "Kuban-64", avtobiblioteka "Kuban-65A" and an experienced bus to drive chassis GAZ-63.
In addition, in mid-1960 at the plant began experimenting with metal body on the frame of the rectangular tube, with the result that in 1966 there were two experienced auto club. And next year, the plant produced an experimental batch of 30 car clubs unusual design Kuban-66 with all-metal body, after which the plant is fully switched to serial production of such buses.
Changed the bus was the index Kuban-G1A of the classification and the new plant went into production in March 1967. At its base was subsequently created 4 versions of special purpose vehicles "cultural" Profile: avtobiblioteka, Automobile, avtoknigolavka and avtomuzeum.
At the end of 1960 to replace the bus, "Kuban-G1A" already planned new development of the plant - special buses series "F2", "F3" and "F4". The most famous among them was the bus with a rectangular metal body - Kuban-G4A . The new buses are supposed to release a test batch in 1969 in the amount of 1,000, but it was made only about 30 cars, with exactly the same was not among them, some were modernized in the process of issuing and carried the index is "G4AM." Some machines custom-built resort of Sochi administration were open bodies of the "dash».
Buses "Kuban" in the production process is constantly upgraded, although this was not reflected in the index. Only in 1975, after going into production on a new chassis (with GAZ-51A on the GAZ-52-04) and a small restyling buses got a new index - G1A1. At the same time tested prototypes of buses "Kuban-G4AS" on the chassis GAZ-53 A. However, the standard plant could start production of buses on the "53rd" go only 7 years later, when the plant manager was proactive and energetic Eugene Babichev, then, and there were the first Kuban-G1A1-01 . Through the use of a longer chassis (base 3700 mm) was able to increase the number of seats in the cabin. For a while buses "Kuban" in the GAZ-52-04 and GAZ-53A manufactured in parallel, but the production model of "G1A1" gradually began to collapse, and by 1985 the plant produced only "long" buses. Technical documentation for the production of "Kuban-G1A1-01" in the early 1980s gave Buddenovskoye repair-mechanical plant, where they are produced in parallel with the Krasnodar plant until 1987.

However, the base model G1A1-01 quickly became obsolete, and in 1989, the factory made a last attempt to modernize veteran: it was replaced by an updated Kuban-G1A1-02 on the GAZ-53-11, apparently different from the old "Kuban" square roof, front and rear lights of the new sample. It is this model in 1989, is the 100000th passenger bus "Kuban". But the demand for older buses declined rapidly, and by releasing 112,500 buses and emergency vehicles "Kuban", they were removed from production in 1993 because of illiquidity. In connection with the collapse of the Soviet Union the need for such special transport disappeared itself.

Also, with the 1966 to 1998 were produced numerous modifications vehicles Kubanets based on UAZ-452D.

After the collapse of the USSR the factory was renamed the corporation AvtoKuban took up the issue and minibuses from the GAZelle. Finally, the company went bankrupt in 2001.

Models

See also

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