was regulated by a lever linked to the accelerator pedal). A kick-down feature was also present. First gear could only be engaged manually in Low (though it could be engaged if the car was in motion, but would only downshift) and was used for engine braking or rapid starts. Gear ratios were: 2.4 - 1.0 for the torque converter, 2.84 for first gear, 1.68 for second, third was direct and reverse was 1.72. Chaika's Cruise-O-Matic copy required fewer adaptations, due to its mating with a 195 hp V8 engine. The transmission was controlled by a dial-button panel with four regimes: Зх, Н, Д, Т corresponding to Reverse, Neutral, Drive and "Braking". In Drive the car was would start in first and sequentially shift to third and back. In "Braking" (i.e. engine braking), third gear would be locked out, and the first gear would be engaged by the rear band immobilizing the planetary carrier, rather than the one-way sprag clutch (absent on Volga's transmission). The more powerful engine and thus torque required a liquid cooling system. Gear ratios were identical to GAZ-21, except for the torque converter, which had a maximum multiplication of 2.5. Both transmissions made a début in 1958 and 1959 respectively. Initially, it was planned that all of the privately owned Volgas be produced with the automatic, whilst a more Spartan trimmed taxi version featured the three-speed manual. However, most of these cars were given as prizes to workers of distant regions for excellent results, instead of being kept in large cities, where they would be more practical. The "lucky" customers had great difficulty in obtaining adequate spare parts, qualified service and most of all, transmission fluid. As a result many chose to simply convert their transmission to the common three speed manual (that was a common universal model used in the GAZ-69 jeep and Volga's predecessor, the GAZ-M20 Pobeda). Although the option was formally discontinued in 1964, most of the 700 cars were produced in the 1958 MY. As of 2017, only six such survivors were known. Chaikas, on the other hand, were available only with the transmission, and in 1962 it received a slight upgrade in number of clutch packs and piston shapes. Never available for private ownership, the car was produced in small scale all the way until 1981. In 1963, GAZ introduced the third Soviet type of a KGB Q-car, the GAZ-23, by transplanting