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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PostPosted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 10:18 am 
Yeah, I think the old gentlemen who had owned the car prior to his passing away had been taken for a ride by the garage he religiously used. I've got all the invoices for work ect dating back to '77 and the wings were allegedly replaced (for a fortune) after a prang a couple of years ago. I spent the day yesterday working on a similar crack on the passenger side wing to see if with my limited/non existant knowledge could sort it out. I've sanded back and refilled rust coated and primed, one layer so far. Hopefully the sun will stay out today and i'll recoat in primer after work and hopefully once painted it'll look much better, I'm working to the rule that it can't look any worse.

As for the garage the guy used I'd expect the owner to have a 7 bedroom house off the money he made out him. a couple of years ago he charged the fella just under a grand for head light bulbs and a new exhaust +MOT!

Once I've patched up the crack on the passenger I'll put a picture up. How easy is it to replace the wings?


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PostPosted: Wed Jun 15, 2011 12:27 pm 
Easy enough if you've a sharp spot weld drill, a decent torch to melt the brazed area where each wing joins the bonnet hinge panel, a large crate of Savlon dressing strips, Elastoplasts or whatever brand you prefer, constant supply of tea and some litter to kick each time you drill your hand instead of the spot welds you'd meant to take out.
But unless your wings are totally beyond help, you 'd be far better repairing them since new steel ones are between £300 and £500 each, depending on how much prep work you fancy doing.
Alun's GRP ones are the answer really, but the painful part is always going to be removing the old ones.


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 10:42 pm 
How do the GRP wings work do they replace the whole wing? I patched over the damage on the passenger side wing, it certainly isn't perfect but it is better than before. I've rushed it a bit so you can notice where the repair is plus the paint finsih isn't perfect but I'm not too disapointed with my first attempt. I guess I can always sand it back down to try and make the repair blend in more with the bodywork?


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 10:49 pm 
If the area you're repairing is simply accidental damage and there's no great big holes under the Cataloy, then repairing what's there is definitely the way to go.

How the GRP ones fit?
They fit as illustrated beautifully by the ones on member "Alolympic"s modified Toledo, a show-winning car that looks like this:
Image

That and other images were posted recently by the owner of that lovely car, in this thread.

Pretty darned good I'm sure you'd agree and they work very well indeed, replacing the entire wing. 8)


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PostPosted: Sun Jun 19, 2011 11:03 pm 
That is an awesome looking Toledo, definatley something for me and my little car to aspire to. As stupid as this sounds I was wondering if the GRP wings kind of just fitted over the existing wing-obviously they don't! I'm just getting to grips with what I can and can't do as far as this car goes. It's a lovely car and I want to look as good as possible, starting with the exterior before moving onto the interior. If I'm honest I've always been interested in Triumphs/Standards and when I cam across this car I thought it would be a) a good entry car to classics and b) a stepping stone to 'bigger and better' classics, however I've forgotten all about 'b' now.


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 8:39 pm 
I've sorted the front wings and started dealing with the few areas of rust under the doors. I've painted the wings and put a subtle gold pin stripe from wing to boot. I'll put some pictures up which will probably flatter my handywork. I'm just wondering if Dolly seats will fit a Toledo?


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 8:49 pm 
Well done and yes they will fit. There is a (handy) extra row of holes in the floor pan to accommodate them (they are a little wider that the Toledo ones), all you need to do is make extra holes in the carpet to accommodate them, probably run a bolt through a few times too to clear any crud out of the threads too will be useful.

I have to ask as to why you want to put Dolomite seats in though? They are only a little wider than yours, probably wont be in as good an order as the bri-nylon covering do wear, where as your vinyl seats will stay looking good for a long time after the cloth on Dolomite seats has worn through or been attacked by the sun.

Would be keen to see some up to date pictures of what you have done. Was there anything nasty lurking under that crack in the paint on the front wing?


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 8:59 pm 
Purely as a back up plan if I can't a)get the giant rip in the drivers seat sorted myself b) find a replacement Toledo seat (seat set). The wings were in pretty good nick under the cruddy repair job that was coming away from the bodywork, there was very little but i treated it all and primed it up and now it looks a lot better, it's far from perfect but for my first try I'm pretty pleased with myself.

In all honesty I think the exterior is as good as it will ever be without a full resto job so next up is carpet and the drivers seat. I need to work out how to tackle the interior, the rear seats and carpets don't look like they've ever been used, front passenger seat is in good shape but the carpet in the front is very worn/tired. The other problem is the plastic clading on the lower parcel shelf it looks like a Jack Russell has taken a bite out it at some point.


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 9:03 am 
Ah I see.

I should of added that if you add seats from a Dolomite 1300/1500 (non HL variety) then these again will bolt straight in but using your existing floor holes (as they are the same width as your Toledo ones) so you won't have to make new holes in your carpet.

The plastic cladding? is that the black vinyl covered padded bit on the very front of the parcel shelf?


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 2:12 pm 
That's the stuff, I was thinking about taping over it but I reckon that'll look a bit dog tod, some of the foam has gone so it really does look like someones dog has had a go at it. I've got a lighter I'm going to try and fit and have been trying to think of a way I can install the lighter to cover the gap up? But I'm still trying to work out how to wire the lighter in it'll be a simple job I know but that doesn't stop me sitting in the drivers seat scratching my head looking confused!


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 2:29 pm 
Yes we are in the same boat then, as I am too looking for that piece for my car.

A good friend of mine suggested Fablon, apparently you can get a black vinyl one which should be a good match (assuming the foam backing is still okay), however, the Fablon I have seen just looked like shiny black paper, but I am investigating this, if I find a suitable source I'll post it up here so it might help us both out?

It should be easy to apply as of course it has a sticky backing.


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 3:35 pm 
Sounds good cheers, like I said I was considering heavy duty gaffer tape (aiming to apply it along the whole parcel shelf in one strip) then painted over in a vinyl paint or something, but I don't know if it would hold or not?

Here are some pictures of the driver's side of the car after my repair job, I've also got a classic type boot luggage rack, it doesn't fit perfectly but it looks pretty good when it's on with a wicker hamper chucked on top, when I put it on next I'll get a photo of that too.
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 4:19 pm 
Hey that does look good! 8)

That gold pinstripe really sets it off, if I was to criticise (I did say if :wink: ) I would have finished the stripe just forward of the car's swage line rather than wrapping it around the front of the wing to the headlamp surround, but as I say if....

Nice to see you taking a pride in your car. :thumbsup:


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 5:06 pm 
I tried that on the test run but for some reason I didn't think it looked quite right and any inperfections will be covered up by the giant gold flames I'm going to add on the wheel arches and bonnet.


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 14, 2011 6:45 pm 
:lol: Yes, you've made a lovely job of that wing. If only the previous "repair" had been dressed to that sort of standard. Was that a heat gun & freezer spray job or a bit of hard work?


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