Mark's multicoloured 1975 Daf 66

[mtjm]

So, a little while ago I saw this thread about a 66 for sale on eBay: dafcars.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Sales&action=display&thread=2460

Richard went and checked it out for me and after getting a positive report from him I put a bid in on eBay and won it for the grand total of £260.

The car arrived this afternoon at my local classic mechanic's place. Here's a few photos:











Some good news, in that it is very solid and even still has it's rear bumper variomatic badge! The odometer reads around 80 thousand miles, which from the condition is quite possibly true. I'm waiting on some documentation to see if I can verify that.

Even more good news in that with some fresh petrol and the vacuum pipe on the carb blocked off she started and ran. Here's some video evidence:



We even managed to drive her backwards and forwards a little bit, although the brakes are a bit seized up. Not bad for 30 minutes work!

The paint is awful, but I'm really not worried about the looks of it right now.

So, the plan is for Paul to check her over and give me an idea of what needs doing to get an MOT. I'm aiming to have her on the road for the beginning of April when I start my new job, as I'll have an hour commute each way on the motor way and won't be able to use our current (and only) car for it.

[spunkymonkey]

That sounds pretty sweet!

As for the paintwork, it probably doesn't look that bad in real life. from 100 yds. On a dark night. With trees in the way ;D


Seriously, looks like a pretty sound little car from what we can see in those pics and painwork is nothing really as long as the metals sound

[Nick the man with a daf....]

I commute in my 46 daily, they are amazingly capable on the motorway too once you get used to the effect of high wind, dont get fustrated if at first you seem to be revving an getting nowhere, there is an artform to driving a variomatic, and once you master it you wonder why every car hasnt been built the same... glad shes found a good home !!

[mtjm]

Thanks for the replies folks. I'm well chuffed with what I've bought so far.

I left the car in the state shown in the photos and video figuring that Paul would leave it alone for the day and work on some of the other cars he has up there. I then got a phone call a couple of hours later to say that they had put some petrol in the tank, topped up the water and oil and now had her running reliably for 45 minutes. They'd also freed up the brakes and taken to driving her round the yard.

So far it looks like the car only needs some work on the brake calipers, a bunch of new rubber hoses and a service and it will be pretty much good to go!

To say I'm happy would be a massive understatement. ;D

[Richard DAF Webmeister]

Wooo! I'm very pleased and well done you!

Look forward to seeing how things progress.

[howard]

It doesn't get much better than this, does it? I'm delighted for you, Mark!

[mtjm]

Richard: Thanks for your help checking out the car.

Howard: I'm hoping to head up and do some work on Gladys on Saturday. If you're around we can also pop by and you can have a proper look at the 66.

[dafdaffer]

Well done on saving the 66 it looks very solid from the pictures, I also forgot you had Gladys how is she doing? I miss the greenness.
There is that one on eBay which is being broken as well if you need anything let me know as its not a million miles away, we could always meet up half way or something.

[howard]

Excellent Mark - remind me to sort out some service items for you.....I've got plenty of spares!

[mtjm]

Thanks for the offers guys. I'll let you know if I need anything once we've fully checked it over. There are some small bits (bumper ends, indicators) and service bits needed for definite and I figure a belt change in order as I don't know when it was last done. But the majority of it seems solid so far.

As for Gladys, she's coming together slowly. I've had the carb professionally refurbished and managed to change all the gaskets and seals on the engine. She's also had a bunch of service parts and some welding on the exhaust. I'll try and post an update on her this weekend, if I remember to take my camera when I go to work on her.

Gladys may have to go up for sale once the 66 is on the road though.

[Richard DAF Webmeister]

I hadn't realised that you had Green Gladys either.
I thought it was in Wales!

[mtjm]

Yeah, I bought Gladys off Paul about a year and a half ago now. She's spent most of that time in a unit nearby that Howard has. I started working on fixing some issues (oil leak, stuck brake adjusters and a problem stalling at junctions) and got kind of carried away.

I'd realised recently though that there were a number of things I wanted to change about Gladys (such as fitting disc brakes and a servo) that came standard on many 66's, so when this one came up it made sense to jump on it.

Like I said, I'm hoping to make a good bit of progress on her this weekend and will post up some photos when I do. She's not far off being back on the road, just needs new brackets from the engine mounts to the exhaust and to finally fit the new front brake backplates.

[mtjm]

We got some sunshine today, so I have some brighter outdoors pictures of the 66:







We also had a chance to put her on the ramp and have a poke about underneath. There are some rust issues, but not too many.

The worst one is the rear of the passenger side sill just above the jacking point, which had been "repaired" with fiberglass and has also rusted internally.



The rest of that sill just has some small holes and pitting:



and some surface rust in the front wheel arch area:



The driver side sill is not as bad structurally but has small holes for most of its length right on the corner of the sill where it bends under the car.

The only other really nasty bit is around the rear drivers side leaf spring mount, where the floor is rotting away.



So, the question I now have is can I get some sills or repair panels for the sills from somewhere or are we better making them up?

I've also compiled a shopping list of bits that should really be replaced:

1. Most of the brake system (all pipes, hoses, pads, shoes, discs, etc.)
2. Most of the rubber parts (exhaust mounts, roll bar bushes, hoses, etc.)
3. Water pump (lots of corrosion and a bit noisy)
4. Alternator (low output, really rusty)
5. Exhaust (at least the rear box, possibly the whole thing)

If anyone has some hints on where to get some of these bits that would be good. I know I can get most of them from Danny, but shipping on some of these bits will be crazy due to size and weight.

[Nick the man with a daf....]

have a look on my restoration thread on the other daf site, it covers the sills in depth, also that surface pitting was how mine looked but I wasnt gentle when cleaning them up

essexdafs.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=introduction&action=display&thread=141

[howard]

Saw the yellow/red/blue beast today with my own eyes. She is indeed very, very solid and I have helped Mark out with some very useful new bits, including:

Rear shoes/cylinders, a pair of discs, water pump, alternator, brake master cylinder, a complete exhaust system, a pair of belts, a second-hand bootlid, and a few other goodies I had in my store.

So hopefully this will help return this splendid vehicle to the road!

[mtjm]

Like Howard said, today I got lots of bits off my shopping list for the 66 from his incredible collection of spare Daf parts

We ended up filling the boot of the 66 with all the bits:



So now I basically just need some brake calipers as well as the brake lines and hoses.

[howard]

Does anyone know if Volvo 66 calipers 7/75-onwards are the same or compatible? If so, Brake Engineering list them in their current catalogue (CA243/CA243R). Seems they are about £47 each, which ain't bad

[mtjm]

Thanks for that Howard. A quick search with Google shows those calipers as being compatible with the Daf 66 as well as the Volvo 66. They also fit the Talbot Simca 1000 apparently! I'll try and order some later.

I've also just managed to order a full set of brake pipes and fittings from Automec, should be here before the week is out.

[howard]

It's all good news, isn't it! I'll dig the boot lid out for you and the other bits when I get a chance (maybe tomorrow?).

[mtjm]

Some nice shiny new parts arrived for the 66 in the last few weeks. Firstly, a set of brake calipers from Danny:



along with some braided brake hoses from Steve at the club:



These are really excellent and were accompanied by my first issue of Belting Along, as I finally got my act together and joined as a member! A really excellent read it was too.

Work started on the 66 today with the fitting of a bunch of new parts to the brakes and engine.

We also discovered that at some point in it's previous life a family of mice appeared to have lived in among the vario belts. They left quite a mess behind:



We have however hit a snag, in that the brake discs I picked up from Howard (in amongst the huge pile of spares he gave me) do not appear to be for a 66 at all. So, as the current discs are the worse for wear, I need to find some replacements. Does anyone know where I can get my hands on a pair of 66 discs, or do I need to talk to Danny?

[dafdaffer]

I don't have any to my knowledge, I will ask Stef for you, I have also noticed that my spare engines both have broken exhaust mountings, looks like a common issue

[mtjm]

Dafdaffer: Thanks. I've actually manged to source both new discs and the engine/exhaust mounts for Gladys, so I think I have all the parts I need now.

As of this morning the mechanical work on the 66 is just about finished. All the new brake parts have been fitted:

New discs and calipers (courtesy of Danny)
New stainless hoses (thanks to Steve)
New hard lines
New m/c (from Howard)
New servo (thanks to Past Parts)
New shoes and wheel cylinders

She's also been fitted with 5 new Bridgestone 145/80/14 tyres as the existing ones were so bad it's amazing that any of them still held air. One of them burst while it was being removed from the wheel!



A new alternator and exhaust (both also from Howard) fixed the last of the mechanical bits that were left.

Some of the welding has been done, sorting the rust issues around the rear spring mountings, leaving only the sill repairs to be done and then it can be sent for an MOT. Hopefully I'll be driving the 66 within a week or two.



Since I've been fitting a lot of new parts to the car I've got a bunch of bits that came off of it lying around. Some of the parts may well be rebuildable/repairable. So if anyone wants things like the alternator, brake discs, master cylinder etc please let me know. Discs need a skim for instance but could most likely be re-used:



I'll part with them for the price of shipping, or if you come and pick them up you can have them for nothing.

[Nick the man with a daf....]

id be very interested in the old servo if it is available please?

[mtjm]

Nick: sorry for the delay in replying, I took a few days holidays. Servo is all yours. PM me your address and I'll get a price for postage. Or if you're going to be anywhere near Bristol let me know and you can pop in for it.

[mtjm]

Some more welding done. New passenger side sill:





Passenger side rear spring hanger repair:



Just the driver's side left and then its MOT time.

[Nick the man with a daf....]

looking good mate, yes will let you jknow if im due to pass

[mtjm]

Very quick update, the 66 now has one of these:



;D

First one since 2002!

[33grinder]

Hoorah!

Well done that man!

[howard]

Lovely lack of advisories too

[Richard DAF Webmeister]

That is excellent news.

I'm very pleased for you.

All you have to decide now is what colour it should be!