Schmidt Meister

The ZiS-E134, a beast from the USSR In the 1950s the Soviets were looking for a truck that was as good as a normal vehicle on road, and as good as a tank off road. This tall order was answered with the ZiS-E134, a beast of a truck that could quite literally go anywhere. It was an 8×8 with four-wheel steering, adjustable tire pressures and incredible traction. It proved to be well worth against what was available at the time and an amphibious version covered water-based activities. However these fantastic trucks didn’t enter service due to a late change in requirements. After the Second World War the Soviet Union understood that there were limitations with the trucks used in their logistical system. This problem was made even worse in the early years of the Cold War due to the development of guided missiles and much more accurate bombing. These weapons would likely be used used against roads and transport networks at the start of a conflict with the west, knocking out their supply system early on. If operations were to continue in these circumstances, the Soviets would have to use off-road supply routes instead. So in 1954 the Council of Ministers of the USSR initiated a project to develop a wheeled vehicle that could be as good off-road as a tracked machine, and as good on road as a truck. ZiS-E134 Model No. 1 The ZiS-E134 was a large truck, with four axles and eight wheels for maximum traction. It measured 6.6 meters in length and weighed 7.7 tons empty. On top, the bodywork and bed was taken from the ZIS-151-type truck. The axles were the same as the BTR-152 for parts commonality, and each connected to huge, 1.2 meter-wide tires. These tires were specially designed for high elasticity so they could absorb shock, reducing the wear on suspension components. Thanks to the ZiS-E134’s very elastic tires, the pressure inside could be reduced to as low as 3 psi and kept there for long periods of time. At this pressure, the tires’ contact area was five times greater than standard. A transfer case offered low-range gearing for increased torque at low speeds. From here, power was sent via prop shafts to the four axles. The ZiS-E134 could run in four wheel drive, or eight wheel drive. For additional off-road performance, the differentials were self-locking. This stopped the wheels on each axle spinning at different rates to each other in soft ground. And, for the benefit of wear and the driver, the ZiS-E134 rode on springs and hydraulic shock absorbers. Steering was achieved through the ZiS-E134’s four front wheels. ZiS-E134 Model No. 2 The success of the ZiS-E134 Model No.1 led to a second version, Model No.2. This machine used many of the same components as Model No.1, but it was amphibious. It was first hoped that the movement of the tires would be enough to propel the truck through water, but when this didn’t work, it was fitted with a water jet from the PT-76 amphibious tank. Top speed in water was around 4 mph. As the tires for these trucks were so springy, designers actually ended up fitting the Model No.2’s wheels rigidly to the chassis, without any form of suspension. It simply relied on its soft tires for shock absorption. Like Model No.1, Model No.2 also had four axles and stored its cargo in a bed at the rear. However instead of a truck-like cab, Model No.2 had an open crew compartment that could be optionally covered by canvas, supported by ribs. Testing began in October 1955, almost immediately after the prototype was completed. The ZiS-E134 quickly proved to be an absolute off-road king. It was driven late in the year, during the infamous mud season known as rasputitsa. Long distances were travelled in extremely difficult conditions, where things like diff locks, reduced tire pressures and all wheel drive were necessary to make progress. Its huge 370 mm ground clearance was fantastic over rough ground, and it was even capable of climbing a 60 cm vertical wall. It could ford 1 meter of water, drive through waist height swamps, and cross 1.5 meter-wide trenches. Incredibly, it was capable of doing all this with 3 tons of cargo in the back and a relatively comfortable driver. The automatic transmission and power steering made his time in the two-man cab much easier than in standard cargo trucks of the day. The adjustable tire pressure system fed air into the tires via hoses that extended outside the wheels. Reportedly this system worked fine, but one questions how long this would survive while moving through forests, past rocks etc. In some conditions, the ZiS-E134 actually showed better performance than tracked vehicles as it had a lower ground pressure. In early 1956, it was tested in very deep snow against the best off-roaders the USSR had to offer. Due to its ground clearance snow had a tendency to build up around chassis, but it proved capable of moving through up to 650 mm of snow. When a plough was fitted to the front, the ZiS-E134 travelled through 1.2 meter tall snow banks. Despite the capabilities of the ZiS-E134 trucks, they wouldn’t ultimately enter service. This is strange considering they were some of the most capable off-roaders in the world at the time, but this was not the reason for their cancellation. It was a simple change of requirements that would be their end. The original requirements stated a cargo capacity of 3 tons, and a towed weight of 6 tons – both of which the ZiS-E134 successfully met. But during the project the military decided that they wanted double the cargo capacity and double the towed weight. This was not something that could be achieved by simply modifying the truck, so in the end the vehicle was cancelled. Not all was lost though, as the lessons learned during the project were applied to later vehicles. https://militaryhistoria.com/zis-e134-8x8-truck/

1970 Dodge Super Bee - 6.4L/392 Hemi V-8 - Tremec TKX 5 Spd Manual - Mopar 6.2L Hellcat Oil Pump - Trutrac Posi Rear 3.91 Along with everything else, I like the tag and the selection of music.

President Trump Calls For Jack Smith to be Arrested After Special Counsel Admits HE LIED TO THE COURT About Classified Docs Seized from Mar-a-Lago. President Trump this weekend called for Jack Smith to be arrested after the Special Counsel admitted in a court filing that he lied to the court about the classified documents seized from Mar-a-Lago. “ARREST DERANGED JACK SMITH. HE IS A CRIMINAL!” Trump said in a Truth Social post this weekend. Jack Smith admitted he lied to the Court about the classified documents seized from Mar-a-Lago in a motion filed late Friday night. Special Counsel Jack Smith on Friday evening responded to Trump’s co-defendant Walt Nauta’s motion to extend a deadline for disclosures in the classified documents case. Recall that Walt Nauta, a former White House employee and Navy veteran who worked valet for Trump and served as a personal staffer at Mar-a-Lago was indicted along with Trump last year. In a motion filed late Friday, Jack Smith admitted the FBI messed with the boxes containing “classified” documents they seized from Trump and can’t be sure the order or the placement of the documents. In a May 1 filing, Walt Nauta’s attorney claimed he had difficulty in cross-referencing materials in classified and unclassified discovery because “certain items in the seized boxes he reviewed were in a different order from where they appear in the scans of the boxes’ contents produced in discovery.” Jack Smith in his Friday night response admitted the FBI moved the classified documents around. According to a footnote in the motion reviewed by The Gateway Pundit, the FBI messed with the boxes containing the ‘classified’ documents they seized from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. The DOJ previously assured the Court that the placement of classified documents as originally found had been maintained – THEY LIED! https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/05/president-trump-calls-jack-smith-be-arrested-after/

Demonstration of Bidenomics This and the shuffling walk is the reason that they now surround POSOTUS when he walks to the helicopter. Especially since the dogs are gone and they can't blame the piles on them.

Nikola Tesla — 'You may live to see man-made horrors beyond your comprehension.' Welp ... go ahead and mark 'horrors beyond your comprehension' off your Bingo Card.

Biden HAS had some PROFOUND experiences … ask Ashley.

Jamal Bowman is a communist and a illegal barbarian advocate to erase your rights as an American … because he hates America and its God-given rights as do ALL of the terrorist “refugees” he wants to make citizens.

Kissel Military Highway Scout Kar - Multnomah Falls, Oregon - 1918 This camouflaged “Military Highway Scout Kar” was built by Kissel Motor Car Company of Wisconsin. The camouflage was painted to honor the company’s work supplying vehicles to several countries in WWI. The car in this form was a promotional vehicle and toured the west coast promoting the company and their cars.