The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Yesterday I picked up my £520 ebay purchase Dolly 1300 after about 3 years of being Dolomiteless!



I was happy with its body condition, solid but a few minor bits of tattyness, nice interior other than a worn out drivers seat, lots of recent ball joints, track rod ends, brake flexys etc. Somthing I wasn't aware of until the seller started it up though was the engine is deffinitly on its last legs! It started up with a death rattle from the big ends and even after an imediate oil change in a disused industrial estate in Southend its worsend in my slow drive back to Yeovil. No big deal though, I bought this car to occupy my time and it's got off to a flying start!

My plan is to make a few minor changes to make it more comfortable and useable, especially on motorway trips between home and work.
I'm thinking about fitting;

1850 back axle to offer higher gearing which will hopefully make it quieter, more fuel efficient on a cruise and more importantly extend the life of the thrashy little 1300 engine!

Electric cooling fan, because I just want to fit one

Heated front seats, 50% for the novelty factor and 50% because heated seats are just the buisness!

Fit a CD player and some decent speakers.


So far I've bought;

Richard4040s fairly recently rebuilt 1300 engine with HS4s, Kent TH3 cam and 1500 421 manifold. Set up right thats got to be an 80hp engine surely? I'm thinking of taking it to an old school dyno guy that can run it and see specifically what needles and ignition settings it needs. This should pull the 1850 diff quite effectivly Id hope?

Set of pretty period looking rectangle spot lights as the roads around Yeovil aren't to bright at night!

Relay/fuse box and some damn cool toggle switches for the lights and whatever else I decide to add. Along with a fag lighter to charge my phone/sat nav.










Cool huh? Was brilliant to be back behind the wheel of a Dolomite. Only twice did I ask myself why I was still in 4th gear and not in 5th and there was a few moments where I'd wandered/blown across my lane as I'd forgotten how much more effort you have to put in to driving a classic compared to a newer car

OH YES!

Welcome home!

That DOES look good for the money, although I'm not sure about the emergency phone sticking out of the roof.

I think that was a dealer optional extra. It certainly looks a good buy and with Richards engine, it should be just fine. Nice one.

Ken

Well yesterday I drove back from Yeovil at a very sedate 50-55mph in an attempt to prevent the 1300s con rods punching a hole through the block! Got back without fuss, engine a little louder but done the journey just fine. Today we pulled the knocking lump out and fitted Richard4040s recently rebuilt engine. The original plan was to fit it along with a pair of HS4s and the 1500 cast 421 manifold and down pipe. Problem was Richard had previously sold the HS4s we were after and the down pipe had been cut to accomodate his LongLife exhaust, damn! We then tried fitting it with the Weber 40 but with fresh engine mounts its a bit too close for comfort to the brake master cylinder, if it was a single line system it would be no problem but of course... it isn't


Also got an 1850 rear diff off Rich so I can convert it to my high mpg cruiser (I'm easily pleased, anything over 35mpg and I'll be happy!)


I'm a bit doubtful on wether a standard 1300 could pull an 1850 diff at 70 so I've got plans for giving the engine a little more pep It may not work out, but it's something I've been tempted to try out for a while now, stay tuned to find out more!

Turbo?!

Twin HS4's with ADH needles is the way to go.

It will be fine with a 3.63 diff. The 4.11 was ridiculous. An 1850 has a much higher 1st and 2nd than an ohv box.

At 4k you'll be doing 76.....so its still not that low revving.

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.

If it is the turbo route you are contemplating, when I investigated this option some years ago - an engineer friend developed an installation when we were at university years ago - we found that the Renault 5GTT offered many suitable components. The Renault has a similar stroke and configuration to the Triumph engine.

Mind you, as stated above, twin HS4s would be a lot more straightforward!

Now that looks VERY nice indeed and is a bargain at that price... Well done indeed...

I must be honest, this may be up for sale quiet soon. I was hoping it wasn't the way but I seem to have become a bit of a turbo junky with a fetish for Saabs. Something that ticks alot of boxxes has come up for sale and it would mean releaving the Dolly of duty I'm afraid!

I'll keep you informed

Hang your head in Shame.

Boost the Dolly!

On another note I may be interested if you sell it, I'm only 20 miles from Yeovil.

Well the more I drive this Dolly the more I realise I couldn't part with it! Fun, cheap and quirky = winning combination. So I may aswell reveal my plans for the car...

I've got a TD04 turbo off a Saab in the shed which I'll be bolting on to the Dolomite. Even though there is enough room in the engine bay to mount it convetionally I've always fancied a remote turbo setup. That is where the turbo is remote from the engine. Popular in america where things have big ass V8s so not so much room under the hood. It will literally be on the tip of the exhaust hanging under the rear bumper.

For the turbos oil requirement I will use a low weight engine oil with a cut about oil catch tank for it to drain in to below the turbo then using an electric fuel pump I will pump oil from this tank in to the top of the turbo.

For fueling I plan on experimenting with the standard HS2. I've got a nice wideband lambda and gauge so I can monitor whats happening.

For ignition (a pressurised fuel/air mix burns quicker than an atmospheric one so you want less advance) I'll try it as standard but if its pinking I'll modify the dizzy to retard slightly under boost.

All I want to achieve is a 100+ mph top speed and have fun working out how to get there