Year 1961

“DEVRİM”

THE FIRST TURKISH AUTOMOBILE

THE FIRST AUTOMOBILE OF TURKEY MANUFACTURED IN 1961 IN OUR COMPANY WITH THE DIRECTIONS OF PRESIDENT CEMAL GÜRSEL

THE STORY OF DEVRİM

On June 16, 1961 nearly 20 admistrators and engineers from the factories and traction departments of the State Railways were called to a meeting in Ankara. Vice General Manager Emin BOZOĞLU, the chairman of the meeting read a letter received from the Ministry of Transportation. It was stated in the letter that the task of developing an automobile to meet the need of the army was assigned to TCDD and that a subsidy in the amount of 1.400.000 TL was allocated for this task.

The due date of the task was October 29, 1961. So, they had only 4.5 months to finish the work. Was it possible to complete such a comprehensive task within this limited period? Forget about developing, was it possible to make an automobile running with nothing at hand? Most of the attendants of the meeting said that they would willingly work in this project, but mentioned that they don’t think such a work can be finished within that time. And some of the attendants said that it was impossible.

During that period many well-known people from the universities and the press in Turkey, as well as businessmen and politicians indicated in their speeches, interviews or conferences that neither an automobile nor an engine could be build in Turkey.

But, the miracle could be realized and in the morning of October 29, 1961 an automobile with not such a smooth hood, but with a local built engine was brought in front of the Great National Assembly building and was presented to President Cemal Gürsel Pasha. A second one brought the Pasha first to the mausoleum of Atatürk and then to the military parade in the hippodrome. How could this be realized?

There were two reasons why this project was given to TCDD and not to another organization. One of the reasons was that TCDD with its factories in Ankara, Eskişehir, Sivas and Adapazarı established in those years mainly for repairs, but producing also many kind of spare parts, had an important technical potential and a strong technical staff with qualified workers and engineers. The other reason was that Vice General Manager of TCDD, Dipl.-Ing. Emin BOZOĞLU had a military background and was well known by the Committee of National Unity and most members of council because of his relationship with Sıtkı ULAY Pasha.

Dipl.-İng. Emin BOZOĞLU was the chairman of the administrative team and he together with the other members of the team played an important role in the management and realization of the project.

During this period the assigned engineers worked minimum 12 hours a day, including Saturdays and Sundays or even slept for a couple of hours in the workshop on a shelter in order to finish the work on time.

In the meeting held on June 16, 1961 it was agreed that a factory building that was formerly built as a foundry, but not used at that time in Eskişehir Railway Factory (now TÜLOMSAŞ) would be the most suitable place for the project. It was also agreed that different type of automobile structures should be investigated to decide on the type and dimension of the best suitable one and to have an idea of how to design and manufacture the engine and transmission unit, as well as other components of the automobile.

The factory in Eskişehir was instructed to prepare the workshop under consideration for the studies and it was required from those who had a car to be in Eskişehir on June 19. The floor of the workshop was covered with sheets that were supplied for the boilers of steam locomotives. A plate indicating in big numbers how many days were left to finish the project was hung onto the door of the workshop. Each day they wrote the remaining days on this plate, which stood there up to the end. An overhead traveling crane, various stands and a meeting table was provided in the workshop. This table near a small kitchen for tea was used during those four months for meetings, as well as for resting and working when necessary.

The “Managerial Group” of the project was declared in the first meeting held in the workshop. This group under the chairmanship of Vice General Manager Emin BOZOĞLU consisted of the following members: TCDD Factories Dept. Manager Orhan ALP, Traction Dept. Manager Hakkı TOMSU, Traction Dept. Asst. Manager Nurettin ERGUVANLI, Manager of Eskişehir Railway Factory Mustafa ERSOY, Manager of Adapazarı Railway Factory Celal TANER, Manager of Ankara Railway Factory Mehmet NÖKER and two retired military officers Hüsnü KAYAOĞLU (Consultant, TCDD General Management) and Necati PEKÖZ. Then they decided on the working groups. The working groups were as follows:

• design
• engine-transmission
• hood
• suspension-brake
• electrical arrangement
• cast works
• supply issues
• finance

First, the outlines of the projected automobile were determined. They agreed on a moderate size of automobile for 4-5 passengers with a total weight of 1000-1100 kg and a four-stroke engine with 4 cylinders and 50-60 HP.

One of the vehicle body models in 1:10 scale was selected to prepare a gypsum model in 1:1 scale. The roof section and hood sheets were produced one by one on concrete blocks prepared according to this gypsum model. In the meanwhile, after examining the engines of automobile models like Willy’s Jeep, Warswa, Chevrolet, Ford Consul, Fiat 1400 and 1100, it was decided on a L-head, four cylinder engine similar to the engine of Warswa. The housing and head of the engine were cast in Sivas Railway Factory and machined in Ankara Railway Factory. Piston, ring and riggings were produced in Eskişehir Railway Factory. The assembly of the engine was performed in Ankara Railway Factory. An alternative type of engine with the same housing and crankshaft was developed in Ankara Railway Factory because the power obtained during braking was not more than 40 HP. The third engine that was an overhead valve engine called B-engine was constructed in Eskişehir Railway Factory.

The team responsible for suspension suggested the “Mc Pearson” system and the suspension system was produced in Eskişehir according to a sample.

At the end of September the front and rear windows were slightly modified to match with those in the market, two car bodies were constructed and two separate engines in A and B types were ready. The transmissions were produced locally in Ankara Railway Factory.

The adaptation of engine in the car body, installation of clutch, gas and brake control mechanism and the position of the steering wheel were the most important problems that arouse during assembly. The suggestion of an adjustable steering wheel was refused, but two years later Cadillac introduced this as an innovation.

Finally, mid October the first automobile of the Devrim series was ready for testing. All parts of the automobiles, except electrical components, differential gears, cardan spiders, engine bearings, windows and wheels, were produced locally.

During the test stage of the first car, they worked hard to get the second car equipped with the B-type engine ready in time for presenting it to the president. The final paint coat of the second Devrim car could be applied in the evening of October 28. Polishing works were done at that night in the train while traveling to Ankara. The fuel tanks of the cars were emptied for safety reasons to prevent any danger that might be caused by the sparks from the chimney of the steam locomotive.

The train arrived at Ankara in the morning hours. The two Devrim automobiles were brought to Ankara Railway Factory, which was in Sıhhiye district of the city at that time. The fuel tanks of the cars had been filled only with a small amount of gasoline to perform some manouevres. It was planned to fill the fuel tanks of the cars in the filling station in Sıhhiye and then drive to the Great National Assembly.

In the morning of October 29 the two Devrim automobiles set off to the Great National Assembly escorted by many motorcycled security guards. However, since nobody in the escort was informed that the cars had to be filled, they drove directly to the Assembly. There they recognized that the fuel tanks were empty. The fuel tank of the first car was filled in a hurry. But, when they were just about to fill the second car, President Cemal Pasha arrived at the Great National Assembly and got in the second car to drive to the mausoleum. They set off. But, after nearly 100 m the engine stopped. Cemal Pasha asked: “What is going on?” Dipl. Ing. Rıfat SERDAROĞLU in the driver’s seat said: “Sorry Pasha, we are out of fuel.” Cemal Pasha was asked to change to the first car. He agreed and drove to the mausoleum in the first car. When he got out of the car, he said:” You built the car in a Western manner, but forgot to fill the tank in the Eastern manner.”

The headings of many articles in the press the next day were all the same “Failure in 100 m”.

Nobody mentioned about that the Devrim Automobile Nr. 2 that was in the parade at the hippodrome. In many articles, comments and anecdotes of the press it was indicated that the money allocated for this project was wasted. However, nobody mentioned anything about the 25 million TL allocated the same year for ‘the improvement of horse race’.

Collected from the writings of Dipl.-Ing. Salih Kaya SAĞIN from the Car Body Group.

Note: Only one of the four DEVRIM cars manufactured in 1961 is still present. The DEVRIM Automobile is protected in a glass garage in the garden of TÜLOMSAŞ museum today and is still functioning.

 

 

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FIRST TURKISH AUTOMOBILE “DEVRİM”
AUTOMOBILE WEIGHT	1250 kg
ENGINE TYPE	A4L
ENGINE SPEED	3600 rpm
NUMBER OF CYLINDERS	4
CYLINDER DIAMETER	81 mm
POWER	50 HP
CHARACTERISTICS of ENGINE	4-stroke, water-cooled, L-head, forced lubricated
PRODUCTION TIME	4.5 months
YEAR OF PRODUCTION	1961
PLACE OF MANUFACTURE	ESKİŞEHİR RAILWAY FACTORY
NUMBER OF PRODUCTIONS	4