The Triumph Dolomite Club - EzBoard Archive

Hiya. Back again after mucho pc hassles (mostly related to BT/AOL/Wireless router crap). Also fell off me push bike. Landed on my head (again). No helmet this time. Yes it did hurt. Same spot as got hit by poxy london bus - bloody typical<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :rolleyes --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/eyes.gif ALT=":rolleyes"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
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Firstly, can the sound bloke who bought lots of Gigi bits from me please get in touch. Aol appears to have eaten your email and I can't find your details on the postings I've been scanning. Ta<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
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Secondly, I've been offered an XR4i RWD (3 door jobbie in black). Anyone have any experience of 'em? It's got 94K on the clock (genuine miles)<br>
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Ta <br>
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Ken<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END-->

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For my sins I had one in my slightly younger days. In black on an A plate. V6 engine, with a cracked head so I dropped a capri 2.8 lump in - its the same spec. The car was uite nice to drive. Plastic dash cracked, but that was a common problem with them. Fuel efficiency...there wasn't much. Around 25 to the gallon if I remember rightly. Back end drifted nicely around the right corners. Topped out at somewhere over 130 50-70 acceleration was good at the lower end it felt good, but wasn't. Front end on mine had a cosworth grill which I changed so I didn't get grief from the insurance people. Got some pictures of it somewhere. Passed it on to my brother in law (at the time) he ran it for a while as well.<br>
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Had a weird little joystick to set the rear front and balance on the speakers.....<br>
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I gave £500 for mine and it was in very good nick (part form the lump!) lot of fun for the money.<br>
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Absolutely cavernous boot once the seats fold down.<br>
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What sort of things you want to know.....?<br>
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<p>1980 Inca Sprint - Running! <br>
1979 Blue 1850 On ebay to make space!<br>
1978 Inca Sprint Engine out<br>
1978 Yellow 1850<br>
1977 White sprint in bits<br>
1973 Mimosa Sprint Project car - for someone else!<br>
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Any info would be good. What to look out for, probs, etc, parts sources. This is a freebie so I'm happy either way. This is going to be car number four. I've run out of space but a mate's neighbour has a farm with lotsa storage, so it'll go there for a while. Just whilst I figure out what the hell to do with all of these cars.<br>
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Fiesta diesel - commuting/work car<br>
1300 Dolly - sweet little car, just needs a bit of paint.<br>
Big 1850 dolly - needs to leak petrol less, thats all I've looked at to date<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :o --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/embarassed.gif ALT=":o"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
Black XR4i - soon to be new member of the family:

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I bet the shells are sought after if nothing else.<br>
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My knowledge is limited to the difference in 3 door sierra body shells, the XR4i had the nasty three door shell that looked like a 5 door with the rear doors welded up, the other 3 door shell was the cosworth one which had proper 3 door rear quarters and big single rear side windows, not a bad looking car.

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Think of it as a 2.8 Capri with headroom in the back! Anything Ford and your going to get the parts cheap.<br>
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You need to look at the body work under the superb body kit, by removing unfortunatly.<br>
The outer cill skins are notorious on MK1 Sierra shells, to the extent Ford used thicker metal on the MK2!<br>
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Rear wheel arches (we could be talking Triumph here!) tops of front inner wings, where the outer wing joins. Where the front floor pan meets the A post, cill and inner wing.<br>
Strut tops and surrounding structure can suffer stress cracking due to over hardened suspension in a un seam welded shell.<br>
Rear suspension pickup points, rear of cills where they meet the rear wheel arches and all cill structure, whole length of the car where it meets the floor pan.<br>
Lift the rear seats out and poke a big hole in the floor where it meets the inner cill!<br>
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The seams where the rear quarter panels join the boot structure (visable with the boot open) collect surface corrosion where water gathers.<br>
Door skins, by the glass along the top edge of the skin, bottom of the glass. When you have removed the external trim the holes attaching it will be crusty and the bottom of the skin could well be seperate from the door.<br>
To check this open the door and feel along the bottom edge.<br>
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Boot struts fail so you may need a post to hold it open (my head is still egg shaped where my brother in law's boot tried to kill me!) and remember the vast rear spoiler sitting on it!<br>
Water can get into the boot forcing the skin to bubble at each edge above the rear lights.<br>
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Running gear wise, tappety rattle and smoke from the engine, noisy rear diff and thats about it!<br>
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Interior's were stained and falling apart by the time they got to the dealers!<br>
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A gloomy worst case scenario picture painted here Ken, fantastic motors even if inflicted with the odd 3 door shell!<br>
Don't be tempted to put the Cossie front end on it as these cars are getting rare in original condition.<br>
Oh and tow a fuel bowser behind you, your going to need it as you won't be able to resist planting your foot! <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
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Hope this helps!

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Errrrr... maybe a little too much info?<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :lol --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/laugh.gif ALT=":lol"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
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Cheers Guys. The engine is sweet, some obvious corrosion on the rear wheel arches but repair panels should still be around and cheap enough? Interior is tatty but cleanable. New brakes and exhaust I believe. I'll know more the week after next when I pick it up. Should be entertaining. More cars than money and time.... typical<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START : --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/ohwell.gif ALT=":"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END-->

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I don't class myself as an authority, but letting in a new rear panel - if you can get then is going to be hard. You could probably let in some arches though. Its fun to drive one - expensive to run, the rear body line is ok - I kinda like it. The cleanable interior will still look naff, but there is a nice blow up lumber support in most (all?) of them. I'd like to have some of that support in one of my dollys.

<p>1980 Inca Sprint - Running! <br>
1979 Blue 1850 On ebay to make space!<br>
1978 Inca Sprint Engine out<br>
1978 Yellow 1850<br>
1977 White sprint in bits<br>
1973 Mimosa Sprint Project car - for someone else!<br>
</p><i></i>

Hi Ken,<br>
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Now I am back from abroad I will make contact about the seats as I know you are fed up with them ligging about.<br>
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Regarding Sierras, lots of good stuff above which I won't replay. There is one very important point with all MkI Sierras though, and especially XR4's, because they tended to be driven harder.<br>
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The Sierra was released to an unsuspecting Europe in 1982. It was hiding a horrific body design fault which the crash test boffins who design a car before its built if you see what I mean messed up completely. In essence, in even the slightest front end tap (even in traffic queues etc) the frontal deformation forces are passed through the shell into the floor. At the time Ford dealers were writing off almost new cars whiuch had had slight taps in the traffice because, on getting the car on a ramp, the transmission tunnel and floor were rippled back to the rear footwells!<br>
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This is why, about three months after launch ALL Sierras were regraded by the Association of British Insurers, and went up three insurance groups. <br>
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When the facelifted Mk 2 was launched in '86, it hid a major front end body redesign to alleviate these problems.<br>
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So lift the carpets and check the integrity of the tunnel and footwells. Any rippling is VERY difficult to pull out, even with appropriate jigs etc.<br>
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Otherwise, I echo what is said above - great fun to drive, comfy, capacious but noisy and thirsty. There aren't many left so they are developing a following among the classic Ford fraternity.

<p>Martin<br>
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1968 Triumph 1300FWD<br>
1975 Triumph 1500TC Auto<br>
1989 Honda Civic 1300 Auto<br>
2006 Mondeo 2.0 Ghia X Auto<br>
2002 Renault Scenic<br>
<br>
</p><i></i>

As an aside, Frank Williams was incapacitated as a result of a crash in a Sierra in 1986.<br>
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And a couple of years previously Neil Kinnock totalled his Sierra too.<br>
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There you go, these forums are both educational and entertaining.<br>
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For me, the only decent Sierra ever is the RS500, I remember seeing one parked up outside our school at the age of 14 for the first time, it gave me a wet dream with the big whale tail spoiler - almost as much Mandy Bennett in my class who had massive appendages.<br>
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Sorry, digressing a bit there.........

<p><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.smifter1971.pwp.blueyonder.c ... >Smifter's Dolomite Sprint Website</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br>
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Scary XE powered 1974 Dolomite Sprint Trackday Experiment. Maybe someday soon<br>
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2002 Octavia VRS - 20 valves, leather, a turbo and 146mph - Czech it out!! </p><i></i>

yer missus name was mandy Graeme?<br>
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<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :hat --><img src=http://www.ezboard.com/images/emoticons/pimp.gif ALT=":hat"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <br>
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Jonners

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My old boss had as RS500 as his company car (yes he did own a large share of the company!). When it was nicked the law basically told him to forget it, no chance of ever getting it back. They also told him that he was a very lucky chap for having had it for so long, 3 or 4 years. His was the last one in the country to be nicked. Not the last one ever to be nicked, I expect some have been since as this was in the mid 90's. His was the last one to get nicked for it's first time. Some round liverpool / manchester had been borrowed upwards of six times.<br>
Downside was by the time his went most had been wrapped round trees and trackers were starting to appear so only the pro thieves touched 'em.<br>
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Diversion over<br>
Tinweevil

<p>1978 <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.triumphowners.com/704">Dolomite Sprint</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> Blue, a bit tetley. - Current daily drive.<br>
1972 <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.triumphowners.com/754">Spitfire IV</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> No name, in bits.<br>
1968 <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.triumphowners.com/705">GT6 II</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> Little blue, nice!<br>
1973 <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.triumphowners.com/755">Dolomite Sprint</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> VA41, seriously tetley.<br>
1980 <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.triumphowners.com/864">Dolomite 1500HL</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> Orange, really quite tidy.</p><i></i>