You can hardly call me a car fanatic - I have trouble taking care of my own, but when I stumble upon an old beauty, I am one of the first to whip out my cellphone to grab some shots.
When I was younger, I always thought I'd buy myself one of these Volgas as a Sunday car, but I soon realized, waxing and washing and being elbow-deep in old car engines was not for me.
Meet the GAZ-21
Volga GAZ-21 was manufactured over a 14-year span, in three series.Not like the BMW, but rather the series got more upgrades over the years.
Series one, manufactured from 1956 -1958, was called "The Star", because it features a shape of a star on the front grille with three horizontal bars.
Click to see a still of Volga GAZ-21 "The Star" in "Vanad ja kobedad saavad jalad alla"
While production started in 1956, they were barely ready and only managed to manufacture 5 cars in that year! But what an interesting fact - they even made a model with automatic transmission, but at that time these models were hard to maintain and service - meaning workshops and owners just didn't know how and most likely there was a shortage of parts as well.
Enter Series Two
Series Two GAZ-21, nicknamed "The Shark", quietly resting in the back corner of the yard, under a garage roof.While visiting @raili's relative, who owns a house in a nearby village deep in the woods, I was positively surprised to stumble upon this
"The Shark." With some imagination it's easy to see the resemblance. Eyes and the nose of the car viciously leaning forward like a shark looking for it's prey, with the grille making a furious impression as well.
Apparently, this car was driven here just a few years ago with no help from tow trucks. So apparently some Russian tech is solid and built to last.
"The Shark" featured a 3-speed manual transmission, high ground clearance, tubeless tires and rust-proof body no-one had ever expected from a Russin vehicle. I guess that's the reason some of these cars still look like a million dollars.
While time has started eating on the paint, the body still looks strong. There are places you can have the same paint job done as on the original, if one was to have intentions of renewing the car. There was something beautiful about the ugly old colours of the old russian vehicles, collectors and rare cars enthusiasts still strive for their vehicles to look like the original.
The interior was bland, but perhaps by not the standards of the days back then. The steering wheel alone is pure class and makes up for the lack of any other aesthetics. Even the Russian letters "Bолга" in the middle of the dash on the stereo look like an aesthetics dream.
Series Two even featured windshield wipers, so you actually could drive in the rain now.
The front seat came in one long cushion, so you could actually fit multiple people in front there, driving safety was not a big concern back then.
Those triangular side windows in the front were perfect for smokers, you would just flip it open and put your cigarette tip out of the window.
Alas, the doors still open and close like the barn doors. The doors are flagging on their hinges and need to be closed with a bang and sometimes they still don't close.
At least the back seat passengers have had a nice ashtray installed as well, not having triangular windows themselves.
Series Three
Series Three, "Baleen", featured even more upgrades, a new front grille with even more vertical bars, a station wagon model for export and official use and much more.
Click to see a still of GAZ-21, "Baleen", in "Salt (2010)"
All in all, Volga GAZ-21 all series are iconic and beautiful cars and collectors pay hefty money for cars in mint condition. They have been featured in countless movies and various car shows wouldn't be the same without an old Volga present.
There are still many of them lying around in corners of old farms, in abandoned garages. Find them, photograph them, if possible, drive around in them.
Looking around in the corners of the lot, I found various other old vehicles, growing one with nature, like they are right where they belong. I will share the photos with you below as I bid you farewell for now.
Wow... this old car is Gold.. I hope you take it up. 👀👌👌👌👌
Not my car, just caught them on photos before nature swallows them up.
Cheers mate, this is some fantastic photos! The stories connected to them are pretty neat as well, since I don't think much of Russian carmakers. These old cars are fantastically charming, with shapes that defy any regulations that exist today. I consider the 50s to 70s to be the Golden Age of automotive design, back when they were created out of artistic beauty, with free flowing lines, curves, and sharp edges aplenty.
This Gaz-21 is no different, and it's a testament to that bygone era. What I have learned about these old Russian cars, is that they're built like absolute thanks! Not too reliable, or mechanically advanced, but you just know that you could drop a nuclear bomb, and it'll still survive. This particular car shows how well it's been built, and it's actually in a decently good condition, especially the interior. I've seen bigger restoration projects, though I can imagine finding parts for old GAZs would be near enough impossible.
Thanks for sharing :-)
This one truly quite well-preserved, although I fear it will be left to wither away, at least I got it preserved digitally.
Hear-hear about the tank part - you know what they say about old russian tech - just kick it with a big boot, if it starts acting up. If that won't fix it, nothing will. Cheers!
Lol, quite true! These old Eastern Bloc cars are made of some truly submarine-like steel, amazingly durable against rust, and invasion by the capitalist West XD. I guess it's unfortunate to see any car be left to nature like this, but parts are likely to be nigh impossible to find, and not going to be cheap either. Maybe turn it into a restomod? Replace that engine with some electric motors, perhaps?
hahaha combain, audi käivitub v?
Kahjuks mitte - Krt sellise kombainiga oleks ülitimm otse põõsastikku tõmmata ja siis talda anda 😊
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