The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Yeh they dont take long to change just got to hope it doesnt vibrate or whine etc. Center bearings are nearly as much as a second hand prop anyway so you were lucky there!

Cheers,
Shep

watch the way you bolt the prop up to the body shep. there is a guide at SPRINTPARTS website on which holes to use for the sprint. The carrier aligns to different holes depending on what flavour car you have. Not clear in the workshop manual (iirc) and it is possible to use the wrong holes.

stu

Hmmmm I've already put it on now! Thanks I'll definately look into it. I just used the existing holes from where the previous prop was but I'll check to be on the safe side!

Cheers, Shep

Haven't been on for a while so it's well overdo an update!! Now I have been a lil daft in the fact I may of bought an off roading toy for the winter which i have replaced with the daily driver so now the sprint is my daily the missis aint too happy but ah well!

So firstly I have changed the seats over. This was a definate after buying knightriders modified engine! Heres a pic of before:



Got one in:



Finished just need hoover!!



Once seats were in I set about lowering it! Only an inch or so lowering the car on the springs. When I got a bit more money I'll hopefully be upgrading for decent set of shocks!
Bought rear springs off ebay. These turned out to be uprated fronts lifting the front 2"s higher than standard !! Eventually scraped the funds for Rimmers 1" springs all round!
New spring vs Old spring.



Polybushing as I went - I hate polybushes......






The red springs were the wrong ones frustratingly so out they came again


Took apart the brakes and gave them a good overhaul which gave me a much better pedal. When the new engine goes in I'll seriously be considering the trackerjack conversion or something simular. I dont know how others get on with engine modifications with standard brakes? Think its a trial and error situation as the car wont be a daily driver by then hopefully!


Cant tell anything from before and after pictures but here are some random pictures I found from when one of the seats were in.







Let me know what you think! Sorry its not to all the purists taste but I LIKE IT!!!

Cheers, Shep

I'm still running stock Sprint brakes (plus Greenstuff pads and Goodrich hoses) on the Carledo which is quite a lot lighter than a Sprint. I would describe them as no more than adequate!
Still, like most folk on here, I have become used to "modern" brakes which are bigger than milkbottle tops and vented (never mind the ABS which I don't like anyway! If you get the ABS deployed, you're not driving well!)
The limiting factor here is the size of the wheels and remarkably few people who own Dollies seem willing to forego their Sprint Alloys to get really decent brakes in!
Not that I am knocking the TJ conversion, I have one for my own Sprint which is on 13" Minilites, but for the Carledo, on its 15" MGF rims, I'm probably going to brew up something myself, probably based on the vents and calipers from an Omega (cos i've already got them on the donor car for the Sprints engine!)

Steve

_________________
'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)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!

Maverick Triumph, Servicing, Repairs, Electrical, Recomissioning, MOT prep, Trackerjack brake fitting service.
Apprentice served Triumph Specialist for 50 years. PM for more info or quotes.

Yeh I think I'll just put better pads in but if I ever do make it onto a track I'll need something better! As for the wheels these will hopefully be replaced for wider wheels for a possible wide arch kit. At the moment, nothing is certain what to do but as soon as tax runs out on new year she will be put on the stands tidied up and resprayed!

Sounds like a good idea with the omega brakes.... If you do make something up then don't forget to post it on here! I'd be very interested!!!
Cheers, Shep

No worries mate, when I do it, I'll post it!
I figure with the Big O being RWD and on 15s as standard it stands a chance of working without too much trouble, and I'm a great believer in the first law of engineering, K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid!)

Steve

_________________
'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)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!

Maverick Triumph, Servicing, Repairs, Electrical, Recomissioning, MOT prep, Trackerjack brake fitting service.
Apprentice served Triumph Specialist for 50 years. PM for more info or quotes.

Don't stick arches on that car, it looks like a good example

Ford changed from 240 mm diameter brake discs to 260mm along with a change of caliper/carrier.
However these bigger brakes can be fitted in place of the smaller one.
What this means for us is the bigger calipers fit TJ's brackets .

The problem with brake caliper clearance is when fitting Sprint alloys.
Standard 1850 steels and Minator Minilite replicas have ample clearance, so the latter allows the use of bigger Ford calipers
(I have tried this) and the former probably does as well.



Ian.

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Hmmm that's definitely something to consider!! Didn't know about that. I thought of the issue with the sprint wheel clearance but I am looking into different wheels. I love the look of the starmags although I don't think they'll be practical enough for any later brake conversions....

Cheers for the advice!
Shep

Well we've been here before (almost ad nauseam) but MGF rims fit the studs and the car with only minimal modding to the rear arch lips (which you would surely need to do if fitting those forest arches)
In addition to the 3 or 4 styles offered by the factory, any aftermarket big rim offered as fitting the MGF should go on your car though I would beware of those bigger in diameter than the original 15s.
Thats good news about the bigger Sierra discs and callipers, Ian has also informed me that a Golf disc is available in 260mm so we might be all systems go with the TJ brackets without further fabrication!

Steve

_________________
'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)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!

Maverick Triumph, Servicing, Repairs, Electrical, Recomissioning, MOT prep, Trackerjack brake fitting service.
Apprentice served Triumph Specialist for 50 years. PM for more info or quotes.

I'm with Hobo this is a nice car. What's wrong with Sprint alloys they have class! Don't Chav this car.

Dave

They foul on the brake calipers when upgrading the brakes, which for a track car is sorely needed. They're also ten a penny and shouldn't really be used with rubber much wider than 185.

Chav it? If you think that's chaving it, I can't wait to see what you say about my car.

_________________
1978 Sandglow Dolomite 1850HL The Lolomite - MOT pass! (broken again in 55 miles though...)
It's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses.
Hit it.

mmmmm. Not a fan of minlites or suchlike on Sprints. Why not start with a 1300 and go up?

Another Triumph of style over substance!
This is what I meant in my earlier post about peoples unwillingness to give up the Sprint alloys!
To my mind decent brakes win every time over keeping it looking stock! Sure if you have a concours example in standard trim that you don't drive hard, by all means keep the Sprint alloys, they do look nice and their characteristics perfectly suit a standard car. But if you want it to be safe at any speed then you have to be prepared to experiment (and compromise) a bit!

Steve

_________________
'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)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!

Maverick Triumph, Servicing, Repairs, Electrical, Recomissioning, MOT prep, Trackerjack brake fitting service.
Apprentice served Triumph Specialist for 50 years. PM for more info or quotes.