NAB 755T Dolly 1500HL Project

[LJColeman]

Hi all,

Im 23 & from Bristol.

A bit of back ground info on how i ended up here. A few years ago, a family friend told me about a Sprint they had sat in storage that would not start, several people had attempted to get it going. He said to me 'If you can get it going, You can borrow it'. So over i went with some tools and some fuel, An hour later shes running a dream. So i borrowed the car to do a classic car run & absolutely loved it. Thats where my love for the dolomite began! Unfortunately i had to give the Spring back afterwards.

So i then set off to find a Dolomite to buy, After months of looking i could not find anything remotely in my price range. However, with my Dad owning a MGB GT, and borrowing the Dolly i was certain i wanted to get into the classic car 'Scene'.

So i decided to buy a small project to get me going, I purchased a MG Midget 1500, 1977. The previous owner had owned it for 25 years and for the last 10 it had sat in his garaged, Unused & covered up. I got the car home and set to work, New exhaust, Full service, New brakes, Cylinder rebuilds, Wiring repairs and replacement, New floor pan, New roof frame, New seats & Carpet etc etc the list goes on. I put the car through an MOT and it passed. Since getting it on the road in March i have done 4000 miles and nearly used it every weekend with various runs and shows.

However, One evening scrolling through ebay (As usual) i came across NAB 755T, A dolomite 1500HL. It looked good in the pictures and within my price bracket, So a quick trip to view the car revealed it was good as it looks. I was over the moon and left a deposit on the car. It has absolute stacks of paper work dating right back to the 70's. I collected the car this Saturday. I haven't had much chance to look over the car yet, However the previous owner said the brakes felt spongy and kept loosing fluid. A quick inspection found a leaking brake master cylinder, So ive got a replacement on order through club spares.

I will keep this thread up to date with any progress i make, But i hope to use the Dolly as much this year as i did with the MG.

P.S the MG will be up for sale in a few months!

[Washdog]

Nice to see that Sprint is still with us. I used to see it regularly on my way to work and out and about in Stafford in the late 1990s, it lived on Woodlands Road if I remember rightly.
Ian

[Pippin]

Three gorgeous cars. I especially like the Sprint as it's the same colour as mine. Is it an optical illusion, or does the panel gap at the back of the driver's door on the MG widen significantly from top to bottom?

[LJColeman]

Nice to see that Sprint is still with us. I used to see it regularly on my way to work and out and about in Stafford in the late 1990s, it lived on Woodlands Road if I remember rightly.
Ian

Im sure the Sprint is still alive somewhere, It was sold at auction about 6 months or so ago so i have no idea where it may be now.

[LJColeman]

Three gorgeous cars. I especially like the Sprint as it's the same colour as mine. Is it an optical illusion, or does the panel gap at the back of the driver's door on the MG widen significantly from top to bottom?

the sprint was very nice, However underneath it could do with some work.

In regards to the MG door i think its an optical illusion, As its not that far out in person.

[xvivalve]

Your cylinder was dispatched yesterday....

[LJColeman]

Your cylinder was dispatched yesterday....

Brilliant thank you!

[LJColeman]

So i spent some time tinkering with the Dolly last night and had a good lock around anything to highlight any problems.

1. Handbrake did not work & felt like it wasn't attached! - Removed both the rear drums and found the shoes & springs to be fitted incorrectly. I removed the shoes and rebuilt them in the correct way, Luckily both the rear wheel cylinders have recently been replaced. So i just cleaned everything up & rebuilt. Adjusted the handbrake and now its perfect.

2. Found the Brake master cylinder to be loosing a lot of fluid (Replacement ordered)

3. NS steering rack gaiter split (Replacement ordered)

4. Exhaust rubbers perished (Replacement ordered)

Other than that the car is in general good mechanical order. Im going to clean out the wheel arches this weekend and underseal them. I will also try and do the underbody also.

The wiring under the bonnet is a bit of a mess, So ill also sort that out. One of the main things is its got 2 fuses & Relays mounted under the bonnet for the headlight conversion, But it just looks messy. Does anyone know if these relays are definitely needed for this conversion?

[xvivalve]

its got 2 fuses & Relays mounted under the bonnet for the headlight conversion, But it just looks messy. Does anyone know if these relays are definitely needed for this conversion?

Remove them at your peril; the main beam/indicator stalk will burn out without them and is a part now getting scarce.

[LJColeman]

its got 2 fuses & Relays mounted under the bonnet for the headlight conversion, But it just looks messy. Does anyone know if these relays are definitely needed for this conversion?

Remove them at your peril; the main beam/indicator stalk will burn out without them and is a part now getting scarce.

Brilliant thank you for the info. Ill just have to re-wire and hide the fuses in a more discreet location!

[soe8m]

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=31231

There are some nice kits available.

Jeroen

[LJColeman]

The replacement brake master cylinder arrived today, Many thanks to the group parts suppliers.

I will get that fitted on Saturday, Along with some repairs to the rear wheel arches & under sealing the front & rear arches. This should be enough to get the car roadworthy for the time being!

Cant wait to take it for a drive.

[LJColeman]

Today was a very productive day!

It stared with replacing the Brake master cylinder with the replacement I purchased through the club. The swap was very easy and the new one fitted perfectly. I then bled all of the brakes & was pleased with the end result. A nice feel to the brake pedal now.

I then replaced the NS steering rack gaitor & also the exhaust rubbers. I then set out with undersealing all of the arches.

[Matt Cotton]

Looks a lovely car - nice one!

My father-in-law Richard (Richard 'the old one') lives in Downend, so not far from you i'm sure. He is a serial 1500HL owner for 40 years or so and has a 4 car strong fleet of them. I'm sure he would be happy to help you out anytime and he is a great source of info.

I am sure he will pick up on this thread with interest soon.

Regards Matt

[LJColeman]

Looks a lovely car - nice one!

My father-in-law Richard (Richard 'the old one') lives in Downend, so not far from you i'm sure. He is a serial 1500HL owner for 40 years or so and has a 4 car strong fleet of them. I'm sure he would be happy to help you out anytime and he is a great source of info.

I am sure he will pick up on this thread with interest soon.

Regards Matt

Brilliant thank you Matt, very useful to know !