New Member with a 66!

[jackytwoshoes]

Hello all

Very happy to say that I picked up this little number today...

It's a slightly scruffy in a delightful useable way, but seems very solid.

I'm not a thousand percent convinced that the diaphragms are working correctly as it revs very high at a steady 30mph, and the brake pedal causes revs to rise by quite a bit.

I've got lots of reading up to do on how everything works, and some happy tinkering ahead methinks...

[triumph66]

That's a lovely example and a cool colour too.

[andrew]

That's a rare one indeed! It's a Daf 66L, the more basic version of the 66, which I didn't know was even sold in the UK! Whereas the 66 SLs had servo-assisted disc brakes, carpets and a wood effect dash, the 66L had drum brakes, rubber mats and an aluminium effect dash. This car is totally brilliant & I look forward to more pictures!

[jackytwoshoes]

Thanks for the kind replies- the photos flatter it slightly, but I'll be sure to get many more.

Very interesting to hear that it's a base model- all the more charming for it- though I must say that I was suprised to see drums on the front. Perhaps a disc conversion could happen at some point as I do plan on using it a lot!

I've been reading the documentation on the club site- but I wondered if there was a good manual to look through, or if I'll have to get myself a Haynes for it? I'd love a broad overview and explanation of where all the valves and pipes are, and how they should all behave. It does seem particularly revvy at the moment- but whilst being familiar with lots of classics- I'm new to DAFs!

[Richard DAF Webmeister]

Aha... rare indeed, as Andrew says.
Mind you, they are all rare now.

Is it one of the ex museum cars?

[jackytwoshoes]

It is, ex-stondon.

[andrew]

A disc conversion's quite a job as the cars with disc brakes had a servo, too. Drum brakes take a little time to get used to, but are perfectly adequate if correctly adjusted. As to manuals, the "Autobooks" manual is a very good source of information and help, as is of course, the Daf owners Club! The Daf 66 used a Renault engine, with wet liners, for which parts are easily available. The electrics are standard 12 volts the real beauty of the Daf 66 is the great stability of the rear suspension, as they were all fitted with a DeDion rear axle-a great luxury on a standard price car!

[starider]

Hi, by the rear window sticker and the NL sticker, I would venture to say it's a Dutch import registered at some time in the UK. as far as I knew all Renault engined DAFs had servo assist disc brakes, any chance of a pic from under the bonnet?
Sounds like the electromagnet vacuum switch and tick over needs adjusting.The fact the engine revs when brake is applied is good news.A workshop manual gives the relovent info...................starider

[andrejuan]

Hello and welcome to the boards, you have a rare little belter there. It is most likely the diaphragms have gone (common on 66s) but they are a revvy
car anyway so it is not a foregone conclusion.
There are two pipes attached underneath the vacuum control valve, standing at the drivers side pull off the nearest one and blow down it, if you get good resistance and then feel all the air coming back out chances are the are ok for now. If not, there are further tests to eliminate other causes before replacing diaphragms.

I don't know where you are based but if there is another 66 near you, the owner will most likely let you have a drive to compare the two. My diaphragms had gone and the first time I drove it after fixing them the transmission seemed to "come alive", constantly adjusting the rpm to conditions.

Hope that helps.

[swissdave]

That's a nice honest looking Daf. As previously mentioned the gearbox should be very responsive to engine load. if not it could well be a split diaphragm. The diaphragm change can be done with the gearbox on the car fairly easily using Nick's pin method described here. essexdafs.proboards.com/thread/335/46-diaphragm-change, that's how I did mine.

[jackytwoshoes]

Aug 14, 2017 20:03:56 GMT swissdave said:

That's a nice honest looking Daf. As previously mentioned the gearbox should be very responsive to engine load. if not it could well be a split diaphragm. The diaphragm change can be done with the gearbox on the car fairly easily using Nick's pin method described here. essexdafs.proboards.com/thread/335/46-diaphragm-change, that's how I did mine.

Sadly the photos seem to no longer exist in that thread. 

I have just tested the diaphragm and blowing down one tube results in a stream of air from the other. Blocking one of the tubes results in pressure, so at least I have no other leaks.. 

I don't have any workshop space at the moment, so I'm not sure I'll be able to tackle this myself, but I can't wait to get it driving as it should as it's very very sweet in other respects. 

Have some more pics: 

[jackytwoshoes]

Aug 14, 2017 17:24:07 GMT starider said:

Hi, by the rear window sticker and the NL sticker, I would venture to say it's a Dutch import registered at some time in the UK. as far as I knew all Renault engined DAFs had servo assist disc brakes, any chance of a pic from under the bonnet?
Sounds like the electromagnet vacuum switch and tick over needs adjusting.The fact the engine revs when brake is applied is good news.A workshop manual gives the relovent info...................starider

The last owner stuck the dutch stickers on  

I have a Haynes so I'll get adjusting once I sort the diaphragms.  

[jackytwoshoes]

Andrew of this Parish kindly offered his lockup, skills and enthusiasm, such that we could take a look at some bits and bobs on this..

Upon arrival Andrew noticed "a bit of an exhaust blow" which actually transpired to be the whole rear section hanging off- it was hardly noticeable inside the car- not helped by the inlet being a cone filter which is pretty noisy- can't wait to return this to standard. I have the filter housing but I think I'm missing a couple of bits of pipework. Can anyone illustrate how this should be mounted and where the small hose on the filter housing is routed? Is it a crankcase breather? Anyway, I managed to bodge the exhaust for now, but I do need a new mid section.

Getting it up on some ramps revealed that the left primary is very leaky, and the right one slightly leaky. Most of all though, it revealed that the belts are very loose indeed, which presumably isn't helping the general high revs and reluctance to shift up. So that's the next task at hand! As the light was fading we didn't quite have the time to tighten them, but my understanding is that there's 4 bolts holding on the secondary, two horizontal slotted bolts near the primary and the threaded adjuster itself. I'll try that and then proceed with the diaphragms next..

Andrew also gifted some new uprated headlight bulbs, with some yellow covers on their way apparently- essential for that oh so cool french look! I'm being spoiled.. I also got to sit shotgun in his 33 which was impeccably smooth- I love that little thing!

[triumph66]

Always great to have a fellow enthusiast to help out and talk through any niggles. I got a set of those yellow bulbs too for my 66.

Like Andrew's car too.

[joe]

Wonderful little Estate! I love the Radio Noordzee sticker!

[starider]

Hi, while you were under the car did you check that the vacuum pipes were still connected to the primary unit on both sides? Those K & N air filters are pretty poor,glad you are returning to the original filter set up.......starider

[jackytwoshoes]

I've been using this pretty regularly for little pootling around the neighbourhood, which has revealed some urgent tasks that need doing, alongside some less urgent tasks that I hope will make this little thing completely useable both in the day to day and long haul adventures. I'm writing them all down here in the hope that it will spur me on to tackle them bit by bit.


Exhaust: The middle section is completely shot, and is now basically hanging off. I could maybe get away with replacing just the middle section but in all honesty the rest of it looks ready to fall apart too and you can get a full system from Daf hobby for £150 or so, which I may as well do.

Grinding from passenger side front brake: Hopefully something simple, but who knows?

Belts and Diaphragms: Cripes this all adds up, we're already at about £450 in parts!

Oil/ coolant change: Sounds silly but having some fresh oil in there would make me feel a lot better about how revvy it is currently.

Air filter: Can't wait to replace that horrible K&N style. I have a filter now, so all I need is some hose.

Steering play: there's a hilarious level of vagueness about the straight ahead.. I'm hoping that's something obvious as opposed to the rack, which is pretty pricy for a recon.

Light switch: The headlight switch currently causes the headlights to go off at convenient* moments. I think I'll put a relay on them actually, always seemed a good mod on other cars to relieve the pressure on flakey old switches.

I need to find a jack, and a bonnet strut.

Inertia reel seat belts: Does this make me soft? They seem so convenient compared to being trapped back against your seat.

Sounds yo! I picked up some nice quality Satellite style speakers from a 5.1 setup complete with sub from freecycle the other day. There's loads of space under the dash to mount a couple of the speakers with the sub in the boot. I have a lovely old Sony amp kicking around with active crossovers that should power them and then some.. I'll feed the amp with a £2.99 Bluetooth receiver from the bay. It should hopefully be discreet and sound great.


There, now I've put them all in a list it doesn't seem so bad. I think I just need to get busy with the credit card. It's only money (that I don't have) after all

[triumph66]

I got a oil filter brand new if that's any good? PM if interested

[andrew]

I have a trade account at Jaystock, a local exhaust stockist in Frien Barnet & I'm happy to enquire as to prices for parts on your behalf. Oil and filter change is an easy do, together with a coolant flush and change. Steering problems could be the rack (might be expensive but they can refurbished) or it might just be the track rod ends, which are easy to change but once changed the tracking needs to be reset. An air filter holder together with a new filter would be a simple fit, once you've tracked down a holder! The headlight switch will be something simple, I'm sure!

By the way, I've rented a new lock-up, much nearer to my parts supplier, my house and many local watering houses...... Pop over soon, the car needs some love and the beer needs to be drunk (but not simultaneously!)

[swissdave]

Good that you’re getting some use out of it, any old car that’s been stood about will need bits doing and at least you’re finding out what those are.
The steering vagueness will be due to worn bushes and the rack is very straight forward to overhaul yourself. The bushes you need are these; www.dafhobby.nl/daf_produkt.php?idnr=709


This page has a good description of doing the job on a 33 rack but from memory the 66 one is almost identical; www.dafmobile.ournet.org.uk/steeringSuspension.html

[jackytwoshoes]

Little jobs can be so satisfying. Finally got round to changing the fan belt- which took all of 45 seconds. Look at the state of the old one, it's about half the width it should be!





Also finally fitted the proper air filter with a generic bit of ducting from my friendly factors. It's so much quieter under acceleration now, with a flat whilst pulling away from a standstill now completely cured. As previously predicted, the cone filter must have been making it run a touch lean. Can anyone tell me where to route the little pipe from the filter housing to?





Septembre 1972





Old vs new





This is what £160 worth of drive belts look like whilst hanging around, waiting to be fitted. Courtesy of the owners club via Andrew- much obliged!





Anyway, with it driving fairly well, save for mess arounded knackered exhaust and grumbly bearing/brake on passenger side front, I went and did some shopping.




Finally, if this doesn't make you smile, you're dead inside.

[jackytwoshoes]

Had a hunch this morning that I should call my local garage and ask to use their ramps. I moved a couple of weeks ago so I've never used them before. They seemed as sound as a pound on the phone and told me to head on down.



I rolled up and BLAM! What a hunch.. They were a lovely bunch, 3 generations still running the place. with an Austin A35, a Humber and a Rover P4 kicking around in various states of dreamy disrepair, not to mention the Renault 6.






I got the wee Daf up in the air and cracked on.




Old vs New



Cutting away the old diaphragm



New belts going on




Getting the covers back on and clipped in with the retaining ring proved the hardest part, as it tends to ping out somewhere else as you clip it in. I chased it around the circumference multiple times trying not to cry, until utilising the Two-Mole technique.




I fitted a NOS exhaust and excitedly went for a spin.. Hmm, still revvy, so some further adjustment needed, and there's a bit of a new vibration from the back which I'm going to attribute to the belts being not quite round yet. I'll cruise around for a bit and then re-check the belt tension. The blow test reveals the diaphragms are l leak free though, so I'm going to call the day a RESULT.



Oh, one more thing, they're looking for a set of hoses for that Renault 6- can any of you Renault botherers recommend a source?



Oh, and another thing. Many thanks to Andrew on here for all the help sourcing bits and the loan of the belt tool!! Much appreciated!!

[gromsound]

That's a really nice and rare 66 L station you've got there! Definitely worthwile the repair work.
Indeed the basic 66L version had drums upfront and no vacbooster (read the original folder). I once fitted a V66 booster to such a car that made a lot of difference even with the original drum brakes. But from what i see on the pics it won't be that simple in RHD version (no space for the longer booster-MBC assembly due to the carburettor, on the left side is ample room).
Regarding the vague steering, you may first try to readjust the play (eccentric bushing) and fill it up with grease (through the aeration hole). Might be sufficient.
If the diaphragms are ok the rotating seals in the covers, any hose or the 4way valve may be leaking. Just check it using a vacuummeter at different positions.
Fitting the clip on the drum cover is simple, first push it as far as you can get it in the groove using grips (start with the eye end), then hit it with a pin and hammer axially on the protruding flat end. it will snap in place instantly.

good luck!

[jackytwoshoes]

Thanks for the tips!

Hmm. Blowing down the tubes in the engine bay reveals no leaks and the diaphragms working as they should.

With the car in neutral and engine running:

Removing the big vacuum pipe (2)running from the inlet manifold to the 4 way valve causes the engine to momentarily rise in revs as it leans the mixture and then stalls. I can feel vacuum here obviously.

I think the throttle microswitch is pretty well set up as I can hear a solenoid actuating in the 4 way valve when I rev the engine, but if I disconnect pipes (3) and (4), there doesn't seem to be any vacuum that I can feel coming from the valve, either at idle or a higher revs when the microswitch has actuated solenoid. Does that mean it's not working? Should it be generating some significant vacuum?

[andrew]

Put your hand on the vacuum valve, switch on the ignition and gently open the throttle, so that the micro-switch is actuated you should feel the vacuum valve "click" as it opens the vacuum to the belts to assist them to change up. It is, of course, possible that the vacuum pipes are not fitted to the primary units correctly.

I can feel a trip over to E11 coming on......

[jackytwoshoes]

Just time for a quick tinker in the evening light after work- and I have a small reward for all my efforts at last!

The 4 way valve gives me some considerable vacuum if I press in the low hold switch, but I don’t think I’m getting any vacuum through the change up pipe... so... I switched the pipes over and used the low hold switch as a kind of overdrive and... woah!! At long long last you can go for a drive without a constant million RPM. It changes so nicely with load and inclines, and cruises beautifully at sensible revs at around 50mph.. it’s like a different car.

The weird thing is that I can hear the valve clicking when I open the throttle, which lead me to believe that it’s working, but further investigation is obviously needed.

I celebrated by going to Tesco and parking between some 4x4’s.

[gromsound]

yep thats logical already thought so: your change up vac doesnt work most probably due to a broken off rubber valve dish in the 4way valve (which is common, due to ageing). It will click but not close. You can either mix several partly broken valve halves in order to get a fully functional one, or buy the repair kit from classic daf in NL.
(or if you are VERY rich: buy a new one from your friendly OVLOV dealer - ask for the 340 CVT one, its the same).

[andrejuan]

That parking photo is wonderful. I often comment how small a 70s medium sized car is compared to a modern small car but,
seeing one in that situation is brilliant.

[Richard DAF Webmeister]

That is a stunning pic.

I might borrow it, if I may, for the mag...

[jackytwoshoes]

Apr 4, 2018 13:29:49 GMT Richard DAF Webmeister said:

That is a stunning pic.

I might borrow it, if I may, for the mag...

You’re most welcome to!