Oh dear, I really am a sucker for an early Dolomite 1850!
This is 'Nina', if you don't know Nina, she used to belong to Kyle and is a car the is very well known to the club so when I saw her advertised I really had to save her especially given the history and mechanical condition of the car.
The plan is to restore her then offer her up for sale when finished, Kyle is aware of this and has first refusal when she is complete!
I normally call my cars by they're registration numbers (this removes any emotional attachment!
) Nina is different though! 
This thread follows from Kyles own thread:
https://forum.triumphdolomite.co.uk/vie ... 19&t=33467
These are actually the photos from Kyles eBay advert, I forgot to take some when I collected her!
I collected her on Tuesday and drove her home to Fleet from West Sussex to asses her. Only 35 Miles but the journey does use a good mix of dual carriageway and country roads. The journey was effortless with only a few niggles found. The A24 dual carriageway was tacked at motorway speeds with no cooling issues, and the country run from Horsham to Guildford was a joy. Like I said, there are a couple of things that I would like to finesse, the clutch is a bit stiff, the carbs just need a tune and the brakes need a service and the overdrive is intermittent (probably electrics in my experience), apart from that it really was an easy journey.
After getting her home I got the opportunity to strip the exterior and have a really good look at the body, the news is good, it is a lot better than it looks!
It is going to require a pair of sills and a new rear door skin
The rear arches have gone in the usual place
The front ends of both front wings are shot.
The whole rear panel, inner and outer needs replacing
The inner front valance, apart from needing new headlamp support panels, is in surprisingly good condition only needing some localised repairs and not the corner sections as I was expecting. This may change as the wings come off though!
The windscreen surround needs some repairs as well.
I have had a look under the dashboard and there are some holes in the inner bulkhead, nowhere near as bad as VA138 and fixable without having to put in a new bulkhead! They do explain the water ingress that Kyle was experiencing and I think the bulkhead has the usual crack when the accelerator pedal mounts, that will be fixed and with the club reinforcing plate added.
Everyone is probably now curious about my definition of 'not as bad as it looks' now!
The interior is in good condition, I will re-veneer the cappings and dash. As far as I can see looking at the chassis number and my parts book it should have the 'classic' clocks in it not the later ones, I have sourced a set and they will be fitted. Obviously new carpet and the front seats are actually non HL so I will replace them. Period radio with bluetooth, DAB and aux in for your phone. It has sundym glass as a bonus!
An extensive history file came with the car including it's original bill of sale, Kyle has done a superb job keeping it up.
Mechanically she is in excellent condition, Kyle really has taken superb care of her. The gearbox is probably one of the best single rail boxes that I have ever used! I think the rear wheel bearings need replacing, it has club solid carb mounts. I'll go through the carbs and rebush them if needed. Halogen headlights, relayed of course. I will have to remove the brake and fuel lines to do some welding so I will replace both as a matter of course.
So what's the plan?
- Repair the bodywork
- Respray from the waist down
- Detail the engine and engine bay
- Refinish interior
- MOT
I have an appointment at the paint shop so need to get cracking!
