[STORIES] IPA 300 - The little charmer

Mar 22, 2011

#Featured

presented at the portuguese industries fair of 1958, the ipa 300 was the main attraction of the event (having present the then president of the republic general craveiro lopes an a president-to-be marcelo caetano), referenced as the cutting edge of the national metal-mechanic industries of then and its slick coupé-like body was surely a charmer. the ipa 300 was the brainchild of eng. joão monteiro conceição, who had an encounter in 1954 with another contemporary vehicle of the same kind that had broke down during its testing and ended on his repair shop: the a.g.b. lusito and decided he should have a go on trying to perfect that same principle, to create a true popular automobile. for that, the car should have a more powerful and elastic engine, as more catchy to the eye. for that, the styling was more fluid and curvaceous, leaving the dated “boxy look” of the lusito behind an the power would be supplied from the british commercial vehicle anzani astra, a very small air-cooled, two-cylinder, two-stroke anzani 322cc engine placed on the rear end of the car (ever further back than, say, the isetta or the peel p50), moving the chain-driven rear wheels through a 3-speed manual anzani-built gearbox. the top speed was apparently around 85km/h, quite an achievement for such a small engine.

in may 1958, the indústria portuguesa de automóveis "o quadriciclo", lda. from porto de mós asks the dgv for the homologation of the ipa license-plated bd-94-94. luckily the homologation chart from that ipa has been released and there you can read a lot of technical info, as follows:

maker: ipa

model: 300-1,850-1958

engine number: 4.150

tire size: 400-12

dry weight: 390 kg

seating: 2 seats

colour: red

others: 1 window on each side and 2 doors;

engine placed at the rear end.

some technical specs on the anzani engine:

fuel: petrol mix

fuel tank: 25 litres

number of cylinders: 2

displacement: 322c.c.

bore x stroke: 60mm x 57mm

lubrication: oil mixture

max rpm: 5000rpm

max power: 15cv / 4800rpm

fiscal power: 2cv

compression rate: 6,8:1

mileage: 4,6 l/100km @ 60

ohv

air cooled

fuel feed: horizontally-mounted zenith carburettor

battery: 12v-18ah

manual 3-speed anzani gearbox + reverse

gear ratios:

1ª .................. 2,725:1

2ª .................. 1,600:1

3ª .................. 1,000:1

reverse ......... 3,270:1

final ratio …… 1:20, chain-driven

the braking system relied on hydraulically-acted 203mm x 32mm girling drum brakes all-round, with two 200mm x 30mm belts per drum. the handbrake acts solely on the rear wheels via a lever placed near the driver acting the rear drums.

the frame relies on a classical laminated steel frame, of “u” cross-section (50mm x 30mm x 2,5mm), extending up to a full 1690mm of length and 1190mm in width. on top of the frame lies the pressed-sheet steel bodywork. both rear and front track are exactly 1100mm long.

behind each of the 4.00-12, 4-thread dunlop tyres lies the suspension layout, consisting solely on live axles supported by a steel-wire coil spring (3/8” thick, 70mm long and consisting of 10 coils at the front and 12 at the back) and a damper at each corner.

the steering, at last, was an ipa-built rack and allowed the small 300 a turning circle of 4,45m.

in june 1958 it’s referred to have only a side window and 2 doors whereas in june 1959 is already referred as with two windows and two doors, which seems a bit inconsistent with the technical drawings. in addition, there seems to be some confusion on the dates presented: although the manufacture date is said to be 1957 (as the project is dated from that year), the emission of the temporary plates (valid only for one year in these prototypes) is dated 1958 with approval of limited sales only in june 1959.

however, if the 1958 model was a 2-seater, joão conceição intended to make a more familiar model in addition to the coupé. fulfilling the need to transport the average family (2 adults and two children), a second model was created. the second prototype, plated dd-85-80, is a 2+2 version of the ipa 300, identifiable by the extra side windows. the two different prototypes have no certificate of origin, being supplied only with booklets for a term of one year.

in june 1959 were dispatched the approval numbers dd-85-80 (painted blue) and bd-94-94 (painted red), built in portugal and intended only for personal use without the possibility of being sold to third parties. hence, no more units of this little, charming vehicle would ever see the day of light and the dream of eng. joão monteiro conceição would end as bright as it started, killed by the proliferating small ckd (complete knocked down) kit-cars originated outside the country.