Daf Museum – Eindhoven (NL)

Those of a certain age will remember the Daf. It was the car that generated all the jokes about being powered by two rubber bands. The cars were moderately successful, though the stereotypical drivers – elderly ladies who have never mastered a clutch pedal did limit the growth potential of the brand. And then the car company became part of Volvo and the rather unloved 343 was brought into this world, now with Volvo badges, and the less said about that car, probably the better. However, there is a lot more to the Daf story than that, as I found out on my visit to the Daf Museum, in Eindhoven, which is where the Daf was made.
Daf was founded by two Dutch brothers, Wim and Hub van Doorne. Their first venture was a blacksmith’s shop, and this was set up in 1928, in Eindhoven, and is now a part of the museum. The brothers did well in combining technical ingenuity and commercial skill: Hub was good at developing things, and Wim was good at selling them. The brothers focused on new products associated with the burgeoning transport sector. Within a year of founding the company, they employed 50 people, and the organisation grew and grew. Initially, the focus was on trucks, and they made many vehicles in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, several of which have been lovingly restored and are on show in the museum.

The 10,000th Daf truck was made in 1955, and by this time, Daf was the most important supplier of heavy commercial vehicles in the Netherlands

During the 1950s, still recovering from the effects of the Second World War, there was no mass motorisation in Holland. However, there was a growing group of middle aged people who dreamed of a cheap car, costing somewhere between 4000 and 5000 Dutch guilders (still quite a lot of money at the time), and the van Doorne brothers saw the slot in the market that they could fill. They decided that the car would have to be easy to drive, as it would be the first car that many of these people had ever owned, and so they decided it should feature a fully automatic transmission. Whereas automatic transmissions were commonplace in America at this time, in Europe they were not, and there was a good reason for this. A small car, with a small engine, designed for good fuel economy typically requires far more gear changing than a large one with a lazy powerful engine. In 1954, Hub van Doorne started the development of his solution to this, which he called the Daf Variomatic, a revolutionary transmission with an infinite choice of ratios, continually adapting itself to the ever changing driving and road conditions. This transmission was certainly simple to operate – push the lever forwards to go forwards, pull it back to reverse. The rear (driven) wheels are driven by a V-belt running on pulleys, the two sides of which can move towards and away from each other. In this way, the pulleys can change their effective diameter. The forward pulleys are adapted under the influence of centrifugal bob-weights and engine vacuum, and the rear pulleys are spring loaded. The forward pulleys are engine-driven via a gear case at the end of the prop shaft. Each rear wheel is driven by its own belt, so it does mean that the rotational speed of each wheel could be different. This also means that the transmission could act as a differential lock, and was one reason why the cars ended up quite successful in rallies. Radical in its day, of course the system has been refined and now there are a number of CVT-equipped cars on the market.

The first Daf cars were air-cooled, for added simplicity, and minimum maintenance, and came with their own 600cc four stroke opposed cylinder engine. Everything about the car was designed to lower the cost, with just oil checks and changes needed for regular maintenance – normal now, but radical for the time, when cars came with myriad greasing points. The Daf was designed to seat 4 people, and as the gearbox is mounted at the back, this meant that rear seat passengers sat high up, and also required for rather upright styling. Testing of the cars began in October 1955, with particular emphasis on the durability of the innovative new transmission. Rumours of a Daf car started to appear in the Dutch press in 1956, but it was a further 2 years before the car was finally ready, launched at the Amsterdam Show in February 1958. The car attracted massive attention, not least because it was the first car made in the Netherlands since the Spyker, some 40 years earlier.
It was not long before the model was enhanced and the initial 600cc engine was upgraded to a new 750cc unit, which proved far more durable. With just 30bhp, these cars were not fast, but they were rugged and because of their balanced weight distribution and the advantages of the transmission, the Daf 750, now also known as the Daffodil, was a regular contender in motor rallies.
In the early 1960s, a series of small changes were made almost every year, and the Daffodil went through the model types 31 and 32, though these were rarely used in public. The 100,000th Daf car was built in September 1964 and lots were drawn for 2 cars to be won by employees of the Company.
With a slightly more powerful engine (now at 32 bhp), the Daffodil underwent some styling changes, which included a squarer roof line, and became the 33, a car which would continue in production for many years.
In addition to the 2 door saloon, a variety of utility versions were offered, with van and pickup models proving to be the base for all sorts of vehicles including a camper van.
Having proved the basic viability of the design, a slightly larger car, the 44, styled by the Italian Giovanni Michelotti, appeared in 1967. This car had a larger air-cooled engine, developing 40bhp, and as well as being offered as a 2 door saloon, an estate car appeared, and a 2 door coupe.
In 1968, production of Daf cars moved a new factory in Born in Limburg, freeing up more space in Eindhoven for trucks. This was also the year when the next new passenger car was added to the range. This was the 55, which had a water-cooled 1108cc engine, bought in from Renault, and had more power. This car was also offered as an estate car, and then a stylish (yes, for the time, it was!) coupe. More powerful versions of this car, called Marathon, were added to the range.
The Marathon was named after the success of the Daf 55s that competed in the 1968 London-Sydney Marathon race. Two of these cars finished, which was no mean achievement, as the 16.500km race had every kind of obstacle to contend with and few of the 98 cars that started the race actually completed it.
Not content with success in rallies, Daf went ahead and created a “proper” racing car. This Formula three car still had the Variomatic gearbox, and coupled with a Ford-Cosworth 1000cc engine generated 125 bhp. The car was tested by Jack Brabham, and then was raced by Rob Slotemaker who enjoyed some success with it.  As drivers never had to change gear, a process which can take valuable fractions of a second. it was particularly effective on some of the tighter circuits of Europe.  
Late in the 1960s, work started on designing a new generation of Daf cars, and two prototypes of these were to be found in the museum. The P500 was intended to be a larger car, sitting at the top of the range. The P300 was a potential replacement for the Daf 33. Neither of these designs made it to production.
What did come next was the 66 model, which was also offered with Renault engines, this time the 1108cc and also the 1300cc engine from the Renault R12. Again, there was a full range of saloon, coupe and estate cars on offer.
The van Doorne brothers had now both retired – Hub in 1965 and Wim in 1971. The oil crisis of 1973 proved troubled for much of the motor industry, and the consequence was that Daf Cars entered into a joint venture with Volvo, wo gradually gained a majority shareholding. Daf Trucks entered into a partnership with Harvester, though this ended in 1982. Gradually, members of the van Doorne family withdrew from their posts, but they did everything to ensure that the Daf companies could continue.
In 1974, a facelifted version of the long-running 44 model appeared, called the 46.

In 1975, the first tangible evidence of the tie-up with Volvo saw the Daf 66 treated to a “Volvo-isation” process, with huge safety bumpers, the Volvo grille and Volvo badges. The end for Daf cars came soon thereafter, and the planned 77 model had been hurriedly restyled to look more like a true Volvo. This was the 343, which was launched in 1976, with a Renault engine and no choice but the Variomatic transmission. It was not a happy combination, and it took a couple of years before Volvo fixed the car, and then it sold incredibly well, especially in the UK market.
The museum includes lots of unusual vehicles, too, many of them are one-offs and prototypes.
The OSI Daf City Car will be familiar to many people who were small children in the early 1970s, as Corgi made a very fine model of this car. I have one in a box in my parent’s loft, still. Now I have seen the real thing. The car was built in 1966 following a series of sketches published in the Italian journal “Quattro ruote” for an ideal city car, and the car starred at the Turin Motor Show in November that year.  It was based on the Daffodil, and featured a sliding door on one side, in a far less cumbersome way than the Peugeot 1007 some 40 years later.
This 1965 Daf Coupe prototype was styled by Michelotti, and it was hoped to put it into production. However, there was simply no capacity available, and it was feared that small sales volumes would have made the car too expensive.  
This Daf Coupe was shown at Geneva 1968, also styled by Michelotti, showing his idea of a “dream coupe”    
A number of one off beach buggies were made, as the Variomatic underpinnings made them easy to drive. Aristotle Onassis had one in 1968, based on a Daf 33, which he used to drive Jacky Kennedy around Monte Carlo, as he tried to win her heart. Michelotti also built one for the Dutch Royal family, who kept it at Porte Ercole for their summer holiday use.
Dating from 1971, this Daf 55 Beachcomber was built by a Hillversum based company, with a linen roof and sides, all of which attached with press studs.
This Moretti bodied Daf 55 is a one-off. It was commissioned by a wealthy Swiss lady who owned a Daf 55, but thought it rather small and wanted 4 doors. Moretti of Turin converted the car for her, and she drove it for many years before it was abandoned in a scrap yard. Luckily it was found, and restored by a Daf enthusiast.
This Daf 66 YA is one of a small number of vehicles that was made for civilian sale after a larger batch had been made for the Dutch army. I saw a rather tatty one on the roads of Holland a few days later, so they do still exist.  
In 1967, the Swedish company Kalmar built a special van on the underpinnings of the Daf 44 to fulfil an order from the Swedish Postal Service. Fitted with plastic bodywork, these right hand drive vehicles had a sliding door to make it easy for the postman to get in and out. Over 1000 of these were built for the Swedish Postal Service and the vehicle was then sold through the Daf network in Western Europe.
Although Daf passenger car production ceased a long time ago, Daf trucks have continued to pound the motorways of Europe for some time.
In 1986, this truck did well in the Paris-Dakar rally.
The merger with Leyland Trucks meant that the old Sherpa van had a new lease of life, going through various facelifts and model names, such as this Pilot van.
Finally a new model, the Maxus, arrived not that long ago. Not well regarded in comparison with the more sophisticated Transit and Trafic/Vivaro/Nissan and VW Transporter vans, these vehicles are cheap, and the company is still alive. Just.
A fascinating story, with many twists. If you are in the Eindhoven area, do stop by at the museum. It is well sign-posted, though you would never find it by accident, unless you were well and truly lost!
2009-11-07 19:19:18

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