GDR ingenuity - the transition from DKW to IFA

Despite its reputation as a manufacturer of quality automobiles, Germany had a relatively low ratio of personal car ownership before 1935. Vehicle production significantly ramped up under the National Socialists, before they began implementing a series of increasingly restrictive controls on vehicle production and ownership as part of the Schell Plan of 1938. Then came the war, which saw civilian vehicle manufacture banned, followed by confiscation of private motor cars for military use. Most confiscated cars were destroyed in the war leaving post-war Germany with relatively few privately owned cars on the road. The one exception to this rule were DKW cars, which were not confiscated by the army due to their two stroke engine.

East Germany found itself poorly served in terms of an automotive industry as there were effectively only two civilian car manufacturers in the Soviet Occupation Zone - BMW and Auto-Union. Both companies had been stripped of all assets and machinery as part of war reparations, disabling their ability to manufacture new cars and forcing them to relocate their operations to the west. The nationalized East German successors of these companies, EMW and IFA were shadows of their former selves.

By 1948, the nationalized DKW plant in Chemnitz was manufacturing the IFA F8, a replica of the prewar DKW F8 for a transport hungry public. Such was the desperate need for transport, that regardless of condition or damage, any remotely functional vehicle would be repaired and put back into service. The follow story from Frederick Bender was published in the Auto Union Veteranen Club magazine in 1997, detailing how he acquired what he thought was a 1941 DKW F8 and his subsequent journey to discover his car's interesting history.

The Journey From Wartburg to DKW

I made the decision to plunge further into the world of two-strokes and upgrade from the Wartburg to the DKW. So began a "never ending story"......

This process has been surprising, sobering and sometimes amusing. Clever as I believed I was, in 1997 I bought a very well-preserved DKW F 8 master-class estate, model year 1941, for a very good price from the new federal states.

Of course, being an attentive buyer I checked the entries in the vehicle registration papers against those on the vehicle. I noted there were changes in the registration papers, but the original engine number was correct. I should clearly point out my own lack of research in advance, because I thought this was the original vehicle registration from a DKW, It turned out that the only DKW parts on the vehicle were the engine, the petrol tank and the hubcaps. Everything else, including the chassis and body was from IFA. If I had done a bit more thorough research before buying, I would have noticed that this so-called 'combination' wood body was only manufactured in the 1950s by the DKW successor IFA in the former Hornig body shop in Meerane. The Hornig company had been a supplier to Auto-Union in the years before the war, building F5 roadster bodies, and manufactured post-war bodies, of the type mentioned above for the IFA F8.

Had I done sufficient preliminary research, I should have noticed by just looking under the vehicle at the frame and the front axle suspension, that DKW F8s have an oval frame (the F7 frame has a central rail with side members). My vehicle used the front axle of the IFA F9 (separate lever shock absorbers, modified wheel suspension), and this construction only came onto the market in autumn 1953, so clearly the frame of my F8 corresponds to that of the last version.

Heaven knows what happened to the DKW from which my motor vehicle registration came? In any case, there doesn't seem to be much left of the original car. Making a virtue out of necessity was the habit of GDR citizens at the time. From a collection of scrap metal or from a crashed DKW vehicle a new vehicle would be built up from components of various origins and spare parts. So, after intensive research in the automobile museum in Zwickau, at Auto-Union GmbH in Ingolstadt, and with well-known specialists, it turned out that my vehicle’s F8 frame had not been used in another vehicle but it was probably a replacement frame from the IFA spare parts store in the GDR.

Most of this information is not to be found in any book for normal classic car buyers. You are dependent on the help of other people and therefore I have to express my special thanks to the many very helpful "automotive researchers" without whom such research would not have been possible!

Back to F8 - The next step was to prepare for the TÜV inspection. What does a classic car hobbyist do to be as flexible as possible and have access to lots of original spare parts? He gets a car transport trailer and buys a second vehicle as a parts donor of course! The suitability of everyday use of a classic car relies upon having effective brakes, functioning electrics and lighting, and working indicators. Since the rear lights only have a yellow and a red window, but the red one is already occupied by the rear light, the F 8 friend has no choice but to opt for a so-called single-circuit system. The yellow light functions both as direction indicator and brake light. This in turn is controlled by an extra relay. Since the Bosch company apparently still has a supply of new old stock, I was able to acquire such a 6-volt relay. IFA brake pads are easy to get and installation was really just a lot of screwing and patience. I had enough original spare parts and fortunately the standard for screws and bearings has not changed.

The fully functional indicators in the B-pillar should also be mentioned. In conjunction with a properly working flashing position, these are permitted but for safety reasons, however, after reviewing the wiring I decided to disconnect them and cover them over. Now all I had to do was get a new 6-volt battery and I was ready to go. In this vehicle, equipped with a Dynastart system, "go” means switch on the ignition and press the starter switch with your right foot and accelerate with your left foot.

Provided the above starter system works, you then hear the tinny two-stroke sound of a 690 ccm, two-cylinder DKW engine. It is lubricated with a commercially available two-stroke mixture, i.e. with super lead-free and 2T oil in a ratio of 1:25. By the way, the Dynastart system has to perform the function of alternator and starter at the same time, so it has to work both as a generator and as an electromagnet.

To the delight of the previous owner, TÜV Rheinland has registered the vehicle as a DKW again, just one with an IFA body. It's not that bad, because even the examiner couldn't distinguish the subtleties.

Infected with the F 8 fever, in mid-1997 I acquired the four-seater IFA F 8 luxury convertible, which was also presented at the 1954 Leipzig Trade Fair. This so-called Glaser convertible with the large EMW fenders and headlights has a first-class substance, is partly dismantled, but is said to be complete! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Frederik Bender

The original story in German can be found here: https://auvc-archive.blogspot.com/2020/07/auvc-nachrichten-vol-92-march-1998.html

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