Csepel D-350
The Csepel D-350 is a lorry made by Hungarian manufacturer Csepel Autógyár from 1950 until 1958. It was the first series production Csepel vehicle, and a copy of the Austrian Steyr 380 lorry, built under licence. History After World War II, Hungarian Nehézipari Központ (NIK) acquired a licence for the Steyr 380 lorry, the Steyr WD-413 and WD-613 diesel engines, as well as the Steyr industrial four-cylinder petrol engine. At the time, the Steyr factory was in the Soviet occupied zone in Austria, and under Soviet control. Dezső Rankasz argues that the plans for the Steyr 380 lorry were effectively "taken over". The licence contract with Steyr was originally supposed to include a licence for the Steyr 180 agricultural tractor, but eventually, NIK acquired a licence for Steyr's WD-613 8-litre, six-cylinder diesel engine instead, because of the high power output it could provide for military vehicles. The contract also included a term which effectively transferred the rights to the Steyr patents – that were licensed in the contract – to the Hungarian state, from 1959 onwards, for a fee of USD 380,000. This later allowed Csepel Autógyár to build modified versions of the original WD-413 engine. On 3 November 1949, it was officially decided to establish a lorry factory in Szigethalom on Csepel Island, in a former aircraft factory. Mihály Zsofinyecz, Hungarian minister of heavy industries, formally accepted the plans for the factory on 18 November 1949. It was registered as a national company on 21 November 1949. The wife of Ferenc Bíró, herself an engineer, served as the factory's first managing director. The first engine, a Csepel D 413 four-cylinder diesel engine, was assembled on 21 December 1949; the first three lorries left the factory on 4 April 1950. At the time, the vehicle was still being hand-made, with several parts supplied and assembled by other vehicle manufacturers; the chassis was made by MVG in Győr, and the cab was made by Ikarus. Approximately the first 1000 engines made at Csepel Autógyár were assembled from Austrian-made parts. Production ended in 1958. Technical description The Csepel D-350 is a copy of the Steyr 380, and thus shares many technical characteristics with the aforementioned lorry. The design is a conventional body-on-frame design with two axles, and a front engine. In front, the D-350 has single wheels, and in rear it has twin wheels; all wheels were fitted with 8.25 by 20 inch tyres, and hydraulically operated brake drums. Except for a single prototype, all Csepel D-350 lorries are rear-wheel drive. Several different versions of the D-350 were made, in short- and long wheelbase forms, with the long-wheelbase, flatbed version being the most common. It has a wheelbase of 3710 mm, a length of 6735 mm, a width of 2260 mm, a height of 2740 mm, and a fording depth of 255 mm. The track width is 1740 mm in front, and 1650 mm in rear. The Csepel's mass is 3200 kg, and it has a payload of 3500 kg. The maximum