Project PFJ is baaack….

[Carledo]

There are no particular traps waiting for you as regards the rear wheel cylinder. Just the usual one of getting the union undone without snapping or twisting the pipe. Make sure the cylinder slides freely in backplate once fitted and don't lose the H plate in the handbrake shoe when dismantling. Thats about it!

The only potential problem is with the cylinder itself, whilst you may have ordered the correct one for the car, these days it wll be a repro and may not have been made to the correct bore. A lot of less knowledgeable suppliers (yes, and a couple who should know better) sell the rear cylinders as "one size fits all", IIRC there are (or were) 3 different bore sizes available 5/8", 17.something mm (maybe 11/16" in real life) and 3/4" which I THINK is the correct one for your early Sprint.

So, it may pay you to measure the bore of both the new cylinder and the one you AREN'T replacing to avoid a mismatch.

To be brutally honest, i'm sceptical that you (or anyone) would be able to tell, from driving it, if there WAS a mismatch. I drive my highly modified Toledo really hard, yet didn't realize, till an MOT picked it up, that one of my rear cylinders was seized solid! Don't know about you, but if I knowingly fitted a mismatched cylinder it would nag at the back of my brain till I fixed it, even though the sensible bit knows it probably doesn't matter!

On cars I have no provenance on, I tend to fit cylinders in pairs from the same supplier which solves the quandary neatly and also saves doing the other side a few weeks later when that one inevitably fails. On my own cars and a few others I know well, I know what i've fitted previously and can safely fit just one.

Steve

Edit, I don't know if PFJ is fitted with the Trackerjack vented disc conversion, but I know Mart is a fan of it (as am I!) If it is so fitted, Jon recommends fitting the smaller 5/8" bore rear cylinders that reduces the "long pedal" inherent in the conversion.

[USSprinter]

Steve,
Many thanks for another very helpful and interesting reply.
Mike

[USSprinter]

Time for another irregular (and long!) update on PFJ. Fortunately the old girl has not provided any more large surprises, and the refurb has just been a progression of small steps forwards.

Spent two full days detailing the paint, which had been ignored for years. Started with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound to do an initial, gentle cut on the paint surface, to get rid of minor scratches and marring in the paint. This turned out to be an impressive product, making an enormous improvement with fairly easy effort. Final step was to go over all the paint with NuFinish Car Polish. JPG ended up wearing a gleaming new coat:
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Among the other steps forward were: fabricated new coolant reservoir overflow line (old one rotted away), installed new solid state voltage stabilizer (old one was intermittent in operation), new shiny polished windscreen wipers installed, replaced spark plugs with new OEM Unipart GSP plugs (gapped 0.030” for the Lumenition system), replaced burned out interior ceiling bulb (nice to have a light turn on now when a door is opened), replaced both front door interior lock pull-ups (old plastic had cracked in sections of their stems), installed new “Triumph” badge on rear boot lid (the old one had done a Cheshire cat, the original font had totally disappeared), replaced missing center trim joining pieces on front and rear, and replaced the broken end clamp on the LH steering rack gaiter. Whew...

There was one trick that PFJ pulled that resulted in significant effort to remedy. On one of my short “confidence building” runs around the neighborhood, all of a sudden the turn signal lever got verrry wobbly on the steering column. Took apart the nacelle ahead of the steering wheel and found that a plastic section (on the turn signal multi-function unit) that holds onto one of its mounting screws had sheared off from the body of the unit:
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Fortunately the Bros Rimmer could provide that multi-function unit pronto. I was a bit concerned how all this stuff fits together (the factory manual provided almost no useful information), but it turned out to be one of those parts for which “how to put it together” became very clear only when one “took it apart”. So now, due to a simple plastic piece fracture, the Sprint has brand new turn signal controls, a new horn control, a new high beam control - all in one.

This turn signal stalk replacement task was sufficiently confusing for me that I thought it might be useful to document how I got through it for any other Dolomite neophytes that may come this way. First is disassembly of the nacelle just ahead of the steering wheel. This is a plastic “clam shell” secured by three screws accessed at the bottom of the nacelle. Undoing the two longer forward-most screws allows the top half of the nacelle to be set aside. Undoing the one shorter rear-most screw allows the bottom half of the nacelle to be totally removed, fully exposing the guts of the two multi-function units (wiper module on the left and and turn signal module on the right).

Next, note and record the spacing at the uppermost gap between the two modules (this is Dimension A in 85.65.55 in the Repair Operation Manual – mine was 5/8”) since this will be a reference datum in reassembling the two modules on the steering column. Undo the only two screws initially visible. These secure the wiper module to the mounting bracket on the steering column and set the module aside. At this point, the two other screws formerly hidden, are now accessible, undoing those screws releases the turn signal module from the column bracket. Note that there is a local blue connecting wire that goes to the headlight control. Undo that blue wire and the entire defective turn signal module is ready (almost) for removal.

Unfortunately, the turn signal module's wiring harness runs down the interior of the column, and ends at a harness plug under the dash. So one can not pull the wiring harness up and out of the column without separating the harness plug from the bottom of the wiring harness under the dash. The bodger's choice might be to just cut the wires at the harness plug and be done with it. However, I wanted to preserve the integrity of the original wiring harness, so the individual wires needed to be separated safely from the harness plug.

How to do that? Tony Burd to the rescue with his suggestion of Terminal Removal Tool Kits available on amazoom. These kits contain slender cylindrical “keys” that can be pushed down the connecting pin to disengage the pin locks within the harness plug, while the wire is pulled out on the other side of the harness plug. That leaves the wires free of the harness plug with the connecting pins still intact on the wire:
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With the old defective turn signal stalk module out of the way, we are ready to install the new module. It is an impressive piece of kit (and I am amazed that one can just order a new one):
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The new harness looks a bit different than the old, with a black harness plug, but all its dimensions are identical to the original, as is the wire color coding:
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Installation of the new turn signal stalk module requires some care. There is a locating slot in the steering column:
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The original column bracket has a pin (see single blue arrow) that must be positioned at the narrowed bottom of the above locating slot:
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Note that the new turn signal stalk is provided with a new column bracket that is totally useless and only causes confusion. Throw that bracket away. The original column bracket must be reused.

With the column bracket correctly placed in the locating slot, the new turn signal stalk unit can be offered up to the bracket (use the screw holes adjacent to the rectangular slots cut in the bracket – see the double blue arrows in the above photograph). Make sure that the protruding turn cancellation knob on the side of the column is correction positioned between the turn signal control arms. Tighten the two screws (I used new stainless 10-32x3/4 screws) through the column bracket into the turn signal body. Between the pin in the slot and the tightened screws, the turn signal module and the bracket should be firmly located on the steering column. Be sure not to over-tighten these two screws into the plastic or the original problem will be recreated! Do not forget to reattach that local blue wire to the headlight control switch:
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Finally the wiper switch stalk module (that did not require replacement) is ready to be offered up to the column bracket. The screws for this go through the remaining holes in the column bracket into the plastic body of that module. Be sure to use the shorter original screws and not over-tighten. Tighten the screws equally at the top and bottom of the bracket to recreate the Dimension A from the start of this task.

In reassembling the nacelle, the bottom half of the nacelle with its single screw should be installed first to give a firm base for the rest of it. Then the top half should be offered up to the bottom half, with the left-most long screw of the pair of forward screws secured first. Doing this screw first allows you to see the innards as the screw is positioned to approach the top half. This is a very fiddly step, with the nacelle struggling to fall apart as one tries to position and tighten the screw. With this left screw tightened, it is much easier to position the remaining right-most long screw since by this point one is working blind and feeling around for the screw to engage the top half. It took me several tries, dropping the screws on the carpet many times, working with all three hands to get the nacelle re-installed.

One exceeding important step has been ignored up to now. The new turn signal stalk's harness is supplied with an integral harness plug connected to all the harness wiring. So how does one connect the brand new harness to the main harness under the dash? The new harness can not be passed down the inner steering column like the old one was without removing the integral harness plug. I did not want to disturb the wiring. What to do? Here Carledo came to the rescue: just run the new harness down the OUTSIDE of the steering column and neatly plug it into the main harness below:
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This worked out great! The nacelle has a big enough gap at the rear to allow the harness to pass through the nacelle without disturbing anything. There is then enough of a gap in the under-dash structure to easily pass the harness plug to where it needs to be plugged in. The entire re-routed harness is unobtrusive and firmly located enough in its path that I did not even need to use zip ties to hold it in place. It is as if PFJ was designed for this re-routing.

So that is where PFJ stands. I still have a host of other minor items to check out, known light bulbs to replace, and so it goes...

And a final finally, just in case someone has not seen this, there is a wonderful period Triumph advert that illustrates the place of the Sprint in the world of the time:
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-Mike

[yorkshire_spam]

Nice work and another great write up!
Thanks (again) for posting the update!

[USSprinter]

I'm back after a 4-day excursion into the wonderful world of electrical gremlins. After installing the new turn signal multi-function stalk unit, I found PFJ doing very strange tricks – the horn button would not do anything, and the left turn indicators would not blink (just a faint flutter from the horns), and the emergency flasher would indeed flash at all four corners, but the horn would also blast in sync with the emergency flasher. I took that discussion to the Dolomite-related thread since it sounded more like a repair problem than a restoration issue, so if interested head there for the “Electric Turn Signals Gremlins” posting. I ultimately figured out and fixed the problem, which was mostly of my own doing.

Midway through that excursion, I got so frustrated chasing earths, and circuit continuity, and switch operation that I decided that I needed to do something more concrete than chew on invisible electrons. That I will report here. I replaced the left rear stop lamp bulb (it had a burned out 2nd filament, so it would illuminate as a rear light, but not get much brighter as a stop light). I also replaced the left front sidelight bulb which was illuminating intermittently when wiggled. I decided that was because the spring that the bulb compressed upon installation into the holder had gotten weak and did not maintain constant contact with the bulb (nothing wrong with the bulb). I took a gamble that a replacement bulb would be a hair longer than the original bulb and thus compress the spring a tiny bit more. That seemed to work since the bulb could no longer be wiggled.

The real fun was extracting the old gear oil from the rear differential and refilling with with Richmond GL-4 Multi-Purpose Gear Oil 80W-90. For that I needed something to extract and refill, so I randomly chose one of the 200 cc extractor syringes on amazoom (it was the Swanlake Extraction & Fill Pump SW66012):
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The pump seemed to work well enough, though like all such items offered, it had a host of bad reviews. For less than $15 it was worth a shot. With a 1,150 cc dry diff capacity, I refilled with about a total of 1,100 cc of new gear oil, so the tool did an effective job of extraction. The extraction took eight pulls, while the refill took seven fills, so I got a bit more effective achieving closer to the 200 cc pumping capacity with more use of the pump.

The orientation of the differential's drain plug opening (close to vertical) made it a bit of a pain, since the pump's tube had to be bent into a U-shape to access the opening. And the force on the plunger required to refill was significantly more than to extract (or maybe I was just getting tired lying on my back under the boot and pumping upwards). It all did make for a bit of a mess (lots of paper towels were consumed), and the gear oil did surely stink. But at least PFJ's diff gears are now bathed in fresh oil.

Then it was back to cursing at the wiring diagrams with which this posting opened. But all's well that ends well.

[USSprinter]

After a bit more fettling, PFJ is running better and better. Just returned from one of my 8-mile test drive loops and actually felt relaxed on the drive (not on pins-and-needles waiting for “what's next”). Everything of importance was finally working properly – the turn indicators indicated and canceled by themselves when required, the horn blew, the emergency flashers did only what they were supposed to, the gears snicked through their range, the O/D went in/out in both 3rd and 4th gears whenever called upon, the steering steered, the brakes braked, on a 77 deg-F afternoon the temp gauge remained at mid-range, even the choke warning light that had been on an extended vacation surprisingly came back on whenever the choke knob was pulled. I was much relieved.

Prior to this run, I had finally balanced the SUs with my trusty old Synchrometer. This took a lot of iterative fiddling with the idle screws, moving the flow meter from one carb to the other, sticking my head in the window to check the tachometer. Starting out, the rear carb was flowing significantly more than the front carb. Ultimately, things seemed happiest with an equal mass air flow rate of 9 to 10 kg/h through each SU, with the idle speed ending up at around 900 rpm. This is a bit high, but it was with the air box removed, so it should drop a bit when the constrictive filters and box plumbing are re-installed. I'll probably do a final fiddle when everything is in place. The Synchrometer is such a handy (and fun) device, providing clear measurements of the individual carb air flows:
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I also dragged out my trusty, even older Gunston's Gastester. It took a long time for the Gastester to stabilize on the calibration point specified for atmospheric air, so my final measured CO of 4.8% may or may not be accurate. The factory specifies an acceptable range for CO of 2.5% to 4.5%, so PFJ may be running a bit on the rich side, which I already suspected. But this is not something I feel compelled to fiddle with right now. The Gastester is simple to use – just hook its power cables to the battery and ram the sensor up the tail pipe (don't fret about that oil spattered cardboard on the floor – that's not PFJ's droppings, just my mess after changing the rear diff gear oil):
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The sun always shines brighter when everything is OK.

[yorkshire_spam]

After a bit more fettling, PFJ is running better and better. Just returned from one of my 8-mile test drive loops and actually felt relaxed on the drive (not on pins-and-needles waiting for “what's next”).

Building the confidence is a big thing for me, especially after I've completed major works on the cars. I always log more and more miles over progressively "further from home" distances before taking on major trips if I can. The big exception being last years run up to John O'Groats and back in the summer when I put the car back together the night before we set off and the only test run was to the fuel station and back. I was on high alert for the first 300 miles of that trip before my nerves settled!

[USSprinter]

After a bit more fettling, PFJ is running better and better. Just returned from one of my 8-mile test drive loops and actually felt relaxed on the drive (not on pins-and-needles waiting for “what's next”).

Building the confidence is a big thing for me, especially after I've completed major works on the cars. I always log more and more miles over progressively "further from home" distances before taking on major trips if I can. The big exception being last years run up to John O'Groats and back in the summer when I put the car back together the night before we set off and the only test run was to the fuel station and back. I was on high alert for the first 300 miles of that trip before my nerves settled!

That was mighty brave of you to do the run up to Jo’G having only put your Sprint together the night before! It is a glorious run and was the drive of my life (though my son does a bit of an eye-roll now when I keep on rattling on and on about it 13 years later). At least we had the benefit of Mad Mart doing a lot of shake-down runs of PFJ before the hand-over to us for the run up North.

[yorkshire_spam]

After a bit more fettling, PFJ is running better and better. Just returned from one of my 8-mile test drive loops and actually felt relaxed on the drive (not on pins-and-needles waiting for “what's next”).

Building the confidence is a big thing for me, especially after I've completed major works on the cars. I always log more and more miles over progressively "further from home" distances before taking on major trips if I can. The big exception being last years run up to John O'Groats and back in the summer when I put the car back together the night before we set off and the only test run was to the fuel station and back. I was on high alert for the first 300 miles of that trip before my nerves settled!

That was mighty brave of you to do the run up to Jo’G having only put your Sprint together the night before! It is a glorious run and was the drive of my life (though my son does a bit of an eye-roll now when I keep on rattling on and on about it 13 years later). At least we had the benefit of Mad Mart doing a lot of shake-down runs of PFJ before the hand-over to us for the run up North.

Car is an 1850 Auto - I can't afford a Sprint at UK prices!
Route as follows:


Day 1:


Day 2:


Day 3:


It's the "top bit" of the Club Triumph RBRR as run in 2014 (which we did in the Spitfire) - but this time we took our time, stayed in hotels, ate nice meals and enjoyed the drive and scenary!