The ZIL-5301, known as the Bychok (‘little bull’), was the last new truck family developed by ZiL. It was a three-tonne delivery lorry built from existing parts, and it kept the Moscow plant busy for more than a decade before production ended in 2014.
ZIL-5301 Bychok at a glance
| Maker | ZiL, Moscow; later Petrovsk |
|---|---|
| First prototypes | 1991–1992 |
| Production | 1995–2014 |
| Class | three-tonne delivery truck, 4×2 |
| Engine | MMZ D-245 four-cylinder diesel, 4,750 cc |
| Power | 109 hp at first, 136 hp in the last versions |
| Cab | ZIL-4331 type |
| Payload | 3,450 kg |
| Gross weight | 6,950 kg |
| Top speed | 95 km/h |
| Turning circle | 7 m |
There is no English Wikipedia article; the page uses the Russian and German ones.
History of the ZIL-5301 Bychok
A truck for a new market
When the Russian economy moved to market rules in the early 1990s, demand for ZiL’s main product, medium-duty petrol trucks, collapsed. In early 1992 the plant urgently started a project for a three-tonne delivery truck using as many parts as possible from its heavier models: the cab of the ZIL-4331 and the gearbox of the ZIL-130. The chassis layout was modelled on the Mercedes-Benz T2. The first two running prototypes were built at the end of 1994, and in 1995 a pilot batch of 219 vehicles was made on Mercedes chassis, with cabs whose headlamps sat high. Mass production began in 1996, when 1,348 were built. The name Bychok is said, without firm confirmation, to have been suggested by Moscow’s mayor Yuri Luzhkov.
Vans and buses
In 1996–1997 a modular panel van body was developed, allowing two-, three- and four-section vans of 10.5 to 20.5 m³ on wheelbases from 3,245 to 4,505 mm; the basic three-section ZIL-5301SS held 15.5 m³. The low loading height of 765 mm, the small turning circle and the sliding side door made the vans suitable for combined passenger and cargo versions with a six-seat cab, the ZIL-5301A3, A2 and A1. For Mosvodokanal, 15 ZIL-5301A2 vans were built in 2004–2005. In 1998 the vans gave rise to the ZIL-3250 minibus family, with 15- and 19-seat versions, anti-roll bars and ABS, and to the ZIL-32502M ambulance and the ZIL-325ShA staff bus.
Success and decline
By 2000 the Bychok accounted for 56 percent of the plant’s output, some 12,300 vehicles, and kept the factory’s capacity loaded. In the second half of the 2000s competition from the GAZ-3310 Valdai and from Korean and Chinese imports, together with the plant’s worsening finances, cut its share sharply; in 2008 it was only 11.6 percent, or 527 vehicles. A plan to assemble improved Bychoks in Jelgava, Latvia, with a Cummins diesel, a ZF gearbox, disc brakes and a 4.5-tonne payload, was never carried out. A strengthened 4.5-tonne family, the ZIL-4362 and later the Tapir, was repeatedly postponed.
Engines and the end
Until 2005 the trucks used MMZ D-245.12S and D-245.9 diesels, both to Euro 0. In January 2005 the whole family received the MMZ D-245.9E2 to Euro 2 and from April 2008 the D-245.9E3 to Euro 3, with new factory indexes. Over fifteen years the turbocharged four-cylinder grew from 109 to 136 hp. The Bychok had a five-speed synchronised ZIL-130 gearbox, power steering, a three-seat 4331 cab and an original short-bonnet front that won a design prize in 1995; the brakes combined air pressure with hydraulic fluid, the front brakes were discs, and the steel platform with a tilt sat low, at 1,050 mm. On 26 December 2011 assembly was moved from Moscow to the Petrovsk plant in Saratov region, and in 2014 production ended for good.
Design and features
- Parts-bin engineering: Mercedes T2 chassis layout, ZIL-4331 cab and ZIL-130 gearbox in one light truck.
- MMZ diesel: a 4,750 cc four-cylinder that grew from 109 to 136 hp and from Euro 0 to Euro 3.
- Delivery-friendly: a 1,050 mm platform, a 7 m turning circle and panel vans up to 20.5 m³.
- Last of its line: the final new ZiL truck family, produced until 2014.
ZIL-5301 Bychok versions
- ZIL-5301 (1995): first series with Mercedes T2 chassis parts, 219 built.
- ZIL-5301AO: basic flatbed with tilt, built until 2010.
- ZIL-5301SS: three-section panel van of 15.5 m³.
- ZIL-5301TO: double-cab model; ZIL-5301BO a bare chassis.
- ZIL-3250: 15- and 19-seat minibus family on the same base.
- ZIL-5301 with D-245.9E3: Euro 3 version from 2008.
The Bychok used the cab of the ZIL-4331 and the gearbox of the ZIL-130. More trucks are in the ZiL collection.
Sources
- ЗИЛ-5301, Russian Wikipedia: history, versions, engines, equipment
- ZIL-5301, German Wikipedia: production dates, dimensions, weights
