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Post by drivenbyclassics on Nov 10, 2012 17:40:05 GMT
huge thanks to spunkymonkey for putting the link on for us remember if anyone wants a restored 33 then let me know tickets are now available at £2.50 each you are welcome to check on progress on facebook
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Post by drivenbyclassics on Dec 31, 2012 19:33:25 GMT
ISABELLE CLUB DAF 33
The new newsletter editor has asked me to write the full story about Isabelle, but where to start, from the beginning is best I think so:-
When I was the tender age of twelve my brother passed his driving test and his first car was a 1974 DAF 44, after that he had a 33 van and a 66 saloon and the seed was set for my interest in these quirky little cars.
Fast forward 20 something years and after purchasing our HB and HC Vauxhall vivas we started looking for a DAF. However we were not aware how much of a challenge this would be and after looking for a few months we were on the brink of giving up. Then we found a Honda Civic a Hondamatic not a DAF but a variomatic at least this was purchased and after a trip to Solihull to collect her a DAF was almost forgotten.
Roughly a year later while surfing the internet a DAF 46 was found in Nottingham unknown to us at the time but she was the only 46 estate road legal in the UK , after several phone calls a deal was done and we went to collect her and yes we brought her without seeing her first.
She was driven home with no problems despite still wearing her original and very badly perished tyres. The tyres were quickly replaced however we still needed a few parts for her but where to get parts for an obscure little car that went out of production in 1975. So we placed a cry for help on the DAF Owners Club Forum and a group of guys from Essex called Essex DAF’s came to our rescue and also became very good friends. They have a weekend get together at their HQ every year and this year was quite a challenge.
A DAF 32 that was meant to be restored by a television company was cancelled by budget cuts or not mainstream enough was just two of the excuses used. Yet again Essex DAF’s came to the rescue by having the car brought to their HQ knowing that most of the people that would be there would be willing to help and know what they were doing. So over five days or so {that’s an Essex weekend} the car was rebuilt including an unplanned engine re-build , an average day was around 10 -14 hours even working till past midnight on one occasion , all the work was well worth it though not only to see another DAF back on the road where she belongs but also to make a grown man cry as he had never met the people that had come from far and wide to re-build his car , they descended on Essex DAF’s HQ from Anglesey, Cardiff, Bristol, London, Norfolk and Vermont USA.
While all this was going on it came that Joe and Sian from Anglesey had a 33 that Sian’s daughter had abandoned next to Joe’s workshop. I explained that as a club we were looking for a car to restore and offer as a raffle prize for our club show in 2013 to raise money for our local Special Care Baby Unit after a couple of blank looks they agreed to let us have her as Joe didn’t have the heart to break her for spares, he did warn me however that she needed quite a lot of work now I always try to look on the brighter side of life and thought its only a little car how hard can it be.
First things first how to get her back! While we were at the East Coast Pirates show in Great Yarmouth I told a few members about this and Adrian Stebbards said that as he was retired that he would be willing to bring her back that was when I explained that she was in Anglesey “well” he said “if you can sort out the fuel cost I still will”.
At the next club night I informed the members that were there about what was going on and had a whip round raising over £120 enough to get you there but you will have to make your own way back I told Adrian jokingly but Paul had already told him that the club would pick up the shortfall {thanks Paul}. A trip was then planned for mid-late October to go and get her. I did already know that there was no battery on the car and being a 6 volt they are not a common item and not cheap either , after telling the owner of ASE Fork trucks {who service the works truck} about what we were doing he said that if I could find a reasonably priced one he would pay for it so a call to Andrew Page Motor Factors and getting a great deal due to the club trade account the new battery arrived.
Mid October arrived and so did Adrian to collect me for the trip to North Wales, after being let down on two car transporter trailers our home dolly was pressed into service yet again. The journey was mostly un-eventful apart from the usual M6 congestion and as I am not used to sitting down for long periods of time I got what some people consider me to be a pain in the daf daf daf daf.
Seven hours is a long time to travel and the stop was fantastic after seeing Isabelle for the first time I thought what have I done as she was properly in the worst condition that she could’ve been in but we had come that far so she was loaded up and transferred to her overnight stop while on the two or three mile journey the exhaust fell off and that was my first look under her mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. With her safe for the night and a wonderful sunset we went to Joe and Sians for the night, after a Chinese far to much for the four of us and a long catch up with Joe we turned in for the night. All to soon Sunday morning arrived Adrian and I said our reluctant goodbyes as its so beautiful there and we both pledged to return, the return journey was also mainly un-eventful apart from a return of my rear issue.
Isabelle was dropped off at Les Heatons {Purely Classics} workshop in Shipdham for what turned out to be major surgery ,the first job to be done was to remove her lady bird spots this was done just before dark. Thanks again to Adrian who drove the 694 mile round trip armed with this and in a now buoyant mood I asked the club for help thinking that we would soon be beating off help with a big stick, how big was the bump when I cam down to earth HUGE.
At first James Edwards was the only person to offer help unfortunately he then had a small health issue. By this time however Les Heaton and myself had started in ernest on removing the rust lumps from the bodywork large holes appeared were then plated and filled two days work on one panel.
So at the next club night I asked when James would be allowed out to play and the following sataday he and his son Dan arrived along with David and Adrian Stebbards, Les Turner and Chris Heaton. The lads done us proud on the braking system new pipes fitted, 1 wheel cylinder totally gave up and Memory Lane Classic Car Spares came up with a new one ,its almost the same as a Rover Metro a little fettling and it fitted we now have brakes. How many places can you get classic spars on a Saturday afternoon Memory Lane it seams is always open.
When the car was still in Wales a bunch of young people had jumped all over the roof so it resembled a Welsh mountain range. The headlining had to be removed so we could try and push out as many of the dent as possible but the lining was so fragile that as soon as we touched it it tore badly. Having foreseen this I had already spoken to Kieran from All Trims Auto Interiors and he had pledged to sort this out for us. So then my favourite tool a big hammer was used to nock the roof roughly back into shape and then filled another two days work.
The list of parts that we needed was growing fast bonnet, wheel, wing mirrors engine cover plus others so a call was placed to Matt from Essex DAF’s and the following weekend Les Heaton and I took a trip to the badlands of Essex and got what we needed once again thanks a million to Essex DAF’s not only for the parts but the large amount of tea.
The air grilles on the scuttle panel were so rotten that they could not be saved and unfortunately Essex DAF’s didn’t have these in their vast stock of new and used parts so I measured the old ones and trundled off to a local scrap yard although the scrap yard was full I only had a choice of two a Fiats or a Nissan Micra , the nissans won as they were easier to remove ,returning to the workshop the old ones were cut out and the new ones mad eto fit they were then welded in and filled. We then had a visit from one of the guru’s from Essex DAF’s Pete and even he didn’t notice that they were wrong, with him seeing what we were doing to Isabelle he now wants us to do his 33 {Gavina} some time in 2013.
Not only did I put out a call to club members for some things that we needed it also went out to my fellow dafers the response from them was fantastic 2.5 litres of paint arrived from the Cotswolds, this was bright orange though so mixed with a litre of BL Damask Red from Paul McAlpine the colour match was fantastic, a manual, new tyre and chrome headlight surrounds arrived from Eastbourne and abook on the history of DAF’s was autographed by the author and sent all the way from Vermont USA wow dafers love their cars.
The rear valence was non-existent so Les Heaton made a new one some parts just don’t exist the floor pans have also been welded in places and the whole floor has been under sealed ,parts of the exhaust have now also been replaced.
Time for painting this was done in sections and we wanted her to stand out from the crowd not that you will ever see a crowd of DAF’s, so after a rumage through Les’s paint store he emerged with some silver left over from another job so she now has a silver roof , we were then unhappy with the finish on the rest of the car so she was flattened off again and repainted a lot better finish this time.
Electrical gremlins arrived wipers not working no brake lights plus more so Martin “Relay” Roberts arrived and after a couple of evenings work all the gremlins were exorcised.
Kieran had took away what remained of the old headlining and the door cards as they were badly warped due to the drivers window being left open for the two years that she had been left outside. He returned two weeks later with the new headlining and not only had he made new door cards he had covered them in new vinyl as well, the lining and windows were fitted but the little chrome insert for the rubbers was in a bad way Kieran surprised me yet again by giving us new chrome strip. However after struggling to get this in I realised that the new strip was 2 mm wider than the old but as it was free I spent the time needed to gently coach it in and now looks great.
She has now had a good cut and polish and all the little snags have been sorted {I hope} and has been out for a test run on private roads of course she drives great kicks down as she should and goes like hell for a DAF. She is booked for her MOT on 03/01/2013 which has been donated by Central Garage Shipdham.
She will be going to as many shows as we can get her to between her being legal and Norwich Classic Vehicle Clubs funday on 02/06/2013 to try and sell as many tickets as we can details of what shows she will be at will be posted on face book and the club newsletter so if you want to see the finished article feel free to come along and help to sell some tickets. We already have tickets winging their way to France and the USA.
As far as we know we are the first classic car club in East Anglia to restore and raffle off a classic for charity so PLEASE GET BEHIND US AND MAKE IT A WORTHWHILE THING TO DO.
Many thanks go to :-
Purley classics Alltrims Auto Interiors ASE fork trucks Essex DAF’s
All the club members and Dafers worldwide
Last but not least ME
Lewis Turner
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Post by Richard DAF Webmeister on Dec 31, 2012 21:02:25 GMT
Very good and interesting.
I'm not that "new" though! Er, must be, hmm, 20+ years now. Maybe it is time though.
Good luck with the auction and project. Hope it raises a lot of money.
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