The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335307709844 ... media=COPy

I've been trying to find my old car for years: despite the appalling way the car has been treated, the bidding is strong, which is a bit of a mystery to me!

I reckpon any sprint that is all there and not horrendously rusty will fetch 3k. The reshelling options are good.... and a half decent sprint is worth 10K.

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Clive Senior
Brighton

cost of living...think it will be 5k mark...sprints go for good money....no connection but this is what it could be/turn into https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/156113485477 ... R4y3uL7PYw

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Dolomite 1300,1980`V`reg in british racing brown(russet),3.63 diff with 21t speedo pinion,95%poly`d,HL clocks,standard wheels with SE covers wrapt in 175 70 13,mot`d 19-09-2014,been off the since 1990,(july2017) stainless steel exhaust 3-piece,(xmas2018) wooden mountney steering wheel,(june2020) new monroe shock(radial front,gas-matic rears) with -1" lower`d springs all round.

I've seen that car and even worked on it once. Wants for nothing at all and good as any i've seen. Worth every penny!

Good luck to you Shaun, you deserve it back, I won't be bidding!

Steve

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'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.

Cheers Steve - I haven't got the capacity to take another restoration on so probably won't bid further...it's just my luck that it came up when it did!

When did you work on this then, where was it based? I'm intrigued now!

Doubt it - it's utterly rotten and I know for a fact the subframe is rotten as it's that that took it off the road in the first place.....probably needs a reshell...

Sorry Shaun, reread my post and realised what I wrote was open to misinterpretation. It wasn't your old car I saw and worked on, but the mint Carmine Sprint in the ebay ad posted by Tamtrucks.

Had I come across UUW in my travels, I would have told you immediately, knowing you were seeking her.

I'm faintly shocked too, that UUW is making that much, in that state, though a duff subframe is merely an irritant these days. I know it's an early car, but, in that colour, is not one of the "first 2000" which are the ones that seem to make most moolah in "basket case" shape. It's not very long (last year) since I sold that Flamenco 78 Sprint, with all structural welding done, for circa £4k!

But enough, or i'll get accused, once again, of downvaluing our cars!

Steve

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'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.

I think i can shed some light on why this particular Sprint has raised interest in its bidding.
I did not wish to comment whilst it was live but did try to message Shaun separately to make him aware.
According to my records this Sprint is significant as it is VA2090 and if it has its original Engine it will be (VA 2069HE) it was registered on the 3rd August 1973 and effectively the 35th Sprint that was in a colour other then Mimosa after the 1st batch, (Up to VA2054) i believe unless anyone knows any different that this may be the earliest surviving Sprint left in the UK that is not Mimosa and is certainly worth saving.

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1973 Triumph Dolomite Sprint
1972 Triumph Stag
1963 Triumph Spitfire 4

Hello mate - tried to open your message but I think it was empty!

Unfortunately, I'm going to debunk a little of what has been said here...certainly the registration is correct as I always remember it was an August reg.

I bought the car off Patrick Canty in Beckenham in Kent in 1989....pretty sure he was the original owner.

I was working for Saxon Sanbec in Sandbach at the time who made Fire Engines, as an apprentice Design Draughtsman. I had access to excellent spaying facilities and cost price paint, so I had the car bare metal resprayed in Post Office Red which is the same colour as the London Fire Brigade Fire Engines of the time - the same ones that appeared in London's Burning which were built by Saxon.

I had the engine rebuilt by Oselli, the ahem 'Specialists' in Oxford - they had no idea what they were doing, made a right balls of it, and the headgasket failed a few hundred miles in so I had the head skimmed and the engine rebuilt by the then WGT in Northwich who were actually Sprint specialists. I changed the seats for ones with Head rests and put an OD box and coin tray in, put an electric fuel pump in and put circuit breakers in to immobilise it as was the fashion of the day!

All the body work was carried out by Trevor Farrington in his garden shed, who was still working at Pochins at the time...times have changed a bit for him too now!
https://www.trevorfarrington.co.uk/

The reason for me being so keen to buy it back was I felt I owed a debt of honour to return it to back the original Mimosa that it was when I bought it.

I haven't got any pictures of it Yellow as I gave a very large file of pictures and receipts away with the car when I sold it in 1996...for £650.....nobody wanted 'old' cars then!

When I bought it it was 16 years old - in 1989 there was tons and tons of 'em about with all the panels and spares available, so I know that I felt comfortable adulterating it as it just wasn't that remarkable.

Move forward 35 years and it's a whole different situation!

I see it's gone for £3100 - that's a reasonable price for a car that has been made to rot like it has - I haven't bought it as I'm still restoring VA138 and UUW will need a sh*t load spending on it, around 20k probably, as a very conservative estimate, so I just haven't got the time or energy to do it right now....

I really hope the new owner is honourable and gets in touch somehow, would love to see it again!

Shaun,

Thanks for the insight into its history, i did try to FB messenger you but you obviously didn't see it.
The fact this Sprint was originally Mimosa and not the shade it's wearing now would of course change it's significance completely.
I can only go by what information is at hand and without the factory archive record for this Sprint which would of immediately identified as a Mimosa car it just becomes another early Sprint in Mimosa. I will be visiting the Archive room in Gaydon again in May so i will certainly look up this car which should hopefully confirm what you have said. Hopefully whoever won the bidding will do the right thing as an early Sprint and returning it to original spec. Hopefully there is an elusive early non mimosa Sprint still out there somewhere.

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1973 Triumph Dolomite Sprint
1972 Triumph Stag
1963 Triumph Spitfire 4

Off the top of my head, the earliest non-Mimosa Sprint I know of, is Ted's old but immaculate and mostly original Sapphire Blue car, now in the care of Alun Nicholas.

Steve

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'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.

I doubt it Steve, Ted's is in the high 5000s!

PTJ230M in Carmine is 2240...