The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

The Number One Club for owners of Triumph's range of small saloons from the 1960s and 1970s.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 5:53 pm 
Well hello there boys and girls, I hope you're sitting comfortably...?!

I was convinced I'd done a thread about my trusty Toledo but if I had gawd knows where it's gone as I'll be darned if I can find it...!!!

So let's start from the beginning...

I was on eCon (as is often the case!) and I was about to bid on an early TR7 when, for reasons I cannot remember, I forgot to get my last minute bid in :roll: "Darn & blast" I proclaimed, or words along those lines...!!!

I don't know why but I had to buy something that day so with that in mind I carried on searching through the 'classic cars' section of that bloomin' auction web-site and this appeared...

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I saw this tatty looking Toledo, it was not too far away from me and it was low mileage with stacks of history, NICE ONE!!! I contacted the owner directly and bought it there and then without even seeing it, whoops...!

Anyhow, I blasted up to get it and I was pleased my classic sense was tingling that day... It had only had a couple of owners and the then current owner loved and looked after this car and although it looked rough, it was solid and on the button! A thin wedge of notes was handed over, a receipt signed and I bumbled off back home...

That was on Valentines Day about 2 years ago and it has been in daily use ever since, it is the most reliable (I've cursed it now right?!) classic I have ever owned...!

It needed a new exhaust first and foremost as it was rustier than rust itself so when it split in half I invested in a new stainless steel system from this wonderful club...

I have then sourced other bits like a better set of seats (the others had, ermmm, disolved!) Dolomite Sprint alloy wheels, steering wheel and chin spoiler as well as a few other trinkets... I like my cars to be nice and subtle with additions that are in keeping and 'of the period' as it were...

So this is how it looks currently...

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It looks much better than it did but it really does need some serious attention pretty soon as the rust is creeping in to the body here and there and the paintwork has never been overly glossy!

I have spent more on it than it cost me (there is nothing new there then!) and I love it dearly so it needs some more cash throwing at it to bring it back to how it was when it rolled out of Canley in 1976...

I still cannot believe how undervalued these are along with the Dolomite...!!! If you are after a good value classic with bags of character, that is good fun to drive, cheap to run and really very comfortable indeed then I give you the Triumph Toledo (but then you know all that already right?!)... It is pretty much perfect!

I will try and keep this thread updated as, and when, I get my backside in gear and get it stripped down ready for cutting, welding and painting...


Last edited by Toledo Man on Fri Apr 06, 2018 6:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
Fixed the Photobucket links.


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PostPosted: Wed Apr 17, 2013 8:36 pm 
It looks great! :D Nice to see another small capacity Triumph in regular use.

These late-model Toledos look especially smart with their raised rear bumpers.


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 7:23 pm 
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Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:45 pm
Posts: 11179
Location: Middlesex
Bit more T cut and you could try that colour impregnated polish too. It worked ok on my faded pimento one for a while.

Looks to have HL dolomite cloth seats. Thought Tollies were all plastic, maybe same source as the sprint wheels.

Nice

Jonners

_________________
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.


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 8:09 pm 
Late model Toledos did come with cloth seats, which was odd as when they introduced the Dolomite 1300 that came with the Toledo vinyl seats with the cloth seats being added later.

Maybe with the Toledo it was an incentive for people to buy a model that was being run out in that it now came with cloth seats?

Anyway...I digress. :oops:

Love this car, please keep us updated with your life together.


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PostPosted: Thu Apr 18, 2013 8:45 pm 
Yup, they're narrower than the HL type and utilise the slimmer subframe mounts too.


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 22, 2013 11:04 am 
The seats are indeed 'non-Toledo' items and are a bit more comfortable as a result as they are a tad bigger and plumper...!!! I imagine they are far more common than Toledo seats now and I like to try and take the easy route as, and when I can... :wink:

My Toledo did have cloth seats originally but I believe they were an optional extra and were not standard fitment, vinyl was the default seating material even on the last models...

I did a few little tasks yesterday so I will post my exciting pictures up of those later on. Brace yourselves!!!


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PostPosted: Mon Apr 22, 2013 2:48 pm 
Braced. :D


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 26, 2013 9:02 am 
Right then boys & girls, here is the next exciting installment of 'operation MEL'...!!! It was one of those boring Sundays where my good lady wife had left me on my own for the day (very dangerous!) so I wondered " hmmmm, what can I do today" and I just thought I'd clean my disgusting pedal rubbers...!

They get a lot or, ermmm, 'stuff' in them so I thought it best to take them off and give them a scrub to bring a bit of cleanliness down to the foot area...

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Please excuse my horrible carpets...!!! I think that getting those rubbers off was far easier than getting them back on I can tell you... I wish I'd actually cleaned the pedals and their 'arms' as well now... :roll: That was just one of those satisfyingly easy jobs that, although the results are not amazing, made me feel like I did something with my day :lol:

Next up, restoring my Lucas 'Square 8' spotlamps...

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That's all folks...!!! For now anyway...


Last edited by Toledo Man on Fri Apr 06, 2018 6:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Fixed the Photobucket links.


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 5:11 pm 
Don't you just hate finding rust...?!

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I found this patch a couple of months ago and I have just not had the time to remedy (or get someone to remedy!) this area!!! As well as this I have some crusty old rust towards the rear of my sills that is creeping up into the arches so things need to be tackled.

I have been given the contact of someone who is ruddy good at fettling these old brutes (many thanks Mr.Tilson!) so I will have to make arrangements in the new year to get rust cut out and metal glued in!!!

Until then though I am thinking of taking it off the road until Spring...?! I don't want to let things get any worse and I am not in a great position (money or time wise) to do anything now so I think I have to preserve my beloved Canley critter as things are getting a bit gritty and salty out there.

Do you good folks think that that may be the best thing to do...?!


Last edited by Toledo Man on Fri Apr 06, 2018 6:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Fixed the Photobucket links.


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 12, 2013 7:17 pm 
I know a lot of people will disagree with me but I keep my car running all year, laying them up (in my opinion) is a bad thing to do as rubbers become less supple, box sections get filled with moisture, engines get coked up with running them on choke, batteries get discharged - the list goes on. A good soaking of some form waxoyl in all the usual places along with washing off salt shouldn't be too much of an issue.

I like those lamps, very classy, nice little winter time job to polish them up - I love those sort of jobs.


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 13, 2013 2:35 pm 
I don't want to keep it standing for too long, just a couple of months whilst the roads are really bad (they will only get worse from now!)...

I understand that use is the best thing for these old motors but I just know that the roads over winter are a salty, gritty pothole riden mess and I don't want to abuse my Toledo too much as he is getting old.

As for the lamps I am looking forward to cleaning them up a tad but knowhere near as much as I'm looking forward to getting them fitted and wired up so I can see a bit better in the dark...!!!

I may also spend a bit of time cleaning my alloys and repainting the black parts but we'll have to see about that in this weather...!!!

One thing I will be doing soon is compiling 'The List' so I know exactly what I need to do to the Toledo and I can cross things of as, and when I get round to sorting them out...

It's a full-time job this classic car lark :wink:


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 11:44 am 
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Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 9:45 pm
Posts: 11179
Location: Middlesex
Give the engine a run up to fully warm every week or so and exercise the clutch hydraulics and rear brakes at the same time if you can...

Most of the rust in those pics looks like it would respond to a good wire brush and bilt hamber or jenoliting....
Don't leave it like that or it will start to become holes....


Jonners

_________________
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.


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PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 9:54 pm 
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Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 7:38 pm
Posts: 2564
Location: Birmingham
Quote:
Most of the rust in those pics looks like it would respond to a good wire brush and bilt hamber or jenoliting....
Don't leave it like that or it will start to become holes....
Jonners
Once again, chassis leg rust on the same side as the battery lives..

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 3:51 pm 
Uh-oh... Jack through jacking point shock-horror!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I should not have used a silly little hydraulic jack with a small lifting post part (about 1 inch in diameter) but that's that now.

I can feel some metal work coming on very soon now! Oh well, I suppose I will just have to bite the bullet and list all the crusty spots and get them sorted out soon.

I can see a few of these ££££££££££££££££ leaving my pocket fairly rapidly... :roll:


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 9:20 pm 
Aaargh, not the dreaded bottle jacks?! Still, it's done now and may have done you a favour in exposing the amount of work required. I'm sure you'll soon have it all sorted as it doesn't look that extensive, best to nip it in the bud whilst you can.

On the subject of jacking points, even if they are resolutely solid it is best not to use them. The Dolomite range is ideally jacked on the subframe at the front and the axle at the rear.

I look forward to seeing how your restoration progresses.


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