Rudolph Mk1 Daf 44 the story continues

[sigi]

Hi There

I have just bought the Daf 44 Mk1 from Marcus on the Wirral (lovely Chap). I have wanted one of these strange cars for some time, my dad had a 44 back in 87 and he "Hated it" he spent a good while welding it then changed the clutch and bellhousing ? with parts from another donor. And then skidded on Ice and crashed it  .

However it was the 1st car I ever drove and it must of stuck in my mind as I decided I would look out for one, I missed out on a 33 on ebay a few months back then forgot about getting another as with 9 cars all over 10 yrs old in the family parking is always an issue and my taste in cars can never be called normal this is my summer ride.


So having picked up the Mad little car from Marcus it was straight onto the motorway in the rain !



An eventful journey later losing both wiper arms in the pouring rain and nearly shaking to death due to a very poorly trackrod and oval tires I got it home and gave it a clean 

[sigi]

I have a number of plans to help bring the little thing back to life and carry on Marcus,s good work including pulling the engine and a good clean up and rebuild also change the drive belts as they must be very old.

I have a few questions for fellow Daf folks.

Tyres I have managed to find 1x 135 SR 14 does anyone know a source for others or alternatives ?

Wing mirror the 68 does not have one, should it ? and if so where from ?

Clutch shoes ? where from and is it a easy job ?

I dont mind getting my hands dirty and intend to drive the 44 (my age this year as well  ) as much as possible

[Richard DAF Webmeister]

Well done!

(Please note that I've moved your story from the "For Sale" section, because obviously, the car is no longer for sale!)

[sigi]

Jan 14, 2015 22:50:53 GMT Richard DAF Webmeister said:

Well done!

(Please note that I've moved your story from the "For Sale" section, because obviously, the car is no longer for sale!)

Whoops sorry

[33grinder]

Welcome Sigi and well done.

Choices on the 14" rim are more limited but 13" rims are harder to come by (and alloys uber rare) due to DAF's unique PCD. Vredesteins are the r commended tyre but they aren't cheap. I have gone up in size to 165/70s which is about as wide as you can go on those rims, they offer good grip and ride.

Clutch changes are engine out. Most owners can extract an engine in under an hour using simple tools and sliding the engine out on a trolley jack. There are 8 clutch shoes, if they are all good then it's best to get them relined.

Hope this helps,

Pete.

[joe]

Wonderful stuff! The Mk1 44 is super rare. Please keep us updated!

[33grinder]

With regards to the mirrors, I believe the only DAFs to come from the factory with them (lorries excluded) was the 33 van. Therefore there's no standard door/wing mirror. All part of the individuality of DAFs.

[sigi]

Well I have had the old girl a little while now and she is getting used whenever possible. I tried to source the correct tyres but only found one, so she now sits on a set of 155/70/14 which look fine and improve the drive no end as the originals where really shot. The body wirk is starting to bubble a little here and there and this is something I will attend to asap. I had a starting issue which was a real pain I put it down to six volt electrics but it wouldnt go away, I doubled up the earth cable from the battery to the starter and she now starts on the button every time . I have a couple of issues to sort one is the front offside wheel cylinder is sticking despite a rebuild , and the other more serious one is a vibration from the transmission which seems to be getting worse, it is only af about 25-35 mph then is goes away ?? Anyone any ideas ??

[mattsdafs]

Sounds like she has thrown a weight in the primary

[sigi]

So clambered underneath tonight to do the tension on the belts and now all is nice and smooth,next problem is a sticking front wheel cylinder,I thought I had sourced one on eBay but it is the wrong type anyone any ideas where to get one ?

[Richard DAF Webmeister]

Have you asked Steve yet? (As mentioned on the "Shoutbox" thing below)
I certainly would if you haven't yet.

[sigi]

A combination of working away from home 3 weeks every month and buying a Trabant as well as my Trekker means this little lady has not been used since around August not sure what to do keep it and drive it or move it on to someone with more time, the thing is I know I will regret selling her

[Dan P]

Mar 15, 2016 15:29:28 GMT sigi said:

A combination of working away from home 3 weeks every month and buying a Trabant as well as my Trekker means this little lady has not been used since around August not sure what to do keep it and drive it or move it on to someone with more time, the thing is I know I will regret selling her

Nice seeing you today at Sandbach would love to see your MK1 if you ever do a local show in her 

Dan

[sigi]

Wake up little car its been 10 months

[sigi]

Ok so the Daf is now back in favour I was trying to sell it but then changed my mind and decided to give it a little love so she received a brand new 6v battery which solved any starting issues straight away then she was put in for her MOT which she passed with no problems so having run it around for a couple of weeks the blow from the exhaust was getting louder so so option but to pull the motor and fix it. Now I had heard it takes around a hour to remove a daf engine and being used to vws I thought no problem.

after around 4 knuckle grazed hours I had the thing on the floor every single bolt was seized from 47 years of inactivity I dont mind admitting I swore at the little car a good few times.

while out the clutch was inspected and seemed to be in good order

the cause of the popping exhaust was traced to the inlet manifold and the preheat pipe from the exhaust was found to be really bad so I decided one pre heat pipe should be good enough as I have never had a issue with carb icing so far and the pipe from the exhaust was as good as missing.

vac pipes were shot as well so replaced those while I was at it.
getting the engine back in was a bit tight there really isn't a lot of room between the clutch shoes and drum a bit more swearing and the old girl was back together but it took twice as long as I thought it might, very pleased with the result though she has more power is smoother running and a lot quieter

so she (doris) as she has been renamed took me for a pint

[swissdave]

Excellent, that sort of repair improves the driving experience so much!

[spidersmart]

Hi Sigi I have done a lot of the same work on my own 44, I thing you will find in the future it is fare easier to remove and install the engine with th bell housing still attached.Well done hope to meet one day.