DAF 33

[RobT]

It's been a month since this arrived.

Bought on a whim it was cheap and looked half decent in the listing, which it seems to be thankfully.  Crusty yes, but solid enough in the right places.

Tito's tyres...

First bodge 

The spacious* workshop.

[Matty]

16 minutes ago, RobT said:

It's been a month since this arrived.

Bought on a whim it was cheap and looked half decent in the listing, which it seems to be thankfully.  Crusty yes, but solid enough in the right places.

Tito's tyres...

First bodge 

The spacious* workshop.

Sucha good looking little car. Id be fascinated to have a go in one just to see how that cvt box influences the experience of driving an old car.

[DSdriver]

So, those tyres are possibly only 19 years old.

[RobT]

It arrived as a runner but the brakes are terrifying and it refused to idle.  A half arsed tune of the Solex carb got it running better, then the front brakes were tackled.  Four drums to do ffs.

I replaced the NSF flexi but the ones I bought are a bit too long for my liking, so will approach that again at some point.  At least it works for now.

Classic Mini brakes which is handy.

The rears currently work on the handbrake, but to do a proper job on them the vario belts need to come off first.  Makes sense so they can be adjusted up correctly.  Hopefully doing the fronts will make it safe enough for a drive around the block, but I'm not at that stage yet.

[RobT]

5 minutes ago, DSdriver said:

So, those tyres are possibly only 19 years old.

Possible, but I doubt it looking at them!

[Sigmund Fraud]

4 minutes ago, RobT said:

Classic Mini brakes which is handy.

IIRC the wheel cylinders look identical to Mini ones but use a metric thread, so are specific to DAFs. The anoraks at the DAF club could tell you for sure.

[Fabergé Greggs]

Lovely! How are the diaphragms on it? Fond* memories of doing them on the forum 66. 
 

[Asimo]

58 minutes ago, Matty said:

see how that cvt box

It is definitely a CVT, but it's not in a 'box!

[Matty]

6 minutes ago, Asimo said:

It is definitely a CVT, but it's not in a 'box!

Bloody pedant 🤣. Fascinating system though. I think i understand the basics just about but the mechanics in their entirety not so much. Ill do more reading!

Edit

Looking at that subframe assembly and its input spline, am i right @Asimo in assuming that Dafs are front longitudinal rear drive?

[Asimo]

Yes, all Dafs front engine, rear drive.

[RobT]

2 hours ago, Fabergé Greggs said:

Lovely! How are the diaphragms on it? Fond* memories of doing them on the forum 66. 
 

Will that need a proper road test, or is it obvious if they're knackered?  The previous owner said the vacuum system was working fine based on his knowledge of them, but he'd only driven it around his field as it was bought as a project.

Edit:  I've just read this article I printed off recently so I'll follow the process.

[Fabergé Greggs]

11 hours ago, RobT said:

Will that need a proper road test, or is it obvious if they're knackered?  The previous owner said the vacuum system was working fine based on his knowledge of them, but he'd only driven it around his field as it was bought as a project.

Edit:  I've just read this article I printed off recently so I'll follow the process.

Precisely 👍. There’s also a solenoid in the engine compartment that diverts the inlet manifold vacuum depending on the brake switch being on/off. 
 

A super simple and robust system when working properly, though quite revvy. I used mine quite a bit and sometimes dreamed of using a little vacuum pump and a solenoid to make a kind of overdrive for relaxed cruising. 
 

Enjoy it, they’re delightful little things . 

[wuvvum]

16 hours ago, Fabergé Greggs said:

the forum 66. 

Where did that one end up?  I lost track of it.

[brownnova]

What a superb buy! Well done that man!

[Fabergé Greggs]

43 minutes ago, wuvvum said:

Where did that one end up?  I lost track of it.

I sold it to a guy on RR and it then was sold and “restored” by Daf Classics UK. He made it horrible imho- put it on a set of garish whitewalls even though it had a new set of boots (plus loads of other stuff) in my tenure. 
 

Edit: maybe I’m being harsh. He just made it much to shiny for my liking. https://www.carandclassic.com/car/C1161191
 

 

[Marshall2810]

Looks fab

[RobT]

5 hours ago, Fabergé Greggs said:

Precisely 👍. There’s also a solenoid in the engine compartment that diverts the inlet manifold vacuum depending on the brake switch being on/off. 
 

A super simple and robust system when working properly, though quite revvy.

Thanks, it's all a learning curve but one I'm enjoying.  The fact it's simple and accessible helps a lot.

I slackened the belts off as they were making unpleasant noises, but now I've done that it's entirely possible they'll slip.  Could be why a previous owner tightened them up so much.  I've been trying to keep costs down but maybe new ones are on the cards after all.  I'll see how the first road test goes.

[RobT]

Thanks go to @bobdisk for providing me with some useful spares at sensible prices.  Saved me a lot of time and money!

These wheels and tyres for one thing.

[yes oui si]

What an absolute honey. Love that colour.

[LightBulbFun]

lovely purchase! I do like these old DAF's then again air cooled flat twin with CVT system, well as seen below I might be slightly bias

2 hours ago, RobT said:

I slackened the belts off as they were making unpleasant noises, but now I've done that it's entirely possible they'll slip.  Could be why a previous owner tightened them up so much.  I've been trying to keep costs down but maybe new ones are on the cards after all.  I'll see how the first road test goes.

I will say if you dont know how old your CVT belt(s) are/what condition they are in, I would just preemptively replace them, dont just keep putting it off until it shreds itself just *after* a junction on the M25, ask me how I know LOL

along similar lines check the pulley faces that none have become rusty or pitted such that they might shred the belt (tho in that regard it might be worth doing some local miles on the old belts to clean up any surface tarnishing etc before sticking the new belts on)

 

 

 

[High Jetter]

4 hours ago, RobT said:

Thanks, it's all a learning curve but one I'm enjoying.  The fact it's simple and accessible helps a lot.

I slackened the belts off as they were making unpleasant noises, but now I've done that it's entirely possible they'll slip.  Could be why a previous owner tightened them up so much.  I've been trying to keep costs down but maybe new ones are on the cards after all.  I'll see how the first road test goes.

I know very little about the belts on those bar a rough idea of how the system works. I'd say those belts don't look in their first flush of youth though - as I see LBF has mentioned too. I'd be getting spares, in any case.

[Sigmund Fraud]

Agreed with the fellow 'shitters above that the belts don't look like they have much life left in them.

Having said that, one of the advantages of the early variomatics is that even if one belt snaps, the car will still get you home using the remaining belt (giving you one-wheel-drive !)

[High Jetter]

Savvy Dutch. Earliest limp mode?.😃

[RobT]

7 hours ago, LightBulbFun said:

along similar lines check the pulley faces that none have become rusty or pitted such that they might shred the belt (tho in that regard it might be worth doing some local miles on the old belts to clean up any surface tarnishing etc before sticking the new belts on)

The faces do have some rust patches near the outer edges, so that's also my thinking before I put new belts on.  I'll only be doing local circuits for a while anyway, as there's no doubt loads of things wrong with it that aren't apparent yet.

[yes oui si]

3 hours ago, Sigmund Fraud said:

 

Having said that, one of the advantages of the early variomatics is that even if one belt snaps, the car will still get you home using the remaining belt (giving you one-wheel-drive !)

I'm woefully ignorant of the intricacies of the Variomatic setup, but this is really interesting. I appreciate that these don't have huge amounts of power so won't be doing mad skidz yo, but is having one belt per side the equivalent of having a conventional open diff? Is there a DAF version of an LSD where the sides are connected in some way?

[tooSavvy]

8 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Savvy Dutch. Earliest limp mode?.😃

Me.... Wearing poorly fitting clogs....

What a honey 🥰

🚙💨

[dollywobbler]

7 hours ago, yes oui si said:

I'm woefully ignorant of the intricacies of the Variomatic setup, but this is really interesting. I appreciate that these don't have huge amounts of power so won't be doing mad skidz yo, but is having one belt per side the equivalent of having a conventional open diff? Is there a DAF version of an LSD where the sides are connected in some way?

Both rear wheels are entirely independent so effectively act like a limited slip. If one wheel slips, the other side still gets power.

[Sigmund Fraud]

9 hours ago, yes oui si said:

I'm woefully ignorant of the intricacies of the Variomatic setup, but this is really interesting. I appreciate that these don't have huge amounts of power so won't be doing mad skidz yo, but is having one belt per side the equivalent of having a conventional open diff? Is there a DAF version of an LSD where the sides are connected in some way?

To elaborate on @dollywobbler 's answer above, the early variomatic (used in swing axle cars) did not have a differential at all. The system relied on pulley movement and belt slippage to allow the driven wheels to have different speeds when turning. 

The later version (used in DeDion axle cars) did have a conventional, open differential which made things much smoother in tight turns.

[Asimo]

No drive shaft joints are required either, just a little bit of belt twist!

[camryv6]

On 09/11/2025 at 17:34, Sigmund Fraud said:

IIRC the wheel cylinders look identical to Mini ones but use a metric thread, so are specific to DAFs. The anoraks at the DAF club could tell you for sure.

Would Metro cylinders be metric ?

or Rover 100