The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Fantastic to see you making progress with this Matt! Absolutely love the idea of that gem-like twin cam in a Toledo.

I agree, but when you think about it the effort seems a bit pointless, but at least it'll be different. I mean the Sprint engine is cheap, produces more power, can be made as reliable and is a heck of a lot easier to fit.
I'm sure it'll be brilliant and it looks fantastic, I just think something better could've gone in for the effort required.

I think you might be missing the point, Dan. Yes, it would be 10 times easier to put a Sprint lump in but this is the first Fiat twin cam I know of that's been put in a Dolly/Tolly. The engine is from the same era as "our" cars so no ECUs or fuel injection to worry about.

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Toledo Man

West Yorkshire Area Organiser & forum moderator
Meetings take place on the first Wednesday of the month at 8.00pm at The Old Brickworks, Wakefield Road, Drighlington, Bradford, BD11 1EA

1972 Dolomite 1850 auto (NYE 751L - Now for sale)
2003 Volvo XC90 D5 SE (PX53 OVZ - The daily driver)
2009 Mercedes-Benz W204 C200 CDI Sport (BJ58 NCV - The 2nd car)
1991 Toyota Celica GT (J481 ONB - another project car)
Former stable of SAY 414M (1974 Toledo), GRH 244D (1966 1300fwd), CDB 324L (1973 1500fwd), GGN 573J (1971 1500fwd), DCP 625S (1977 Dolomite 1300) & LCG 367N (1975 Dolomite Sprint) plus 5 Acclaims and that's just the Triumphs!

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I can see where Dan is coming from but to fit the Sprint lump you still need to change the subframe and everything else.

I'm a fan of the old fiat twin cam as well, having had one in a Lancia beta which was faster than any 1600 had a right to be in its day. Such a sahme they made them of wet cardboard quality steel
else we might still have them as a credible maker.

I seriously doubt that the original diff will cope and at 4.11 it will be a bit of a screamer. the Sprint diff will also need a different propshaft. Be a shame to do the prop twice. I'd get a Sprint axle in while you can. The original wont cope with much more than 105 bhp, the output of a TR7 8 valve.

Jonners

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Note from Admin: sadly Jon passed away in February 2018 but his humour and wealth of knowledge will be fondly remembered by all. RIP Jonners.

He should be OK with the prop Jonners, I used a (modified) Toledo prop against a Sprint diff without problems in the Carledo.
The Fiat/lancia Twincam is indeed a cool motor, free revving and strong. Having the body dissolve around them is why there are so many available to fit in decent cars (and Moggy Minors ) so don't knock it!
Good luck to you mate it looks nice in situ and should give you a decent turn of speed. All you need now is a proper pair of DHLA Dellortos!

Steve

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'73 2 door Toledo with Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 8v engine (The Carledo)
'78 Sprint Auto with Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v engine (The Dolomega)
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like that very much buddy, watching closly with great intrest

cheers for the replies. I know this may not seem like a very logical choice but I got the engines for a great price and I enjoy fabricating and modifying in my spare time.

I fitted the sprint rear axle today and got the modified prop back so its almost ready to all go back together! Just got to do some welding before fitting the engine for the final time.

plus I have some bike carbs to fit which should make the old thing breath much better. hopefully get it to around 130bhp

Well I should update you on how this is going.

Unfortunately my phone has broken so there are no pictures


But anyway. The front subframe has now been removed, stitch welded, strengthened and repainted ready to refit to the car.

The subframe mounting points on the chassis were pretty bad so I have cut all the rust out and repaired and painted those.

The fiat gearbox - dolly prop yoke is in the middle of being made so hopefully pick that up tomorrow.

Todays job will be to paint the engine bay then hopefully get some solid subframe bushes made up.

If all goes to plan it will be the final assembly within the week, and then its just a small bit of wiring and fuelling to get it running!

"fit a 1970s Italian designed engine into a 1970s Italian designed car? sacrilege! shouldn't be allowed!!!"
lol... good for you, that lampredi powerplant will give the sound and power to match its looks

u must post some pics of said solid subframe mounts as im tempting the same thing soon, thanking you please

your choice of engine is awesome, my mums ex husband used 2 race a starlet with the fiat twin cam in and sounded quality, great 2 see other engines being squezzed in,
im nearly finished mounting my ford 16v rs2k lump, keep going buddy

Cheers for the support mate!

I know fitting a sprint lump would have been easier but I love playing with my cars and this engine has many possibilities, such as:

Turbo it with the 8v delta intergrale bits
16v head from fiat coupe, tipo or delta intergrale
volumex supercharger from old lancia

There are lots of possibilities even the fiat coupe 20v 5 cylinder will bolt straight onto this box. I think im going to get it running standard then fit the bike carbs, which should get it to around 130-140.

Once I know its okay then ill get a fiat coupe 16v head and 1.6 domed top pistons then 180bhp is achievable for fairly low cost.

I'll get some pics of the subframe bushes once they arrive. Its the only thing im waiting for now and its starting to get annoying waiting. I wanna get it back on the road!

Well the car is finished and out driving. Much much better than it used to be! I'll upload some engine bay pics soon but I took it out for a spin and a clean today so here it is at the moment.

very nice build and i personally love the fiat lump in there i have 2 questions are the wolfies off a scimitar and what size tires, the other whats the supension spec as your car sits how i see mine when finished thanks john

Fantastic to see the car up and about Matt, well done! I may have a lead about the item we discussed, stay tuned!

Shiffty: your project looks promising! The wheels on the Twin Cam Toledo are 7JX13 Cobra Dragslots in 95.25mm PCD - they used to live in my garage! Be wary of sourcing Wolfrace Slotmags from a Scimitar. The wheels fitted to a Reliant are 5.5JX14 in 114.3mm PCD and will not fit your Toledo hubs.