DOLOMITE.....YES OR NO....PLEASE HELP

[bigjing]

I have wanted a dolomite since i was 17(now 35) and i have NO mechanical skills whatsoever and at this time no place to keep a car indoors overnight,i have looked in on this board many times a day since last week and some of the stuff you talk about i have no idea of, i have a limited budget as i have started a new business venture,i require my car to do less than 50 miles a week though,...am i being ridiculous in wanting such a car or should i just get on with it and take a gamble....i am talking to someone on here about buying one but i dont want to take any more of his time until i make a decision....should someone like me even consider a dolomite...yes i really am this indecisive,but any opinions gratefully received

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[bigjing]

thank you all.....silvery who is rob marshall??and PLEASE do go on...any info at all is very welcome....also it honestly isnt the case of me not wanting a sprint...its just me wondering if im capable of owning a sprint.....cheers

<p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p206.ezboard.com/bthetriumphdolo ... bigjing</A> at: 20/1/05 10:18 pm<br></i>

[Silvery]

Get yourself a Dolly 1300. One, more people need to consider the lower spec ones, and two, because they don't, a 1300 is a dirt cheap way of finding out if you like them or not.<br>
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You should have no problems with a 1300 doing 50 miles a week, and the car is basically the same as the more powerful models, albeit with a lower spec interior and narrower tyres. Plus the engines are pretty robust, if underpowered.<br>
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Once you've discovered whether or not you like the general ride and looks of one, you can decide if you want the posher interior and gruntier engine, and save up the pennies <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END-->

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[bigjing]

thanks silvery,i want a dolomite with the double lights and fancy dash - very mature i know

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[dollysteve]

Do it, you won`t be dissapointed. I have owned a Toledo and a 1300 dolomite and got great pleasure from driving both. I`m sure you could find a decent 1500 HL for not too much money, that way you get the nice dash and interior, throw in a set of sprint wheels and visually not many people would tell it apart from a Sprint.

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[bigjing]

i loved my dads 1500HL(E?),i hit the side of the garage entrance and damaged the wing....as the car was only a stop gap for my dad he scrapped it...but he done it on a sat morning when he knew i was playing football so as i couldnt stop him........a few days later i went to the scrappie to have a last look.WCS 40S rip.....what a saddo<br>
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thanks for your opinions...if i do get one i hope you will all be kind to me:<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :D --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /happy.gif ALT=":D"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END-->

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[Silvery]

If it's the lights and dash you want, then go 1500hl, or maybe 1850. Or of course, 1500fwd or TC - OK, so you don't get he extra guages, but you get the curvy dash in those, and they have twin headlights. Sprints go for an awful lot of money if you're not sure you actually want one, IMO.<br>
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Of course, it's not hard to fit the curvy dash into a plain 1300 or 1500, just needs a lot of parts. I nearly finished fitting one in my long gone fwd, and even then it wasn't what I'd call a lot of work, putting one in a Dolomite is easy! Doesn't sort the headlights out though.<br>
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My only reservation about a 1500 is in my experience (and therefore opinion, but it's based on a very small sample) the engines aren't very good. The bottom end wears quite quickly, something I never had in my Dolomite 1300, even though with the low gearing I used to rev it rather stupidly high. On the auto I've got, the original engine chewed the crank, as did the replacement. And I've seen a Spit that had a habit of breaking 1500 bottom ends too. Oh, and I had a Dolly 1500 that had had a replacement crank just before I got it as well (wish I'd kept that one, but it was another emergency rehome job before I could fix it <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :( --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /frown.gif ALT=":("><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> ).<br>
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Maybe go for an overdrive car or, from what I remember Jod saying, an auto if you go 1500, they might not have been revved so hard, and maybe have a better chance of being in good nick.<br>
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Or make me very jealous, and live with square lights and flat dash, but have a 2 door tax exempt carmine Toledo, I've always wanted one of them.<br>
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Actually, without meaning to go on, I've just remembered, Rob Marshall's got a 1500TC in if I recall, very good condition, at a very fair price.

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[Matt Cotton]

I too was very unsure about buying a Dolly at first. I had wanted one since my granddad had one when i was 4!<br>
I did lots of research and you do find that the more you find out about the cars the more unsure you become, with respect to buyers guides etc.<br>
My mechanical knowledge was (or is) limited and i too wondered if i could deal with the car.<br>
I now have 2!<br>
I have a 1500 HL which is a smashing car. I have completed a number of non- essential jobs on it without any problem at all and have gained much enjoyment and knowledge from it.<br>
I have now bought a Sprint as project number 2.<br>
Join the club and there is always someone to give advice if you need it.<br>
You won't regret it!

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[Silvery]

A Triumhp owner who posts from time to time, sorry, I'm not "in" enough to know any more than that!<br>
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I'm sure I remember him posting about the car on here a short time ago, and he's also posted about it in "another place". Looks tidy for the money in the pics, but my monitor is a bit knackered, so I can't be sure of that!<br>
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Found him - OK, so he's Rob Marshall elsewhere, but triumphtoledo on here -<br>
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<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://p206.ezboard.com/fthetriumphdolo ... <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END-->

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[bigjing]

by the way,did you see the new 2 door on ebay just now??

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[Silvery]

That one on Ebay looks quite nice - But I could afford about a tenth of it right now...<br>
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As for Sprints, don't get me wrong, I'm sure they are very good cars. But they do fetch a premium that might be on the high side just to find out if you like them, and there's the odd cooling system problem that might be a struggle for a novice. Whereas any rwd OHV is so simple to work on, as well as being much cheaper to buy to try.<br>
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Of course, the Sprint does have twice the power, so if that's a major concern.. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
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I never had any problems keeping up with traffic in my OHV cars though, but it does require a much smoother style and almost ESP like ability at times to keep momentum up. And yes, with enough mechanical unsympathy, you can just about provoke a 1500 to doughnut <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /laugh.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END-->

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[alun n]

50 miles a week is no problem.<br>
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I went self employed last year and lost the company car. Guess what I'd already bought to replace it! OK, I've had 'various' Dollies over the last 16-17 years so I'm no stranger to them, but they're no worse than anything else mechanical.<br>
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You could get a problem with any car you buy, not just a Dolly, but could you get the sort of support this board gives you if you bought for example a fiesta??<br>
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My dolly is now one of the second cars again and lives outside on the street. I hopped in it last weekend for the first time this year, started first turn and faultlessly did a 100 mile round trip with an oak plan chest on the roof bars on the way back! First time I tried the Lotus, a mere youngster at 7 years old and the battery was flat! Can't ask for more than that.

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[bigjing]

so getting a dolomite repaired should pose no real problems?? i take it if you join the club there is a list of sspare parts dealers etc...im getting a wee bit excited at the prospect.....just got to convince the wife its not a 5minute wonder

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[alun n]

<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END-->

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[Silvery]

Parts aren't so much of a problem. The club helps remunfacture some parts, and there's plenty of people willing to help out too <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
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Toledoman has got hold of a couple of engines without problems I believe, I got a full set of Dolly 1300 seats and a 1300 engine for a very fair price off a club member a while ago, I've also flogged some parts dirt cheap to an enthusiast down the road, and so on.<br>
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1300fwd parts can be a sod to find though, but Dolomite parts, or at least the most common, are very well catered for. One reason for recommending an OHV though is the engine is shared with Spits, making sourcing parts for it even easier, I tend to use Canley Classics for my bits, they're friendly, fast, and very well priced. And I often end up speaking to someone in the workshop as I never know the jargon.<br>
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Panel wise, I don't think there's too many problems, although prices new (if even available) can be high, but the most common rot areas seem to be pretty much taken care of now (any news on fibreglass front panels yet?).

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