Gladys moves to a new home

[mtjm]

So, at 11am today I got off the train in Carmarthen and took possession of Gladys from Paul.

Having decided to buy her from him during the week I wasn't able to drive her home due to a charging system fault. Paul performed great work and she now has a working alternator to replace her busted dynamo.

Once the paperwork was all sorted I proceeded to drive Gladys straight from Carmarthen to Bristol. This was my first drive in ANY Daf, so it was an interesting trip.

Gladys performed admirably and made it to my place in around 2 and a quarter hours, averaging about 60MPH the whole way and doing so on about half a tank of petrol. An excellent start to my Daf owning experience!

Overall, she's excellent. A couple of small things need doing. A tuneup is necessary as she is very sluggish off the line and occasionally stalls when idling. The door seals need replacing so that the excellent floor doesn't start to rust away.

I may also need to do something to improve the brakes. They are quite scary compared to the (admittedly servo-assisted disk) brakes in my 20 year old Mini. Suggestions on improvements gratefully accepted.

So, to finish up this post, here's a photo of Gladys at her new home:



Thanks to Paul for selling her to me and for looking after her so well.

Mark

[pauldaf44]

Glad she got you home without issue.

Re the brakes. Try the adjusters they may just need a tweek up. There are two large hex heads on each back plate. Jack the car up and turn each one untill the wheel locks and then back it off slightly. It is a while since they where last done so well worth doing.

[33grinder]

Sad to see her go Paul, at least she has gone to another caring owner.

Glad you enjoyed your first DAF experience Mark. They really are quite unlike any other car and quite addictive too!

I think Danny at DAFHobby sells the door strips.

[mtjm]

Not so much an update, as a reason for a lack of updates:

Pretty much as soon as Gladys arrived our classic Mini through some sort of fit and dumped all its coolant onto the ground. This has since been followed by an engine steady bolt hole cracking and the exhaust coming loose from the manifold.

So, Gladys has been somewhat ignored (apart from some new door seals), while I fight the current Mini gremlins.

Hopefully I'll get these sorted soon and updates on Gladys will become more regular.

First plans are safety related: fitting front seats with headrest (possibly a set of Rover Metro seats I have lying around) and inertia reel seatbelts.

[mtjm]

I think you're right that it is jealousy.

Anyone trying to convince me that cars (especially old cars) don't have personalities of their own will have a very hard time!

[mtjm]

Ok, an overdue update on Gladys:

I mentioned that she had been stalling at idle, which was a bit of a pain at junctions. So, in order to try and sort it out I went over all the basics: plugs, leads, points, timing, mixture etc. Put everything back to factory basic settings but no joy.

At this point I figured my most likely problem was a vacuum leak. Disconnected the transmission from the manifold vacuum and plugged the manifold vacuum connector. Still no improvement. So I started checking all the rubber pipes, but Paul had changed most of these quite recently and they were fine.

This left pretty much two options that I could think of: the carb to manifold join or the manifold to block join. Took off the carb, removed the gasket, cleaned both mating surfaces and fitted a new gasket, then refitted the carb. Problem solved!

So Gladys now idles happily and doesn't cut out any more. ;D

[pauldaf44]

Yay that problem had been really bugging me as all the usual fixes hadn't worked.

You managed to use her much yet?

[kenr]

Congrats on getting her and well done for sorting that little niggle.

Ken

[mtjm]

Haven't managed to do much driving in her. While I've sorted the stalling in neutral there's still some stalling when idling in gear, which is a pain for my daily driving as it's mostly in either Bath traffic or Bristol traffic. I've ended up buying another car (a manual Volvo 340) to use as a daily, to allow me to sort out the things I want to fix on Gladys (stalling, engine mounts, brakes, oil leak, and some safety stuff).

To that end, Gladys moved to Howard's workshop this afternoon. It's only a 5 minute drive from my place and she'll stay there for the winter to give me a chance to do everything I want to do, without having to work outside in the nasty weather! A major thanks to Howard for letting me use the space.

So, the plan is to restore her over the winter, then flog the Volvo in the new year and have Gladys take over as my daily.

[howard]

A major thanks to Howard for letting me use the space.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Actually, that's a ruse of mine. I'm rounding up all the DAFs I can find and then locking the doors!!!

No, I can't bear the thought of a DAF shivering out in all weathers over the winter when I have space that can be used.

[pauldaf44]

My my Gladys is not used to that kind of luxury this was her last winter and she was used on that lot.

[mtjm]

Right, time for a Gladys update.

As I already mentioned, a month or two ago Gladys moved indoors, joining Howard's cars in his unit. I then went off to get married and so not much happened on the Gladys front for a while.

Last weekend I headed to Howard's to start the work that she needs. I didn't take any photos last weekend, although I have some from this weekend.

Firstly, here's Gladys in amongst Howard's collection (with the man himself in the background):



So, the first thing I wanted to deal with was some rust. The door seals had been leaking for quite a while and so there was some rust damage to the floors on both sides. This had been made worse by foam the sound proofing (possibly an aftermarket add-on) that was under the rubber flooring. It had just soaked up the water and kept it in contact with the floor.

With the flooring a soundproofing removed and after a bit of work with a wire brush I was left with this:



This was then further cleaned up, dried and vacuumed, before being covered in a liberal coating of POR-15:



Yes, I did just post a picture of paint drying.

I've still got to do the front passenger side (rear passenger side is fine), but at least I'm making progress.

Hope to get the last of the floor finished next weekend and then move on to overhauling the brakes.

Mark

[pauldaf44]

Good to see that the two patches I put in over the jacking points for her last MOT are holding up. I did take all that foam insulation out at that point and gave it a week or two hung up too dry out. Did you have too put any more metal into the floor or was it all surface?

Re the brakes whilst I had her she had 4 new wheel cylinders and two new back plates on the front. However one of the back plates on the rear really needs replacing as the adjuster is very stiff and quite badly rounded. It can be adjusted with mole grips but a replacement would be better. As I mentioned when you bought her she could do with some solid hoses as they where an advisory on the last MOT. The shoes are not very old either.

Oh whilst I was moving house I found a brand new lower ball joint and a set of 44 rear shocks in the shed. If she needs them give us a shout and i'll send them down to you.

Paul

[mtjm]

Paul: the patches you put in are still perfect. It was just surface rust but I wanted to deal with it before it got any worse. To be honest, Gladys' steel is in amazing condition for a car of her age (actually it would be pretty amazing for a 10-year old car, let alone a 40-year old one).

I did notice though that there's no drainage hole on the front at the drivers side, but is on the passenger side. I think you might have patched over the drivers side one. I'll just make sure to re-drill it.

As for the brakes, I remembered that you said the pipework could do with replacing, so figured I might as well give the whole lot a good check over and replace anything that needs it.

I'll check the shocks and ball joints next weekend and let you know if they need replacing. Thanks for the offer of the parts.

John: This is the first time in years I've had a car that wasn't my daily driver, it's nice being able to do this sort of work and not have to get it straight back on the road. Plus, preventative maintenance is a good thing for me when it comes to the metalwork, as I don't weld.

[pauldaf44]

its quite possible I did inadvertantly patch over it. Glad shes getting the attention she deserves because I really miss her.

[mtjm]

Ok then, time for another update.

I've basically only been managing about half a day per week on Gladys over the last few weeks. Still some work has been done.

With the floors wire-brushed, painted and dried I started applying some bitumen-based soundproofing (actually its roof flashing tape, but it always worked well for me). I'm planning on using her as my daily, so a bit of extra work towards increased comfort is not a bad plan:



I did the driver side back and front, but only the front on the passenger side as there was no rust on that section of floor.



You can probably also see a small amount of surface rust under the crossmember in the first photo (visible through the large circular hole). I can't get at it with a wire brush, so I will spray a bunch of waxoil under there and hope that will be enough to stave off any further rust.

With that done it was on to a jack to have a look at the brakes:



It was around this point that Howard and I realised we probably shouldn't have parked the 44's so close together before jacking Gladys up:



Yes, once Gladys was jacked up they were touching. Thankfully no damage was done.

Inspection of the brakes showed that the drums, shoes and cylinders are fine. However, the backplates on both sets of rear brakes are a bit the worse for wear. The adjusters on the driver side rear have seized completely and one is very rounded (as Paul already mentioned). The passenger side one also has one seized adjuster.

So, is it possible to get backplates for these?

Cheers,
Mark

[mtjm]

Cheers John.

I figured that might be the case for the back plates. I need to get some other stuff from Danny (engine mounts and oil seals etc) so could always get the backplates as well.

Unless anyone knows where I can get my hands on used ones in reasonable condition?

Mark

[mattsdafs]

Hi Mark,if you can hang on until after the w/end,i will have a look in the barn for you..i know we have back plates but need to identify them 1st ,thanks,matt

[mtjm]

Hey Matt,

Cheers! I can definitely wait til after the weekend. Plenty of other jobs for me to do on her in the meantime.

Mark

[spunkymonkey]

Seals also available online from people like Bearing King at silly cheap prices:

Front £2 + VAT: www.bearing-king.co.uk/products-search.php?d=48&D=65&bt=10&type=oil-seals

Rear £2.30 + VAT: www.bearing-king.co.uk/products-search.php?d=55&D=75&bt=10&type=oil-seals

If you chose first class post rather than courier for delivery then it'll be £7.20 for the pair delivered and if you order in the morning they usually turn up the next day

[mtjm]

Thanks for the info on the seals guys, that's good to know.

Since I'm going to pop the engine out to do the mounts and seals is there anything else I need to look at? Any other likely oil leak points for instance?

Also, I think Paul suggested the current leak could be from the pushrod tubes. Are there pushrod tube seals that could be worn and if so are they available anywhere?

Cheers,
Mark

[33grinder]

Hi Mark,

Yes, the pushrod tubes have a washer and these usually pack in and allow for oil egress. Well worth replacing them.

Also a service item (although recently replaced by Paul, iirc) is the carter valve. Ro find this remove the rubber tubing that leads from the oil filter to the airbox to access this. It's like a bird's bill and should be nice and tight. If it's opened up then bin it and replace.

One other thing to check is the relief spring. On the side of the block, low down, you'll find a bolt. Undo that and inside will be a spring and ball bearing. Remove and clean the spring.

You might also want to replace the triangular gaskets between the heat exchangers and front silencers as these can perish.

That's all that springs to mind at the moment although I'm sure others will think of more.

[pauldaf44]

I didn't actually get around to changing the carter valve and yes it does need one the old one was fubared!

Triangular gaskets on the exhaust are less than a year old as they where changed with the front silencer.

[mtjm]

Good to know about the Carter valve. I'm pretty sure you'd already told me it hadn't been changed Paul, but I'd forgotten! I'll make sure to pick one up and fit it.

Didn't manage to get any work done to Gladys this weekend. Have not had the best of weeks, with problems with the Mini, the Volvo breaking down (turned out to be a vacuum hose that had come off) and I also got clipped by a car when crossing the road.

I won't actually get more done on her for a while, as next weekend we're in Staffordshire at the British Mini Fair. Still, in the meantime I can be sourcing parts for the work that needs doing.

Mark

[33grinder]

Well, I think we have your backplates sorted Mark. We had one in stock and I believe another one of our group has another. Once I know we have the pair then I'll be in touch.

[mattsdafs]

Hi Mark,like Pete has said we had 1 back plate in stock and i will collect the other 1 at the w/end..will let you know when they are boxed up

[mtjm]

Excellent news on the backplates guys, thanks! Once you've got them together let me know and I'll PM you with address details etc.

No updates on Gladys at the moment, but hoping to be able to put a solid days work in on her this weekend.

Mark

[mtjm]

A long, long overdue update on Gladys today.

Firstly, my brake backplates arrived from Essex Dafs, cheers guys! They got a clean and degrease and then a coat of paint. Not fitted them yet, the brakes are next on the list.

Instead, I started on pulling out the engine. First, off came the front:



And out came the engine:



Leaving an empty looking bay:



Then I started on stripping down the engine. There are a few oil leaks, so it seems like the best thing to do is strip it as far as possible and reassemble with new seals and gaskets. This left me with a much smaller engine:



a box of head components:



and a box of other bits:



I ordered a bunch of parts that I needed for the engine from Danny, which have now shown up:



In that lot is a new air filter, plug leads, a (used) carter valve, rear engine mounts and a complete set of gaskets and seals for the engine. If I can't sort out my oil leaks using these then I'm in trouble. I also got a new front engine mount (not pictured), which came from Car Builder Solutions.

Lastly, I noticed recently an advert on the forum from a Volvo dealership in Cornwall who had found some old 44 front silencers and were selling them, so I ordered one. When it arrived it looked quite different from whats on Gladys already:



It's definitely a Daf part:



but the mounting flanges are at the wrong angle. A comparison with a 33 exhaust silencer and 33 engine that Howard has seems to indicate its a 33 silencer, rather than for a 44. So I guess I'll have to look at either locating a 44 silencer elsewhere or look at tidying up the one that's already on Gladys.

To finish, I have a question for those with experience of Daf engines. Since I've stripped the engine most of the way down, is there any work that I should be doing to it? I'm replacing the seals and gaskets. The heads look pretty good, if a little covered in carbon. Anything I really need to check and/or replace?

Cheers,
Mark

[pauldaf44]

Jul 1, 2012 16:55:51 GMT mtjm said:

A long, long overdue update on Gladys today.

Firstly, my brake backplates arrived from Essex Dafs, cheers guys! They got a clean and degrease and then a coat of paint. Not fitted them yet, the brakes are next on the list.

Instead, I started on pulling out the engine. First, off came the front:



And out came the engine:



Leaving an empty looking bay:



Then I started on stripping down the engine. There are a few oil leaks, so it seems like the best thing to do is strip it as far as possible and reassemble with new seals and gaskets. This left me with a much smaller engine:



a box of head components:



and a box of other bits:



I ordered a bunch of parts that I needed for the engine from Danny, which have now shown up:



In that lot is a new air filter, plug leads, a (used) carter valve, rear engine mounts and a complete set of gaskets and seals for the engine. If I can't sort out my oil leaks using these then I'm in trouble. I also got a new front engine mount (not pictured), which came from Car Builder Solutions.

Lastly, I noticed recently an advert on the forum from a Volvo dealership in Cornwall who had found some old 44 front silencers and were selling them, so I ordered one. When it arrived it looked quite different from whats on Gladys already:



It's definitely a Daf part:



but the mounting flanges are at the wrong angle. A comparison with a 33 exhaust silencer and 33 engine that Howard has seems to indicate its a 33 silencer, rather than for a 44. So I guess I'll have to look at either locating a 44 silencer elsewhere or look at tidying up the one that's already on Gladys.

To finish, I have a question for those with experience of Daf engines. Since I've stripped the engine most of the way down, is there any work that I should be doing to it? I'm replacing the seals and gaskets. The heads look pretty good, if a little covered in carbon. Anything I really need to check and/or replace?

Cheers,
Mark

Id be suprised if her current silencer needs replacing it was only fitted to her a few months before you bought her and it was a brand new item. I would advise though that the rear of the heat exchangers should attach to the rear engine mountings but on Gladys the brackets were broken or missing

because of this it sheared just before the left hand heat exchanger mounting bracket but I welded it back together and it didn't seem to leak. The centre section of exhaust gave a few problems as the part was incorectlly manufactured with slits cut into the wrong end. This means it is mounted back to front and as such never properly sealed.

[33grinder]

Thanks for the update!

The DAF aircooled engines are quite bulletproof (albeit not 'Pete' proof sadly!). The front and rear seals should help seal the leaks. There are also fibrous washers at the end of the pushrod tubes which can leak so are well worth replacing if you haven't bought a set already. DAF gaskets were pretty simple affairs and the crankcase halves just mate metal to metal so the only selant there is of the Hylomar type (Joe and I were discussing my impending rebuild today). You could easily replace the big end bearings now, if you can find replacements). Also worth checking would be the clutch shoes (probably fine but a false economy not to have a peek whilst the engine's out) and the propshaft metalastic couplings (again, probably fine etc).

Well done for getting on with it. Why not come to Essex in August for our weekender and bring the silencer with you? Not only should you have a great time but you'll meet 33 owners who may be interested in relieving you of said part in exchange for beer tokens.