FSC Lublin 51, 1954
In 1948, a decision was made to license the production in Lublin of the Soviet GAZ-51 truck with a load capacity of 2.5 t and a 4×2 drive system, the designs of which began to be developed in the USSR before the outbreak of World War II. The plans assumed a production capacity of 12,000 (and soon even 25,000) pieces per year. The first Lublin 51 (the name given to the vehicle) left the Bolesław Bierut Truck Factory in Lublin on November 7, 1951. In this way, the Lublin plant celebrated the 34th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was produced in several versions, of course the most numerous was the version with a cargo box, but versions with closed bodies were also produced: sanitary, workshop, prisoner or traveling cinema. The vehicle has also undergone several modernizations, including: the carburetor and handbrake were changed, the vacuum wiper drive system was replaced with an electric one, and the wooden driver’s cabin, covered with sheet metal and dermatoid, was replaced with a completely metal structure. Despite extensive production plans, a total of only 17,479 units of the Lublin 51 car were produced until June 1959 (for comparison: in the years 1946-75, nearly 3.5 million GAZ-51s were produced in the USSR!). With a small payload and a fuel-hungry gasoline engine, consuming over 26 liters per 100 km, it could not withstand the competition with larger trucks, such as STAR 20 and 21, capable of transporting 3.5 – 4 tons of cargo with much better operational parameters. After the production of the Lublin-51 was discontinued, the Żuk delivery van appeared on the production lines of the Lublin FSC.
Technical data Lublin 51:
Length: 5.53 m
Width: 2.20 m
Height: 2.13 m
Wheelbase: 3.30 m
Curb weight: 2710 kg
Load capacity: 2500 kg
Maximum speed on the road: 70 km/h
Range on the road: 330 km
Drive: petrol, bottom-valve in-line engine, six-cylinder GAZ M-51
Displacement: 3480 cm3
Power: 70 HP
Fuel consumption on the road: 26.5 l / 100 km
