DAC-Hungarian automobile plant founded in 1981, previously engaged in the sale of auto parts, and technical maintenance of cars. But by the beginning of the 80s, the company decided to try itself in the automobile construction, and in the future to establish the export of its high-quality cars to many countries of the world … The first of these was the DAC-Jando 750 and 900, which are a utilitarian super-budget car …
Dac-Jando The first car from the Hungarian company DAC!
Introduced in 1984, the first JANDO 750 and 900 marked the start of the DAC company as a car manufacturer, as well as the first small series of budget, simple cars for Eastern Europe (in the future).
And the first jando 750 and 900 Were super-budget simple hatchbacks for city driving!
They received the first DAC engines:
“EM-101 E Con Jetronic” and “M31 Carb”.
“M31”-Simple as an Ilyich light bulb 6 valve 3-cylinder engine, with a volume of 900 cc, with a good old carburetor fuel system, on a 1-chamber carburetor of increased efficiency, an overhead valve, a cast-iron block and cylinder head.
It was simple, unpretentious, and quite reliable in operation, it could travel the distance from the earth to the moon, with proper maintenance, and could be serviced at any service station.
Also, buyers noted the relatively good fuel economy of the engine, as for a carburetor, but there was one drawback - the power, it was a little, but less than that of the “EM-101”, even though the EM-101 was smaller.
“EM-101” - Already a completely different engine, having nothing in common with the “M31”, “EM-101” is already a slightly smaller engine with a volume of 750 cc, already having 12 valves per 3 cylinders, and having a carburetor with a mechanical injector and a proprietary fuel supply system “E-CON”, despite the volume, “EM-101” it already had slightly more power and economy.
It already gave out about 31 hp, saved more fuel, had better throttle response. But of course, the “EM-101” had 3 disadvantages compared to the “M31”:
And finally, the cars themselves were produced in only 3 trim levels:
900 (BASE): Basic model on the basic “M31”, 4-speed manual transmission, with the poorest equipment.
900 (GY): 900 model for people with disabilities, completely manual control of the car, otherwise no different from the basic 900 model.
750 E con: The richest model, with the “EM-101” engine, also a 4-speed manual transmission, but with wider tires, wheel caps included, with a cassette player, a clock, slightly better trim materials, a rear window wiper.
All models had some success in the Eastern European market (in the future) and in the post-Soviet space. The 900 basic configuration was especially in demand, thanks to its simple and reliable engine. Due to this, both the 900 and 750 models were discontinued only in 1999…
That front end reminds me of old škodas.
And finally, by the time of the full launch of the JANDO 750-900 model into production, DAC began active development and preparation for the release of the senior JANDO model, which eventually became the 1400-1600 JANDO.
The 1400-1600 models were already a budget class sedan, but still a slightly higher segment than the 750-900 models, in addition to the increased engine volume, their power, the dimensions and capacity of the car increased.
1400-1600 JANDO was already a more utilitarian budget car for every day, already with a little, but comfort, albeit mainly for the driver.
Technically, some notable details were also noticed, in addition to larger engines, one could notice the longitudinal layout of the engine, however, with front-wheel drive, this could be explained by simpler maintenance and cheaper production, but not everything is so simple … After all, in addition to this, one could pay attention to the fully lever suspension, which technically made it possible to install a four-wheel drive without any problems … However, at the time of the car’s release, this point was not disclosed, although many already suspected that such decisions were not without reason …
And what was under the hood of the new models? New 4-cylinder engines from the DAC-M and DAC-EM engine families:
M-34-What is typical for engines of this series, a fairly simple 1.4-liter carburetor engine with only 8 valves per 4 cylinders, producing 58 hp with also relatively good fuel efficiency as for a carburetor engine, however, unlike the M-31, it already used a simpler and more common 2-chamber carburetor, which simplified and reduced the cost of its maintenance, if this engine broke down at all …
EM-106 Multi E-CON-By analogy with the EM-101, it is already an injection engine, with better fuel efficiency, and more power, however, here it was much more than the M-34, … In addition to this, it used a more advanced injection system with mechanical injectors and an air sensor, simply put, mechanical fuel injection. From that the engine already gave out not small 87 hp with also good economy… However, it is clear that it was less reliable, was more capricious and more expensive in maintenance.
And 3 trim levels were presented:
1400MT (BASE) - As is clear, the cheapest simple trim level, with the M-34 engine, also differed in poorer equipment with poorer finishing materials, a clock instead of a tachometer. And also, narrower tires and stamped disks without caps, the absence of a Anti-wing.
1600MT (COMFORT) - Already a slightly richer trim level, with richer finishing materials, a tachometer, caps on the disks, and an EM-106 engine. In addition to this, they could be distinguished externally by the presence of a Anti-wing, which was only included in the COMFORT trim levels.
1600CVT (COMFORT +) - The last trump card in the sleeve, or rather 3 aces hidden at the end… COMFORT Trim , but with the latest CVT gearbox! Yes, it was with the 1600 model that DAC began to introduce automatic gearboxes, and the first of these was the JANDO 1600 with a variator.
Which of course gave easier control, and an unforgettable smooth ride.
And general, the 1400-1600 models have gone far ahead compared to the 750-900 models, both technically and even externally…
And they had greater success in the market, especially, as expected, the cheapest basic 1400 configuration, which flew apart like hot cakes, because many wanted to get a reliable, unpretentious car for every day for such a low price.
However, what was a bit of a surprise was that the 2nd most popular model was the 1600 model with a cvt!
Still, based on slightly higher sales relative to the 1600 model with manual transmission, one could conclude that, if people were willing to pay a larger sum for a richer configuration, despite the lower reliability, they still preferred a CVT and greater comfort.
However, by the beginning of the 00s, the 1400-1600 models were already morally and physically outdated, and did not pass the latest eco standards, so in 2002 they were discontinued… And were finally supplanted by the oldest JANDO models.
And finally, after the release of the 1400-1600 JANDO model, DAC began upgrading the model, which it had planned even before the release of the serial 1400-1600 models, and why such an engine layout and suspension were needed…
Of course, participation in the Rally! But it was too late for Group B it was already too late, and the company could not begin developing a completely new, more powerful V-shaped engine.
Therefore, it decided to stop at the standard “EM-106” engine and move on to Group A.
And after long attempts to squeeze more power out of the absolutely stock “EM-106”, the Company finally realized that the power was not enough anyway, and the not very reliable mechanical injection system was also a problem.
Therefore, as a result, DAC began developing a practically new engine, but using the standard cylinder block from the “EM-106” and some standard units. Thus, the unique “EMJ-106 Turbo” was born:
Already a DOHC-4 engine, with a more modern Multi point (EFI) fuel injection, forged pistons, lightweight flywheel, crankshaft, connecting rods.
And also a sports exhaust and intake manifold (with a separate throttle on the head), and of course a turbine and sports camshafts.
As a result, this engine modification already produced an incredible 262 hp and spun just above 7,000 rpm, which was already enough considering the lightweight body.
The car itself, JANDO 1600 Group A, was:
Technically, almost a production car, but on larger and wider wheels, with racing universal tires, a modernized “EMJ-106” engine, all-wheel drive (for which such a layout was needed) and a sports 5-speed manual transmission with long pairs.
Suspension-The original was retained, with the exception of other rear hubs and sports struts, sport disc brakes.
Externally:
The car still had common features, for example, a standard spoiler, a standard body, and common design features, but was already dressed in a sporty aggressive body kit with a slight restyling.
In addition to this, the main difference was striking, that there were now 2 doors, but the bodies were taken from serial models, only after which they were converted into a coupe.
In the interior:
The differences were in the presence of a safety frame, a racing steering wheel, bucket seats with a shift of the entire landing strongly back, including the tunnel, but with the preservation of the overall design.
Also, the armrests were removed, comfortable door handles, radio, audio system, main ignition controls and other things were moved to the panel in one of the 1DIN modules.
An external turbine pressure sensor was installed in the dashboard.
That’s where the differences end, yes, the car was not built from scratch, and was not turned into a racing stool, it was rather a heavily modernized production car, for participation in rallies and other disciplines.
And after all the participation in competitions, a couple of victories, after the participation of cars with turbocharging was limited, and the cars were put to exhibitions.
A less aggressive, but restyling body kit, and a kit for installing a four-wheel drive on 1600 JANDO with a manual transmission were launched into production.
After releasing several passenger cars, DAC finally thought about producing their first SUV, the first concepts of which were already on paper in the late 1980s, according to the project it was supposed to be a simple, utilitarian, passable reliable SUV for many years …
This is how the J-Series was born!
And the first was the J-100:
A simple, nondescript SUV for harsh operating conditions, which was based on a simple steel frame with 2 axles on coil, and a simple 4-cylinder 2.6L engine “1KL-GR”.
“1KL-GR” - A simple cast iron 4-cylinder 2.6L engine, developed for the first generation of DAC-J SUVs, had a simple design with 1 camshaft, but with 4 valves per cylinder and a new multi-point fuel injection (EFI), which made it possible to achieve more power and torque with good economy.
Also, thanks to the increased piston stroke, camshaft profile, intake and exhaust manifold sizes, it had quite good power and torque figures for 4 cylinders, as much as 124 hp at 262 H.M of torque! Quite good figures for a gasoline engine! It was installed only in the 1st generation of the J-Series, J-100.
The J-100 itself, as already mentioned, had a reliable frame base with 2 axles, was supplied in 1 configuration with the “1KL-GR” engine with a simple 4-speed manual transmission, with locks for all differentials, which, coupled with AT tires of size 245/75 r15, gave a good SUV for harsh conditions!
Also SUV had only 2 doors, it also had only manual windows, simple finishing materials, and nothing extra!
There was simply nothing to break, and this was what the buyers liked, who were looking for an SUV for hunting, or simply as a universal car for rural areas in the remote outback without roads and civilization.
It will go almost anywhere, will not break down, and will serve for 100 years …
Thanks to which it was in great demand even after it was discontinued its production in 2003 …
I read that as having coil-sprung solid axles front and rear - the best combination for extreme off-roading (although a dual leaf-sprung live axle comes close, and also yields even more load capacity).
The leaf axle is less comfortable, and quite old technology, as a rule I use such in 50-60s . Although leaf springs in the rear would still be appropriate, but since it’s a 90 SUV, I put in coil springs.
And so, after the release of several budget cars, or rather 2 generations of Jando, 1 generation of the budget SUV J-100, DAC thought about the release of something bigger, much bigger than Jando, and in the mid-90s a decision was made to develop and produce such a car, a full-size family sedan of the middle class.
This is what DAC-SENTAL became.
Family/business sedan of the middle class from DAC! Quite an unexpected move.
In addition, it was the first rear-wheel drive car from DAC, and even with a DOHC inline 6-cylinder engine …
It also had a 5-speed automatic transmission, two-link independent suspension in the rear and front, forged 16-inch wheels, electric windows and air suspension… However, not all trim levels had such luxury, although there were only 2 of them:
3.0 AT Full Package - The richest and most luxurious trim level with all additional equipment, namely air suspension, forged sports wheels, 5-speed automatic transmission.
3.0 MT B - Basic trim level, which featured a regular spring suspension, manual transmission, simple alloy wheels, and some minor details in the exterior.
However, the same engine was installed in all trim levels:
“EMR M-62-A”
6-cylinder in-line DOHC engine with a volume of 3 liters, producing about 234 hp without turbochargers and “vvl” systems, while having excellent fuel economy, almost a miracle, as for a company like DAC, so it turned out that the “EMR M-62-A” became a legendary, reliable engine with crazy potential in tuning, which young guys installed anywhere.
But the Sental itself was also very popular mainly with a young group of buyers, and it is clear why …
A comfortable sedan with a bit of sport, a powerful reliable engine with great potential, and even on the rear wheel drive.
As a result, it turned out that the car became a cult among fans of street drifting, because even the configuration with automatic transmission very easily broke into a controlled skid without any modifications, and what could be done, having the opportunity to tune …
Which is what the young guys ended up doing. Whenever possible, they took the “B” configuration, installed forged wheels on it, a sports body kit, made a larger turning angle of the wheels, and off we go!
But as a family car, Sental was also used, if you understand how to make friends with the beast and tame it.
The only nuances arose over the time of operation of the Full Package configuration, or rather with its air suspension and automatic transmission, these were the weakest parts that needed timely maintenance and inspection, otherwise you could end up with expensive repairs …
But despite all the shortcomings, Sental was in great demand even after it was discontinued in 2005.
The car was quite popular in the near abroad: Serbia, Romania, Slovakia, and other countries where there were no particular alternatives…
It looks like you based it on one of the Juliet body sets, but made the A- and D-pillars too upright even for the times, which throws off the proportions, especially with the former having its base too far forward.
Yes, you guessed it right, this is the Juliet body, and yes, the proportions were greatly changed to suit how I saw the body of the future car. Well, I will say that even after some time I like my version of the Juliet body more than the original.
