The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

The Number One Club for owners of Triumph's range of small saloons from the 1960s and 1970s.
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 Post subject: Another 2-door Toledo
PostPosted: Tue May 23, 2017 1:00 pm 
Well I've only gone and bought another one. My last Triumph was what is now Dolly-Nut's Sprint Toledo (JJB 923K), which I converted from a standard 1.3 Toledo to a Sprint drivetrain rally car. Then I wandered into TDC's for a at Christmas, and found myself buying another one.

MOY579L is a lovely brown 2-door Toledo with a tan interior, fantastic condition and very original car with around 65k miles on the clock. Inevitably there are a few minor issues with a 44-year-old car - the bottom of the fuel tank has rotted out and needs some careful repair (there is a cunning temporary tank in there at the moment), and the other main issue is a little bit of rust in the eyebrows around the headlights (inevitable I guess).

Underneath the car looks really clean, the sills are rock solid as are the subframe mounts/chassis legs. A good rub down and some new underseal will probably be enough.

The paint, although sound and shiny, is actually two shades of brown. The four wings and bonnet are a richer, more "red" shade, while the doors, boot lid and roof are paler. It's not just "flat" - a test with T-cut has confirmed that it is good, sound paint and will shine, it's just a slightly different colour!

Engine and drivetrain feel good, no nasty whines (except from the driver) or rattles (ditto). Synchro on first gear is a bit tired though. No obvious smoke or significant leaks.

I plan to have a go at a few of the more minor jobs across the summer then attack the front wings in the autumn. Unfortunately, the challenge of matching the paint, and the existing two-tone issue, will probably lead me towards a respray rather than patching the existing paint.

Then next year, hopefully the RBRR!

Pics to follow in due course...


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PostPosted: Tue May 23, 2017 2:01 pm 
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Location: Hampshire
RBRR Next year! I'll be joining you for that then!

Superb! It sounds lovely, do you have any pictures?


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PostPosted: Tue May 23, 2017 6:19 pm 
Hi James,

OK, I'm relatively new to the forum and so on so if this goes wrong... :-)

I did the RBRR a couple of times in the late 90s/start of the 2000s, in JJB (the burgundy rally car) before I put in the rollcage and Dolomite Sprint running gear. I sold it in 2003 (divorce, penury, homelessness and despair) but was amazed and delighted to discover it still exists.

And that discovery got me musing, and the prospect of owning another one just started nagging at me.

So I ended up with this. More pics to follow IDC


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PostPosted: Tue May 23, 2017 10:25 pm 
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Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2011 5:12 pm
Posts: 7014
Location: Highley, Shropshire
Angela Cotton's old car!
Congrats on a nice purchase mate and welcome (back) to the madhouse!

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.


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PostPosted: Wed May 24, 2017 9:42 am 
Hi Steve, and thank you!

Yes, indeed, Angela's old car. She and Graham paid a fond farewell to the old girl Thursday last as I drove off into the rain. She's also given me a huge collection of old receipts etc which give the car lots of priceless history. It's been very well looked after and hopefully will continue for a long time to come.

Despite my past record with JJB and my current racing (I do hillclimbs and sprints in a dull-looking Rover 25) I have no intention of turning MOY into another competition car. There are so few of these small saloons left, that it'd be a pity to molest an otherwise original car, and with the availability of parts decreasing, it'd be hard to be competitive knowing that any significant 'off' would do irreparable damage.

One the tank is sorted, I'm looking forward to just enjoying a step back in time and driving something that has more character than every other car I've owned put together. That said, I wouldn't say no to a pair of decent adjustable reclining seats that fit in with a tan interior!


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PostPosted: Wed May 24, 2017 10:30 am 
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I agree about the rare nature of the beast! According to "howmanyleft.com", there are only 120odd Toledos left in both 2 and 4 door form, probably less than 70 2 door cars, even allowing for a few undiscovered barn finds. And the 2 door does seem to attract the tuners (myself included) with it's stiffer shell and less weight. On the basis of cars modified versus cars left, I reckon the 2 door Tolly is the MOST modified model in the entire range!
So in that sense, i'm kinda glad you are keeping it stock. But that doesn't mean you can't have SOME fun! How about a sorted MKIII Spit motor with a 1500 Spit O/D box plus some subtle suspension work, adjustable shox, a front A/R/B, A small drop and disc brakes with servo (if it doesn't already have them) and TR7 Steelies. Not to make it a competetive racer - it wouldn't - but to provide a more fun road car that can keep up better with modern traffic safely! Keeping all the original parts for possible future reinstatement of course!

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.


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PostPosted: Wed May 24, 2017 11:31 am 
There is indeed something about the 2-door Toledo shell that says "do it". In Sprint form, it's the car BL ST should have built to challenge the Escorts, Chevettes and Avengers. The standard SD cages aligns well with the B pillar and yes it's about 1cwt lighter than the 4-door, and has to be inherently a lot stiffer. The Sprint subframe goes straight in of course, at worst you might have to drill out the mounting holes for the gearbox X-member but that's it.

MOY comes with discs and a servo already, and the braking feels pretty positive. My thinking (insofar as it's gone) was along the same lines as your suggestion - a slightly warmer engine and tighter suspension, not much more than that. Some of the bushes look a little perished, and a whole car kit in PU is very affordable, so that might be a good step. Every mod would definitely have to be bolt-on though, so that the car could revert back to standard if ever needed.

Liking the idea of an o/d box, too - the only challenge being finding all of this at affordable prices!


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File comment: This was the old Dolly - back in the around 1989.
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PostPosted: Wed May 24, 2017 2:37 pm 
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Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2011 5:12 pm
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Location: Highley, Shropshire
I know of or have seen personally at least 3 Sprinted 2 door cars, one with K Jetronic injection to boot, then there's the famous "long tail" 2 door which I think may be Sprinted as well. Plus MB's old Redtop powered car, my Vauxhall 8 valver, a couple of V8s one with a twin plenum Vitesse motor and somewhere one with a Triumph 2000 straight 6 (i've only seen a pic of the outside of this car, covered in dust in a shed, the owner/builder is apparently somewhat reclusive. All I can say is, he must have a bl***y big shoehorn!) I'm pretty sure there are more about and several modified 4 doors as well, a 2.3 Ford Zetec powered one springs to mind. I could go on but I need to get back to work now.

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.


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PostPosted: Wed May 24, 2017 5:15 pm 
TBH I've never seen any other Sprinted Toledos, though I never thought mine was the only one! (just the best one, of course :-D )

I posted a couple of pics of what was my car (JJB 923K) in the "rally car interiors" thread in the Motorsports section. Dolly-Nut was very disparaging about the (in my eyes) lovely "blood and bones" colours - strawberries and cream if you are of a more squeamish disposition - but clearly he has no taste as he's repainted it purple.

It had a "Detroit Locker" diff - not an LSD really, it locked solid under power but completely free off the power, so you could pootle round corners on the road, then just go sideways on a stage. It was a bit of an animal! When I put it on the rollers (Clifford Cox, in Reading) it peaked at about 125 at the wheels which I was happy with - standard head, just polished a bit; mild road cam and HS8s on a flowed manifold, TT downpipe and system on a standard exhaust manifold, modified advance curve on the distributor. It was quite well-mannered though, no huge flat spots. 4 mpg.

I'd start shopping for interesting bits for MOY, but I've just had the gypsy's warning that the house (where my ex and daughters live) needs a new boiler, so my budget for toys has just been hijacked.

Straight 6 into the Toledo/Dolomite engine bay must be a struggle. Surely not enough room for a radiator inside the 'normal' front? I'd like to know where the engine mounts are on the block, compared with the 4-cyl blocks - can the 6-cyl block use the original engine mounts on the OHV subframe, or does it have to be shunted back to fit in? Weight distribution might make you want to shift it back anyway, though - the Toledo is inherently nose-heavy at the best of times and putting that big iron block and head in would make the front suspension groan!


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PostPosted: Thu May 25, 2017 2:02 pm 
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Future Club member hopefully!
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Quote:
4 mpg.
:lol:

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 12, 2017 7:15 pm 
Straight six in a dolly has definitely been done - I have an old copy of Triumph World with a beautiful magenta Dolly that a chap put the 2500 in complete with PI - went in reasonably well IIRC - he used a MG Metro radiator and kenlowe for cooling I think - got to admit I've always fancied that combo (along with a Tr7 straight six - pointless really, but hey, these things get done because they can be I suppose :mrgreen:


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