The "Moscow Transport" Museum, operating under the auspices of the Moscow Department of Transportation, has reported the completion of a large-scale restoration of the GAZ-12 ZIM limousine. The work was carried out by the specialized workshop "Nasledie". The car, produced in the middle of the last century, required a comprehensive approach: from body repair to electrical restoration.
The car underwent a complete defect analysis. The body panels were leveled and adjusted manually — this is necessary to preserve the historical geometry. At the same time, specialists carried out a major overhaul of the power unit and chassis, and completely replaced the wiring with modern, but visually authentic, wiring.
Experts from the museum acquired this copy back in 2000. At that time, the car was in poor technical condition and needed a deep reconstruction. Now the restored ZIM has joined the permanent exhibition in Konstantin Melnikov's garage on Novoryazanskaya Street.
GAZ-12 was produced at the Gorky Automobile Plant from 1949 to 1960. The model occupied a niche between the mass-produced "Pobeda" and the government ZIS-110. GAZ engineers were the first in the world to use a load-bearing body structure instead of a frame design on a production car with three rows of seats.
In 1951, three prototypes passed state tests, covering more than 20 thousand kilometers with a full load. Later, on the basis of ZIM components, the Avangard racing car was created, which set a speed record in 1952 — 271 km/h.
In free sale, the car cost 35–40 thousand rubles — an amount inaccessible to most citizens of the USSR. For comparison: "Pobeda" was estimated at 16 thousand, and "Moskvich" — at 8–9 thousand rubles.
Maxim Liksutov noted that the restoration of ZIM is being carried out as part of a systematic work on behalf of the Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin. The museum continues to search for and restore unique examples of technology in order to preserve them for future generations and show them to guests of the exhibition.
