The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

An exciting time today as I picked up the colour sample.



You can't get much impression from a photo of course but i've checked the match against the original (albeit re-painted) shell and it's not far off so with a little work it should be there. Work will commence next week, the delay being caused by me basically dumping the project on them.

Just assembling all the door catches, strikers etc and some aperture rubbers to help Paul get the fit or the doors etc spot on, it's pretty hard to do it wthout these.

Must admit every time I go to the place I seem to be greeted by far more exotic metal than my car. Just ready to go out was an Aston DB6 whose owner had travelled down from Bolton, a lovely Bentley Continental S2 was on the back of a trailer and tucked up in the eaves was the remains of someone's Ferrari Enzo which appears to have been rolled and pretty much destroyed. The good news though is that enthusiasm seems to flow whatever the car and at just £28+VAT per hour I can see why people travel so far.

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Mark

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

bet you cant wait to see it painted ,i think it must have been 2007 when we last it in the flesh at hatton looking for forward to seeing finished

Been a while since I've been able to report on any meaningful progress. Whn I dropped by shell off back in May the shop was already packed with work which meant my project was not the centre of attention until they had been completed. One project in particular was making use of the roll over spit thing which my shell needed to be fixed onto.

Paul has spent the last 3 weeks or so working to get the alignment, swage lines etc all lined up as best as he can. This has been quite an involved job as has removing and repairing a variety of dents and dings that the shell has picked up during 30 years of storage.

One of the most important stages though was well underway when I popped in the other day. When they were new the application of seam sealer and underbody coatings was pretty poor to say the least which lead to an early death for many a Dolomite. I decided that if it were possible to improve on the original application of both of these then I would do so. With the car on the spit Paul and his team have gained perfect access to all the underside of the car to apply seam sealer where required. In particular the rear wheel arches needed some work to ensure that any gaps were filled to prevent leakage into the boot etc.



Also the heat fusiable anti-drum pads have been installed on the floors and also the boot floor as per original style. I'll employ better more modern style pads for inside the rear panels and doors as these are not really seen. The caulking gun has also been hard at work on the inside of the car.





Originally I could not detect any seam sealer under the bonnet around the turrets etc. Paul was unhappy about leaving these unfilled so we settled on a 'wipe-in' application to help prevent problems with the joints here. By the time it's painted you won't even notice.

The next job is to apply an epoxy based orange primer to the under side of the car. This is tough and flexible and body coloured. From there a stone ship will be applied and again body coloured. next time I go over the car should be orange underneath and inside with the rest of the body in a white high build primer with the doors attached ready for my inspection prior to the final top coat being applied.

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Mark

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

Typical you wait ages for an update then two come along at once. Got a call to let me know that the car is now wearing Orange paint underneath and inside so I popped down to have a look. Still lots to do but looking good, colour doesn't photograph well though with flash. Paint coverage is way above and beyond what was used new with no thin areas or unpainted areas to be seen. Of course it's very shiny too, seems a shame to cover it up with carpet and interior bits.

In the boot



Engine bay



Under the boot



Under the front arch



Rear Arch (note the stonechip texture)



Inside



Back end somewhere



Next job is to prepare the rest of the body for colour. Next time I see the outside it'll be in a grey/brown primer which is like a high build. At this point I'll need to sign off the alignment etc before the colour is put on. The satin black on the back and sills will also be added. The sills will benefit from a smooth epoxy primer for added chip resistance prior to being overpainted in regular paint. Not original as such but probably better for durability.

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Mark

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

Wow...! What an epic bit of work... I must say you were darn lucky to have managed to nab that factory shell sir

I think that making it better than factory but not 100% concours is the right way to go as I can imagine the costs just spiralling out of control and it'd just end up being (perhaps) just too good to use...

This looks like something quite special will come out at the end and I just cannot wait to see the end result...!!!

I have no issue with councours but then the cars weren't that good when new so if subtle improvements can be made along the way then why not. The finished car won't strictly be concours because of improvements but it will be very shiny and every part refurbished or replaced as it goes back together.

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Mark

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

Wow, wow, wow!
That looks fantastic! With that high standard of protection, it will outlive us all..
Thanks for the pics.

Wow! That's gonna be one gorgeous car when its done! Looking forward to more updates!!
Shep

Outstanding is a word that springs to my mind.
Yes amazing the variation, everything through from light brown to pink, but the gloss and finish is ace - no problem seeing that.

Like Alan, I can't tell the pink from the brown but yes, that shine is mightily impressive all over the car, whichever colour we're looking at.
It'll almost certainly be "too good" for concours d'état, but concours d'élégance might suit the finished article better since that particular discipline's all about the shine. That, and having things that were never shiny originally shiny for their kind of anally retentive so-called sport.

Just make sure and fire plenty of Ensis V at it, especially inside every single box and channel section you can find. If it doesn't drip on a warm day, it's not amply protected.

i want one! very nice

Indeed it will be filled with the sticky stuff. Not sure what but PF Autos are VAG approved body centre so I imagine it will be something that they use. Can't remember the last time I saw a rusty VW! I know he said it was brownish so it was easier to see where it's been applied.

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Mark

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

Hmm, they've had Galvanised shells since the MK4 Golf came on in late 1998.
Even so, the older models were surely less prone than other makes and very much less prone than pretty much anything BL could have managed to build in the late '70s, but your car's great advantage is that you're starting with no rust nor any repairs where rust has been so by protecting it now, the bodyshop will more than likely be able to make it last every bit as well as the non-Galvanised modern stuff such as Peugeots, Fords and Vauxhalls, good examples of all of which can be put down to decent paint techniques rather than Zinc.
I guess you'll not be using it if you go to a place where salt is still used in the winter, but with this sort of care and attention to its preparation, it's probably well up to the task if you had to.

Currently sitting on the drive where it was when you visited! The first thing is to get the finished shell back with the first project to be to fit the vinyl roof if it's not done by the bodyshop, I might get them to build the doors up too on the grounds that if they damage the paint they can fix it! Then it'll be loom as the first job. Nothing will happen mechanically till next year. I'll remove things from the donor car when required otherwise i'll lose it or it will take up more space. Dad employed this method when he restored his Midget into a new Heritage shell.

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Mark

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

I can only imagine how blindingly bright that Vermillion must be in real life. Top stuff

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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