DAF 33 (1969) by Frits is a real crown jewel

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Purchasing classics there

Do you remember? The Dutch car manufacturer DAF ran into problems and had to go bankrupt to survive. DAF (truck production) is doing well again, but the passenger car division already disappeared in the 70s due to the takeover of Volvo. The dream of Hub van Doorne, a Dutch person still lives on in the classic world. The clever poker no longer has an image problem. No, in fact, it is all fully appreciated again. So is the 33 DAF 1969 in the life of Frits.

By: Dirk de Jong

In his mind, the DAF 33 is a brave car and an eternally young DAF. Its famous variomatic fully automatic transmission lifts it far above all other cars. A reliable, economical car, full of speed and dynamism. The car hobby makes his time meaningful. His DAF 33 unleashes therapeutic powers. 

Behind the wheel of a DAF? 

His question to us: “Have you ever been behind the wheel of a DAF? Have you ever experienced the simplicity of operation yourself?” 

Praise for DAF

Frits explains: “My DAF 33 has been beautifully restored and I bought it in this condition. For me it is a very nice, nice car that I like to use for rides in the region. I did have a brake booster installed for a better and safer feeling with my 'smart stick'. It became increasingly clear to me that my classic DAF had much more to offer. It's just intelligent driving! You can concentrate 100 percent on the traffic, fully automatic-variomatic. 

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Humour

Humor is the 'oil' with which the DAF wheels roll. Frits told about the raised thumbs in traffic. Sometimes one inch isn't enough to show appreciation as he circles the small country roads. Exceptionally, the DAF 33 sometimes hits the highway and gets a different form of appreciation… the middle finger! Frits is convinced that this means that people also want to look under the hood of the DAF! Then your face immediately shoots into an enthusiastic fold?? 

Isn't it a beautiful specimen? We'd love to hear your thoughts below in the comments.

Also read:
- Kalmar-DAF. A targeted DAF
- The last Dafs
- DAF 66 1300 Marathon Coupé. The surprising purchase of Cor Tjepkema
- Daffodil 32 restoration
- DAF 66 SL (1974). Adventure in Lapland

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15 comments

  1. Twice I drove a Daf 46 (and once a Volvo 343 with CVT).
    Quite spacious, nice technology to tinker with yourself, quickly high speeds if you drove around 45 - constant upshifting and downshifting, fuel consumption rather sensitive to outside temperature and demisting/heating weak. But: Had a lot of fun.

  2. I immediately think of my father's first used car, a DAF 33, also from 1969, red with beige leatherette interior, so just the other way around as this DAF. The license plate ended in JF. My father learned to drive in it and a year and a half later the DAF was exchanged for a six-month-old metallic blue Simca 1000 Special from 1973. Many other cars followed, but my father's first red DAF 33 has always stayed with me.

  3. Great fun car!
    The DAF museum in Eindhoven is also highly recommended.
    DAF trucks has of course been owned by an American truck manufacturer for several decades.

  4. I've had an early 33. Bought at a Volvo garage where it was traded in…or left behind. Cost nothing, fl. 400, - I thought. With a strange handle on the steering wheel that turned out to be a club from a brake booster and without a seat belt, it was a real launcher. Dangerous adjustment for someone with a disability apparently. Fun to drive that two-cylinder boxer, 6 volts was too little and the faster you drove, the faster the wipers beat up and down. The end came with a broken rear axle. A lower maybe, but anyway, he was waved goodbye.

  5. As far as I'm concerned, this 1969 model 33 could be back in production as Daf (Dutch Automobile Factory) and become a sales hit. Price idea € 7.500 – € 10.000
    Its simplicity and ease of use are ideal for urban and rural areas, and I know it will be welcomed in countries such as the Philippines and Indonesia. This applies to all of Asia and Africa.
    Launch the electric version for Europe right away and never let a European car journalist drive it, because they don't understand these types of cars! They only want Ferraris….
    Proud of this Dutch product!! I am not ashamed of this!

  6. Ever felt how it felt with that poker and stuff? Yes!! The 33 was actually the very first car in which I (pssst…) drove my first kilometers at a highly illegal young age. Beautiful and ingenious simplicity. With the older Daf models without differential, you had to be careful on the highway. Sometimes a drive belt of the variomatic snapped. If that happened on the highway and you were not alert, the thing had a strong tendency to make a sharp turn without steering and then it often ended up on its roof. I also repaired an end gear in which a bearing had broken. Replace a ball bearing with a more load-bearing tapered roller bearing. Has run for a long time.

    • I myself worked for Nedcar for 27 years, then it was just Volvo, but still made the Volvo 66 that is still a bit reminiscent of the Daf, I myself had a Daf 55, ran very well with that 1100 engine.

    • This gentleman is no expert. That broken belt story is nonsense!! If a belt breaks, at most some belt slippage can occur when accelerating. A connoisseur of almost 80 years who was a Daf driver for half his life, has been fighting misconceptions about clever Dafjes for years!!

  7. Reminiscent of a DAF46. Bought from a monk with a left club foot and sold on shortly after (year 1980 I think?).
    But in between I drove around with it because it was a nice little car, such an automatic, and even a sunroof. I was tempted to drive the DAF myself. Until I drove on a cobblestone road….
    The Duck of mine was quite a lot more comfortable and so it stayed.
    Afterwards I quite regretted it (not about the 2CV, but about the choice to resell the DAF and I would have loved to keep the sturdy wagon in my possession.)

  8. It reminds me of my mother-in-law in her 33. That was still quite safe, the car was not that fast. That became a different story in the 55, which succeeded her 33. I was sitting next to her when the traffic light in a built-up area turned green and she hit the gas, only to realize she had to cut back at 100. It made me white, I never went in with her again. That 55 was beyond her power. She should have kept that cuddly 33. Those were nice cars. Here in Bleiswijk, DAFS are being restored, also those nice delivery versions with sliding door or the convertible version.

  9. once borrowed the daf from a friend's father to take my girlfriend from emmen to deventer, an experience that will stay with you forever, what a brave and undervalued car!

  10. This reminds me of my father, who had such a Dafje in the station wagon version .. also raised! The whole family fit in. My father was a stonemason and dozens of tombstones have been transported with the dafje. There were never any problems and the dafje always did his job faithfully!
    Very fond memories of !

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