thebear54
DAF Nut
Those who say it can't be done, should not interupt the people doing it !
Posts: 1,426
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Post by thebear54 on Jan 2, 2014 22:11:12 GMT
ENA lives....WELL DONE John
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Post by Kenr on Jan 2, 2014 23:19:14 GMT
Yay! So how do you find driving a daf then?
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Post by 33grinder on Jan 2, 2014 23:29:26 GMT
Yay! So how do you find driving a daf then? Have you forgotten Ken?
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Post by spunkymonkey on Jan 2, 2014 23:36:40 GMT
Yay! So how do you find driving a daf then? Have you forgotten Ken? He gets confused, Pete.... Now, what was I driving yesterday? Was it the Triumph, the Daf, the Taxi, the .........
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Post by Kenr on Jan 3, 2014 8:14:43 GMT
Who are you lot? Where am I?
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Post by Sigmund Fraud on Jan 3, 2014 11:17:16 GMT
Yay! So how do you find driving a daf then? It was, of course, the first time I drove Ena on the open road, so I took the long way to the MoT centre to make sure everything worked as it should. I hadn't driven a '70s car for a good year or so, and I usually find the driving experience pretty agricultural the first time round. Contrary to my expectations, Ena was remarkably easy to drive : feather-light steering, good driving position, comfy seats, no heavy clutch or crunchy manual gearbox to care about, just twist press and go ! She feels stable on the road, though it will be a while before I can really comment on how she handles. Brakes are... 'adequate', but I suspect they would be dismal at anything less than tip-top condition. She's obviously not fast, but she was much louder than I expected. I don't know if that's because my driving style needs to adapt to the variomatic or because the variomatic isn't working as it should. I suspect it's the former, because I took her up to 55MPH and no rods came through the side of the block, so she must be changing up OK. Any driving tips from you seasoned variomatic drivers would be appreciated ! The trip also highlighted some issues with the car : 1. The steering is rather vague at speed, and the MoT man advised of some play at the rack, so I suspect it will need to come off for new nylon bushes in the future. Is there a local supplier for those, or will I need to visit the dutchman during my next trip to the continent ? 2. I hoped I had eliminated the rocker cover oil leak by changing its gasket, unfortunately I realised that oil is now seeping past the filler cap seal ! Anyone has a good one of those or knows any alternatives that will fit ? 3. When stopping at junctions, the engine revs drop a bit too low for my liking with the brakes on. I presume this has something to do with the vacuum system ? Is adjustment straightforward ? I don't know if this is related, but I've noticed there's a small wire loom connected to the carb but to nothing else... What is this meant to plug to ? Oh, and for my future reference : Post-MoT Task List-Replace zip-tie exhaust mount with rubber one -Refurb wheels -Replace tyres -Replace ARB drop links -Replace leaky oil cap -Replace variomatic fluids -Rebuild steering rack & align -Sort out interior -Buy another DAF
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Post by Kenr on Jan 3, 2014 12:43:14 GMT
The main knack of driving these is to get to the desired speed and just edge off slightly on the throttle pedal this puts it into 'overdrive' for want of a better phrase IIRC (no doubt someone will be along shortly to give a better description). Bushes are not a problem again someone will be along. The drop in revs sounds familiar - same as previous.
You crossed the most logical next step out man!
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Post by 33grinder on Jan 3, 2014 13:11:07 GMT
Absolutely! Drive it like you stole it...a little revs to get inertia then floor it and lift off at the desired speed, just as Ken says.
For your steering rack bushes have a grovel at Spunkeymonkey's doorstop and he might ream you a pair. They are a bit of an @rse to do but nothing too taxing.
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Post by Sigmund Fraud on Jan 3, 2014 13:32:51 GMT
After writing the above post, I decided to have a quick read through the green BOL to try and understand the vacuum system better. What better way to spend a day off work, after all ?
Going through the paragraphs, I came across a mention of the throttle micro-switch... 'YOU IDIOT', I thought to myself, and the raison d'etre of the small carburettor loom I mentioned above became obvious, especially considering Ena's apparent reluctance to change up !
Having spent a few years struggling with the Flying Plughole's finest* creations, I had assumed that the micro-switch was part of some terminally unreliable early electronic choke mechanism that had been disconnected after being replaced with a manual choke. Little did I know that it was an essential part of the variomatic !
So out in the rain I went, searching for the terminals that the switch loom is meant to plug into. This took a while because DAF designers had cunningly placed those well out of sight, underneath the air filter, where variomatic-inept new owners would never find them ! Cheers for that !
By the time I had plugged the switch back in, I was soaking wet so I decided I might as well get cracking with the exhaust mount. To my surprise, both the 50mm and the 45mm universal rings I had ordered were too big, so I had to adapt the 45mm one to fit with a zip-tie through its centre. If anyone has the part code for the proper DAF part (which looks like a Volvo 700/900 mount, but has half the thickness), kindly let me know !
I'm now indoors and drying by the radiator, when (if ?) the rain stops I'll take Ena out for a test drive to see how the variomatic works now !
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Post by Sigmund Fraud on Jan 3, 2014 13:39:31 GMT
You crossed the most logical next step out man! Well... I have been wondering how a two-cylinder DAF would be... And there are two 44s out there for sale as we speak... Must resist... Must not buy another car... Must resist... Argh, you did warn me about this, didn't you ?
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