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: Mon Jun 27, 2016 12:46 am 
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Future Club member hopefully!

Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2016 11:01 am
Posts: 18
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Hi all I've recently joined the forum and was recommended to join by Alun, whom im sure you all know.

My dolomite might be of interest as it is of British origin and was originally registered to a Mrs B Beamond of Little Brant Osmington Mills Weymouth. It is my understanding that she used the car in the UK and then moved to New Zealand early in 1978 and had the car shipped here. and from what i can gather owned it for a number of years before another gentleman purchased it who then died and i purchased it from a classic car dealer whom acquired it from his estate. The car spent all of its life in the south island and it appears to have been based in Christchurch. The car dealer had it shipped to him in Taupo. And it now resides in Dannevirke with me.
The car its self is a remarkably original Dark green Dolomite 1850HL automatic. chassis number of WF70653DLA. (i will attach a photo or two of the car) Most interestingly to me the car came with a few items of service history interest including a couple of recipts for some not so flash repairs, particularly to the drivers side front corner! but most interstingly to me the car was fitted with a Webasto sunroof before it left the UK and as a matter of fact the recipt fro the fitting of the 'black 1300 type roof' is still with the car to this day! and it would appear the car was fitted with this only 8 days into Mrs Beamond's ownership. The car to the best of my knowledge is rust free apart from two bubbles or the roof near the sunroof. The cloth interior is immaculate and it must have been well cared for over the years.

Now for those of you that are still reading i will run you through what ive done since ive had the car. which has only been since November 2015,

I have changed the oil pump, the oil filter and the seals in the transfer housing, and the carb rubber mounts as well as fitting a new fuel pump after the electric one ceased to function.
And very recently i have changed the steering rack and collumn for some in very good condition, renewed the tie rods and gaiters and fitted two new front shocks with rears to follow as time permits. this transformed how the car drives and feels on the road which does bring me to my next thing. the car as it sits is on the original wheels with 165/80 tires, a couple of times in the wet the front wheels have not done quite what i expected... fortunately not causing any harm to anybody in the process. I would however like to upgrade the wheels. I quite like the sprint ones, but it would prove to be very difficult to find some in New Zealand. I was told you can get new ones? my other alternative is some minilite style wheels which ive spoken to local tire man about and he is getting me more information.

So this post is largely to just to introduce you to me and the car and prehaps reach out to fellow Dolomite owners in New Zealand. who may be able to help me. I have read through some of the thread for HU5000 owned by Robert which kept my captive well into the evening. So feel very free to introduce yourselves. I look forward to hearing your replies.

Thanks heaps Kieran Ebbett
Ps the the photos are of when i brought it but not a lot has changed to what you can see.


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 7:49 am 
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Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 5:52 pm
Posts: 7566
Location: Halifax, West Yorkshire
Welcome to the forum.

Good to see another fellow 1850 auto owner. That's another to add to my database if it isn't already there. I have the odd NZ one or 2 on the list. Please start a thread in the "resto" section. I know that this isn't a restoration but a resto thread is a good way of documenting the work you've done on the car and you can share it with the rest of us. Joining the club is a must and is worth the cost of the membership fee.

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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


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 7:14 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jan 08, 2016 9:00 pm
Posts: 1014
Hi Kieran,

Welcome to the club and it's good to see another 1850 on the road, they are getting scarce.
Handling - before spending any money on other things, fit 4 new tyres to the original wheels, the original wheels should be 4.5j.
You can safely fit 175/70 tyres, same as Sprint, on these wheels. I did this last summer and the new tyres (Falkens - have a search on this forum) have transformed the car, it's tighter than my 2013 Mazda 6! (not quite as good as my Focus, but hey). I have complete confidence in the handling of my car even in torrential rain, as proven over the weekend!


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 10:29 pm 
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Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2011 5:12 pm
Posts: 7013
Location: Highley, Shropshire
Firstly, welcome to the Forum, it's good to get another NZ member to keep Robert and Geoff company!

Seems like you've got yourself a decent car there, not for the first time, I find myself envious of the Kiwi climate and lack of road salt!

One or two things, I would be interested to know if you are aware of the UK registration number it wore before export. Also i'm pretty sure that is a Weathershields roof (not a Webasto) as I used to fit them here in the Uk in 75/76 and took a chisel to the roof of quite a few brand new Dolomites back in the day. However it's unlikely that I fitted yours since I was working in London and finished in September of 76. The reason for the 8 days gap is because the sunroof is an aftermarket part and the fitting would have been arranged by the dealer and probably took place before the car was officially delivered to it's proud new owner (though after it was paid for, for obvious reasons) Certainly when I was doing it, the dealers delivered the cars to us for sunroof fitment more often than not when new cars were concerned.
You may be able to get some pre owned Sprint wheels in NZ and I believe Rimmer Bros in UK are doing a replica, whether this has materialized yet, i'm not sure, but the projected price was pretty fearsome. Over here, used ones are almost 2 a penny and only rivet counting concours people have a little trouble getting year matched sets for their cars. I think Midland wheels or John Brown wheels would send you a set of fake Minilites, but I have no idea what the cost would be. But as suggested above, I would try some new (and possibly lower profile) tyres first.

Steve

EDIT, DOH, just answered my own question, the UK reg is in the header!

_________________
'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: Tue Jun 28, 2016 12:23 am 
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Future Club member hopefully!

Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2016 11:01 am
Posts: 18
Hello! thank you for the replies to date!

My original want for some new wheels was largely to improve the handling. I am get along well with the local tire man fortunately so he should possibly be able to do me a good price on a set!

I will add however that my other motive is to improve, prehaps only in my opinion the looks of the car. i do not think much of the little plastic hubcaps fitted to it at the present time, they just dont inspire me a great deal...

I will take on board your advice for a start point. as for if i decide later to move on to some different wheels the tires could be changed on to those wheels too? i dont know what the rim width for a sprint alloy is but i know the minilite wheel is a 5.5J.

I will take some more pictures of the car and begin a thread in the restoration area as the car will continue to be improved indefinitely as i have no plan to part with it. As for joining the club i plan to in the future, but lack the funds at the current time and fear i may not benefit from it as much on this side of the globe? (feel free to correct me and tell me more about the club.)

I will post a picture of the reciept for the sunroof if you would like in the resto thread once ive started it as it is still with the car. I am quite happy the car was not assembled here as it makes it even rarer still among the Dolomite's im yet to discover in New Zealand. And i think a little more time was taken in its assembly compared with the way my 2500TC has faired in the same climate.
It is still in superb order from what i have seen of it.

If anyone in New Zealand does know of any parts or wheels and would like to get in touch it would be appreciated.

I will hopefully have a resto thread up later today.

Kieran


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 26, 2016 10:10 am 
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Future Club member hopefully!

Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2016 11:01 am
Posts: 18
Mikey B, I do like the sound of that suggestion. I'm not planning on parting with the car in the near future so in the long run the cost wouldn't matter. Does anybody reading this know of any for sale right now or know of someone? If so I would be interested in finding out and potentially looking at getting some out here

Thanks in advance


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PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 12:59 am 
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Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2016 11:01 am
Posts: 18
I have recently joined the Dolomite club and am awaiting some of the carb mounts as the rubber ones have fallen apart again.

I'd like to hear from anyone who's got sprint wheels for sale.

Thanks


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PostPosted: Sun Sep 04, 2016 1:00 am 
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Future Club member hopefully!
Future Club member hopefully!

Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2016 11:01 am
Posts: 18
I have recently joined the Dolomite club and am awaiting some of the carb mounts as the rubber ones have fallen apart again.

I'd like to hear from anyone who's got sprint wheels for sale.

Thanks


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