I got her from a nice chap over near Nelson in Lancashire, oddly I never got to meet him because he was only selling the car due to working away, his parents handled things on the day and off we went. Initial thoughts were that the car was a lot of fun but using too much fuel and not really feeling quite right - it would stall at every junction unless I used choke, even when warmed up. I didn't have much time (or any money) to fiddle about with it too much, but what I did do is put some Millers VSP in there in case I'd upset the octane (the previous owner used a booster and I hadn't when I filled up) - this made no difference. I then faffed about with the timing according to a guide I found online, which made it run much better but still not right. Finally, I replaced one of the front wheel bearings because it was grinding very badly.
After that I found this forum and asked a few questions, and Toledo Man was kind enough to offer to take a look at the car for me. I popped over there and he adjusted the timing for me using a strobe light (rather than just fiddling like I did), which made a big difference. The car still wasn't quite right but it was on the way. Next up I adjusted the valve clearances because the engine was quite clattery - I just figured it was safest to start at the beginning and make sure each thing is OK before moving onwards. A few of the clearances were out - they were pretty tight, couldn't get the gauges through at all. Adjusted it all as per the book and it improved things a lot, far quieter and just generally happier. I also adjusted the mixture and the idle speed using the method in one of the books - pushing the pin and hearing the change in the engine speed. I wasn't very happy with how this went, as every time I pushed the pin the car wanted to die until I'd adjusted it quite a long way. However, I test drove it and it was much better than before to drive, very smooth on the move but rough idle and obviously running rich as you could smell it. I gave it a few days to see how it was in real world terms, it turned out to be thirsty but much more fun to drive which is why I delayed doing anything about it for a while!
Next up was the paintwork - although realistically the car needs a respray, that's not on the cards for now so I had a go with the G3 compound and Autoglym Super Resin polish. Here is a picture of the roof part way through - the near corner is being done, the rest of the roof is NOT covered with any product, that's how the paintwork was!!!
After a good few hours work, here is the result:
Good stuff that G3, and the Autoglym products always work well. Haven't had time to do the other panels yet but the roof was the one which I thought would come up the best as it had no scabby bits, just badly faded.
So, we're up to this weekend - I bought some new plugs and a Gunsons Colortune to have a better go at setting the mixture. First up though, I did the points gap - this was too close so I adjusted it and then changed the plugs (well fouled by now, definitely too rich) and put the Colortune on. It was orange at first and took me a while to adjust until I got the blue flame with a bit of orange. Eventually I got there and now the car runs a lot smoother and has (a little bit at least) power all through the range. It's still a bit lumpy at idle though, but I have a few more jobs to do before I look too much at that - oil and filter, plus air filter for one - didn't have any at the local shops I tried so will have to order them.
Also something Toledo Man and I noticed - the tyres aren't too bad looking but one of them does say it was made in Yugoslavia so that makes me think it might be time to change them! In a way I'd like to keep them standard but the steel wheels aren't in good condition, neither are the hubcaps, so I might end up sticking some alloys on and looking for a decent set of steelies and caps. We'll see what comes up.
Today we managed to get the car out and over to Knowsley Safari Park - apart from being bitten by a baboon and having a number plate light stolen, the Dolomite was fine in hot weather over the hills of the M62 even with four up - I didn't thrash it but we did see 70mph at one stage, wow!
There are a few jobs on the immediate horizon - the tyres, the rest of the service items, I also need to run an accessory socket off the loom so I can power my phone and whatnot (going to be a stealth install though) - likewise need some speakers to go in. The most worrying thing at the moment is the way the rear suspension wobbles about all over the place, it handles like a canal boat so I suspect the dampers are probably shot or perhaps the springs are tired, could be the bushes... well, that one needs further investigation anyway. Engine wise I'd like to get it to idle smoothly but that is probably more of a long term thing - a few things I'll swap when I can include fuel pump, coil, condenser and points, thermostat - just so I know what's been done and also I will have known good spares then. All in good time mind, that's enough for now - hope you don't mind me babbling on!
Jimmy
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Which is the best Dolomite colour I say 
