"Maddy" the 244 DL is pressed into service
 

Well this morning I got in the 940 Sport Estate to do the drive from Edinburgh to St Albans. I moved the car round to the front of the house and noticed an ominous knocking from the rear left suspension. Given I had kerbed the car last weekend I suspect I have damaged part of the suspension which is a bit fragile as it is a different set up than on your usual 940. My wife has her new 850 estate and wouldn't part with it so without hesitation I sparked up the 1979 244 DL Saloon known as Maddy which I bought in January.

Maddy ate the 400 miles no problem at all and was a comfortable if slightly noisy motoway cruiser bumbling along at 70mph quite happily even though the timing is a bit out.

very happy with the performance indeed and she only drank fifty quids worth of V-Power as well which is less than the 940 drinks on the same journey

Good to hear! Just dont curb Maddy!!

Steve

Thats cool - I bet you got some strange looks zipping down the motorway overtaking other cars? I don't know, but for some reason when I had the 245 other drivers hated being overtook by an old Volvo estate at speed (and some laughed at the novelty)!

I can't get over the cabin noise at 70mph with the auto. Once you reach 50mph it just gets louder and louder for every 10mph more you go. It put me off motorway journeys and would put me off buying another 3-speed auto!

Did you work out the mpg by any chance?

yeah - 3 speed auto boxes are not very refined - more suited to pootling along gently thn motorway blasting and the mpgs at speed - ouch!

apologies BTW this thread should be in general I posted it here by accident.

rich

I've always had older cars. One of my favourite motorway games is to overtake a BMW or Audi that is doing about 70, then just sit two or three cars in front of him. Then the wife and I have a little bet about how long we will have to wait before he overtakes us. BMW and Audi drivers don't like being overtaken it seems.

I find the 244 a relaxing car to drive on the motorway - although a bit unrefined especially in 3 speed auto B21 form other drivers seem to give me room and also don't seem to be interested in competition. As the top speed of my car is pretty much 80 ish speed isn't the issue and I tend to bumble along at 65 quite happily with a bit in reserve to get out of trouble. When I am driving my 940 or even worse my 850 other drivers especially the BMW Audi Dti brigade seem to want to make the point that their car is faster than yours which is amusing because - often a) it isn't and b) who cares anyway! so despite being better, faster, more efficiant and dare I say it more comfortable motorway cruisers I do find driving the 244 saloon a relaxing experience.

must be somthing about psychology - I have a 1971 Daf Marathon which is as rare as hen's teeth being the child of the Daf 33 and 44 "tart rattlers" with their aircooled engines - my one has a gordini tuned renault engine (the one they put in the Volvo 66) and a sports exhaust and suspension. When I got it I used to get bullied by 4x4s and BMWs who seemed to think that because it was an old and compared to modern cars, small car they had to overtake it despite the fact I might be keeping up with modern traffic. with the tuning on the Daf it will hit 60mph in 10 seconds which is pretty quick for a 38 year old car. I have since turned it into a replica of a period Daf motorsport rally car complete with period decals and since I have done this other drivers give me a wide berth and seem to give me a bit more respect - no more bullying....odd idsn't it

when i drive the Moggy you never get any hassel - most other drivers obviously don't see it as a threat and even HGVs wave at you.

on the other end of the spectrum when I had my Daimler Double Six with the 6.0 engine and the 150 mph top speed I didn't get any hassel either - the BMW brigade tended to let you through and you didn't feel some primaevel urge to prove yourself -

so for relaxing motoring the 244 seems to be the way forward for me - now I just need to fit the electronic ignition as I am forever adjusting the points

My wife used to have a 244dl I think it had a 2ltr or was it 2.1ltr not sure so long ago, we used to drive it from Cornwall to Dundee and was the most relaxing drive you could imagine. Had a fantastic gearbox and my wife loved driving it even down the very narrow country lanes in Cornwall. Sadly it caught fire and was a write off.