The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

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PostPosted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 11:36 pm 
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I reckon the loss of oil is down to glazed bores. When I bought The Blue Flame from Martin B a few years ago it was very low mileage and had only covered 1800 miles in ten years. From what Martin told me it would appear that the car had basically covered those 1800 miles on the choke. I've never seen more polished bores in my life. It used to use a litre of oil a week easily. I took the head off, gave it a good honing, new rings and ends and it never used a drop of oil after that.

The failure of your number 4 bearing is nothing more than oil starvation, caused by all the oil getting burned off. If you think of how the OHV oil supply system is laid-out then number 4 big end is furthest away from the pump as the feed to the rear main bearing - and thus the 4th big end - has its feed reduced by the take-off for the rocker oil supply.

If you had made the journey at night you would have seen the trail of oilsmoke in the headlights of the car behind.

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PostPosted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 9:13 pm 
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I have to say Mike, that is a lovely looking 1300.

Its great to see someone lavishing such care on the 'lowly' 1300. Love it.

I have yet to build an engine with brown rocker and timing covers....... maybe one day .....

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 2:19 pm 
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Quote:
I reckon the loss of oil is down to glazed bores. When I bought The Blue Flame from Martin B a few years ago it was very low mileage and had only covered 1800 miles in ten years. From what Martin told me it would appear that the car had basically covered those 1800 miles on the choke. I've never seen more polished bores in my life. It used to use a litre of oil a week easily. I took the head off, gave it a good honing, new rings and ends and it never used a drop of oil after that.

The failure of your number 4 bearing is nothing more than oil starvation, caused by all the oil getting burned off. If you think of how the OHV oil supply system is laid-out then number 4 big end is furthest away from the pump as the feed to the rear main bearing - and thus the 4th big end - has its feed reduced by the take-off for the rocker oil supply.

If you had made the journey at night you would have seen the trail of oilsmoke in the headlights of the car behind.
Is it wise to fit the rocker feed kit? I;ve toyed with the idea of fitting one to mine if and when they come up on sale again at Rimmers.

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1961 Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier Sportswagon
1980 Dolomite Sprint project using brand new shell
2009 Mazda MX5 2.0 Sport
2018 Infiniti Q30


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PostPosted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 2:33 pm 
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Very wise indeed - as long as you're not currently losing oil down the valve guides. If you're not smoking on the overrun then you should be ok. If you are buring oil down the valve guides the rocker oil feed kit will make the problem a lot worse as there will be a great deal more oil at the top of the engine.

When I'm making a high-performance engine that incorporates the oil feed kit I have been known to blank-off the oil feed from the rear cam journal.

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PostPosted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 1:12 pm 
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I think that I have had a little trouser accident...


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PostPosted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 11:25 pm 
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:bluewave: Re engine bay pics Did you not give 3 coats of brown to the underneth of the suppension turrets.


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 7:10 pm 
That is looking very nice indeed, it so deserved a good home and it's clearly got one. Really looking forward to seeing the completed car.

Steve :D


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 12:23 pm 
phwoar, that powder coating looks great Mike, and the shiny balljoints, great job. Jealous :)

stu


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 15, 2009 4:44 pm 
WOW Factory fresh! 8)


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 7:05 pm 
The standard of this restoration is extremely high, can't wait to see the completed car.

Steve :D


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 8:07 pm 
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Excellent updates and fantastic pictures! With 969 on the downward slope now these two will make a great pair of totally opposite Dolomites 8)

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1978 Triumph Dolomite Sprint (project thread)
1966 Volkswagen 1300 (project thread)
1962 Austin Mini (project)
1962 MGA 1600 Mark II
1965 Mobylette SP50 (project)
2001 Rover 75 2.5-litre V6


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 15, 2010 10:05 pm 
Fantastic stuff.


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PostPosted: Sat Nov 06, 2010 11:03 pm 
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For those that did not know, when Mike advertised this brown beauty for sale earlier this year I stepped up to the plate in a moment of madness. In part, this madness was driven by the fact that I knew my Redtop engined Toledo was going to be off the road for several months of work; and I figured the brown 1300 would give me something to attend the show season in. How optimistic that thought looks now!

Since the engine and ancillaries were already at Jod's workshop in Birmingham awaiting a rebuild as detailed by Mike above; it made sense to get the rest of the car to Brum so as to free up Mike's garage space for his yellow Sprint. This manouvere was achieved with massive thanks to Stewart (covcourier) and the car has resided at Jod's ever since. One of the biggest delays has been because Mike had sold the original exhaust system for the car, and I tried valiantly (and in vain) to source a replacement. In the end, I had to bite the bullet and order a new stainless steel Club exhaust system at a cost of almost £300; making this unquestionably the most expensive brown Dolomite 1300 in world history (I have since found out the battery is knackered as well, so the list goes on...).

Recent frenzied events have seen the rebuilt engine and gearbox refitted to the car yesterday; and today the propshaft, exhaust and ancillaries have gone on and the car now runs and drives; which is a massive step forward. Huge thanks to Jod for his energy and application in achieving this point. The car will be fettled further over the next few days and will then be submitted for an MOT test with a view to me picking it up very shortly and bringing it down to Kent. So the saga nears its end, hopefully.

I find myself in the slightly curious situation of never having actually set eyes on my newest purchase in the flesh, so its arrival is awaited with a mixture of anticipation and apprehension; as I literally don't know what I have let myself in for.

It will be my first ever "long tailed" 1300 (I did once briefly own a 1500TC auto); and my first ever brown car of any description. I am looking forward to getting behind the wheel of a good 1300 though - its been far too long.

I have no particular plans for the car at this stage (except driving it) - I don't honestly know if I will even be able to keep it! If I do hang onto it, I have been busily acquiring bits and bobs to do a Ford based five speed conversion, as is loved by the 1500 Midget fraternity these days; in part because I really would like to see how a cooking Dolomite was as a five speeder. We shall see.

Still the good news is that PYD is up and running again under her own steam; and will be journeying southeastward soon.

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Martin.

2021 Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE PHEV
2021 Dacia Duster 1.3 TCe
1963 Austin A40 Rally Car
2021 Honda Cross Tourer Highlander


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PostPosted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 8:18 am 
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Everything about this car looks no more than a couple of years old, I sometimes have to blink -

Image
Only upon looking back at this thread have I noticed that the car was fitted 'as bought' with a 1500 (Midget / Spitfire - intertia starter) flywheel and clutch. I had assumed that Mike had obtained these as an upgrade but it seems someone else got in there first.

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PostPosted: Sun Nov 07, 2010 10:15 am 
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For those who may be interested, the stainless steel exhaust system that Martin purchased for the car is a really lovely piece of kit. Everything lines-up just right, no fiddling required at all. Easily the best-fitting exhaust I have fitted to a Triumph. It sounds just right and looks as though it really will last a lifetime. A lot of money but they say that quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.

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