The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

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PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 3:21 pm 
howdy, and thanks for letting me join the forums...

Down here in rural South Australia, my worn and weary Dolomite Sprint sits in my shed. My first real car. (the morris 1100 doesn't count :D ). Had a tough life, been across australia, sydney to perth, up through the centre to Darwin, across the top of Queensland, bogged in National Parks, sideways down an iced road in the Snowies, rear end shunt in Sydney, I then rear ended a poor Volvo driver, months spent sitting on wharves in salt air while I was out with the Navy. The therma-control (?) fan had been welded up by the previous owner (it always made a fearsome noise when slowing for corners) and eventually gave up the unfair battle, spinning itself off into the radiator in spectacular fashion. Cooked a head travlleing to Canberra (and was rescued by a GT6 driver who kindly took me the rest of the way to Canberra), replaced the head and the faulty temperature sender, water pump and took care then on to understand the overheating problems, rusted fuel tank caused starvation problems, worn hydraulic clutch line was expanding instead of allowing the clutch to seperate, forced the drive from Darwin to Adelaide clutchless (police pinned me in Darwin the night before I left for stopping my car at traffic lights, turning off my headlights so I could start her up in first to get going again, blew into the bag and was very, very lucky)....car had an engine rebuild in Sydney back in 95, driven across to South Oz, registered, going well, until I did "something" enroute to a bushfire loaded with firefighters and lost power, temp gauge went red and she was left, beside the road once more. That was in 97 iirc. Trailered her back home, she has been in the shed ever since after I spotted some debris on the end of a spark plug investigating what I might have done.....they don't suffer fools gladly, the sprints, and in my youth I might have been foolish.

So, with the vinyl looking sad, rust in a few places, a tailshaft I know is unbalanced and unknown damage to the engine, the only thing going for her is a pristine interior, good tyres and a full shed to do the work. The local panelbeater is good at his job and will do the respray, I'll have a crack at the engine over a few months, no rush....and I dream one day of having her back.....

bear with me, I'll try and get some pics up. I bought a standard dolomite and trailered it down from Adelaide in '00 for parts, and it sits next to the sprint....

Really I'm just looking for encouragement and a few pointers on what not to do during the restoration. I'm figuring the car gets stripped back first, hit with a sandblaster (gently) and taken the 800m to the panelbeater for attention while I work on the engine and running gear. I have much to learn !

cheers

stu


Last edited by straylight on Sun Jan 06, 2008 1:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Hi
PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 5:35 pm 
Hi Stu. Welcome to the group. You've come to the right place for help and encouragement with your project. There's not many questions that'll stump the experts on here. Most people have also been in your situation.

Most important thing is not to get disheartened or give up. It'll be worth it in the end!


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 5:45 pm 
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Joined: Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:10 pm
Posts: 1264
Location: Darn saarf..
Great story Stu..it sounds like your Sprint has certainly lived a life..restoring it will be a lot easier with the wealth of knowledge from this forum and club,as i found out..and anyway,a man's gotta have a hobby..


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 29, 2007 10:54 pm 
Do you know I think I could write a similar list about my Dolomite :)

And Welcome :)


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:16 am 
Quote:
Do you know I think I could write a similar list about my Dolomite Smile
:D

yup, I reckon there must be countless tales of youngsters who bought a dolly and thrashed it within an inch of it's life !

...okay, with that bit of encouragement under my belt....thanks all

engine wise.....I wasn't pushing it that much....'onest !Intention is to remove the plugs and rotate the engine gently using the back wheels to see if it turns. Been sitting there a while. I've got some strong magnets I'll use to fish around inside the cylinders to rebuke or confirm I've done ring or valve damage. If there is damage then obviously the whole engine gets lifted and rebuilt...I have a parts manual and a workshop manual....(full of copious notes as I learned many lessons the hard way)...if there is no damage I'll try for a start. I have a paddock I can drive around in if it gets that far. Good thing about lving in the country.

Any other hints on the initial probe ?

cheers

stu


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 Post subject: Spark Plug Damage
PostPosted: Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:12 pm 
Hi Stu,

Sorry, but it sounds like a damaged (melted) piston to me. An over heated motor followed by deposits on a spark plug, seems like motor runs hot, head gasket blowns piston melts, motor stops.

If you are after parts locally (Australia) give us a call.

Mark


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 1:49 am 
excellent....here's hoping that is not the problem then :( .....the car started to miss and lose power, cruising at around 120km/hr, I was watching the temp gauge, everything was okay....started to smell burning, traces of smoke noticed coming through the firewall and then loss of power, all within less than 30 seconds. Lifted bonnet and Smoke appeared to be from cylinder head, not a lot, but enough to realise I'd probably cooked the head (again).

can you drop me a PM please SPRINTPARTS with your contact details ? I reckon you guys were out Liverpool/Moorefied way back in the late 80's, bought a fuel tank from you and a second hand rear door ? Triumph Spares ? TR Spares ? Triparts ? "I buy my triumph parts at Triparts" I still have the sticker on my tool box 8)

thanks

stu


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Apr 17, 2007 8:46 am 
okay, a few weeks later and some tentative progress.....

removed the plugs and had a good ferret around with a magnet....took some pics....

Image
in the shed, used as foam storage, dusty, rusting, vinyl looks bad

Image
side by side with the second hand wreck I got for spares

Image
bigger view of the shed. Ideal workplace really, just got to clean up a bit. the doors at the side of the sprint are from a diahatsu 4WD I use as a spray vehicle.
Image
all the spark plugs in a nice row, l-R 1 to 4


Image
sparkie #1, oil and looks like it has been squashed up, no metal as far as I can see or feel.

Image
sparkie #2, rust splinters, not good
Image
#3, bad news here, the thread is rusted and there was lots of rust scale in the spark plug extension tube. I'm guessing blown head gasket has allowed water into extension tube and rusted it over a number of years. In the actual cylinder I couldn't find traces of metal though.
Image
#4, oil
Image
this is the thread of #3. Quite bad rusting, I should add, i recall not tightening the spark plugs 7 or so years ago when I first had a look, so there was room for rusting on the thread. The car has been stored dry and been in the shed ever since the disaster

so, with oil in 1 and 4, metal in 2 and possibly three and probably water in 3, I went for a turn of the engine....

1st gear, back wheel off the ground and a straight turn, spark plugs out. Nothing doing, my strength wasn't enough to turn her over. checked the handbrake etc, turned okay in neutral, but not in 1st, 2nd or 4th.

next step ? looks like I remove the engine and take the head off....and start looking for a head refurbisher in adelaide, (might get lucky and find one in Mt gambier)

thoughts people ? what do you all think....

(no prizes to the first person who says...."what do you mean ? you didn't touch it for 7 years ! ? :roll: )


Last edited by straylight on Sat Jan 19, 2008 1:59 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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 Post subject: Not looking good.
PostPosted: Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:46 pm 
Hi Stu,

After looking at the photos of the plugs I would still be betting on a melted #1 piston. A minumum of head off and i would be planning on a full motor strip down and rebuild.

After looking a the photos of the rest of the car, I think that you have plenty of time to sort the motor out while rbuilding/restoring the rest of the car.

Mark

sprint@netspace.net.au


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Apr 17, 2007 12:58 pm 
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Joined: Wed Oct 04, 2006 8:10 pm
Posts: 1264
Location: Darn saarf..
Fabulous garage Stu,i am green with envy,and can only dream of having something like that,so you are certainly of to a good start..keep up the great pics as you progress please..


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Apr 17, 2007 2:46 pm 
Quote:
After looking a the photos of the rest of the car, I think that you have plenty of time to sort the motor out while rbuilding/restoring the rest of the car.
:lol:

yup, sure do. Thanks sprintparts....I think :)

I've taken the head off several times, but never done an engine rebuild. I figure if the engine comes out (easy enough, got an endless chain and a good roof) I can do a proper body resoration. I've got access to presses and a good mechanic at the local servo, but how much, realistically, would I be able to do of an engine rebuild ? Got some time up my sleeve anyway.

...and dumbo question.....easier to take the engine out then take the head off ? might as well, engines got to come out to give access to the engine bay.

Reg, yeah, shed was a good investment. we've got a small block here and it went in with the vineyard. No great shakes, vineyard is sending us broke (c'mon, drink more aussie red). Enough space for the tractor, sprayer, spray bus, bike and so on.....very lucky. Now I've got to rearrange it so I can work on the car....some other hobbies need to be put to one side !

thanks for your advice sprintparts.....appreciated.....

stu


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Oct 28, 2007 11:30 pm 
and it starts....

got motivated yesterday, rearranged the shed......that took 4 hours, dragged the air-blast sprayer out into the paddock, freed up a nice area so I can get access to the car, found space for the foam and assorted crap and with the car looking like it was in a decent workshop, started.

It was strange how all the memories of working on the car came flooding back !....got out the oil encrusted workshop manual, dropped the centre rear engine mount, disconnected the exhaust, radiator came out easily, took off the inlet manifold and will start on the head tonight, for that peek into what damage I have done. So far it doesn't look too bad, the coolant came out a nice bright green colour from the anti-corrosive, with no signs of oil, there is no water on the dipstick....

Intention is to remove the engine and strip her back to enable the bodyshop to wave their wand. I'm lucky that I have a crash repairer in town (we are about 3.5 hours south of adelaide, in the bush so to speak).

I suspect that the head will need to be sent off to a specialist.

It is actually quite nostalgic and, at the moment, after a nights work, relaxing. Whenever I've done work on the car before, it has always been with an eye on getting her back onto the road as fast as possible, usually working in a borrowed garage with no access to gear. 25 years on and my approach is more relaxed. The shed is a godsend....

I also saw 2 dollies in vic for sale, $2k for the pair, advertised for Parts and a restorer....wife would have killed me, and in the end the advertised number was wrong. The poor guy had recieved dozens of calls....then I stumbled on a few dollies that had decent money on them....,makes me think she is certainly worth spending a few k on.

Bit worried about running her on unleaded fuel though......anyone know what mods I'm going to be up for to convert to unleaded ? I recall reading somewhere that valves need changing to take account of the higher burn temperature and compression....advice, as always, appreciated.

stu


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 8:41 am 
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Location: Forest of Dean
Well done on getting started.
Quote:
Bit worried about running her on unleaded fuel though......anyone know what mods I'm going to be up for to convert to unleaded ? I recall reading somewhere that valves need changing to take account of the higher burn temperature and compression....advice, as always, appreciated.
No change needed, standard valves and seats are fine.

If you can see it it is worth removing the bung from the side of the block above the starter. This will drain more of the water out and reduce the ammount that comes out into the bores when you separate the head.

Tinweevil

_________________
1978 Pageant Sprint - the rustomite, 1972 Spitfire IV - sprintfire project, 1968 Valencia GT6 II - little Blue, 1980 Vermillion 1500HL - resting. 1974 Sienna 1500TC, Mrs Weevils big brown.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 12:46 pm 
righto ! massive amounts of progress and some pics....kind of bitterwseet, but a good nights work, almost ready to swing the engine out...

first the good news...

Image

Image

space to work at last. Seeing her in space and I remember what beautiful lines she has got. I've a soft spot for the flat boot line....

got the head off tonight, started preparations for lifting the engine. Removed the prop shaft, gear lever assembly, fan, fan blower, alternator, and tagged all of the electrical/hose lines with what they are. Had trouble loosening the rear sub-frame mounts, attack it again in a few days when the penetrene has had a chance to work

Now the bad news...
Image

looking into the engine block, head off, no wonder I couldn't turn the engine initially. #1 piston has absolutely trashed itself, bits of metal, molten aluminium, really torched. I had to apply a lot of force to get the timing chain wheel spun around so I could get to the two bolts in the open. Eventually I got the engine turned, that was before I knew what awaited me.

Image

the other cylinders have intact pistons in them.....but lots of junk. Powder of some sort, light grey in colour and not looking healthy.

Image

the head itself also looks bad. damage to #1, the bright silver streak is actually molten aluminium that looks like it has solidified.

Image
The underside of the valves on #1 have discoloured into a dark crystalline aluminium pattern (dendritic ?). I know they are hardened steel, but they aren't supposed to be that colour !

Image
I'm most worried about the silver streak on the head. Accepting that I can get it shaved (eternal hope), there looks to be too much damage to the head to use it again....

Out of curiosity, when I took the rocker cover off, I found the exhaust tappets from #1 in the case, not over the valve....the head bolts were also quite loose....

so...next step....continue to strip the car down, make some enquiries about the head, take a deep breath and wonder whether I buy a new or reco head....

still not sure what exactly caused the incident.....

thanks tinweevil....I think the unleaded question was a bit premature :D....in any case I've found out that sprintparts sell lead substitute....


Last edited by straylight on Sat Jan 19, 2008 2:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Oct 29, 2007 5:44 pm 
Impresive.
Its hard to tell from the photos but I would of thought the head will clean up ok.
Do the valves still move or have you not got that far yet.


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