The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

I cant do anything until I can get a new exhaust so I just got on with some little jobs.

Steering needed to be disconnected and column rotated 90 degrees so the self cancelling tab worked correctly.

The tops of the doors needed adjusting so that they sat straight and sealed properly. Windows down, a block of wood and gentle shove sorted them out.





They line up now!

Checked the valve clearances...



Camshaft off to check shim thickness





Ran it all through my excel spreadsheet and ordered some replacements shim from Robsport, that should calm down the top end noise!

Cam cover is back on to stop any dirt getting into the engine.

I'm racing Sunday so that's all I'll probably get to do this weekend.

You Numpty; I have hundreds of shims!

See this is what happens when I don't get enough sleep!

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=32015&start=15

I knew he had.

Jeroen

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Great so I can go 0.15 mm inlet and 0.2 mm exhaust then, that's 0.006 inches and 0.008 inches in English.

Will double check my feeler gauges with the micrometer, but I'm going to need some more shims, I herd Alun has some?

That is not a good place as it is not directly related to the work the fan is doing. The fan cools the water in the rad when needed so the correct thing to measure is the return temp of the water from the rad to the engine (that is the top hose?). When the rad is not cooling the water sufficiently on its own bring in the fan.
The back of the head would be a place to consider for the temp sensor on a variable speed electric water pump. There are other places to consider for that too.
The temperature sender position is a good place to put a sender for a temperature gauge. You are monitoring that the thermostat is able to effectively regulate the engine temp meaning a) the stat is working and b) neither the heating side nor the cooling sides of the system are saturated.

ETA: Instead of one of those horrible suppositories shoved up the return pipe or worse a fugly metal lump spliced into the pipe a sensor boss on the rad near the return pipe will do. The layers of metal will add a bit of lag but not enough to worry about.

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1978 Pageant Sprint - the rustomite, 1972 Spitfire IV - sprintfire project, 1968 Valencia GT6 II - little Blue, 1980 Vermillion 1500HL - resting. 1974 Sienna 1500TC, Mrs Weevils big brown.

After I saw it done on a Stag and cos i'm not a fan of the Kenlowe type "suppository" (they always leak) I just cable tie the sensor bulb to the outside of the radiator core, lowish on the top hose side of the (crossflow) rad. It's worked for me a good half dozen times now.

Steve

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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.
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Back from bike racing but I have another in a week (11th June) then a weekend break then another. As a result I don't have a huge amount of car time in June which is why I was pushing to get it MOT'd when I did. Oh and it's MTB Enduro racing that I do not motorbikes before anyone gets excited!
Thanks Julian!
Yeah I don't like those and I'm not a huge fan of the lump spliced into a pipe as Julian mentioned, I'll give this a go and see what happens Steve. Jeroen, I know you're a big 'fan' of electric fans what do you do?

I will put the camshaft back on with the shims that I have from Robsport and re check the valve clearances then Alun I'll pester you for some shims.

Yes i do have some fans.

On some dolomites i use a solid temp one.

https://www.worldcarparts.co.uk/radiato ... vo-340-360

This type. They are available by Facet and in their catalogue you can find a oversight of this type with different in/out temp switching value's.
I do have all the value's, about 6 different ones. Then i drill a hole in the near of the temp sender and try a few till the desired on/off temp is ok.

On one sprint I have this type in the lower waterhose. Welded a nut on a tube and did fit inbetween. I made a few of these for Dutch dolomite friends in the past and they work still ok.

On customers cars i do fit the revotec hose type adjustable sensor. Easy to install and adjustable by the customer. Most are non running cars so not testing possible.

A solid facet one in the inlet manifold around the temp sensor isn't the very best spot but it works and does look neat. No hoses cut and adapters etc. A good seal with a copper washer.

Jeroen

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Classic Kabelboom Company. For all your wiring needs. http://www.classickabelboomcompany.com

On a slant dolly I though the hot went in to the rad at the top and the cooler stuff came out of the bottom. So by Julian's thinking you should put
a revotec inline effort in the bottom hose under the alternator. Yes its a hose cut but its easily reversed and they work very well....

Got one in the top hose of the P6 and its great having replaced the awful Kenlowe bulb thingy which as has been said seals for about 5 minutes.

On one of my slants fitted with leccy fan I have yet to do the auto thing. I just use the temp gauge and switch it manually. I even ran the car for a good while with no fan at all. You get very good at avoiding jams and its a tuned Sprint too so it was a bit silly but needs must at the time.

Anticipating trouble and judicious use of the heater fan and open windows and sun roof helped.

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.

Yes that is correct.




Ian.

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Thanks chaps, ok, I'm going to go for a Revotec one then.

The car runs noticeably quieter with the valve clearances set to factory specs. I wanted to hear what it sounded like factory before I close them up a bit more. I can hear numerous leaks in the front section of the exhaust now and I de feel that this wa the source of my power issues. New one has been ordered though so I'm just waiting for it to arrive.

Bosch coil is on and it runs better already it only needed 1/2 choke to start, so that leads me to believe that I think it needs setting up again now the sparks better, will give her a run and see. Checked the spark and it is noticeably bigger, the leads are new but have some Magnecor leads on the way as well. Thanks Jeroen for that!



On to fans, I will go with a Revotec one, I know that the cheap £25 ones from eBay are probably fine I just want peace of mind. Size wise, it looks like 11" is the perfect fit and I can fabricate a bracket to mount it to the rad rather than use the through fin mounting things.



a 10" would be a tiny bit too small.



Holes seem to line up with the rad bracket mounts.



In terms of under bonnet clearance the fan pulley will need to be removed to have enough space even for the slimline version I think.

Of course if you put your Revotec pipe thingie in the bottom hose then it'll be nice and easy to do a neat job on the wiring as the loom is on that side too.

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Mark

1961 Chevrolet Corvair Greenbrier Sportswagon
1980 Dolomite Sprint project using brand new shell
2009 Mazda MX5 2.0 Sport
2018 Infiniti Q30

Exactly what I was thinking Mark! I'd have to remove the alternator to gain access as well so that'll be a good opportunity to upgrade it.

Would 2 x 7.5" fans fit?