The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Hello, would like to post some before and after pics of 'agro' , our dolly. called it agro because it was a bitch to fire up after 23 years laying idle. will post more info later about the car, hope you enjoy.

Welcome to the forum.

What engine is in your Dolomite? If it is an 1850 then it is another one to add to my 1850 auto database. Keep us updated with your progress and please feel free to pick our collective brains.

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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

Yes its an 1850

martin, welcome and thanks for the collection of pics.

I removed the engine and autobox from the green 1850 this morning and I have at last found the inhibitor switch goes. Only to find it had already been removed.

So I dug out the BW65 box from the 2500 and took the one off there and I'll send that over. I'll get it in the post to you tomorrow.

(can you resize the pics ?)

welcome to the forums. An Australian 1850 member, awesome.

stu

thank you stu for finding the inhibitor switch and mailing it. regarding resizing,are they too big or too small?i may have trouble doing that but will have a crack

ah, too big...try 1000px wide max.

and it looks very smart polished up.

stu

ok, will give it a burl.
hey i have a funny story to tell.
yesterday we decided to take the dolly out for its first spin in 23 years as it was off the road in 1990. it was a nice sunny arvo and after a wine we thought lets go. so we set off in our nice and shiny car, should have guessed wine and no pre inspection will end up in a debacle. any way we had done a few k's and then going up up hill the dolly starts to rev but is slowing down. bugger, i stop and pop the bonnet while its still running only to see a s##t load of red auto transmission oil spuing out of the filler tube.yep, i forgot to push it all the way in. but i left a nice thin line of oil on the road, at least i wont get lost finding my way back home.
so of we trudge to walk home and get some more oil. once home and unlock the garage, guess what?
no oil, well the container was there but it was empty.
jump in a modern car , down to the servo and pay an exorbitant price for auto fluid, back to dolly, yep i named him right "agro", and fill him up and back home for another well earned wine.

When I first got my 1850 it was leaking transmission fluid. I didn't find out until I got the car road legal and put it into regular use. The big telltale sign was when it would drip on to the exhaust and it would burn off creating clouds of smoke. A replacement autobox solved the problem. Also, make sure you have a breather hose otherwise you will lose fluid out of the breather. You need to use the correct transmission fluid. The box is a Borg-Warner 65 and it uses Comma AQF (is that available in Melbourne?) or some thing suitable for BWs. You can't put anything in. I'm sure Harvey our resident autobox guru will be able to advise. I'm no expert, just offering the benefit of my own experiences with the 1850 auto.

_________________
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

Nice....

I love 1850 autos. Not generally an auto fan but the 1850 really does work as a car...nice and high geared but still nippy enough when you need it.

Nice colour too is carmine, but it doesnt do well in UK sun for fade so dread to think what it will do in Oz.

JR Wadhams the Rover people in the UK were the cheapest source for the inhibitor switch when I needed one. Same switch is used on SD1's and comes with
the loom attached.

Borg Warner boxes must be common enough on Holdens of the era. ATF is fine...the dextron stuff isnt.

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.

thanks guys for the info,i think it was dextron i put in it,
damn, going to have to drain it

Well wait for an expert before you do....

It may be dextron 1 v dextron 2.

Harvey are you listening?

Maybe put a question in the main forum and Harvey will respond.

Jonners

_________________
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.

You need fluid that meets Ford specification M2C-33F or G. Don't use any of the Dexron fluids. Because the converter can't be drained separately to be reasonably sure that you've changed all the fluid you need to do 4 drain/refills at least, with use in betweeen.

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Currently over 35 years worth of fixing 35 boxes.
Hoping to reach 65 years worth of fixing 65 boxes.

thank you every one for your input and advice. i will check what i have put in

A couple of your photos are a bit too big. Rather than attach them to your post, you can upload them to a hosting site such as Photobucket or Flickr and then you can put links to your photos in your post. There's a "how to" in the main section of the forum.

Getting back on topic, is there much rot on the body? I know the climate is a bit cooler in Melbourne. What is needed to get the car road legal? I know about the rego from Stu's experiences with his Sprints but what about a roadworthiness test? I know these things can vary from state to state. How about letting us know the requirements as most of us on here are Poms. We just have an annual MoT test which is legally required on cars build after 1960 that are 3 years old or more and is one of the strictest roadworthiness tests on the planet.

_________________
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

Gday toledo man, to answer your questions, no there was very little rust in the car. thats why i took he car as it was offered to me for free. as i already have 12 historic cars on the road i didnt really want another one. the interior was near perfect too so that helped me say yes to it. it was last registered in 1990.
regarding road worthiness, well thats a huge subject in itself. in victoria we have the club permit scheme which allows you to put a car over 25 years old on club plates. the plates allow you to obtain a 45 or 90 day permit, governed by entry by using a log book. to get a permit you have to be a member of a car club, be active in the club and the car has to be 'road worthy'. this is a grey area because some clubs have vehicle inspectors which can authorise a letter confirming vehicle safety enabling owner to get plates easily. clubs that dont have vehicle inspectors require a 'road worthy certificate', which means it much harder to get as most mechanics arent familiar with old cars.
luckily for me , i just happen to be a vehicle inspector, as voted in by the club i am in, so you can see how easy it is for me to inspect my own cars and put them in my wifes name. not that the cars are not safe, as i restore them myself and do all the work,i know they are safe.
oh by the way, if you are caught by the police for not filling in your log book it is a $650.00 fine. i hope this answers your questions, if not just ask for more info