The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

I was about to say the same thing.I love the radio and speaker combo too

Car is looking good too.
It's going to be a real beauty when finished

I know what you mean about the lack of travel on all-drum cars. When I used to run Rebels (same brakes both ends as Toledo, HA Viva, all-drum Escort and early Marina) as daily cars, I'd panic whenever I then drove a more modern car with front discs as the pedal always seemed to go far further before anything happened. Mind you, with discs and a servo, I'd usually lock the wheels up when applying as much effort as I would with the drums. Somewhere, I still have a rare Moprod brake adjuster kit for these backplates, the type which require the original adjusters to be ground off and new ones that bolt on instead fitted.

Update time!

Now I’ve done quite allot to Eeyore over the past few weeks;

- I took the engine out and fully rebuilt it with all new parts, new rings, new gaskets etc.... And now the cars a 'proper' little pocket rocket with quite a pit of pep behind it
- Replaced the clutch, which looked to of been the original : shock:
- I've took the front hubs off and replaced all the old grease with new grease
- I’ve taken all the door cards of and oil up all the winder mechanisms
- I rebuilt the driver seat, by taking it all apart and replacing all the old degraded rubbery type foam with fresh new sponge.
- I've touched up all the parts which had primer showing, with cellulose paint using an air compressor.
- I've upgraded the washer system as the old fashioned squirt type plunger pump was pretty much useless, usually needing a million and a half pumps before any liquid reached the screen. I decided to replace the whole washer/wiper switch with one from a later type Toledo (which is pretty much identical to that of the original), and have accompanied it with a new washer motor hidden behind the washer bottle.
- I've replaced one the rear doors outer weather strip with a new a one to stop that door rotting again as its just had a new bottom welded in.
- I've replaced the rusty and pitted back bumper with one which is slightly better (however I'm still on the lookout for a better one).
- I've oiled all the suspension struts and joins (the Squeaking now stopped!!! )
- I've cut out and re welded in a new chassis mount where the front of the subframe bolts to the body.
- I've fitted a hidden cigarette lighter for the satnav

....and I might have done some more, but can’t quite remember at the moment Lol

Eeyore has almost fully transformed from a rusty banger with its days numbered into a pretty presentable daily driver.

Nevertheless the works not over yet, I'm planning on getting Eeyore as nice as possible ready for the shows in the summer. To do this I have planned a full body respray in Sapphire blue in a few months time. I'm on the lookout for an as good as new Toledo back bumper, a pair of WIPAC reverse lights and I’d like a new passenger's seat in grey vinyl as mine has a burn mark. I'm also going to replace both of the front and rear screen seals, replace all the suspension bushes on the car and rebush the clutch and brake master cylinders.

However, it’s not all good news and anticipation.

Having had just bought 4 brand new 145 80r13 tyre for it, I wasn't best pleased when I bent down to see that both front tyres are starting to scrub on the outer edges. Now I've lost all trust in garages tracking my cars, as they made a right mess of My old Maestro’s tracking, So I’ve bought a Gunson Trakrite (while I’m waiting for the delivery, I’ve fitted my Vitesse's old 3.5J steels with old tyres on) .
Now I’ve heard fantastic reviews and can’t wait for the Postman to deliver it any day now

Also, I'm being driven crazy with the terrible fuel economy of which he's delivering. I've tried numerous things to try and improve the abysmal 24mpg it’s currently achieving, but nothing i’, doing seems to be helping.
I've tuned the carb so the plugs are a beige biscuit colour and I've advanced the timing until the engines reaching its highest RPM. I've check the diaphragm in the vacuum advance mechanism buy sucking the hose and the diaphragm seem in good health.
Similarly, I've still got the mayo problem!! Which is really annoying!!!?

Could there be a link between the Mayo and the poor fuel consumption?

If anyone can help me with any of the problems I’ve got or could help me out with any of the parts I need I’d be HUGELY grateful!!!

Jordan

....Some more pics...

.... And a little more pics..

Jordan, I cannot offer you any advice as to how to improve the fuel consumption....however, I can congratulate you on your car. Your hard work shows through, you look every inch the proud owner of this fine little car - have a virtual slap on the back from me.

Congrats from me too. That car's looking good now, clearly you're the right bloke to own it and keep up the good work.

I have a Gunson's Trakrite and can recommend them thoroughly. I used it on my Dolomite when I owned that and have since helped several friends and colleagues to sort their tracking worries with this simple, yet utterly effective device.
It's the only way to tell whether each wheel is set correctly relative to the position of the rack, not even the very expensive laser alignment tools do that as even they have to measure the distance between points on both wheels and that isn't helpful if one wheel is toeing out and the other toes in to achieve a seemingly correct overall figure.
They're a brilliant bit of kit, you won't be disappointed with it.

Maybe the MPG will be a bit lame until the freshly overhauled engine has a few miles on it? The mayo is most likely to be condensation and could, if it's blocking the breather hoses, affect economy to a point but the best thing to do to get rid of it, apart from smearing it on a cheese sandwich, is to take the car on a good, long run to get it all nicely warmed up. Is the thermostat the right one? I'd use either an 82 degree or an 88 degree one in a healthy OHV, make sure that the engine is reaching its optimum temperature as cold running would mean reduced efficiency as well as allowing that Mayonnaise to form.

The Tolly is really coming along nicely.Congratulations from me,too

As for the mayo/fuel consumption,I was going to suggest the same thing as JPB,check and replace the thermostat if you haven't already.

GO JORDAN GO!

Been away for two weeks so I've missed stuff you've put on facebook, well done! The engine coming out looks cleaner than mine did going in!

Cheers mate, I wondered where you got to


Just a little update.

My Gunson trkrite came, and its performed brilliantly giving me a pretty good wheel alignment on the front wheels!!

I thought I'd put the glove box switch which BL supplied to these cars to use. It was harder than i first anticipated as i had to remove most of the dask board to first ground the switch (you would have though BL would of done this already!). I ran a a live wired pieced to the bulb (which sits at the top of the glove box) and ran the (-) to the switch, and it works pretty well.

Also, having read many opinions on the benefits of Electron ignition. I thought i'd take the plunge and replace the points and condensor, with a 'powerspark' setup from SimonBBC off the bay. I thought while I was working on the ignition system, I'd replace the Coil (12Volt non ballast), remove the ballast resistor, replace the leads, cap and rotor arm. However, stpuidly i though the distributor on my car was a 45D, when in fact, its a 25D as fitted to many cars of the 50's and 60's. So i had to send the igintion system, cap and rotor arm back, for the right 25D items.
I'm currently waiting for the 25D items to come

Oooo, and i've also been handy with the paint brush, datailing the engine bay, with the array of hammerite colours i've accumilated over the years

Thats it really, but i should be reporting back this weekend on the instalation of the ignition module and the benfits and improvements it makes.

p.s. I'll be at the Classic car show at Weston Park (Shropshire area) this Sunday, so if you see me come and say hi to Eeyore and me

Fantastic stuff - you have saved a really rare little Tolly.

Brand-new rear bumpers (well, new old stock in the original wrappings) are available in the yet-to-be-listed Toledo stock but you need to be a TDC member.

PM me if you need any. They are located in Stourport (near Kidderminster)

R

PM sent bud

Having just spent the past 5 hours cleaning and polishing Eeyore the Toledo, thugh it would be a good time to take some snaps and post an update on Eeyore's developemnt

Thing which have been done;
- I've converted the car to Electronic Ignition, sourced from simonBBC. This has been a great improvement on the car, giving to the engine a much more smoother tone, and a more imediate throttle response.
- I've replaced all the Valve springs in the engine has they had become unbeliveably weak, it was possible to push the valve down with my finger and could never get the valve clearances right. The engine is much more efficient now, and a loot less shaky and wobbly.
- I've resprayed the Herald 3.5J wheels and switched over the my new tyres onto them. I quite like them, I've kept the Toledo hubcaps and mated them with some 'Lattice' type wheel trims witch compiment the car rather well i think.
- I made a new pair of toe boards usuing new card and new grey carpet (these are the Boards witch cover up the front door hinges).
- I took Eeyore to the Coventry Motor musuean which is a good 40 mile motorway drive, and Eeyore performed effortlessly, I took him upto 70mph and cruised a more sedate 60mph, which blew all the crap out of his system. Considering Eeyoe never ventures more than 5 miles from my house and does about 40 miles a week, he really did perform well on the Motorway, Ovetaking some pretty shocked drivers on the M6 in there flash new cars

-........Oh and Eeyore passed his MOT on saturday first time and with no advisories.

Interestingly, Pete the Mot Tester asked if the car was Tax exempt. I said yes, as it was made in 1972 as the logbook and original sales receipt states. He then replied, "..err..not the car was'nt made in 1972" to this point he then showed me a printout of my car details stating the Eeyore was actually made in november 1971. This make him an even earlier 4 door Toledo, Poissibly one of the First maybe? Nevertheless, if Eeyore was made in november 71, why did it take till March 1972, for him to be sold? Sonsidering Toledo's would have been pretty much brand new cars in 1971, i would have though they would have sold straight away.

Also Eeyore is 3 miles away from 70,000 miles!!!!

And Thats all really for now folks really. I'm planning on hammeriting the underneath of the car in the next few weeks hopefully, Thats if the rain doesnt wash the whole of england away by Thursday!!

Hi Jordan
I am rebuilding an accident damaged 1500 TC, Also Sapphire blue, and really like the look of your wheel trims. Are they easy to get or are they old stock from your spares stash,Nice car mate . Teejay

Hi TeeJay,

The wheel trims are just ordinary Herald 3.5J trims, which I think might only fit the 3.5J wheel. When i had these wheels on my Vitesse, i especially wanted the 'lattice' type, which Dont turn up as often as the rectangular or cirucalr holes trims. I got them from a member on the Club Triumph forum for i think £25 plus postage, not bad for 4 NOS trims.

Good luck with the rebuild

Jordan