The all new, improved, Daf Dalmation

[spunkymonkey]

Getting on steadily with the work on our 33 - one side of the body is almost ready for rub-down and painting. At this rate it should be shiny again in a couple of months!

The slightly worrying thing is, Sian saw it like this and didn't throw a "what have you done to my Daf?" fit. In fact, she decided it looks even more cute and has named it the Daf Dalmation. I'm waithing for her to ask me to put a clear-coat over as it is..... ;D

[daf44]

hi.

you had better hope she does not have the same idea.
if i did this to my car and my wife did NOT throw a fit i would get SERIOUSLY worried. ;D
not that i am trying to frightenyou or anything .

you seem to be getting on quite nicely with the car though.
keep up the good work.

paul44

[spunkymonkey]

Looks like we'll be getting a small delay for the weather here over the weekend - but that gives time to think round how to proceed. I've treated myself to a cheap HVLP spray gun and blower, which seems to work amazingly well for the price, but need power to run it from. So I started playing with an old computer UPS I had liying around - and it looks like I should be able to get about 500 - 600 watts of 240v AC off our "real" car with it.

Inspiration for that came when I saw camping inverters during a random trip to Maplins today, during which Sian saw some of their kits and decided that a Daf really should have central locking (including the bootlid). I can just about go with that (for convenience), and a basic electronic ignition module (for reliability) because they're the sort of DIY "add-ons" that people have traditionally added to their cars for years. But I totally draw the line at the parking sensor and electric windows!!!!!!

[daf44]

hi there.

i dont know if 600w will be enough for a spraygun. you may need a bigger inverter for that. good idea though.

electronic ignition is OK but you may have trouble finding one to fit. i have not come across one yet that will do a twin cylinder but if there is one out there, someone else on the forum will know about it. to be fair to points ignition, it rarely breaks down if it is looked after.

i dont think you could fit central locking to a daf without an awful lot of work because of the way the locks are built. i have fitted central locking to quite a few cars and none of the "bolt on" kits that i have seen would work with this type of lock.
again, others may know of kits that work and the mini clubs may know more as their locks are built in a simillar sort of way.

good luck anyway. keep up the good work.

paul44

[spunkymonkey]

The HVLP blower I've got is rated at 600w but draws barely over 2A after the initial surge and I had a 650w drill running off the inverter earlier with horrible jury-rigged wiring so hopefully it'll cope. Will cost nothing to find out anyway (I like ideas when they cost that!)

For the electronic ignition, Velleman still do a breaker-driven capacitive kit that should be fine on 2 cyl - and can even run on the existing 6v electrics with one resistor changed. Not quite as "nice" as optical or magnetic triggering, but easy to fit, stops the points burning, and gives a little more zing to the spark at high revs.

As for the locking, I must admit I haven't looked at the Daf locks yet so it may be a non-starter but certainly worth looking at as a convenience update as long as it can be done without any permanent mods to the existing setup.

I know, I should be concentrating on the MOT stuff first - but if I do that then it becomes a work-in-progress-in-use and the rest never gets done

[daf44]

hi

i thought your 33 was new enough to be 12v.

what year is it?

good luck on the inverter. only tip is LEAVE YOUR ENGINE RUNNING. you would not be the first to use an inverter for a while and drain the battery in the process.

a 6v system is going to make it even more difficult for central locking though. personally i have not even heard of a 6v central lock system that can be added on, and that is without the problem of the locks themselves.

hopefully someone else here may know of such a system.

good luck.

paul44

[spunkymonkey]

Agree totally max, which is why I don't like doing things that can't be put back as they were at the roadside. Then again, I once bodge-repaired a Daihatsu cylinder head gasket on a grass verge in Hampshire so "at the roadside" doesn't always mean "quick"