Kaatje (my DAF 46)

[dafix]

Hello,

Although I already posted in this forum to ask technical (or silly ?) questions regarding my DAF, I never took the time to introduce my vehicle and myself, sorry. Basically I live in Brittany/Bretagne/Breizh (NW of France) and I bought there in October 2018 my DAF 46 (built in 1975) that I named "Kaatje" (I had to find a nice dutch girl name for her !). It came in quite good condition with only 27000 km (really ?) on the odometer. As you can see, the original color was "olifjgroen", but for unknown reason the bottom of the body has been re-painted with a different shade of green. I could not find, using a magnet, some large patches of filler that would have been applied on possibly dented areas, so I don't know the explanation for this (poor) paint job.




I fixed some small electrical problems (replaced the horn and some bulbs). I still have a problem with the ignition block: the "circuit on" position does not work (but the spring-loaded "starter" position does). The previous owner fixed that by cabling the defogging switch (which was not used) in parallel with the ignition switch. I have been looking for a new ignition switch for months, haven't found one so far (maybe this part is shared with other car makers if it was outsourced from the same company like Bosch, Valeo, etc... I have no information on that). The transmission is OK so far: I had once a squealing noise from the back for a few seconds when driving, but this glitch never happened again.  I checked recently the gap between the two halves of the back pulley and the tension of THE belt (reminder: a DAF 46 has only one belt) is correct. My main concern came from the front train: it tended to dangerously drift to the left side when driving on straight line. I brought Kaatje to a mechanic last month, he told me there was too much backlash in the steering gear to adjust the parallelism. So I bought a steering gear (rack+pinion in the housing) from dafhobby.nl. When I brought it to the mechanic, I gave him a copy of the pages of DAF 44 (likely very close to the DAF 46 regarding the steering) manual in french and of the Autoworks Owner's Maintenance Manual for DAF in english, regarding the exchage of the steering mechanism. He just shrugged saying it was OK and that he didn't need manuals. When I came back to the workshop at the end of the day, the steering gear was replaced but the mechanic complained it was a hell to do that job because he encountered unexpected difficulties  ! Whatever, now this is is done and eventually I adjusted the parallelism of the front wheels by myself, using a string. The behavior of Kaatje on the road is much better now. However, I am still puzzled how the front train could have gone so bad. It was fine when I just bought my car and it seems it appeared after I drove for ~ 200 km. Can it be due a loose part in the left strut ? I haven't noticed anything so far...

The interior is very clean, I am impressed by the quality of the upholstery after more than 40 years. I just regret Kaatje is not a SL model trimmed with (faux-)wood. I never use the installed radio, I prefer to hear the boxer engine roaring (reminds me the Citroën Ami-8 of my grand-father) and to pay attention to any weird noise while driving. You can see what remains (unpainted areas) of the beautiful olifjgroen color. The yellow label under the defogging switch was a reminder for the mechanic (because of the defective ignition switch). And no, the yellow vest in the bin is not to be used for demonstrations !



Now that spring is back, I hope I will enjoy driving Kaatje more (I used to give her a ride every sunday morning, this winter). Of course, it is not a sport car, and in the countryside where I live, it really teaches you defensive driving: narrow roads, sharp curves, daily drivers going fast, unexpected wide and slow tractors, slower license-free tiny cars, etc...

[andrew]

Ah, the terror of the V.S.P.! (voiture sans permit) One of the stranger backwaters of French vehicle legislation, allowing anyone (and it really is ANYONE!) over the age of 15 to drive one of these "cars". Been convicted of drunk driving? No problem! Drive a V.S.P. without any problems! I believe this has now stopped, but it certainly made driving in Franch villages "fun" a few years ago. I didn't know these vehicles still exixted! I'm delighted to see your daf sports suitably Gallic yellow headlights! These have quite a following amongst some members of the Daf Club, myself included! I have a spare Daf ignition switch, but I,m not sure if it's for a 33 or a 44/46, but I'll have a look through my boxes of stuff when I have a chance. If it would fit your car it's yours for the postage & packing. In the meantime I'll look more closely at the "gilets jaunes" on the French T.V. & see if I can spot a Daf in the background......

[dafix]

Hi Andrew,

Yes, VSPs are still quite common on the roads where I live. In the past, they were powered by 49-cc two-stroke moped engines (and therefore considered as "cyclomoteurs" which did not require any license and could be driven from age 14. They had even no registration plates), but now they have diesel engines (with a larger displacement, indeed). From what I see, they are usually driven by old people. If you live in the french countryside, have no driver license, and are too old to ride a bicycle, it is probably the only way to survive (by riding a few kilometers to buy groceries at the closest supermarket) ; forget about any bus or train.

Thank you for your offer regarding the ignition switch. I have received already an offer from another gentleman, but you can send me a personal message, although (I don't why) I am not always notified of new messages, which may causes some delays for me to reply, but I will try to check my message box more often in the coming days.

[dafix]

Last Sunday, I went to the Rétro-Passion vintage car show in Rennes. There was a spare-part flea market inside, but I didn't find an ignition switch for Kaatje (I only saw some ignition switches in a bin, but apparently for Renault cars). However I spotted this cute DAF 33 on the parking lot there .



The registration number (black plate, old FNI french numbering system) is from 1968, and this DAF has always been registered in Ille-et-Vilaine ("département" nº35). It has been owned by the same person living in the same place since at least 2009 (otherwise the car would have plates with the new SIV numbering system).

[dafix]

Hi,

It has been one year since Kaatje is mine. So far, I haven't driven her a lot (barely 1000 km). I went to some vintage car meetings in my region and she intrigued many vintage car owners ("Oooh, a DAF ! That's very rare nowadays..." ). I didn't get real troubles with her, always brought me home after a ride. In the last 12 months, this is what I had to change:

- Headlight chromed ring (one was missing).

- Horn.

- Steering rack.

- Front dampers (2).

- Tyres (4).

- Signal bulbs (2: turn light on fender and brake rear light).

- Windscreen wipers.

- Battery.

I still have to find the ignition switch (this is a hard quest), but for the moment I have no other part to be replaced. So everything is fine !

[andrew]

There was a Daf 44 ignition/steering lock on British E-Bay a few days ago. I didn't look too closely, as it was for a 44, but it might still be there......

[dafix]

Hi Andrew,

Thank you. I have just searched ebay.uk but I haven't find any ad for a DAF 44 ignition switch (maybe it has already been sold). So the quest goes on ...

[gromsound]

looks like a late model, it has the same switch as a D66/V66. However these break down just as fast (starter contact defect). after i replaced it two times in a short time i fitted an extra starter pushbutton (bosch or hella, large amperage) in the dash just besides the ignition key. works fine for over 25 years and still counting ;-)

in fact the for you probably well familiar 2CV had this arrangement as standard between 1970 and 1975, the small red pushbutton to the right of the instruments. you may get one of those from the scrapyard.

[dafix]

Hi Gromsound,

Interesting to know that the ignition switch of the DAF 46 is that fragile. There are indeed several alternatives, even if I would prefer to have something as close as possible to the original system. I know there are cheap generic ignition switches with three positions (off - circuit on - starter) that can be procured. They don't have the ability to lock the column, but this is not a problem for me because I park my DAF in a garage and never leave her in the streets. So far, all the switches like that I have found on the internet are too big to fit inside the tube underneath the column (diameter of the barrel shall be 30 mm if I remember well).

[gromsound]

well the lock and key just stay in place (for contact on) and only the starter function (turn further to position 3) will be taken over by the extra press button next to it. I can even operate it while still holding the key. The starter switch (demarrage) is the only thing that fails, normal contact (ignition on) will be working anyway. You just put the extra button parallel to the old starter contact (so it will only work with key in position 2)

All later ignition switches suffer from the same problem (daf 44mk3, 46, 66, V66) it is just a bad -probably cheap- construction (not by DAF however but some noname OEM). Strangely enough the one in the V340 does not go wrong (at least not in mine which is 40 years old, or maybe i should wait another 3 years), maybe that will fit the daf hole and locking spline?

[swissdave]

My V66 has an extra push button for the starter position, the original ignition switch started intermittently failing when the car was warm after a run and then eventually gave up altogether.

[Richard DAF Webmeister]

Yes, as the above.

I had just the same on my 55 then V66.

The mechanical part of the ignition switch fails, so simply get a push button or as I did in my 55, a flick switch to actually send power to the starter motor.

So in other words, keep the old key switch in place for "Off" and "Igntion on", then use the new switch to "Start".

[starider]

Hi,
Much of what has been said ref. the engine revs increasing is correct,the revs increase to keep the centrifugal clutch
engaged to help with engine braking.There is a method in workshop manuals of adjusting the mechanical vacuum valve[next to the carb.]using a vacuum gauge and rev counter, but when servicing the air cooled engines we always adjusted the valve on a road test.We had a vacuum gauge in the cab with a length of vaccuum hose with a "T" piece on the engine end,pulled off the bottom vac.hose on the 3 way valve,put the "T" in line and drove the car slowly,the gauge should indicate at between 12/15 mph, if not the adjusting rod was either lengthened or shortened to achieve this. You may think this method was not that accurate, but it was achieved with the car in a normal driving situation.It was this method I was taught when on a DAF mechanics course at Feltham............starider.

[dafix]

Hello,

An update (after a year) about my DAF46. I still own her, but she spent most of the time in my garage this year. First, I had a minor accident in January: the front right corner of the body has been slightly dented, as well as the bumper. I could get the bumper fixed by a metal workshop at the beginning of March, just in time before the lockdown in France started. Until middle of May, I didn't drive my DAF outside, I  just started the engine and moved a few meters on my driveway every week. Then I could resume to drive a few kilometers every Sunday, usually (I don't dare to venture too far on long trips). In June, I fixed the front wheel toe-in (with a tool I made, that uses a laser beam). In September, I had to go through with the CT (french equivalent of the british MOT): it was rejected because of misaligned headlamps (beams too low), oil leak, and a missing safety pin on a steering rod. I corrected these small problems (the oil was leaking from the pressure switch, and I changed it) and yesterday I successfully passed the CT (the vehicle inspection centers are open during this new lockdown, which started last Friday in France). But now, I fear I will have to wait for several weeks before I can drive my DAF on the roads... Anyway, the weather is not quite pleasant these days. 

[newwy66]

Good news she has passed inspection. I love the colour of Kaatje.
I don't like the winter and i don't like taking mine out in the bad weather...lol . Wet and salty roads are not good for old DAF's

[dafix]

Thanks ! The colour is not the original one on the bottom part of the body and it does not look quite nice. I would like one day to have a complete paint job done with the right colour, but it would be quite expensive (especially considering what a DAF46 is worth on the vintage car market) and it is not the priority. Yes, humidity is a problem where I live. Although Kaatje sleeps in a garage, it is not unusual to find her covered in dew by cold wet mornings. There is already a bit of corrosion on the undercarriage and this is something I will have to fix. Anyway, my priority for next months is to improve the braking: the values measured at inspection were at the limits of the rejection and when I drive I don't feel very safe (I don't know what will happen if I need to do an emergency braking).

[starider]

Hi, it may be worth trying cleaning a very small area of paint on both areas of colour with something like "T" cut, to see if either colour has faded. I would choose an area out of direct view and clean both colours and as they are next to each other, you will be able to detect if either has faded or just needs a good clean.