The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Six pages in and the discussion is still on the values of Dolomites !
With that in mind, here is my viewpoint!

If the values were high I couldn't have a Dolomite.
I had a budget of £2000 for my car, for which I paid £800 making it equally the most expensive car I have ever bought,
the balance going towards making it more useable Trackerjack brakes, Superflex bushes, new shocks, brakes, wheels, tyres, etc, etc.
(The £800 price was for a car that was MOTed and licensed, so could be driven, thereby saving £500 (likely) delivery from Mid Lothian.)
I had spent quite a lot of time researching the viability of running a Dolomite again (after having a Sprint through the 90s)
before finally going for one. Deliberately I chose one of the lesser models in an undesireable colour needing bodywork repairs.
As a point of principle I don't use NOS panels, because I believe these should be used by restorers rather than repairers like me.


My point is this,
there should be equal room for everyone whether they own an everyday runner/modified/updated/concours car
(even if it is Sienna or Saffron ).



Please may we now move on guys and let Steve actually get his car done?
I am looking forward to see how this project pans out.

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Sorry Ian, I do get a bit carried away sometimes! Theres not a lot to report on the work front at the moment, the car is up on stands beside the workshop and between work and showers Iam busy removing the engine but it is being a bit of a mare, one bolt (the lowest one in the downpipe) completely refuses to come undone! There is no room to get a socket on it and even with the starter out of the way (a swine in itself on auto cars) I can get a decent long spanner on it but theres no room left to turn it! Also somebody in the past has replaced this one bolt with what appears to be a 13mm headed one so the thread may not be correct (the other 2 were 9/16 and came free without major effort) I am now considering the idea of disconnecting the downpipe from the rest of the exhaust, unbolting the manifold from the head and removing the whole lot in one big lump to split on the floor. However rain stopped play today before I could test this idea!
On another but connected front, I took the Omega in yesterday and got it up on the ramp for a look and a measure. Never having been round one of these later 2.2 cars I was a little perturbed by some of what I found like the "fly by wire" throttle and the lack of a discrete injection loom which made the earlier engines such a simple fit. This car also has the "winged" sump but thats not really a problem as I already have an early narrow one which will fit. The transmission was a pleasant surprise, the length is almost identical to the manual in the Carledo and its not massively wide though I'm glad I've got an auto tunnel housing! The biggest surprise here was an electric road speed sensor in the back of the box where a speedo drive should be, the manual box had nothing here and caused me much nausea getting a working speedo! I need this both for an electric speedo and for a speed sensor for the electric PAS which will be going on.
Other potential problems include 2 oxygen sensors (1 each side of the cat which I will NOT be keeping) and a huge EGR valve bolted to the back of the head which may get in the way of the installation (the Vauxhall engine sits "naturally" about 3" further back than the original and quite close to the bulkhead) I think there may be a bit of a tight squeeze getting the downpipe between the gearbox and the chassis too, time will tell!
All in all though I am not too displeased with what I have found and certainly (at the moment) I have not come across anything insurmountable!

Steve

PS I did feel a bit bad about scrapping this lovely looking car till I got underneath and found considerable rot festering in the main chassis rails behind the steering box and idler. its not bad enough to make me take it off the road but I think it would need serious repair to get it through an MOT when it runs out in November (pics later when I take some)

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'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.

That should work.

I am pretty sure I removed a Sprint engine upwards with the front pipe still attached.
Replacing a front pipe in situ is probably the most awkward job on a Sprint .

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TDC Forum moderator
PLEASE help us to maintain a friendly forum,
either PM or use Report Post if you see anything you are unhappy with. Thanks.

When this has gone pear shaped for me, I just swung engine box and downpipe all out together.

The manifold flange setup is a complete mare.....I can see your anti sprint case building....

Jonners

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Note from Admin: sadly Jon passed away in February 2018 but his humour and wealth of knowledge will be fondly remembered by all. RIP Jonners.

Still p***ing down here so no progress today! I have already done everything necessary to split the engine from the transmission so I don't especially want to bolt it all back together just to get it out so I can separate it again!
I figured that being Auto and not having a long, splined clutch shaft but just a 1" stub, I could leave the bonnet on, put the crane in from the side and lift the lump virtually straight up! Then I can remove the trans any way I like afterwards. This is still plan A but the ******* downpipe won't play with me! If it don't come apart soon, I may just take a dremmel and grinder to the bolt head! I can always use heat and my good stud extractor to get the bit out of the manifold when its on the deck. I won't bin the manifold on principle, I have no use for it but someone will one day.......
On a slightly different subject, I have waited to list all my redundant Sprint bits till the engine is out because I want to check the condition of the drive plate first. I gather that this is an expensive and difficult to source item but is prone to cracking so I want to make sure its Kosher first. I know this part and its spacer (and probably the bolts too) go with the transmission but is the engine backplate also Auto unique cos if it is, i'll keep it back to sell with the gearbox as I should have an almost complete kit (I'm only keeping the brake pedal and the tunnel housing and possibly the propshaft though I'd rather chop up a more common one for my hybrid) Anybody Know?

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.

Wow! I can tell its a long time since you did a full resto Jon! I have budgetted about 2.5k for this one, about 1000 of that will go in new steel, sills, soffits, diaphragm, headlamp repairs, rear arch repairs, front valance, doors or skins (x4) etc. Paint and materials nearer 200 than 100 plus I will be paying a painter (REALLY good mates rates, but still paying)
Then the mechanical side, Full brake overhaul, dual circuit master, plus a trackerjack convo, 4 new shox, 5 new tyres and refurb the alloys, alloy rack mounts, supaflex bushes and I'm bound to find more as I go. What I paid for it is almost irrelevant as I'll get most of that back selling the bits I don't want.
Looking at that little lot i'm not at all sure 2.5 k will cover it and I haven't even considered the price of the conversion parts yet! If I was to add in the 2-300hrs of labour, even at mates rates the price would be staggering!
Though I do intend to keep a full and complete record of expenditure (and income) on this car, it is only for my own benefit cos I like to know what it owes me!
So I suppose if you don't count labour I might just have come out on the right side of an original cars value but not by much and that only because I do so much myself and am an incorrigible scrounger, hoarder and bargain hunter!
I don't know (and don't really care) what this bastardized hybrid will be worth when its finished but as you say, its not important, it should be interesting and fun to drive and thats what matters to me!

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.

Have been over to Aluns this week and got most of the steel necessary to make a start on the body, plus a serviceable RHR door. I've also now got a dual circuit brake master (thanks Dan!) and a kit from Fitchetts (something to do indoors when its raining) I've also done a deal for most of a TJ brake convo (cheers Stewart!) The engine and a few other parts have almost financed these purchases so i'm well pleased! Next on the agenda is to finish removing the transmission and get the seized front callipers off so I can push it around more easily!
I also need to buy a waterproof car cover as a matter of some urgency as the car lives outside between work sessions and I need to be removing doors and glass soon. I'd love one such as has been mentioned in another post recently but don't want to spend upward of £100 on something temporary (the car will live in a garage when finished) Any suggestions welcomed!

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.

Not put any pics on for a while and public interest wanes without them so:-

The now empty hole, save for a repair needed in the OSF corner and a bit of tidying on the plates already fitted, it's not in bad shape though I'm going to fit the rebuilt dual circuit master and renew and modify all the brake pipes before I even try-fit the engine!





And some shots of the donor car! It still seems impossible that this taxed and tested monster with all mod cons only cost me a few quid more than I paid for the near derelict Sprint!









Not much else to report as work has been so hectic the last few weeks i've just not had TIME to do more than a few very minor bits!

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.

Stagnation and workload (and the awful summer of 2012) have conspired with the failure of my engine crane just as I was about to lift the engine from the Omega to defeat any progress on this for some time now (10 months by my count!)
This is not exactly true since I have been trying without much success to separate out the loom on the Omega and being up to my eyes in airbags and similar nonsense with no end in sight (literally!)
With this in mind and noting several other problem areas to deal with, I have abandoned the Omega lump and bought another donor, an 8v Carlton 2ltr Auto this time. I fully realize this is the chicken way out and will cost me about 25bhp before any mods but it will make the installation very simple since I only need to duplicate what's in the Carledo.
I will now just break the Omega for spares and hope to get most or all of my money back. (the alloys have already sold for £100)
I'm picking up the new donor on Tuesday, hopefully this summer will be kinder and let me make some progress, I'm feeling more optimistic already!

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.

I can't believe it's 2 years since I posted anything about this car and nearer 3 since I actually DID anything other than scrounge parts!

The Carlton I mentioned in my last post materialised on schedule and ran like a bird, unfortunately the gearbox has a fault the seller didn't know about, once it's warmed up the car drops out of top gear and won't re-engage till it's cold again. This is a big disappointment as the Carlton is a very early phase II car with an oddball halfway house trans, I doubt if i'll find another and my trans specialist says north of £350 to fix it. So i'm back with plan A and the Omega unit is back in the frame.

This may be why I lost interest in the job for a year or two (and pressure of work)

But i'm back! A couple of weeks ago, I actually had a quiet day and managed to get the loom out of the Omega, it's about the same size and weight as a 14 foot Python but it's on the floor! This has restored my Mojo and today I shifted the Sprint across the garage a foot or so, got it up on stands and completely gutted the body, doors, bonnet, boot, both screens, sunroof out, lights and lots of other bits removed. Subframe and axle off tomorrow, deo volente, and I'll be ready to start cutting grotty metal out and replacing with new! Pics to follow once my phone has charged up!

Steve

Reckon I can use the now stripped shell for a photographic buyers guide on where to look for rust when buying a Dolly! Something for DM possibly!

_________________
'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.

I've just been reading this thread again from the beginning. What are your thoughts on the PAS? How about continuing the Vauxhall theme and fit a Corsa C steering column? I know they can be prone to failure (I've seen it for myself) so maybe the Astra G one might be a possible alternative to the Corsa's.

_________________
Toledo Man

West Yorkshire Area Organiser & forum moderator
Meetings take place on the first Wednesday of the month at 8.00pm at The Old Brickworks, Wakefield Road, Drighlington, Bradford, BD11 1EA

1972 Dolomite 1850 auto (NYE 751L - Now for sale)
2003 Volvo XC90 D5 SE (PX53 OVZ - The daily driver)
2009 Mercedes-Benz W204 C200 CDI Sport (BJ58 NCV - The 2nd car)
1991 Toyota Celica GT (J481 ONB - another project car)
Former stable of SAY 414M (1974 Toledo), GRH 244D (1966 1300fwd), CDB 324L (1973 1500fwd), GGN 573J (1971 1500fwd), DCP 625S (1977 Dolomite 1300) & LCG 367N (1975 Dolomite Sprint) plus 5 Acclaims and that's just the Triumphs!

Check my blog at http://triumphtoledo.blogspot.com
My YouTube Channel with a bit of Dolomite content.

"There is only one way to avoid criticsm: Do nothing, say nothing and BE nothing." Aristotle

I got a complete MGF set of electric PAS from Alun last year and the entire loom from the car (more wire!) and I have delayed removal of the front subframe to see if I can make it fit. First viewing looks promising!
The Astra PAS is not the same as the Corsa/MGF/Punto type in so far as it just uses an electric pump to supply a normal PAS type rack instead of an engine driven one. Since I don't have room for the bulkier PAS rack this is a non starter and why I have plumped for the full electric system which largely consists of a motorized column attached to a standard manual rack. Astra PAS pumps are notoriously power hungry too, you need a massive alternator to run them.
If I wire up the MGF system properly, it has a speed sensor which will cut out the power assist at about 15mph so I get the best of both worlds!

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.

I wasn't aware of the differences between the Astra and Corsa PAS (I haven't needed to get intimate with the PAS on my own Astra). Hope your MGF system works out. It is keeping with the BL/Austin Rover/Rover Group/MG Rover philosophy.

_________________
Toledo Man

West Yorkshire Area Organiser & forum moderator
Meetings take place on the first Wednesday of the month at 8.00pm at The Old Brickworks, Wakefield Road, Drighlington, Bradford, BD11 1EA

1972 Dolomite 1850 auto (NYE 751L - Now for sale)
2003 Volvo XC90 D5 SE (PX53 OVZ - The daily driver)
2009 Mercedes-Benz W204 C200 CDI Sport (BJ58 NCV - The 2nd car)
1991 Toyota Celica GT (J481 ONB - another project car)
Former stable of SAY 414M (1974 Toledo), GRH 244D (1966 1300fwd), CDB 324L (1973 1500fwd), GGN 573J (1971 1500fwd), DCP 625S (1977 Dolomite 1300) & LCG 367N (1975 Dolomite Sprint) plus 5 Acclaims and that's just the Triumphs!

Check my blog at http://triumphtoledo.blogspot.com
My YouTube Channel with a bit of Dolomite content.

"There is only one way to avoid criticsm: Do nothing, say nothing and BE nothing." Aristotle

Pray to whatever deity you believe in that you don't have to get intimate with it! The racks are pretty bulletproof but the pumps aren't and you're looking at a min £120 exchange and a mare of a job fitting it. But here's a tip for free! If the PAS becomes intermittent and tends to cut out on idle, the fault is in the alternator not the PAS, remember how I said they're power hogs? If the charging is even a bit below par, it affects the PAS!

Had another look at the MGF system this evening and I think the drive housing is going to interfere with the brake pedal so I may have to look at a different system (or a different or modified brake pedal)
Going back to what the Carledo was like however I put the engine where it is, largely because of the "window" around the body and subframe was tiny for a stock Carlton exhaust downpipe with its convoluted and 24" long secondaries to fit, half an inch forward or back and I'd have been building my own downpipe! And if I HAD managed to mount the block as much as an inch further forward, there would have been much more space for the rack due to the shape of the sump. The downpipe on the Omega however is a different kettle of fish, with very short secondaries going into a big single pipe which I will have to fab anyway cos the current one has a big cat in it and it doesn't go in even remotely the right direction for a Dolomite!
I think I may have to try fit the engine and box and see if there's room for a power rack under it, an inch or two further forward will not upset the handling TOO much! I'm sure someone said the rack from a LHD Maestro turned over will fit a Dolly nicely and the engine already has provision for a pump, still the electric would be a neater option if I can make it fit.

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.

Have a look at a new model Fiat Panda (2003 on) column. They are pretty compact, come with the ECU and angle sensor attached, and the main motor / bulky piece sits to the right hand side - should be an easier fit in a Dolly.
Matt.