The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRIUMPH-DOLOM ... 1e6c83ef0d

These should be your trim clips,as for the stainless trim for the gutters i think dolomite ones should fit but not sure as i haven't tried.

I see no reason why they shouldn't the basic shell is the same after all

I managed an afternoons work today and have got all of the trim off the car bar one stubborn rounded screw on the offside indicator lens which is now soaking in WD40.

I new there was some rust appearing on the front valance so I got the screwdriver out and started digging.

First removal of the front bumper shows a big dent and lots of cracked filler not a good omen.



My first thought is I bet that filler is hiding a lot of rot and guess what it was. Some digging and filler removal shows this. Bollocks!



So to waste no more time I grabbed the hand nibbler and cut that big pile of rot out in order to make it look like this. Weirdly this big hole looks better than the rust.



My rust divining screwdriver and the nibbler then set about the rest of the valance and found a few more areas that will need new metal.
First the mirror image of the drivers side rot but a lot lot smaller.



Lastly a couple of areas below and above the nearside bumper irons. Not bad in all I think this valance is salvagable unlike the headlamp bowls

I got my backside into gear and this car is now sans engine

This would have been the case yesterday if all had gone to plan but as usual it didn't. My original plan was to just remove the engine and leave the gearbox in place. So removed all the bolts along either side of the block and the two long bolts from underneath that go through the gearbox casing. At this point with the engine still not being free I consulted the manual and found there where two more bolts hidden at the front of the engine. Access with a socket was impossible due to the subframe being in the way and access with a spanner was also very tight due to the starter ring gear being in the way. I thought no problem i'll just whip that off and be able to get at them. HAHA yeah right. After locking the ring gear with a very large screwdriver I was unable to undo the crank pulley bolt, not to be defeated I fired up the compressor and used my air gun to remove it . That worked. Only no matter how hard I tried I could still not get the crank pulley to part company with the engine and decided to give up before I broke the ring gear with the crowbar. At this point the air was blue and I had an extra foot shaped dent in the front valance to repair so downed tools and went home.

So this meant plan 2. So uncouple the engine crane and push the car back over the inspection pit. I then went underneath and disconnected the drive shaft couplings and the rear engine/gearbox mount. Pushed car back off the pit and rehooked the engine crane. At this point I thought it would probably make life easier if I removed the gearlever and im glad I did as id forgotten to disconect the speedo cable and clutch slave. Anyway with those disconnected plan two came into effect and the engine and box came out as one unit.

Yay engine out and on a pallet now I can get too those two bolts, got them undone and went to seperate the engine from the box, only the crane lifted both as one! Bugger! Que a further ten minutes looking for anymore fixings. Before anyone says about the two dowel pins on the left side id already punched them out the day before. So decided that there weren't anymore and the two where just stuck. So I ran a stanley knife blade around the seam and took the weight of the engine with the crane, then used a screwdriver in one corner and the two seperated who would have thought that gasket compound could support the whole weight of an engine and gearbox combo.

Yes, those two bolts at the front of the engine are pesky little blighters. they bolt into the soft alloy sealing block over the front main bearing cap, you'll need to check that hasn't been distorted .

Will do I shouldn't think it would have distorted as I made a point of putting all the other bolts back in so that the stress wasn't concentrated in one place.

Finally got around to stripping the bottom end today and the news is both good and bad.

Bad because my diagnosis was correct the big end shells do show signs of wear and the shells on 1 and 4 are deeply scored.

The good news is that there appears to be no damage to the crank so looks like I caught it in time. I cannot feel any ridging or roughness at all. Oh and the mains are all in good order.

Looks like i can get away with just a new set of shells.

Decided it was about time I got on with this one again today so I did. First job was to remove all the shell bearings from the caps and rods which as previously mentioned are all lightly scored. On one though there is a fairly deep groove and some visible damage on that journal. It looks to me like a small bit of grit has found its way into the bearing. All the oilways are clear and the journals are still all coated in nice clean oil. I also don't see any plus size markings on the back of the shells so presume that means it has not been reground before.

On to other jobs I went to start removing the front wings today so started to dig out the seam sealer and inadvertantly dug out most of the mounting flanges as well, fairy cakes! It appears the original design was such.



That looks like a wonderfull dirt trap to me. The part in yellow is absolute toast and will have to be replaced in its entirity on both sides. Im not particularly looking forward to trying to make that as the line of the gutter gently curves down and then curves sharply down at its end, but im going to give it a go as I doubt its available off the shelf. Im going to have to put the flange back on the inner and outer in several places as well.

Going to be doing more of this tomorrow.

Finish wings off
Remove as much of the interior as practicle I still need to be able to push it around so the drivers seat and steering wheel have to stay.
Start cutting the grot out of the front inner wings
Start on making repair panels.

All of this is after I change the ignition barrel on an escort van. Thats the priority as that one makes me money rather than spending it

The intention is to have Bruce and Sophie on the road for next show season, and for an important family event, judging by the quantitys of rust im finding in Bruce im going to have my work cut out.

Photos tomorrow when the camera comes out.

Drivers side wing off and all the grot ive found so far cut out.



drivers side sill is covered in surface rust but thankfully thats all it is. I forgot completly that I hadn't sealed it after doing the last lot. That could have been a very severe mistake.



Scuttle panel bulk head and firewall joint is going to take some serious reconstruction with all that grot cut out.



Rear portion of the inner wing panel is in a very sorry state and is proving very awkward to get all the rust cut out of. I can imagine it will be even more awkward to replace the metal. Im thinking the easiest way though is going to be to remove the suspension turret. That will have to wait until its back inside though as untill then I need it rolling.



That main structural strengthening beam looked nice and solid untill I started cleaning it up with the wire brush. There were a few pinholes in it so ive cut out all the thin metal so as I can put some structural integrity back.



Arggghhh wheres my sill closure and jacking point gone This will be rebuilt properly rather than just boxed in.



Door pillar is going to need some new metal and the joint with the inner wing is a little crusty.



More holes in more structural places. Im so glad that I decided to pull the wing off otherwise id never have found this lot.



Another little hole but this one is fairly small and isolated so compared to the rest should be nice and easy.

All of that is under one front wing and I have a feeling that this is the better side of the car as a result ive decided not to pull off the other wing untill this lot is finished otherwise the job is just going to be too daunting. If I do this lot whatever I find under the other wing will get done as I wont want to throw away the work already done on the car.

Nick fancy a (ahem working ahem) holiday in Wales?

WOW! And I thought my Sprint was gonna be hard work!
You have my unbounded admiration just for taking this on! You must also have a masochistic streak cos NOBODY could love weld burns down the sleeves (and everywhere else) that much!

Steve

_________________
'73 2 door Toledo with Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 8v engine (The Carledo)
'78 Sprint Auto with Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v engine (The Dolomega)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!

Maverick Triumph, Servicing, Repairs, Electrical, Recomissioning, MOT prep, Trackerjack brake fitting service.
Apprentice served Triumph Specialist for 50 years. PM for more info or quotes.

Its more of a stubborn streak to be honest. A lot of me is saying to scrap it but this car has given me so much fun it deserves to be given a second chance. This car is never going to be showroom as my bodywork skills and bank balance just aren't good enough but its going to have its strength restored and be back on the road hopefully within the next 6 months as Mum may want to use it as wedding car.