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1975 DAF 44 Variomatic.
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pauldaf44



Joined: 28 Oct 2013
Posts: 33

PostPosted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 3:18 pm    Post subject: 1975 DAF 44 Variomatic. Reply with quote

Yesterday morning saw my brother and I leaving home at 8.30AM in order to catch a ride on this to Bristol Parkway Station.



Once there Howard picked us up and gave us a lift over to the unit where the one now known as Gremlin was awaiting us. She had a few niggles that needed to be sorted that delayed her getting an MOT. Inoperative wipers and indicators where traced to a dirty fuse connection and a blown headlamp bulb was replaced. I then drove her to the MOT station, a half hour or so's worth of welding got her a ticket with no advisories. At which point Howard and I shook hands on and finalised the deal making Gremlin mine.



Howard then kindly led me to a petrol station where I stopped for fuel and brimmed the tank for the journey home and went our separate ways. I got maybe 4 miles down the road before Gremlin suddenly started coughing and spluttering and losing power before she cut out completely leaving me stranded in lane 1 on the M32 junction 1 roundabout. Due to the position of the car and my complete lack of any tools there really was nothing to do but call for the AA. After 2.5 hours of waiting the situation starting getting quite worrying. Traffic was getting really heavy and Gremlin's battery was rapidly dieing from having to power the both sidelamps and Hazard warning lights. It was this point that my call to 101 saved the day as a patrol car with two helpful police officers arrived and used there car to stop the traffic and helped us push the car a 100yds or so into a maintenance layby. Still a very vulnerable position as it was effectively just a hard shoulder but much safer than a stationary car, with at this point no lighting, sitting in a live lane of traffic. 1/2 an hour later the AA deened to turn up and recovered her to Severn View services.

AA 'technician' turned up after another hour waiting in the services. He jump started the car, revved her for several minutes and sprayed carb cleaner down the carb throat, then announced all was fine and to be on our way. Yeah right! If the problem was dirty fuel blocking the carb jets which seems very likely then it was only a matter of time before it pulled more through a re-blocked. But we also had another problem. A completely flat battery, halogen headlamps, and driving rain all combined with a car that hadn't been on the road in 15 years. So set off again and managed 6 miles with the generator light flickering slightly at 60mph before the inevitable happened and the car once again lost all power and died. It was now 10 o clock que another hour and a half wait on the hard shoulder with a car that didn't have enough electricity left to even flash the Hazard Warning lights and two exceedingly cold and wet daffers.



Thankfully then the AA agreed to relay us home que gales of laughter when a heavy duty commericial vehicles recovery truck arrived for a small dutch economy car. Relay from then on was done in 3 legs on 3 different trucks and we finally pulled into the farm track at 2.30am. Making it 3am before I could get in and go to bed. The car broke down at 16.45 and was recovered a grand total of 115 ish miles.

Next time I buy a classic car that's been off the road for a number of years I'm going to just take the blinkin trailer and tow it home!

And now for some photos of her now that she is safely home and back on the road for the first time since 1999









Wha wha what!!! You did see that right a B body DAF with an immaculate cloth interior! It is not unheard off it has happened.



And yes according to her history folder, which does contain a few previous MOTs as well as the last one in 1999 all tally the mileage, as well as the cars general condition that mileage is genuine.



Engine bay is lovely and clean as well and no sign of any oil leaks.

So in general despite the 'interesting' trip home I can honestly say that I am really pleased with my purchase. I had intended to use this car as my new daily but now i'm feeling a little guilty about the idea. The reason being this car is an unrestored example that is fantastic original condition. Although I will be compromising on originality and replacing the tyres because oo er there 20 years old Shocked
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colwyn500



Joined: 21 Oct 2012
Posts: 1745
Location: Nairn, Scotland

PostPosted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 4:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like the story and you got a great car out of it.
Why not use it daily? The best thing with cars like that is if you can at least keep it under cover when not in use.
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pauldaf44



Joined: 28 Oct 2013
Posts: 33

PostPosted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 5:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Been out playing to find out the reasons behind yesterdays problems. Fitted a new battery and she does seem a lot happier, and an inline fuel filter. When first started the inline fuel filter filled up nice and quickly but now its running only half full, although the engine doesn't seem to be having any problems as a result but I did notice her pulling a bit of air through the fuel lines. I wonder if that is some of the problem. The other thing I noticed is she hesitates and stutters quite badly when you try and pick up of the idle but as soon as she revs up all stuttering and missfiring dissapears. What do you reckon idle mixture a little on the weak side?
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mikeC



Joined: 31 Jul 2009
Posts: 1771
Location: Market Warsop, Nottinghamshire

PostPosted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 7:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

pauldaf44 wrote:
Been out playing to find out the reasons behind yesterdays problems. Fitted a new battery and she does seem a lot happier, and an inline fuel filter. When first started the inline fuel filter filled up nice and quickly but now its running only half full, although the engine doesn't seem to be having any problems as a result but I did notice her pulling a bit of air through the fuel lines. I wonder if that is some of the problem. The other thing I noticed is she hesitates and stutters quite badly when you try and pick up of the idle but as soon as she revs up all stuttering and missfiring dissapears. What do you reckon idle mixture a little on the weak side?


Is there a rubber or plastic section of fuel line somewhere? It sounds like there may be a perished section which is on the point of giving way.
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pauldaf44



Joined: 28 Oct 2013
Posts: 33

PostPosted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 7:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

mikeC wrote:
pauldaf44 wrote:
Been out playing to find out the reasons behind yesterdays problems. Fitted a new battery and she does seem a lot happier, and an inline fuel filter. When first started the inline fuel filter filled up nice and quickly but now its running only half full, although the engine doesn't seem to be having any problems as a result but I did notice her pulling a bit of air through the fuel lines. I wonder if that is some of the problem. The other thing I noticed is she hesitates and stutters quite badly when you try and pick up of the idle but as soon as she revs up all stuttering and missfiring dissapears. What do you reckon idle mixture a little on the weak side?


Is there a rubber or plastic section of fuel line somewhere? It sounds like there may be a perished section which is on the point of giving way.


The entirety. Its hard plastic pipe that runs inside the chassis rails from tank to right hand inner wing, with a short section of flexible pipe attaching to the tank outlet. From the wing to the lift pump and then to the carb float chamber is flexible but this had gone hard and has now been replaced.
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D4B



Joined: 28 Dec 2010
Posts: 2083
Location: Hampshire UK

PostPosted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 8:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great find!

I expect you have lots of muck / rust etc inside fuel tank?

You'll get it sorted
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Farmer John



Joined: 18 Feb 2010
Posts: 181
Location: Manawatu NZ

PostPosted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 10:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Paul. Daffer, now there is a handle!
What a find you have there. Hope you continue the narrative, I would like to here about how it drives, will it be driven a lot?

John
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pauldaf44



Joined: 28 Oct 2013
Posts: 33

PostPosted: Sun Nov 09, 2014 12:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

She drives pretty well when she is not breaking down.

At the moment she is a little hesisitant when pulling away but when she is rolling she accelerates smoothly and quickly. The engine sounds sweet and there is something rather special about the noise she makes. A bit like a sowing machine crossed with a lawnmower on steroids.

The driving experience itself is really nice. The seats are comfy and she is pretty spacious inside, steering is light and precise and the handling is fairly go cart like. I wouldn't feel comfortable with much more power though with the swing axle suspension on the back end even with 34bhp the rear end can get a little twitchy if pushed hard.

Then there is the variomatic experience which really is unique. You pull away and the engine immediately revs up quite a bit and then the transmission catches up. The effect on a motorway slipway can be quite disconcerting the first time as the engine gets quieter the faster you go. It feels pretty solidly built and will cruise at the national speed limit without a fuss.

She is a bit noisy but that's part of the charm, and its not an unpleasant sound anyway.

As to how often will she be used. I will try and keep the mileage down but I believe cars are designed to be used so this will be out on the road at least 3 or 4 times a week all year round.
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bob2



Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 1727
Location: Malta

PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 8:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is the fuel filter just before the carb ?
Does it have a mechanical fuel pump?
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pauldaf44



Joined: 28 Oct 2013
Posts: 33

PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 9:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

originally she just has a gauze in the float bowl. Ive just fitted aninline filter before the mechanical lift pump
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bob2



Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 1727
Location: Malta

PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 10:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Are you seeing air bubbles popping in the filter ?
Was the petrol tank left empty for some time?
As you mentioned its probably either a pipe that has some small split and is drawing air in or else the tank has some crud or rust in it!
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colwyn500



Joined: 21 Oct 2012
Posts: 1745
Location: Nairn, Scotland

PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 11:42 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Paul, if it's been laid up for that length of time I would say that in addition to all of the above you might have problems with any rubber based parts having deteriorated and this can be internal, such as collapsed inner pipes. The fuel pump is also likely to be needing replacement or overhaul as the diaphragm will be in a state not likely to last very long and the valves may be prone to sticking or being blocked with dirt.
I guess it might be an awkward job, but if you want reliability I would recommend going over the fuel system from top to bottom , replacing the soft items as you go. Even though the car is nicely preserved and you want to keep it that way, it is a mini-restoration project with regard to wearable components.
PS. I love the description of the sound it makes....just like my car:)
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pauldaf44



Joined: 28 Oct 2013
Posts: 33

PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 3:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I suspect it is perished fuel lines as it was misbehaving again this morning. Going to change the fuel lines and fit the fuel pump from my mk1 whilst I source a rebuild kit
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vitesse



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 561

PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 5:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Does the mechanical fuel pump push fuel to the carb?

The Fiat 500 has a mechanical pump as well and fuel flows into a bowl and is pushed up to the pump via a diaphragm rather than sucking petrol form the tank. Fitting in line filters is really common on the 500 but it is generally fitted between the pump and carb, the reasoning being that fitting before the pump may slow down the flow of petrol to the pump bowl. But fitting after the extra oomph from the pushing of the carb gets in through under more pressure.

On the 500 it is quite common for the filter to be half empty and full of bubbles. The bubbles are caused by the vibration of the engine rather than air in the system.

But I would agree with others that a car laid up for such along time probably needs the fuel lines replacing. Could you run a copper pipe from front to back?

Tony
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pauldaf44



Joined: 28 Oct 2013
Posts: 33

PostPosted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 9:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Think we have found the problem. A mixture of crap fuel, there must have been a lot more old fuel in the tank than I first thought and vapour lock. Fuel line runs over the right hand cylinder head in relatively close proximity to the heat exchanger connection to the head. Lifted the fuel line up and back and cable tied it to the spare wheel mounting bar to keep it away from the exhaust. Also chucked in a new set of points, condensor and an octane booster in the fuel tank and for the moment she seems to be running ok again.

In the engine bay photo in the first post you can see the fuel pump setup, well as well as is possible without removing parts. Fuel pump is hidden behind the dynamo. The pipe crossing the cylinder barrel comes from the tank. Its not gravity fed to the pump as the pump inlet is marginally higher than the tank outlet. With these if you leave them for more than a week or so it always takes a fair bit of cranking to draw fuel up from the tank before they will fire. Fuel pump on these is of the mechanical diaphragm type and shares a its diaphragm and valves with the standard petrol/tvo engine used in grey ferguson tractors. Although it is pushrod actuated rather than direct driven from the cam.



Oh and yes she would sound fairly similar to fiat 500, as both are small air cooled 2 cyls, but probably closer to 2CV in reality. The engine in this is a DAF designed aircooled 844cc flat twin. To be honest its a ridicoulsly over engineered engine. Big end shells are the same size as that of fords pinto for instance and this engine only delivers 34hp. Cam shaft is direct gear driven from the crank and she has a proper dizzy so no wasted spark set up here. .
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