are dollys relieable

[john]

i wont to get rid of my fiesta and buy a good dolly .<br>
are these cars relieabale enough to use every day and what sort of problems would i have geting basic parts for one.<br>
how much should i pay for a good one any info would be great .<br>
thanks.

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[dollysteve]

I used one of my Dollys as daily transport for a couple of years, it was only when I moved house that I stopped using it and that was only because I started doing some renovations. They have an excellent heater, big squishy comfy seats etc, personally for an everyday car an 1850 HL auto is my choice, perfect for traffic jams. I guess the thing to do is buy the best you can afford and just look after it, ie servicing etc.

<p>1976 Dolomite was a 1500<br>
1976 Dolomite 1850 HL Auto<br>
1979 Dolomite 1850 HL Man o/d<br>
1989 Noisy Mini 1340 <br>
1995 2.3 Saab 900<br>
1968 1300 FWD</p><i></i>

[redrichie]

I have used my Sprint as every day transport to and from work (8 miles either way) for a year now. Also taken it on a couple of long runs (Hereford to Dorset, to Leeds and to Birmingham four times) in the year.<br>
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The only real problem I have had was spark plugs getting shot on a regular basis (when i fitted the club alloy tubes this dissapeared) and the aftermarket electronic ignition going pop.<br>
<br>
Of course, if you buy a car that has been abused, not serviced regularly, left out in all weathers etc etc, it will more likely not be as reliable as a well cared for, regularly serviced, garaged car.<br>
<br>
I would buy one with as little rust/rot on as you can....everytime I look at the patches on mine I want to cry, because i know at some point she will have to come off the road for it to be sorted. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START >: --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... ns/mad.gif ALT=">:"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
<br>
And, as Steve said, the heater is second to none...I guess they had colder winters in the 1970's. My mates always comment that it has a thermonuclear reactor.<br>
<br>
richie

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[alun n]

Steve Wilkes uses his as his main transport and clocks up over 20k per year...and has done so since 1987!<br>
<br>
The price you will need to pay to get a good one could vary considerably; i would suggest 4 figures minimum, but with eBay as it is you could be VERY lucky. An old car of mine, ODD in Tahiti went a month or so ago for just over 600...I was extremely tempted to buy it back at that price as it was exceptionally solid having benefitted from the Nicholas/Wilkes treatment only 18 months ago...but I have 8 already/still!

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[john]

what about fuel as there is no 4 star about is just a case of putting an addative in or do you need to alter somthing

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[dollysteve]

The OHV cars are the only real problem here, Sprint and 1850 are not so much as they have ally heads and as such use valve seat inserts which seem pretty resilient to recession, it seems the general consensus that a higher octane fuel be used, most super unleaded is around 97 RON but BP ultimate and Shell optimax are 98, this is what I run my cars on, with no problems and all retaining standard ignition timing, having said all that when I was using my Dolly everyday I did for the most part use regular unleaded with perhaps just a small loss in performance and slighlty dimished idle quality.

<p>1976 Dolomite was a 1500<br>
1976 Dolomite 1850 HL Auto<br>
1979 Dolomite 1850 HL Man o/d<br>
1989 Noisy Mini 1340 <br>
1995 2.3 Saab 900<br>
1968 1300 FWD</p><i></i>

[john]

thanks to every one you have all been a great help <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :eek --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... ns/eek.gif ALT=":eek"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END-->

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[redrichie]

I alternate between fills of Super and Premium unleaded...don't know why, but if i run on super all the time, it feels less powerful....or maybe its all in my mind...<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :rolleyes --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... s/eyes.gif ALT=":rolleyes"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> .<br>
<br>
Timing still set to normal, and i returned 28.9 mpg on my last tank, which was 50/50 MWay/round town driving, not bad for a 25 year old 2litre car imo.

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[Jon Tilson]

Its more a matter of knowing the likely foibles and what to do when they happen.<br>
Ignition....Sprints an 1500's use a better lucas dizzy wioth points setups that are a doddle. 1850's use an AC delco abortion. Both are improved by transitor assisted ignition that stops points wear and removes the need for teh condensor. These are all old now and of variable quality anyway and the single biggest source of ignition grief in my experience. You can and most do go full lumention or newtronic trigger routes but keep points in the glovebox for when that setup goes tits on ya. I just flick a switch...<br>
Ballast feed and starter solenoid wiring is the number 2 wont start syndrome. Good contacts and wiring condition will give you 99% reliability.<br>
Fuse box is rubbish...but doesnt usually stop you getting home unless its dark or raining. Just wiggle connections and clean contacts. Usually problem free on cars in regular use.<br>
Other ills are non self adjusting rear brakes and clutch hydraulics. The latter usually gives enough warning to get home. Seal kits usually fix the problems but there are some dodgy quality kits from MOss about...Ive taken 3 slave seals back in 6 months...<br>
<br>
Cooling systems on slant 4 cars must have good quality anti freeze and may occasionally need a water pump seal. Fiddly job to fix.<br>
<br>
<br>
Jonners<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>


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[djw113uk]

I used a 1500FWD to go from bath to plymouth on a weekly bases for uni, for 2 years. Had a wheel bearing go, and a rotoflex, but that was on a £50 car so couldn't really complain!<br>
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Used to do 29-31mpg for me, though I tended to drive 60-65, rather than 70-80 as there is no chance of overdrive on the FWDs. Did about 15,000 miles a year no probs.<br>
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My brother has been using a toledo with sprint running gear for work for the past 2 1/2 years. The elec ignition packed up, and seems to eat dist. caps at regular intervals, but thats doing 20-25k per year. Club HT leads, sierra brakes, and drive it and drive it.<br>
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Occasional welding for MOT, but ours live outside, and thats driven fairly hard. His previous toledo with dolly 1500 engine and overdrive did 4 years at uni, and 18k in sandwaich year to and from bath and windsor / maidstone. <br>
<br>
Great everyday cars, just a shame my present employer makes me use a golf!<br>
David

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[katey ansell]

I only just purchesed a dolomite as my first registered car, and i will agree with you's there great little cars that a majority of other younger drivers like myself, misjudge, great zippy little things even the manuals are good around the town. Although i enjoy it and its characteristics, i woudln't mind knowing if anyone else who is a 1850 dolomite owner has trouble with high temperature in town or pinging, temp is not so much of a problem now once we installed a low temp thermostate and a sprint radiator, but the pinging is something i need to overcome, and woudln't mind some advise. But overal, they are great little cars, my siblings dolomite is bloody fantastic, i'd advise the dolly to any new driver

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[davepoth]

I thought everybody with an OHC dolomite had problems like that. <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :D --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /happy.gif ALT=":D"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
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It might be that your engine block has a lot if sediment in it. A good flush with a hosepipe on a cold engine usually sorts it out. It made all the difference on my sprint.<br>
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If you already did that, chances are you have either the ignition too advanced or the mixture too lean. What petrol are you using? if you are using normal unleaded, switching to something like super or optimax might sort it out.

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[Jon Tilson]

is in my experience almost unheard of on 8v slant 4's.<br>
If you are running hot that obviously wont help.<br>
If you live in a hard water area then 30 odd years of limescale wont help. <br>
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You may also have a heavilly coked up head if the car has been used for lots of short trips. I recomend a couple of tanks of optimax and a long hi revving journey....<br>
<br>
A good sustained blast a 4000rpm will help it a lot...3rd is fine if you cant find a M Way.<br>
<br>
Jonners

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[katey ansell]

haha i think we've tried nearly everything, my dad explains it to me and then tells me what to get, so far since i've bought dolly, we've had only Optimax, we've tried to locate the new optimax extreme 100, but there's no where near that i can get it, tried octane booster, that seemed to help a bit actually, just that filling up my tank was getting towards 70 bucks as optimax prices are still comming down. The last owners we've found although there intensions were good wern't exactly telling the truth, we found that it has already blown a head gasket before i was so lucky to do it, and the person who had fixed it before, heavily machined down the head, also the last owners didn't seem to put much in the way of coolent in it in the 29 years they had it. as last resort i think i'll just get a new head put on it curtousy of dad who insisted i had the triumph dolomite. I"ve also done a few long trips in it two hours at a time, had it round 3750 revs and she seemed to like it. She goes like a rocket and she's still in very good condition looks wise, electrics i'm not going to start on today, she just makes hidious noises when you apply the accelerator suddenly, but you's have helped conciderably thanks

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[djw113uk]

One thing that I found recently with the 1850 was the front crank pulley damper sheared. When I did the head gasket I couldnt work out why with the timing marks aligned all 4 pistons were in the middle!! I just move the crank round further so 1 and 4 were at the top and put the head back on... feeling rather confused.<br>
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Trying to get the timing right was impossible, so I just set it where it ran best.<br>
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It was only a month or so later when we could hear funny noises from the engine we realised what had happened. By this stage the outer ring of the pulley had slid backwards on the damper ring so that it was grinding away the timing pointers! There was still enough friction to power the alternator without noticing a problem.<br>
<br>
One huge socket, some nifty universal joints, a hole in th front panel behind the no. plate, and an air wrench later and the pulley was swapped for a more solid one. Timing <br>
now no problem!<br>
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I have no idea how common this problem might be, but clearly this could cause pinking if the timing isnt what it may appear to be!<br>
<br>
David<br>
<br>
I

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