IFA F9 Road Test from 1955.

IFA F9 Road Test Review.

Zwickau built F9 1950-1953

This road test dates from 1955 and appeared in a Finnish magazine titled " World of
Technology".
Until the late 1950's, virtually the only cars available to the Finns were Eastern Block
vehicles and their choices were thus limited to Skoda, AWZ ( Automobilwerk Zwickau
(Trabant), Wartburg and Moskvitch.

Interior view of early Zwickau F9.

Reason for this was that Western cars were strictly rationed and only available to those
wealthy enough to get them, due to the hefty War reparations that had to be paid to
the Soviets.
Also, Western cars had to be paid for in Western currencies, which alienated this
possibility beyond the reach of the ordinary person.

Eisenach built F9 1953-1956

IFA F9

There cannot be anybody in Finland, who has not heard more or less unflattering
anecdotes about the IFA F9. Partly for this reason we wanted to find out what this
vehicle is really like. As we have no owner experiences as regards the durability of
the car, we shall refer to the appended statistics and tell you what it felt like to be
behind the wheel of a well sorted IFA.
When first stepping into an IFA F9, one notices the curved-backed aeroplaned-type
seats, which provide a steady, pleasant seating position.
The sharply falling bonnet gives good visibility ahead, but the visibility in other directions
is only average.
There seems to be sufficient room for four passengers.
The handling is enhanced by front wheel drive, which makes the IFA excellent in sharp
bends, as long as they are taken correctly under acceleration.
Another noteworthy characteristic is the freewheel, which saves both fuel and engine.
The correct way is to accelerate at intervals and then allow the car to roll under its own
impetus.
The steering is super fast rack and pinion, which feels odd after driving larger cars.
The unevenness and potholes in roads are felt unpleasantly through the wheel, but otherwise
the handling is brilliant.
The gear lever is handily placed on the dashboard, but gear changes have to be carried out
with care, for otherwise the gearbox will make nasty noises, especially when changing down.
The combination of the 3 cylinder, 32 hp engine and four speed gearbox gives the F9
reasonable powers of acceleration.
On tarred roads we got the following times:
0-50 km/h 9.5 seconds, 0-80 km/h 20 secs, and 1 kilometre from standing start 50 secs.
The engine noise is rather intrusive, especially in older models.
Braking  was not the best in the IFA's we drove, due to hard brake linings.
Handling is so good however, that this small inconvenience hardly deserves a mention.
The gauges worked perfectly and we did not notice any particular inaccuracies in the
readings.
The IFA F9 is reasonably comfortable. There is plenty of room inside and the doors are
sufficently wide to allow easy entry.
The body is reasonably tight and draught proof in Winter. This is helped by the presence
of inside lining of the body.

Eisenach F9 1953-1956

Good Points:

Good handling, cheap to buy, comfortable seats, low fuel consumption, widely available,
good starter in winter, roomy inside, freewheel spares engine and saves petrol.

Weaknesses:

Dodgy electrics, low quality tires, paintwork and chrome, expensive to repair, badly
finished, low quality springs, rubber joint in steering, central lubrication pump,
Non-professional repair personnel.

Technical Data:

Engine: Three cylinders, two stroke, output 32 bhp/limited to 3800 rpm.
Compression 6.8.1.  Cylinder dimensions 70 x 78mm, capacity 0.9 litres.
900cc.
25:1 Mixing ratio, petrol to two stroke oil.

Cooling: Water-cooled, radiator behind engine. 10 litre capacity.

Transmission: Dry single plate clutch, four speed gearbox with freewheel.
Gear ratios: 1st 3.27  2nd 2.133,  3rd  1.368, 4th 0.957 and reverse 4,44:1
Gear lever on the dashboard. Front wheel drive.

Suspension:   Half-elliptic crosswise springs front and rear.

Dimensions: Length 4.2 metres, width 1.6m, height 1.45m.
Wheelbase 2.35m. Width of front track 1.18m, rear 1.26m.
Unladen weight 870 kg. Load capacity 380 kg.
Top speed 110 km/h ( approx 69 mph)
Petrol Tank capacity 30 litres.

Fuel consumption: Urban 9.6 litres for 100km (62.5 miles) Approx 29.6 mpg.
Based on a metric gallon 4.55 litres.

Open road consumption: 8 litres for 100km (62.5 miles) Approx 35.5 mpg.