The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Hi, ive found a dolly that i really really want, the problem is that i already have 2 marinas and a 306 + im at uni.

If i buy the dolly then realistically i will have to sell one of the other cars, i dont want to sell one of the marinas as it has a lot of sentimental value to me and the other marina is quite rare and part owned by a mate.

therefore id have to flog the 306, so my question is how reliable are dollys as daily drivers really? I know that they are not gonna be the same as the 306, however saying that my girlfriend has driven her 1975 marina daily for the past year and thats has been extremely reliable (if not more so than the 306!).


Thanks for any help / advice

If you buy wisely and maintain it well - it'll be reliable as a hammer - i.e. very

There are always exceptions to this rule however and whatever we do, sometimes just things conspire against us and we can have unforseen breakdowns - however, they're simple, strong, effective workhorses and will even function when abused!

A good Dolly should be able to beat the 306 for reliability or at least match it, with ease!

I'd be looking at an automatic or 4 speed overdrive 1850HL - Returns good MPG and the ability to cruise in comfort on the motorway whilst having a nice slant 4 beat and a strong lump, provided you keep an eye on the coolant and make sure it's at the correct level every now and then

There are some very simple things you can do to improve reliability too - like making sure everything is in good working order, fitting one of Jod's aftermarket ignition kits, decent leads, plugs, coil, cleaning up the carbs, a decent fuel filter, a thermostatic oil cooler and so on

I think it's fair to say that reliability in the dolomite range is inversely proportional to engine size.

That said I've been driving my '78 sprint for 18 years, several of them as my only car, and it has not once left me stranded. Pretty good for what by my estimate is the unreliable end of the range. Sure stuff has broken but it's always got me home. I've put about 40k on it in that time.

I am currently using my 1500HL as my daily ride, 400 miles a week plus whatever I do evenings & weekends. I only got this car last year but have put 10k on it already. I have had things go wrong but like the sprint it has a 100% get me home record so far.

There will probably be niggles to iron out in bringing a car back from occasional to daily use but you have spare motors to cover those odd days waiting for parts. Go for it.

Tinweevil

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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.

A well maintained one will be no more, or less reliable than a well maintained Marina, IMO. There's nothing intrinsically unreliable about them.

I'm also at uni, so I fully understand the issue you're facing!

I'm currently using my dolly as a daily driver, whilst slowly fixing her up Admittedly, I don't do a lot of miles in her, but most jobs you can get away with only taking it off the road for a day or two to do. And if you have a couple of other cars as well, that's not a problem.

My housemate commutes every day in her '78 Spitfire, admittedly only because her '70 Mk1 Escort got stolen

Reliability inversely proportional to engine size? Where do you get that from? Certainly doenst match my experience of the breed over several years of ownership.

Reliability as with all cars is a complex function of original build quality, maintenance, owner awareness and pattern of use...

If a dolomite prospect has spent the last year or so off road and in a damp garage, chances are it wont work very well.

If like mine its used every day its dead reliable.

When an indolent dolomite is recommissioned allow about a month of regular niggles and regular use to get it up to scratch.

Our dolomites all have weak spots that are well discussed on this board so no point in repeating the ohv thrust washer horror stories here just to be provocative...

I reckon the major barrier to a fully modern usage pattern is keeping rust at bay. They just werent as well painted as modern cars so expect consistent degradation of the shell if used over winter and kept outside in all weathers. That said, many lasted 10-15 years or so of neglectfull owners before passing in to our caring hands. No worse than a 306 in that respect then.
I predict there wlll be virtually no 306's, mk3 golfs, mk3 astras or escorts in use at 25 years old. Dodgy electronics can, will and does render them all uneconomic to repair....aside form the fact that nobody will want to bother cos they are all crap cars anyway...
I wouldnt however be surpised if the running 40 year old dolmite population is substantially north of 4 figures...
Of course what happens when the likes of Alun, Tin, David and I succomb to the passage of time is anyone's guess...
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.

Which David do you mean Jonners?

The most modern car I've ever owned was a 1989 Sierra and I didn't buy that. Next newest was an '82 Fiesta and all the rest have been built between 1970 and 1980. We drive 2 dolomites and a camper van in our house and as Jonners says rust is the main issue, not reliability.

Any car is unreliable if not maintained.

David

Aye, as the old adage goes:

"No such thing as an unreliable car - just a poorly maintained one"

I don't think that's true any more.

1500HL alternator failure - keep the revs up when stopped at junctions, it gets me through the week and I fix at the weekend.
Sprint alternator total failure - drove to work and back 2.5 days in winter using lights as normal except didn't use high beam and fixed at the weekend.
89 Golf II GTi - three alternator or regulator failures in the years I owned it all resulting in AA callouts. One time I had to call them out twice in the same 25 mile limp home and that was in daylight with a recent battery fitted.

1500HL manifold gasket - it gets noisy, end of drama.
Sprint exhaust failure - it gets very noisy, end of drama.
89 Golf II GTi downpipe failure - lambda readings go way off ECU chucks toys out of pram I call the AA.

Old cars get you home, new cars don't. Or pehaps I'm being tardy in not changing alternators and exhausts as routine maintenance?

The biggest problem with old cars is quality of parts but lets not go there just now eh.

Tinweevil

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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.

Yea like the brand new floats I installed on my 1850HL, direct from Burlen, that collapsed in two weeks.

Funny, I only changed the existing ones as a matter of preventing any unforseen failures whilst I was servicing the carbs (so all the items within were 'known').

Ended up putting the ones that had been in there back in, no problems after that

I made the decision to switch to a dolomite after some discussions with Tin and getting fed up with the servicing costs on a Civic VTI.

It has performed faultlessly except for a failing alternator. I did the same as Tin and drove with less full beam usage and since the journey in the morning didn't require lights, I had enough power to get me home. Just carry one of those fast start things or a spare battery if you get realy concerned, or better still, fix your alternator (note to self)

Apart from that it has all been fine.

As Tin says Old cars get you home, there aren't little sensors preventing you from starting the engine for no apparent reason........I'd say go for it

Mine is a 1500HL, the fuel economy is good, its comfortable, cheap to insure, very easy to park and at the moemnt there is little rust to keep at bay. I have had a couple of Dolly 1500s that have had very good shells, they have been kept in regular use rather than the less use that some sprints get....

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Previous owner of 42 Dolomite shaped vehicles, 14 Sprints, 12 1850s, 8 1500s, 3 V8s, 3 Toledos and 2 SEs

Hi guys, thanks for all the help and advice im seriously considering the car but i guess insurance will be the main decider as to whether i can get it, i ca definately afford the car but ...

insurance is dead cheap - I'd never owned a car of any sort before and my insurance was surprisingly low, even though I don't have a garage and it's not my second car (though I'm over 30 and female too which helps!) - go to a specialist classic car insurer, and join the club and get it cheaper still!

Yea, worth trying Adrian Flux as well - mixed reviews but then again - but then again, on the internet, you generally only hear the bad stories - I've had excellent results with them so far (but I haven't crashed any either).

Not bad insurance for me, even when heavily modified vehicles are the usual request!

Have to say I was slightly baffled as to why my 1500SE was 50 quid more to insure than my '71 1500 FWD - the one with the full Sprint powertrain and tuning bits ...ah well, can't win them all!

Im with flux on my 306, thats a 1.6 slightly lowered with a magnex exhaust and i pay around the 600 mark due to an accident i had nearly two years back. I've had a quote for them for 800 quid on the dolly , unfortunately they wont add it to my existing policy as a second car. Lancaster want about 350 but thats with it down as being on my parents drive at home and with no mods (the car has spax kit and ss exhaust).