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PostPosted: Sat Oct 07, 2023 11:53 am 
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I'm back for another round and this one is a bit special.

I will say very quickly that I have discussed with the family about what I'm about to tell you and about creating this thread and they are very happy for me to do this. I also think it is important to document the history of the car.

I bought this from the family of Anthony Richings, Anthony has owned the car since he was 18 and was in the process of restoring it with his son. Derek Wadsworth had stripped and resprayed the car in 2020 and it has sat on Anthonys drive since. Unfortunately recently Anthony sadly suffered a stroke and due to the circumstances surrounding his health the family have come to the conclusion that the car is not going to be completed and it would be best to sell it to someone who can finish it and get it back on the road.

Alun put me into contact with Anthony's family through Derek and after some negotiation I agreed to purchase the car with a view to finishing the restoration and getting it back on the road where it should be.

There is a caveat to this, something that I am more than happy to adhere to. The family gets first refusal if I decide to sell the car. Also, hopefully by the time I have finished Anthony's son Morgan will be 17 so I suggested that I give him a driving lesson in the Sprint, and I will certainly be giving Anthony a ride in it.

On to the car, it's a March 75 Sprint, so I would say its a series 1 car. Clear glass and overdrive but no light dimming relay in the rear loom. Anthony was running Weber 40s on what looks like a gold seal engine with a hot cam and lightened flywheel, I won't be running the 40s, I'll be putting SUs back on and the original engine back in (rebuilt of course). It's such a good car with a fantastic history that I think originality is important.

From what I can see I have 95% of the parts required to reassemble it, I have bought a new brake line kit and I will need some other bits I expect.

Both the gearbox and axle have been rebuilt, and the door cappings and dash beautifully refurbished by Chapman and Cliff.

Prior to collection Derek and I fitted the rear axle with Morgans help.

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Safely delivered home

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One full van later!

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The door cappings are just gorgeous!

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There is some bodywork to do, where it has been sitting some rust has come through from behind the wings and front nose panel. There are a couple of blisters around the car and the rear door bottoms have suffered as well. Nothing scary though and all fixable.

This is probably the worst bit.

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There will be a small amount of welding then, nothing bad at all. I have a can of the original paint so blending the repairs in won't be an issue, I also have someone that can do the blending as well. I really don't want to have to respray the whole car as Derek has done such a great job with the respray, it just needs a cut and polish to bring it up.

To be continued......


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PostPosted: Sat Oct 07, 2023 12:55 pm 
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anthony always spoke to me any time we met ,a really top fella i was so glad to hear that the cars in your hands mate ,couldnt have gone to a better home


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 08, 2023 11:39 am 
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It's amazing how long it used to take some Dolomites to be registered. When was it actually registered James?


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 08, 2023 2:56 pm 
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The 'S' plate was a decoy whilst it was visibly laid up on the driveway, it's actually on an 'N' plate.


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 08, 2023 3:40 pm 
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The 'S' plate was a decoy whilst it was visibly laid up on the driveway, it's actually on an 'N' plate.
Ahh that explains it.

Looking forward to watching the progress. Great story and the basis of a great car.


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 08, 2023 7:22 pm 
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The 'S' plate was a decoy whilst it was visibly laid up on the driveway, it's actually on an 'N' plate.
I see. I know that it was often quite a while before they were registered but 28 months, at least, seemed a bit excessive.


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PostPosted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 8:57 am 
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I see. I know that it was often quite a while before they were registered but 28 months, at least, seemed a bit excessive.
Back in the 2000's some RHD Citroen C6's sat around for 3-4 years between build and registration. I had an 'ORGA' Build Date calculator on C6owners.org for users to see when their car was actually built.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 09, 2023 12:58 pm 
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Sorry Glen, yes what Alun said, Anthony put a decoy plate on the car whilst it was on the drive to deter any unwanted attention.

The cars build date was 12th March, dispatch date was 14th March, registration date was 1st April 1975 going to Henleys in West Croydon.

I'm trying to do a video of this for a YouTube channel so this may take a while! :lol:

Edit: No, not Henleys. The passport to service says that the selling dealer was Surrey Motors in Sutton.


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PostPosted: Wed Oct 11, 2023 4:21 pm 
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Look forward to following this one, love a white sprint :)

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Triumph Dolomite Sprint,RNK 957W

Built 26/6/1980 (one of the last built), Auto, Porcelain White - Genuine Mileage 52,820 (warranted).

Only 3 previous owners, (2 within the same family).

Supplied by Lavender Hill Garage Ltd, Enfield, London, by garage owner Jimmy Metcalfe on 30th September 1980 to Geoffery Robinson, Enfield.

Club Membership No: 2017092


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PostPosted: Sun Oct 15, 2023 9:18 pm 
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Sorry Glen, yes what Alun said, Anthony put a decoy plate on the car whilst it was on the drive to deter any unwanted attention.

The cars build date was 12th March, dispatch date was 14th March, registration date was 1st April 1975 going to Henleys in West Croydon.

I'm trying to do a video of this for a YouTube channel so this may take a while! :lol:

Edit: No, not Henleys. The passport to service says that the selling dealer was Surrey Motors in Sutton.
All relatively quick then. On the road within 3 weeks of being built.

Do you have a repair panel for the n/s/f wing? I will be fitting the Club fibreglass front wings, so I will have the steel ones available from my car. The n/s one is quite rusty around the arch but pretty sound where yours is holed.


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 19, 2023 4:33 pm 
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All relatively quick then. On the road within 3 weeks of being built.
Ha, I wish! I do have a lot to do on it!

Thanks I have a panel for the wing, hopefully I can just use sections rather than having to do a cut and splice job which I normally do!


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 19, 2023 4:48 pm 
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Axle and subframe are off and will be stripped and sent for powder coating. I am hoping that the original Koni shocks that I have with the car can be refurbished by Koni UK, just waiting for a reply on that one.

The rear panel has had some impact damage in the past and it does look like I'll have to replace it, not a problem as I have one in the loft.

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The bar that mounts to the rotisserie should be vertical! Once on the rotisserie there is some distortion to the panel, there shouldn't be. The way I have designed the way it attaches there should be no stress on that panel unless it has been deformed in the past. Anyway, it's on and I can get on with working on the underside.

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The underside looks great, apart from a dent (which will easily come out) the boot floor is mint!

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With the exception of a few dents and a torn hole it's rust free here

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The rear of the sills don't look good, I have some concerns here!

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PostPosted: Thu Oct 19, 2023 5:10 pm 
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Into the garage!

It looks like that this tear is the result of a lashing strap at some point. It's annoying me so has to be repaired! :lol:

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New panel made

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Done!

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The other chassis leg is dent free so I managed to pull out the dents on this side, it looks much better now.

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Same story on the other side of the cross member, this side I managed to cut and pull the dents out rather than fabricate a new repair panel.

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Still some dents in the footwells to deal with but that's much better. I can live with that.

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On to the sills! Passenger side doesn't look good!

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I decided that the best way to go was to strip the paint off, there's a small repair but that's ok, nothing wrong with that.
The front section has also been repaired with a new wing bottom, all done exactly how I would do it! :-k Has someone been looking at my previous repairs maybe? :lol:

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The problem is the amount of pinholing that's come through from the inside of the panel.

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Bugger! Wasn't expecting that! :lol:

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On the positive side the front is really good and after a clean up the reinforcer panel inside is actually not that bad..

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Looking down inside the sill it looks ok, just the outer panel is very thin in places.

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This whole sill needs replacing especially as it's a structural part of the car. The internal structure looks fine and I think I can save the lower lip, I expect that the other side is the same so I'll get a pair of club sills ordered.

Looking at how it is rusted and where the car was parked, I suspect that water has just entered the inside of the sill through the trim holes and not been able to drain as all the drain points are blocked. Looking at the rest of the structure, it's in superb condition so we caught this at the right time.

Right, time to email Nigel and harass Alun! :lol:


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 Post subject: Aye…
PostPosted: Fri Oct 20, 2023 12:56 am 
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I'm trying to do a video of this for a YouTube channel so this may take a while! :lol:
That’ll be good,
I enjoyed Project Binky on YouTube,
you will need to post a link……


Ian

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PostPosted: Fri Nov 17, 2023 1:55 pm 
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Great to see some pictures and updates James. Good luck with the project.

MC

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