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PostPosted: Mon Jul 16, 2018 4:43 pm 
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Future Club member hopefully!

Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 4:38 pm
Posts: 535
Location: South Benfleet, Essex
The Cranfield & Haden-Carrier Years – October 1979 ~ April 1984

Despite successful completion in June 1979, of my one-year PGCE postgraduate teacher training course, at the University of London, Institute of Education (now part of University College), in physical sciences (mainly physics, plus some chemistry) & mathematics, for 11~18 year age group secondary education, I was unable to secure a suitable salaried teaching post (preferably a grammar school, sixth form college or further education college) anywhere in the country by the end of August 1979, in time for the start of the new school academic-year in September.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UCL_Insti ... _Education

http://theconversation.com/merger-with- ... tion-22926

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2 ... ate-equity

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe

Equally vexing, was my inability to obtain a non-teaching post, having also applied for several of these, when suitable teaching vacancies in physics and/or mathematics, seemed to be few and far between. These included a research assistantship re blast waves associated with hand-held rocket launchers, at RMCS (i.e. Royal Military College of Science); an MOD civil service establishment of quasi-polytechnic status (taught defence related, degree-level courses, ratified by the CNAA – Council for National Academic Awards), with which I was to become better acquainted during 1990~91!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Mil ... of_Science

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_A ... ed_Kingdom

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrivenham

Whilst at Chelsea College, I had developed an interest in alternative-energy technology and environmental physics, which I was interested in pursuing further, but had previously found no way to do so. However, during the summer of 1979, I had reason to speak with Robert Manning, one of my former physics-student colleagues at Chelsea College, which radically changed my future and that of my Triumph Toledo as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_C ... Technology

He informed me that the normally 1 year M.Sc. in Applied Energy Engineering course (Energy Conservation and the Environment option), in the School of Mechanical Engineering at CIT – Cranfield Institute of Technology, could also be taken as a 2 year course, incorporating a preliminary 1 year M.Sc. qualifying cum conversion course, for those who held an HND/HNC, non-honours degree and/or non-engineering qualification in physics, chemistry or related discipline; of which he had just completed the first year.

https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranfield_University

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranfield ... 1969-1993)

Although by this stage, the final date for applications had already passed, he recommended that I send a letter of application to the Applied Energy Group course director, in the School of Mechanical Engineering, explaining the reasons for my belated application, and simultaneously submit a formal application via the normal channels. Much to my surprise, I was invited for an interview just a few weeks before the course was due to commence in early October 1979 and subsequently offered a place.

In the meantime, I had also learned from the University of London Careers Advisory Service’s fortnightly job vacancies listing, that the Haden-Carrier Group in London were offering sponsorships to students studying for an HND or B.Sc. in Environmental Engineering. I didn’t match their criteria, but having nothing to lose, I contacted the company, explaining that I was already a graduate of B.Sc. Applied Physics including modules in alternative-energy & environmental physics and that I was applying for a two-year M.Sc. course at CIT – Cranfield, that was closely related to Environmental Engineering.

Again to my surprise, I was invited for an interview with the head of the personnel department in central London, which was co-ordinating these sponsorships, whereby students would receive an allowance of £60 per term (i.e. later increased to £120 per term), plus a pro rata salary during college vacations when working with whichever Group company or department one had been assigned.

I didn’t fit the existing profile of Haden-Carrier Group’s sponsored students, being a postgraduate, but their Central Engineering R & D Laboratory, had an existing vacancy which had remained unfilled for at least six months and they wondered whether it might be of interest to me; noting that my Summer 1976 university vacation job, had been in the Mobil Oil Company’s Research & Technical Service Laboratory; some of which involved investigating the viability of blending bitumen with sulphur, as a reduced-cost material for road surfacing.

After a meeting in Wembley, Middlesex (on the fringe of west London), with the R & D Laboratory’s manager a few weeks later, I was taken on as the Group’s first postgraduate sponsored student, with my pro rata salary directly linked to that of graduate trainees, which was higher than that of other sponsored students and was £500 more per annum pro rata, than I would have earned as a newly qualified graduate teacher. I also gained the additional concession of being officially based in central London, but on attachment to the R & D Laboratory, in Wembley, so I was eligible to reclaim a significant proportion of my travelling expenses.

In principle, it would have been possible to drive daily in the Triumph Toledo from Canvey Island, Essex, to and from the R & D Laboratory, in Wembley, Middlesex, but it would have been a long, tiring and harrowing journey during the long peak-traffic periods, either via central London or around the A406 North Circular ring road; recalling that the M25 London orbital motorway had yet to be built. Instead, I commuted by public transport (i.e. bus, train & London underground train), which door to door, took about 2 hours each way; including a 15 minute walk from Hangar Lane underground station, at the junction of the A406 and A4.

In early-October 1979, at the age of 23¾, I commenced two years of study in the School of Mechanical Engineering at CIT – Cranfield, but I was not authorised by my father, to take the Triumph Toledo with me. Unbeknown to me until decades later, he lived in fear of me (an only child) being killed or injured in a motoring accident of some kind; a fate that had befallen the only son of my father’s colleague, shortly after passing his driving test. Hence, for the next year or so, I was obliged to rely upon public transport; taking approximately 4 hours each way, when travelling home for the weekend, by bus (ran at two-hourly intervals), British Rail train, London Underground train, British Rail train and bus.

However, after driving our 1973 VW 1600 Type 2 campervan in France & Switzerland and a hired Datsun E20 campervan in South Africa, Swaziland & Botswana, during our 1980 Easter and Summer touring holidays, my father concluded that I was a capable, careful & responsible driver, so he finally relented and allowed me to take the Triumph Toledo to university, making life and travel much easier and more convenient.

So, in October 1980, at the start of my second year at CIT – Cranfield, I finally took the Triumph Toledo with me. I successfully completed my M.Sc. in mid-September 1981 and was invited to continue my research project for a Ph.D., for which I obtained consent from Haden-Carrier, but sadly circumstances forced me to abandon this research in late-April 1984, after 2½ years. So, contrary to my original expectations, I was using the Triumph Toledo, to travel back and forth between Canvey Island and CIT – Cranfield, for about 3½ years.

During this period, Haden Carrier had announced its intention to close the Group Central Engineering R & D Department, so I had no job to return to. Fortunately for me, I soon found a suitable post, requiring my specialist expertise, at Celcon Blocks Ltd. (part of the Kingsway Group of companies), in Grays, Essex, just 15•7 miles by road from my home on Canvey Island and commenced full-time employment in late-June 1984, at the age of 28½.

CIT – Cranfield Institute of Technology (integral with Wharley End village, a few miles from Cranfield village), accessed by unclassified roads, is on the Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire border, roughly mid-way between Bedford and Milton Keynes. In common, with many establishments, any vehicles which were parked on campus, had to have a parking permit, bearing its registration number, displayed on the windscreen.

Cranfield Parking-Permit Disc

Image

In those days, there was no M25 London orbital motorway, so the quickest and least congested route from Canvey Island to CIT – Cranfield, was cross-country, on the A1301, A130, A414, A1060, A1250, A120, A10, A507 and various unclassified roads, via Chelmsford, Hatfield Heath, Bishop’s Stortford, Puckeridge, Buntingford, Baldock, Stotfold, Ampthill and several small villages, on a variety of roads, several of which were extremely windy, with a succession of several sharp left-hand & right-hand bends, with quite short straight-road sections between.

Mark Tothill, from Padstow, Cornwall who was one of my fellow students in the School of Mechanical Engineering, had a Triumph Dolomite Sprint. He suggested that it might be possible to fit Dolomite Sprint front & rear anti-roll bars to my Toledo. Detailed close-quarter inspection of both the Dolomite Sprint and Toledo, indicated that he was probably correct. He also suggested that decambering the front wheels might also improve road holding when negotiating bends. I implemented both upgrades during the summer of 1982 and winter of 1982/83.

Over the coming years, the Triumph Toledo was to become intimately acquainted with every junction, bend, concealed entrance, pothole and drain cover of that route. The MOT, road tax and insurance, were already paid for, so if one considered just fuel costs, using the car was significantly cheaper than using public transport, even with a 33•3% discount obtained using a student rail card.

On a typical Friday or Sunday evening, after my evening meal, driving to and from home at the weekend, the 80•0 mile journey took almost exactly 2½ hours, but when the traffic was especially light, it took only 2¼ hours. In December 1981, after a week of snow, before the university’s Christmas vacation, it took me 2¾ hours to drive home along this route, driving most of the time on hard-packed snow, so my Driver Advisory Course, with the Essex Police Driving School, during the late-1970s, again proved its worth.

In later years, when enough sections of the M25 London orbital motorway were built, I sometimes travelled via the A1301 (now re-designated as part of the A130 to Chelmsford, since they were joined), A127 – Southend Arterial Road, M25, M10, A1031, A414 and M1, turning off at M1 Junction 14 for the A509, signposted for Newport Pagnell and travelling the remainder of the journey to CIT – Cranfield via other unclassified roads, that took me around the perimeter of CIT’s large airfield, which had been part of the former RAF Cranfield aerodrome, that formed an important part of CIT’s College of Aeronautics’ facilities.

https://cranfieldairport.com/our-history/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranfield_Airport

http://clutch.open.ac.uk/schools/emerso ... field.html

https://wartimememoriesproject.com/ww2/ ... p?pid=5649

At that time, there was no junction between the incomplete M25 and the M1. This route using the M25, M10 and M1 motorways, was also exactly 80•0 miles, as indicated by my odometer & trip-counter, but typically took 2 hours returning to CIT – Cranfield on a Sunday evening, which was ½-hour shorter than my 80•0 mile cross-country route. Returning home on Friday evenings via the motorway route was usually impractical; commonly involving journey times of more than 2½ hours, because of traffic congestion, even as late as circa 7:00 pm.

Joining the Northbound carriageway of the M1 (Junction 7) from the M10 near Hemel Hempstead, was quite challenging, because the down-hill slip-road from the roundabout had two lanes, which served as both an entry & exit slip-road on & off the M1, in addition to being the through-road from the M10 to Hemel Hempstead. Northbound traffic on the M1 was always busy, even on a Sunday evening.

Hence, I was obliged to accelerate hard down the slip-road in 3rd gear and change up to 4th gear at something in excess of 50 mph, and then accelerating to almost 70 mph in 4th gear, negotiating lanes of traffic, to swoop like a Valkyrie onto the motorway’s nearside lane, adjusting my speed as necessary by means of the brakes, to fit into any “convenient” gap in the traffic. It was on some of those few such occasions, that I might have benefitted from having a 127 bhp Triumph Dolomite 2000 Sprint engine rather than the relatively pedestrian 58 bhp Triumph Toledo 1300 engine, but I know my father would not have sanctioned that particular modification!

I find motorway driving extremely tedious and the Triumph Toledo 1300 is not ideally suited to motorways, having a comfortable cruising speed of 50~60 mph, which is okay, but there is insufficient reserve power to comfortably overtake slow-moving lorries under heavy traffic conditions, especially on uphill gradients, which can be as steep as 1-in-25 to 1-in-20 (i.e. 4% to 5%) on some motorway sections. The overall fuel consumption was the same via either route to within measurable tolerances, so I still tended to take the cross-country route, unless circumstances obliged me to do otherwise.

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


Last edited by naskeet on Sat Feb 26, 2022 7:20 pm, edited 7 times in total.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2018 3:25 pm 
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Future Club member hopefully!
Future Club member hopefully!

Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 4:38 pm
Posts: 535
Location: South Benfleet, Essex
Retro-Fitting Tyre Inner-Tubes – Late 1970s

By the late 1970s, it became increasingly apparent from my weekly tyre-pressure checks (something I did habitually with all the family’s in-service vehicles | the 1973 VW Type 2 was jacked-up on axle stands in the garage, during the usual winter lay-up periods, so didn’t always require these regular checks), that one or more of the Toledo’s tyres, were slowly leaking air.

Even when one anticipated an increase in pressure owing to an increase in ambient temperature, I observed reductions in tyre-pressure! The Toledo has very sensitive steering and I found that I could detect an air-pressure difference of as little as 2 psi between the front tyres, by the slight tendency to deviate in the direction of the least-inflated tyre, when I held the steering wheel with my finger-tips.

Testing with soapy water around the Schräder valve & rubber valve-stem, indicated that at least some air was leaking from around the seating of the rubber valve-stem, where it passed through the associated hole in the Cosmic aluminium-alloy wheel. Despite replacement of rubber valve-stems, air-leakage from this source persisted. It was suggested that oxidation of the wheel, both around the rubber valve-stem and the tyre-bead seating area, might have been inhibiting proper sealing.

Hence, although not an ideal solution, I elected to use tyre inner-tubes with the tubeless tyres, that effectively cured the air-leakage problem, which has never since recurred. From then on, inner tubes were used with all of the tyres fitted to the Cosmic aluminium-alloy wheels (Uniroyal Rallye 180 - 175 SR13 | Kelly-Springfield Steelmark - 175 SR13 | Firestone S211 - 185/70 R13) and the Dolomite Sprint aluminium-alloy wheels (Firestone S211 - 185/70 R13) that I later substituted in 1996.

In their 1972 brochure, Cosmic actually recommend the use of inner tubes on their alloy wheels, which is stated as follows on Page 2 of 8:

Archived 1972 brochure of after-market Cosmic aluminium-alloy wheels

http://mk1-performance-conversions.co.u ... ls1972.pdf

« FITTING »

« We recommend the fitting of Inner Tubes for high performance or competition cars, or where non standard conditions exist. »

« IMPORTANT NOTE »

« The above tyre sizes may, in certain circumstances, be of larger section than the tyres fitted as original equipment. Therefore a physical check must be made on the car to ensure tyres clear wheel-arches, suspension, brake fluid pipes, etc. Where such tyres are used we recommend that inner tubes are also fitted. Check tyre pressures for larger section tyres with your local Tyre Specialist. »


On Page 14 of the following British tyre-industry (i.e. Avon, John Bull, Courier, Dunlop, Goodyear, Henley, India, Kelly-Springfield, Lee, Michelin, Pirelli & Uniroyal-Englebert) booklet, published in 1983, it states:

“Tyre Care”, British Rubber Manufacturer’s Association Ltd., LM20M/7-83

« Tubes in Tubeless tyres »

« There are times when it is advantageous to fit a tube in a tubeless tyre, but the same precautions should be taken as with tubed type tyres, namely that, if damaged, the tyre should be correctly repaired and the inside should be inspected to make sure it is free from damage, blemishes or foreign matter which could cause injury to the tube in service. The correct size of tube must be fitted. »

« In the interests of safety, tubes should be used with tubeless radial tyres on cars which are not equipped with modern safety type rims. There are still vehicles which do not have such safety type rims and if tubed type tyres are not available, and tubeless tyres have to be fitted, then tubes should be used. »

« Tubes may also be fitted into tubeless tyres to overcome the problem of a leak in the rim or air loss resulting from slight damage to the sealing areas of the tyre bead or the wheel rim seat. »

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


Last edited by naskeet on Wed Aug 11, 2021 7:34 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 20, 2018 3:29 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 4:38 pm
Posts: 535
Location: South Benfleet, Essex
Delaminating Tyre Treads! – Mid-1981

As mentioned earlier, the 1974 Triumph Toledo was already fitted with Uniroyal Rallye 180, steel-braced, 175 SR13 radial tyres, when my father bought the car in May 1975.

In May 1981, 6~6½ years after they were fitted, I noticed that portions of tread on both of the front two tyres, were delaminating and detaching from the carcase. At no time since my father bought the car, had the tyres been mistreated and there was considerable tread-depth remaining. These two Uniroyal tyres were immediately replaced on 30th May 1981 at 18,233 miles, with Kelly Springfield Steelmark, steel-braced, 175 SR13 radial tyres. In accordance with recommended practice, the front and rear wheels were swopped around, so that the new Kelly Springfield tyres were at the rear and the older partially-worn Uniroyal tyres at the front.

Within just a few months, the same phenomenon of tread delamination and detachment, was affecting both of the Uniroyal tyres on the front wheels. Hence the three remaining Uniroyal tyres on both front wheels and the spare wheel, were immediately replaced during the summer of 1981 at circa 19,500 ± 500 miles, with Kelly Springfield Steelmark, steel-braced, 175 SR13 radial tyres.

I had always been pleased with the dry & wet road performance of the Uniroyal Rallye 180 tyres (bearing an umbrella symbol and dubbed the “Rain Tyre” by Uniroyal), but they were not the most comfortable tyres on which to drive, especially on sectioned-concrete roads, on which one could feel a distinct thump, as one drove over the joints. I sometimes joked that one would notice a discarded empty matchbox or small tree-twig if one drove over it!

http://www.uniroyal-tyres.com/generator ... ry_en.html

« 1969: The magazine "Auto, Motor und Sport" crowns the company's first rain tyre, the rallye 180, as its overall test winner: "The test team was most impressed by the Uniroyal rallye 180 which performed equally well in all areas." The rallye 180 is also the first Uniroyal tyre to bear the umbrella symbol. »

http://www.uniroyal-pneumatici.it/www/l ... neData.jpg

Image

Uniroyal Rallye 180 Tread Pattern

Image

Sometime in 1986, I came across Kingpin WEM remoulded tyres which had the same tyre tread pattern as the Uniroyal Rallye 180 tyres. Kingpin Tyres Ltd., still exist as a company involved in remoulding and recycling tyres, but whether they still produce remoulded tyres with the Uniroyal Rallye 180 tread pattern, I don’t know.

Kingpin Tyres Ltd., Unit C8, Wem Industrial Estate, Soulton Road,Wem, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY4 5SD, United Kingdom.

Tel. 01 939 – 232 156

The Kelly Springfield Steelmark tyres were much more comfortable on which to drive, gave good all-round performance and didn’t suffer any noticeable age-related deterioration during the following six years, by which time the five tyres had collectively covered a total of about 45,000 miles, before I replaced them in July 1987, as they approached a tread depth of just over 2½ mm.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kelly ... re_Company

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


Last edited by naskeet on Wed Aug 11, 2021 7:35 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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PostPosted: Sat Jul 21, 2018 4:29 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 4:38 pm
Posts: 535
Location: South Benfleet, Essex
The Case of the Insecure Lockable Fuel-Filler Cap – early-1980s

Sometime during the early 1980s, fears about theft of petrol by siphoning or deliberate contamination (e.g. water, diesel or sugar, etc) of petrol as a stupid prank (an activity which was not unknown amongst my fellow university students!) or malicious act, prompted me to purchase and retro-fit a CBS lockable fuel-filler cap, from one of my local car accessory shops; details of which are as follows:

CBS (automotive & industrial) Ltd., Bone Lane, Newbury, Berkshire.

CBS Locking Petrol Cap CL 20, for the following Triumph cars:

Herald and Estate 1200, 12/50, 13/60,
Vitesse 1600 & 2000, 1300, 1300 & TC | 60-
Toledo, 1500, Dolomite | 71-
2000 series II | 63/64
2000 series III | 66/67

The original factory-fitted fuel-filler cap, featured a multi-filament wire retainer, of modest length, which suspended the cap when it was removed to fill the tank with petrol. Not wishing to sever this wire, I simply unscrewed the wire’s attachment tab from the underside of the cap and pushed the wire as far is it would go into the fuel-filler pipe. The original fuel-filler cap was put in the Toledo’s boot, along with my emergency tool kit and stock of emergency spares.

A few years later when less than four miles from home, I unexpectedly ran the tank dry of petrol and sought to top up the tank, with 5 litres of petrol from my Paddy Hopkirk “Explosafe” petrol can (a steel fuel can completely filled with open-cell, foamed aluminium), which I always carried in the boot.

Forum Index > Accessories/Memorabilia/Toys > "Explosafe" Safety Fuel Cans

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=652305

When I tried to remove the lockable fuel-filler cap, the key broke in the lock. I initially considered the option of unfastening one or both of the two large wire hose-clips from the large-bore fuel-filler hose inside the boot, which connected the fuel-filler pipe to the fuel tank, that would allow me to temporarily remove the fuel-filler pipe. This would have enabled me to directly top up the tank via the fuel-tanks inlet spigot, from inside the boot. However, the “Explosafe” petrol can had a rigid plastic spout, so I was worried that attempting to this without a funnel, might result in petrol spillage inside the boot, which would pose a major safety hazard.

As an alternative to this, I attempted to wrench off the locked fuel-filler cap with my hands, which surprisingly proved to be successful. Hence, I was able to easily top up the tank with 5 litres of petrol and afterward substituted the original non-lockable fuel-filler cap, that was still stored in the boot. By partially dismantling the CBS lockable fuel-filler cap, I was able to extricate the remaining half of the broken key and had a copy made of the spare key, which I kept at home.

The question still remains as to how best to significantly improve security against petrol theft and/or deliberate contamination!?!

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


Last edited by naskeet on Wed Aug 11, 2021 7:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 4:17 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 4:38 pm
Posts: 535
Location: South Benfleet, Essex
Mystery of the Disappearing Throttle-Return Spring!?! – Early-1980s

One light Sunday evening, on the A1060 road between Chelmsford and Roxwell, whilst returning to Cranfield after the weekend, the engine suddenly raced, as I took my foot off the accelerator pedal and declutched to change gear. The repetition of this each time I de-clutched, was becoming increasingly annoying and I was unwilling to endure the associated inconvenience & hazards for a further 60 miles or so. Fortunately, not much further along this rural road, I was able to pull onto a petrol station forecourt, where I stopped and raised the bonnet to investigate.

Imagine my incredulity when I discovered that the carburettor’s throttle-return spring had completely vanished, with no evidence of why it had suddenly disappeared into thin air. For a few moments, I wondered what to do next! I could not contemplate continuing for another 60 miles without a throttle-return spring and it was extremely unlikely that the petrol station would stock such an item.

Then I remembered that my on-board emergency tool kit included a pair of protective safety goggles, with an adjustable shearing-elastic (aka knicker-elastic) strap, that just happened to incorporate two additional strap-length adjustment components, which I had scrounged from my mother’s haberdashery work basket. I believe they had originally been used as elastic-strap-length adjusters for stocking suspenders or a bra!

I was able to remove this elastic strap & adjusters, which I used to jury-rig a substitute throttle-return spring that was still in fine fettle, when I arrived back at Cranfield later that evening. Not wishing to tempt providence, I visited Cranfield’s on-campus Wharley End Garage the following day, where I was able to buy a generic steel coil spring of a suitable length, which has remained on the car ever since.

However, the experience prompted me to keep an assortment of elastic bands, in my collection of emergency “touring-spares” and general-purpose “get-you-home” repair materials such as soft baling wire, insulating tape, sealant, adhesives and other sundry items.

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


Last edited by naskeet on Wed Aug 11, 2021 7:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 4:19 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 4:38 pm
Posts: 535
Location: South Benfleet, Essex
The Toledo Takes to the Water! – Early-1980s

One dark windless Sunday evening, whilst returning to Cranfield after the weekend, on the A1060 road between Chelmsford and Roxwell (possibly the same stretch of road where the throttle-return spring disappeared!), following a long period of heavy rain, I met an on-coming car whose driver repeatedly flashed its headlamp main beams at me.

At the time, I was driving with my headlamp dipped beams (2 x 55W H4 quartz halogen), which I knew to be properly adjusted (having routinely examined the display screen of headlamp-alignment test equipment, at my MOT testing station, when the Toledo had its MOT test), so I was perplexed by this behaviour; having dipped my headlamps in good time as the car approached, to avoid dazzling the driver with my main beam.

Less than a minute later, I suddenly realised why the driver had probably behaved in this strange fashion! On this unlit rural road, with no other traffic in sight (neither behind nor in front of me), I entered at circa 40~45 mph, a long stretch of flood water, across the full width of the road, to which I had been oblivious, despite driving with my headlamp main beams (2 x 60W H4 quartz halogen), whose effective illumination range was quite considerable.

There had been no recognisable visual cues (i.e. lack of surface ripples caused by wind – no wind at all that evening!) or other change in the surface reflection properties, to alert me that there was deep standing water ahead, rather than a still-wet, black tarmac surface. To the best of my knowledge, there was not and still is not, any defined driver-to-driver signalling régime, by which one can clearly warn other motorists of hazards ahead!

As I entered what must have been quite deep flood water, the steering became EXTREMELY light (the car was probably aquaplaning or very close to doing so) and a wall of water, akin to a tsunami, almost instantly surged over the bonnet, over the front windscreen and over the roof, completely obscuring my forward vision. For what seemed an extremely long time (probably circa 10~20 seconds), I was driving blind.

Knowing the road ahead was straight and that there had been no oncoming traffic when I entered the flood water, I was reasonably sure I would remain safe provided I didn’t panic and simply kept steering in a straight line, avoided braking and held my foot on the throttle to maintain forward momentum and avoid flooding the engine with water. I was convinced, that unless I kept the front wheels pointing straight ahead, the car would veer to one side, immediately after any aquaplaning ceased and effective steering restored.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally emerged from the flood water and my forward vision returned as the tsunami receded, which was an immense relief. I never discovered how deep the flood water had been, but I suspect it was shallower than the bottom of the doors, because no water entered the passenger compartment or the boot. None of the car’s systems were affected and I merely kept the brake pedal lightly depressed for a few hundred yards to thoroughly dry out the brakes.

When I entered the flood water and lost all forward vision, all of my concentration was focussed on maintaining a straight-line path, so I didn’t even attempt fumbling around for the dashboard-mounted, windscreen-wiper & washer switch, to turn on the windscreen wipers. Besides that, I might also have reasoned subconsciously, that the windscreen wipers would have made no noticeable difference under those circumstances.

However, this and other night-time driving experiences in wet weather, soon convinced me that I needed to somehow upgrade the Toledo, with a steering-column-mounted, windscreen-wiper & washer switch; probably originating from a Dolomite. I was already well acquainted with the considerable ergonomic advantages (especially at night!) of a steering-column-mounted, windscreen-wiper & washer switch, because that was what was factory-fitted to our 1973 VW 1600 Type 2 campervan; the first model-year of 1968~79 VW Type 2s to have this.

During winter 1982/83, I finally upgraded the Toledo with a steering-column-mounted, windscreen-wiper & washer switch, originating from a Dolomite 1500/1850 HL, but it proved to be less straight forward than I anticipated, which is explained in a later post.

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


Last edited by naskeet on Wed Aug 11, 2021 7:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 4:20 pm 
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Upgrading Windscreen Washers Part 1 – Retro-Fitted Two Supplementary Windscreen Washer-Jets – Autumn 1982

When driving during dirty wet weather (i.e. little or no rain, but dirt-laden water on the road surface), I needed to frequently use the windscreen wipers & washers to clear dirt-laden spray from the windscreen. On those occasions, I had noticed that the windscreen wipers tended to smear the windscreen; probably owing to uneven distribution of water over the windscreen's surface, despite frequent, liberal squirts of water from the two washer jets.

Board index » The Triumph Dolomite Club » Dolomite-related [Start here!] » Triumph Toledo / Dolomite, Front & Rear Window, Wiper & Washer Upgrades

https://forum.triumphdolomite.co.uk/vie ... =4&t=37150

In a bid to overcome this problem, I salvaged two additional Triumph Toledo or Dolomite windscreen-washer jets from a local car breaker's yard. After removing my Toledo's two existing washer-jets from their original factory-fitted location, I positioned the four washer-jets, so that the outboard pair squirted through the outermost ventilation-grille slots, 130 ± 1 mm outboard of the factory-standard positions and the inboard pair were located symmetrically on either side of the bonnet-lock attachment plate (behind the ventilation grille), 94 ± 2 mm inboard of the factory-standard positions. Using additional appropriate T-junctions, Y-junctions and flexible plastic hose, these were connected to the existing windscreen-washer pump.

Having four evenly-spaced windscreen-washer jets, giving a wider, more even distribution of water across the windscreen, was certainly an improvement. However, this improved cleaning performance came at the price of an increase in windscreen-washer-fluid consumption rate, which in turn highlighted the relatively small capacity of the two-pint (i.e. 1•136 litres) windscreen-washer reservoir.

This became abundantly clear on one 80 mile journey from home to Cranfield, during particularly dirty wet weather. I had left home with a completely full windscreen-washer reservoir, which had diminished to about half-inch depth by the time I arrived at my destination! I either needed a supplementary windscreen-washer reservoir or a larger-capacity windscreen-washer reservoir or better still, a more efficient washer system; something I was to discover a few years later, when I learned of Swedish SVD wash-wiper blades. Had I needed to travel an additional 10~20 miles under the same conditions, I would probably have needed to top-up the windscreen-washer reservoir during my journey.

A few years earlier, sometime during the late-1970s, after just a modest mileage, the Lucas electric windscreen-washer pump unit had failed. To the best of my recall, the Japanese-made (did Lucas have a Japanese subsidiary company!?!) electric motor still functioned, but the water-pump part had ceased to function, so I disassembled this, but despite my best efforts I could not resolve the problem. At that time, I could find no source of just the water-pump section, so we were obliged to order a complete replacement pump unit from Mann Egerton, our local Rover & Triumph dealership in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.

Lucas windscreen-washer pump

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The original factory-fitted, Lucas electric windscreen-washer pump unit, had been mounted to one side of the windscreen-washer reservoir’s metal mounting bracket, with the motor’s axis aligned vertically. In contrast, the replacement Lucas electric windscreen-washer pump unit, came complete with a new suction-hose & strainer and a large windscreen-washer-reservoir twist-on cap, to which the pump unit was directly mounted by means of an L-shaped bracket riveted onto the cap, with the motor’s axis aligned horizontally.

This replacement Lucas electric windscreen-washer pump unit was still functioning when I took the car off the road in 1999, at an overall vehicle mileage of circa 101,000, but I wonder how often these pump units typically need replacing!?!

TRIUMPH DOLOMITE TR5 TR6 TR7 2000 2500 LUCAS 12v WINDSCREEN WASHER PUMP 6C2

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRIUMPH-DOLO ... XQkl9RZXJP

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


Last edited by naskeet on Sun Feb 20, 2022 5:44 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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PostPosted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 4:15 pm 
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Replacing Faulty Speedometers & Speedometer-Drive Cable – January 1982 & September 1983

At some time during late 1981, the Toledo's original factory-fitted AC speedometer's needle-pointer started to flicker, which progressively got worse over the period of a few weeks and finally the speedometer ceased to function at all, just a few miles from home. At first, I could not understand what had caused the problem, until I eventually discovered the a single strand of the speedometer's multi-strand, flexible drive-cable had broken, which I presume was periodically catching on the inside of the cable-shroud.

In January 1982, the unserviceable AC speedometer was replaced with a second-hand Smiths unit of identical appearance, that I salvaged from an early-model Toledo at one of the local car breaker's yards. I also replaced the damaged speedometer cable with a new one, sourced from a local motor factor. The substitute speedometer's odometer had registered 79,002 miles, which I was able to re-set to 22,136 miles without much difficulty.

About 1¾ years later, this Smiths speedometer also failed, for reasons I cannot recall, but on this occasion the speedometer's flexible drive-cable was undamaged. Once again, from a local car breaker's yard, I salvaged another identical Smiths speedometer, which I fitted to my Toledo on 3rd September 1983. The second substitute speedometer's odometer had registered 89,052 miles, which I similarly re-set; this time to 34,783 miles (estimated to be the mileage the car had covered when the speedometer was replaced).

When I laid-up the Toledo in mid-1999, it had covered an indicated 101,204 miles (odometer reading of 01,204) without any problems, demonstrating that my third speedometer was probably more durable than both of its predecessors; having covered an indicated mileage of at least 155,473 [i.e. 89,052 + (101,204 - 34,783)]. However, having previously experienced two failed speedometers and a damaged flexible-drive cable, I recently took the opportunity to acquire a spare, early-model Toledo speedometer, when one came up for sale, for about £15.

Spare, second-hand early-model Toledo Smiths speedometer, for my British specification, 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300

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All four of the early-model Toledo speedometers (one AC & three Smiths) have been of the type illustrated above; having a large-numeral outer-scale calibrated in mph (i.e. 0~100 mph) for use at home in Great Britain and a small-numeral inner-scale calibrated in km/h (i.e. 0~160 km/h), for use when touring in overseas territories such a the Republic of Ireland and mainland Europe.

Long ago in 1975, I was intrigued by the illustration on Page 7 of my English-language, Triumph Toledo 1300 owners’ handbook, which showed a speedometer of similar appearance to mine, but instead whose large-numeral outer-scale is calibrated in km/h (i.e. 0~160 km/h) and small-numeral inner-scale is calibrated in mph (i.e. 0~100 mph).

At the time it seemed rather strange, but I have recently discovered that such a speedometer was used on the New Zealand specification, 1974 Triumph Toledo 1500; a low-mileage (or more precisely, low-kilometerage), long-term-stored example of which, is currently for sale in New Zealand (where English is the official language and speed limits have long been specified in km/h), priced at NZ$ 7,500 (approximately £3,925 @ the 8th August 2018 currency-exchange rate of NZ$ 1 = £0•523318).

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-c ... 1a36e373e9

New Zealand specification, 1974 Triumph Toledo 1500's Smith's speedometer

Image

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


Last edited by naskeet on Wed Aug 11, 2021 7:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 4:47 pm 
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Customised Triumph Toledo or Standard Triumph Dolomite Sprint!?!

In one of my earlier posts on Thursday, 18th August 2016 about the BLMC Campaign Recall in April 1977, re potentially faulty brake hoses, I mentioned that my four-door 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 was mistaken for a Triumph Dolomite Sprint, by the personnel at Mann & Egerton, the official Rover & Triumph dealership in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=29933#p293861

This probably occurred, because like the Dolomite Sprint, my Toledo had aluminium-alloy wheels (Cosmic aftermarket wheels rather than Dolomite Sprint GKN wheels), a black-vinyl covered roof & rear-quarter-pillar, satin-black sills, black front radiator grille and black pinstripes below the doors’ upper swage line.

This might be difficult to imagine in one’s mind’s eye, so here are some photographs of a Mimosa-yellow Triumph Dolomite Sprint, currently listed on British E-bay, at an eye-wateringly expensive asking price of £10,995•00 (a mere £5 change out of £11,000!), which if one ignores a few “minor differences” looks almost the splitting image of my Triumph Toledo, as it was in 1977.

Triumph Dolly Sprint – Best Colour/Lovely Car - Classified ad price: £10,995.00

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Triumph-Doll ... 3039064558

Given that the Toledo and Dolomite models look noticeably different when viewed from the rear; the Toledo having short vertical light clusters (no reversing lights) on either side of the full-height boot-lid, reaching down to just above the rear bumper, whilst the Dolomite has long horizontal light clusters (incorporating reversing lights) below the half-height boot-lid. The Dolomite Sprint also has a noticeably different dashboard and four circular 5¾ inch diameter headlamps instead of two 7 x 5¾ inch rectangular headlamps. Hence, I cannot really understand why my Toledo was mistaken for a Dolomite Sprint, but who was I to argue with the “experts”!

Mimosa yellow coloured, Triumph Dolomite Sprint (registered 1st January 1978 | S-suffix registration letter)

External oblique rear offside view

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External rear view

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External oblique rear nearside view

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It’s interesting to note that this Dolomite Sprint’s rear exhaust silencer & tail pipe are on the nearside like that on the Toledo. However, I vaguely recall that the rear exhaust silencer & tail pipe of the Dolomite 13/1500 emerge on the offside for some reason, despite having fundamentally the same BLMC Standard/Triumph A-Series engine as the Toledo.

External front view

Image

There’s no doubt that the four 5¾ inch diameter circular headlamps (those illustrated above look more like 7 inch diameter) and associated radiator grilles give the Dolomite HLs & Sprint a more purposeful look. Upgraded with either four H4 quartz-halogen headlamps (i.e. 4 x dipped-beam & 4 x main-beam) or two pairs of Bosch / Hella main-beam & dipped-beam projector headlamps with ellipsoidal reflectors, would provide an effective headlamp system.

I’m not sure whether the Dolomite front-bumper under-riders actually serve any useful purpose, but their presence would prevent one from retro-fitting any under-bumper front fog lamps, such as the 7 inch diameter, Lucas 20-20 Homo-focal fog lamps on my Toledo.

External offside view

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External nearside view

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Looking at the side elevations, it is apparent that the Dolomite is noticeably longer the Toledo, being circa 6 inches longer if my memory serves me correctly. My Mimosa yellow, 1974 Toledo has had satin-black painted sills, since at least May 1975, but the above illustrated Mimosa yellow Dolomite Sprint, appears to have yellow body-coloured sills!?!

The extra length provides an extra TWO Imperial gallons of fuel-tank capacity and greater boot capacity for carrying luggage. Although the Toledo’s boot capacity is smaller, the facility to slide heavy loads (e.g. high-density aggregate building blocks, large paving slabs or even a VW flat-four engine) directly onto the load platform, made it more useful than the Dolomite’s boot which require loads to be lifted over a high sill.

The Toledo’s 6 inch shorter rear overhang beyond the rear wheels, makes the Toledo body-shell more appropriate for a towing vehicle, although the Dolomite 1850 or Sprint drive train might be better suited to towing heavy trailers.

External nearside oblique front views

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Image

These pictures show that the configuration of textured black-vinyl roof & rear-quarter covering are exactly the same as that which was retro-fitted to my Toledo.

The black-vinyl covering progressively degraded and peeled away at the edges, so was completely removed during early 1991 and the underlying keyed surfaces refurbished and painted with “hammered-pewter-effect” black Hammerite paint using two 4-inch brushes. In addition, the remainder of the bodywork (including all pillars and window surrounds) down to just below the level of all the window bottoms, was also hand painted with black Hammerite paint.

Front interior seen from nearside front door

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Front interior seen from offside front door

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Rear interior seen from offside rear door

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Back in 1977, my Triumph Toledo was still fitted with its original flat-panel dashboard with just two 105 mm diameter instruments and the black-leatherette covered seats without front head restraints.

Between 1982 and 1984, all of that was changed, as a consequence of first replacing the Toledo’s original set of black-leatherette covered front & rear seats with a set of dark-blue cloth and black-leatherette covered seats with front head restraints, salvaged from a late-model yellow Dolomite HL, identical to those illustrated above.

Sometime later, the original Toledo steering column, steering wheel and associated small moulded black-plastic nacelle with single steering-column mounted stalk-switch were replaced with a Dolomite HL adjustable steering column, steering wheel and associated large moulded black-plastic nacelle with two steering-column mounted stalk-switches and rotary main lamp switch. Later still, the Toledo’s original flat-panel dashboard, was replaced by an early-model Dolomite 1850 contoured dashboard, providing additional instrumentation in the form of a 105 mm diameter tachometer, 52 mm diameter voltmeter, 60 mm diameter 8-segment warning-light cluster, 60 mm diameter clock and provision of hazard warning lights operated by a rectangular rocker-switch.

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


Last edited by naskeet on Wed Aug 11, 2021 8:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Wed Feb 03, 2021 4:49 pm 
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Engine-Cooling System Maintenance & Upgrades – Autumn 1980 onward

During nearly a year of using the Toledo for the Friday & Sunday evenings’ 2 x 80 mile return journey between Cranfield and home, I had noticed from the temperature gauge reading, that the engine seemed to be running cold.

Hence, during the winter I had resorted to blanking-off varying proportions of the radiator with aluminium-foil covered strips of cardboard, which reduced total airflow through the radiator cooling fins. The cardboard strips were cut to size so that they would be retained by the vertical edges of the radiator and the contours of the upper & lower reservoirs.

Even during the spring and summer of 1981, the temperature-gauge reading barely reached "NORMAL" and I began to suspect that the thermostat might be faulty. According to its specifications, the thermostat was supposed to start opening at 82 ºC, but when I tested it several times in hot water that was cycled through heating and cooling phases, the opening temperature was observed to be 72 ºC; 10 ºC below what it was supposed to be.

Hence, at a mileage of circa 19,500 ± 500, I replaced the faulty 82 ºC "summer" thermostat [e.g. Unipart GTS104] with an 88 ºC "winter" thermostat [e.g. Unipart GTS106 or Wahler-Bradex WB/1B or Quinton Hazell QTH102], which did much to solve the problem of the engine running cold, but even in summer, under normal non-motorway driving conditions the engine still seemed to run colder than I might have expected; suggesting that the belt-driven cooling fan was over-cooling the engine and wasting energy needed to drive the fan in the process!

During the colder winter months, I later drove with the belt-driven plastic cooling fan removed; relying solely on ram-air cooling of the radiator, associated with the car's forward motion. This proved to be quite successful, but when the weather became milder, there was an increased risk of overheating, if I got stuck in slow-moving traffic for more than a few minutes. Refitting the belt-driven cooling fan when the radiator was hot, could prove to be a painful experience, so I resolved to find a way of substituting an electric cooling fan, which could be activated by a thermostatic switch and/or manual over-ride switch on the dashboard.

In early-1982, I came across an advertisement in one of the motoring magazines, pertaining to the Kenlowe "Thermomatic" engine cooling fan and subsequently wrote to Kenlowe to enquire whether there was a kit suitable for a 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300.

Letter from Kelowe, dated 9th February 1982, stating that their thermostatically-controlled radiator cooling-fan kit (Ref. 118/TRI/S) was the appropriate one for my 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300

Image

Kenlowe's letter replying to my inquiry, indicated that a kit suitable for the 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300, was available, priced at £38•95 inclusive of 15% VAT and postage & packing. I sent the order on 15th February 1982 and received the kit just over a week later.

Kenlowe delivery advice note (Invoice No. N 9392 | Invoice date: 22nd February 1982)

Image

When I tried to fit the fan kit in accordance with the enclosed installation instructions, I discovered that there was insufficient clearance space between the front of the radiator and the interior face of the car's front panel.

With the fan-blades flat against the front of the radiator core, there was only ¼ inch clearance between the front of the fan-motor and the interior face of the car's front panel. If I pulled the fan-assembly forward by ¼ inch so that there was the requisite ¼ inch clearance between the edges of the fan-blades flat and the front of the radiator core, the front of the fan-motor was touching the interior face of the car's front panel. Overall, one needed at least an extra ¼ inch clearance space between the interior face of the car's front panel and the front of the radiator.

The literature which accompanied the kit, mentioned that Kenlowe also produced "a 3 INCH DEEP MODEL for cars with restricted space", so I questioned whether I had been supplied with the appropriate kit; given that a kit having a motor that was shorter by at least a ¼ inch (circa 6•4 mm) would have had sufficient clearance.

Letter from Kelowe, dated 23rd March 1982 replying to my query about installation of the cooling-fan and available clearances

Image

In their reply, Kenlowe were adamant that the kit they had supplied was the appropriate one for my Toledo, but I could not see how this could be possible, given the lack of available clearance. They appeared to be unwilling to exchange the kit for one that featured a shorter-bodied electric motor, which would have been more appropriate to my application. The only way that I could gain sufficient clearance with the motor that had been supplied, was to move the radiator closer to the engine and further from the bodywork front panel.

This I achieved, by inserting four home-made aluminium alloy spacers, of 10 ± ¼ mm thickness, between the bodywork front panel and the four radiator-mounting brackets. It was fortunate for me that there were several waste-metal scrap bins at Cranfield (e.g. outside the workshops of Roger's Aviation, School of Mechanical Engineering and Material Sciences Department), where I could salvage various sizes and thicknesses of metal off-cuts; particularly duralumin, which is a tough, durable, corrosion-resistant aluminium alloy, commonly used in the aircraft industry.

The Kenlowe “Thermatic” fan measures a total of approximately 4¾ inches in length, from the face of the fan blades (the face closest to the front of the radiator core) to the external dimple in the end of the motor housing (incorporates the rotor-shaft bearing) closest to the front of the car. Had it been only 3 inches in total length, I would NOT have needed to make the 10 mm thick aluminium-alloy spacers for the radiator mounting brackets.

Finally, in April 1982, at a mileage of circa 24,500, I finally removed the V-belt driven cooling fan and completed the retro-fitment of the Kenlowe “Thermatic” electric radiator-cooling fan kit [model No. 118/5 or 118/S | 6-bladed, 10 inch diameter fan blades], with radiator-top-hose mounted adjustable thermostat and manual over-ride switch with tell-tale light.

Instead of using the bracket supplied by Kenlowe, to mount the fan’s manual over-ride switch with linked tell-tale light, I made my own L-section bracket from an off-cut of aluminium alloy, which was mounted beneath the dashboard. This bracket also accommodated my original factory-fitted switch (with integral tell-tale light) for the electrically-heated rear window, the speedometer’s trip-counter reset knob and a retro-fitted switch for my rear fog lamps.

Board index » The Triumph Dolomite Club » Dolomite-related [Start here!] » Kenlowe fan override switch, relay and thermostatic switch

https://forum.triumphdolomite.co.uk/vie ... =4&t=36885

Board index » The Triumph Dolomite Club » Dolomite-related [Start here!] » Wiring an electric fan with override switch - guide

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=20029

http://www.trdrivers.com/fan.html

On Friday, 29th August 1991, whilst travelling home to Canvey Island, Essex for the weekend, from RMCS, on the border of Oxfordshire & Wiltshire, the Kenlowe electric cooling fan ceased to function. The fan warning light illuminated when activated by either the fan's thermostatic switch or the manual-override switch, but there was no perceptible whirring fan noise, that would have been easily audible to me, even at motorway driving speeds.

By driving the car at reduced speed and turning on the car's heater with the booster-fan at maximum, I was able to avoid the engine overheating, but the temperature gauge reading remained high. Had this been unsuccessful, I would have stopped en route, to refit the belt-driven cooling fan, which I kept in the boot as a back-up spare, along with various other items.

When I got home and investigated the problem over the weekend, I discovered that the problem lay with the fan-motor, whose carbon brushes had substantially worn down, but I did not have any spares readily to hand. Consequently, on Sunday, 11th August 1991, at a mileage of circa 85,367, I temporarily removed the electric fan and refitted the belt-driven fan, so that I could use the car to return to RMCS later that evening.

In several ways, the Kenlowe fan motor appeared similar to the Smiths motor associated with the Toledo's factory-fitted booster-fan for the car’s heating & ventilation system. When I stripped down the motor to inspect the carbon brushes, I discovered that the whole brush-holder assembly, including the brown composite (Tufnell I think) base-board, to which the brush-holders are attached, was identical to that of the Smiths booster-fan. A few weeks later I was able salvage one of these from a Triumph Toledo and/or Dolomite at one of the local car breakers' yards. This enabled me to repair and refit the Kenlowe fan motor on Saturday, 31st August 1991, at a mileage of circa 85,918•5.

Noting that I had retro-fitted the Kenlowe fan to the car at a mileage of circa 24,500 and later suffered fan-motor failure at a mileage of circa 85,367, indicates that the Kenlowe fan installation had failed after slightly more than 60,000 miles of driving; suggesting that it would probably be wise to acquire a few more spare Smiths brush-holder assemblies, for future replacement during the life of the car, which I did at a later date when they became available.

In later years, when I learned that there had been an alternative V-belt driven viscous fan, that was available for the Triumph Dolomite 1500 and Triumph Spitfire 1500, I wondered why this wasn’t factory-fitted to the British specification, 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300, to reduce the radiator-cooling-fan’s cooling effect during cold weather when the engine needed little if any fan-assisted cooling. After all, the water pumps and associated radiator-cooling-fans for the Triumph 1300 & 1500 engines, are interchangeable to the best of my knowledge!

Viscous fan for Triumph Dolomite 1500 or Spitfire 1500

Image

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


Last edited by naskeet on Fri Oct 01, 2021 8:26 pm, edited 5 times in total.

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PostPosted: Wed Feb 03, 2021 4:55 pm 
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Retro-Fitted Triumph Dolomite Sprint, Front & Rear Suspension Anti-Roll Bars & De-Cambered the Front Wheels – Summer 1982 & Winter 1982/83

During one of my conversations with Mark Tothill at Cranfield, it was suggested that the handling characteristics of my Triumph Toledo could be improved by the simple expedient of retro-fitting front & rear anti-roll bars like those on his Triumph Dolomite Sprint.

It was also mentioned that the tyres’ optimal cornering power, would be achieved with a wheel camber angle of circa negative 2º. Having a live (i.e. rigid) rear axle, the Toledo’s rear-wheel camber angle could not be adjusted, but the front-wheel camber angle, could easily be adjusted, by removing or fitting spacers between the front-suspension’s upper and/or lower wishbone-bracket mounting-points to the main sub-frame. Front-wheel camber angle would be made more negative, by removing upper spacers and/or fitting lower spacers.

Having a Commission Number later than ADF 50,001, my Toledo’s steering geometry specifications are stated in the official BLMC Triumph Toledo manual, to be as follows:

DESCRIPTIONS | Kerb Condition | Laden Condition (4 up)

Camber Angle | 1º positive ± 1º | ¼º positive ± ¾º
Caster Angle | 2¼º ± 1º | 2¾º ± ½º
King Pin Inclination | 5¾º ± 1º | 6½º ± ¾º

Assuming my Toledo’s steering geometry was within the manufacturer’s tolerances, then when fully laden, the front-wheel camber would be only negative ½º (i.e. ¼º - ¾º) at best, but positive 1º (i.e. ¼º + ¾º) at worst. If considered from the kerb-condition perspective, then the front-wheel camber would be only 0º (i.e. 1º - 1º) at best, but an astronomical positive 2º (i.e. 1º + 1º) at worst. Further assuming an optimistic “fully-laden-condition” front-wheel camber angle of negative 0•5º, it seemed reasonable to make the camber angle more negative by at least a further negative 1•5º.

Whether these seemingly non-optimal front-wheel camber angles were specified because the live rear axle constrained the rear-wheel camber to be 0º, I don’t know! In principle, the live rear axle could probably have been engineered, to confer a rear-wheel camber of negative 2º, but might have been more difficult and more expensive to manufacture.

When I examined both our cars, I was pleasantly surprised to discover, that my front sub-frame, plus the front & rear suspension components, already had all of the required holes, such that the anti-roll bars could simply be bolted on, without making any modifications.

At that time, I was unfamiliar with which if any of the Triumph Dolomite models and model-years, were factory-fitted with front and/or rear suspension anti-roll bars, or whether there was any difference in anti-roll bar specification (i.e. diameter & torsional stiffness – proportional to the fourth power of diameter) for the different models. I do recall that some years later, when I crawled beneath the Triumph Dolomite 13/1500, belonging to John & Heather Scarr (John was one of my father’s medical-practice partners), as a favour to my father, to inspect a noisy exhaust system, I noticed the car had a front anti-roll bar but not a rear one.

As luck would have it, I learned several months later during the summer of 1982, that there was a Dolomite Sprint in a local Buckinghamshire car breaker’s yard, which had reputedly rolled on the M4 motorway, not far from Newport Pagnall. When I got there, the position & orientation of the car, was such that I was only able to remove the rear anti-roll bar at that time.

Being in good condition, with no noticeable rust, I bolted the rear anti-roll bar onto the Toledo’s rear-suspension trailing arms, when I went home to Canvey Island for the weekend, where I kept my DIY service ramps, trolley-jack, axle stands and most of my tools. Even with just the rear anti-roll bar fitted, there was a perceptible reduction in body roll, with no adverse effect on steering characteristics.

Board index » The Triumph Dolomite Club » Dolomite-related [Start here!] » Rear Anti roll bar

https://forum.triumphdolomite.co.uk/vie ... =4&t=31140

Board index » The Triumph Dolomite Club » Dolomite-related [Start here!] » 1975 1500TC – Anti roll bars

https://forum.triumphdolomite.co.uk/vie ... =4&t=36918

A few months later, after the Triumph Dolomite Sprint was repositioned, I was also able to remove the front anti-roll bar, but I was only able to retrieve one of two cylindrical steel spacers from the radius rods. Whether the other steel spacer was missing or merely jammed in tight, I cannot recall. I do recall that the front anti-roll bar, the two links and two sub-frame attachment brackets, were noticeably rusty, as was the steel spacer that I had been able to remove.

Being a student in the School of Mechanical Engineering, I had access to a well-equipped machine workshop, where I was able to make a replacement cylindrical steel spacer on the lathe, from a length of mild-steel bar-stock. Over a period of several weekends at home, I was able to de-rust the salvaged front anti-roll bar components, using a rotary wire-brush attachment on my electric drill, followed by treatment with a phosphoric-acid based rust remover (D-Rust, I think).

https://wechem.com/product/d-rust/

These, together with the newly-made spacer, were then painted with two coats of Finnigan’s black Hammerite paint (then only available by mail order, direct from the manufacturers) and allowed to cure for at least a week, after which they were fitted to the Toledo, sometime during the winter of 1982/83. At the same time, the pairs of spacer-shims between the tops of the wishbone-brackets and the front sub-frame were removed, to make the front-wheel camber angle more negative by approximately 1•4 degrees (as determined from simple trigonometry); remembering to check & reset the front-wheel toe-in, which would have been altered by removing the spacer-shims.

Having both front & rear suspension anti-roll bars, together with a more negative front-wheel camber angle, certainly made a noticeable difference and I experienced no adverse effect on the steering characteristics! A particular series of open bends, which I had previously driven at about 30 mph, could be negotiated at speeds approaching 40 mph, with the same degree of body roll.

For a total cost of £10 plus some de-rusting fluid and two coats of black Hammerite paint, the Toledo was a much more driveable car, so it was probably one of my most useful and cost-effective upgrades. I certainly believe that the Triumph Toledo 13/1500 and basic Triumph Dolomite 13/1500 models, should all have been factory-fitted with both front & rear anti-roll bars.

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


Last edited by naskeet on Sat Jul 02, 2022 6:37 pm, edited 4 times in total.

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PostPosted: Wed Feb 03, 2021 5:00 pm 
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Retro-Fitted Rear Fog-Lights – Autumn 1982

In the past, I had frequently been obliged to drive during adverse weather conditions, such as torrential rain [visibility was so poor, that speeds in excess of 20 mph would have been excessive!], thick fog and heavily-falling snow, where the lack of rear-guard fog lamps, would make driving more hazardous.

The factory-fitment or retro-fitment of rear-guard fog lamps, to all newly registered vehicles in Great Britain, has been obligatory since late-1979 or early-1980. This has required either a single lamp mounted on the offside [i.e. right-hand side, in countries where one drives on the left, as in Great Britain, Ireland, most of the British Commonwealth (apart from Canada), Japan, Thailand and possibly a few others] or a symmetrically-mounted matched pair. No fog lamp must be less than 100 mm from the nearest brake light; a requirement that was specified as a result of research undertaken at the TRL – Transport Research Laboratory.

The positioning and operation of rear fog lamps, for vehicles of various vintages, are covered in the Road Vehicles’ Lighting Regulations 1989 as follows:

The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, UK Statutory Instruments 1989, No. 1796

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989 ... tents/made

The Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989, UK Statutory Instruments 1989, No. 1796, SCHEDULE 11

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989 ... le/11/made

The key requirements are as follows:

a. Minimum & maximum heights above ground: 250 mm (i.e. 9-17/20 inches) & 1000 mm (i.e. 39-3/8 inches)
b. Minimum distance from brake / stop lamps: 100 mm (i.e. 3-19/20 inches)
c. Minimum & maximum distance from outer edges of vehicle: no requirement
d. Minimum & maximum wattage: no requirement
e. Vertical-angles of visibility: 5º above & below the horizontal
f. Horizontal-angles of visibility: 25º left & right of the vertical
g. Where two rear fog lamps are fitted to a motor vehicle first used on or after 1st April 1986 or to a trailer manufactured on or after 1st October 1985 they shall form a matched pair => this is not a requirement for Triumph Dolomites or Toledos, but in my opinion, it would be the recommended practice for all cars and trailers to which optional rear fog lamps are retro-fitted.

At the time I retro-fitted the Starlux rear fog lights in 1982, I did not have access to the then current edition of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations, but I did possess the following book and various AA information leaflets:

Marcus Jacobson (Consulting Editor), “AA Book of Driving”, Automobile Association, 1980, ISBN 0-86145-021-3.

In the following section of the book, it states:

Winter driving accessories – Living with the car - Lights, Page 177.

« A very sensible auxiliary light is the rear fog lights. A pair of these should be fitted, and all new cars are required to have at least one. They should not be wired in such a way that they come on with the brake stop lights. More details about the fitting of fog lights are given on page 100. »

In the following section of the book, it states:

Lights in fog – All weather driving – Rear fog lights, Pages 100~101.

« New cars now have high intensity rear fog lights fitted as standard. This regulation also applies to new caravans and trailers. Not all other cars have these very useful lights fitted, and it is worth considering their purchase as an accessory. I some cases, these lights have been wired into the brake light circuit, so they come on simultaneously with the brake lights. This is dangerous. »

« The greatest danger in fog is being rammed from behind by a vehicle which is following too close. The intensity of a good rear fog light is such that it can be seen from about the same distance as that where opposing fog lights or dipped headlights would become apparent as a pair of small white specks. It is also about the same distance as that at which brake lights would become visible, and is about twice that at which a normal rear light or clean reflector would be seen. »

« The intensity of the rear fog light should be about the same as that of a brake light, so that they will be seen together when the brakes are applied. If it is any brighter, the brake lights might not be seen in time. The lights should be fitted low enough not to dazzle following drivers. Their position is specified by law. »

« It is important that these lights should be switched off when it is not foggy and that they should be wired to a warning light inside the car clearly visible to the driver. »



At Cranfield Institute of Technology (on the Bedfordshire & Buckinghamshire border, roughly midway between Bedford & Milton Keynes) and surrounding area, thick fog was all too common, during February and November. So, in Autumn 1982, almost a year after I started using the car there, I retro-fitted a matched pair of large, panel-mounted, Starlux rear-guard fog lamps, to the boot-lid of my 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300, approximately mid-way between the outer vertical edges of the registration-number plate and the vertical edges of the boot lid.

Board index » The Triumph Dolomite Club » Dolomite-related [Start here!] » Rear Fog light mounting

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=24366&p=235440&hili ... ts#p235440

This location satisfied both statutory lighting regulations and my sense of aesthetics, but necessitated removal of the two boot-lid "Triumph" & "Toledo" badges, which was no great loss, as they were inclined to retain dirt and moisture that would encourage corrosion.

At that time, I was unaware of there being a specific rear fog-lamp switch for BLMC cars (Lucas Part No. TKC5067 | as used on the late-1979 & 1980 Triumph Dolomites), of the same pattern as the hazard-warning light switch that was used on the post 1974 Triumph Toledos & Dolomites.

Late-1979 & 1980 Triumph Dolomite Rear Fog-Lamp Switch (TKC5067) with Integral Tell-Tale Light

Image

Consequently, I used a generic on/off switch mounted in a home-made bracket beneath the dashboard, alongside the heated-rear-window switch, with integral tell-tale light. The electrical circuit was relatively straight forward; simply requiring a live feed from the side-lights’ switch terminal to the fog-lamp switch and then another wire from there to the fog-lamp units, which in turn had earth-wire connections to the bodywork.

Board index » The Triumph Dolomite Club » Dolomite-related [Start here!] » Foglight switch... Where should I put it?

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=23242&p=226146&hili ... ts#p226146

Board index » The Triumph Dolomite Club » Dolomite-related [Start here!] » Wiring in rear fog lights....

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=13949&p=137186&hili ... ht#p137186

Board index » The Triumph Dolomite Club » Dolomite-related [Start here!] » 1500 HL Fog Light wiring diagram

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5774

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


Last edited by naskeet on Fri Oct 01, 2021 8:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Wed Feb 03, 2021 5:04 pm 
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Substituted Dolomite 1500/1850 HL Front & Rear Seats and Sill-Protection Plates – Autumn 1982

After a year of travelling 80 miles each way between home and Cranfield at the weekends, it was apparent that the black leatherette seats were not as comfortable as I would have liked, especially during the cold winter and hot summer months. In summer, when parked in the sun, the black leatherette became uncomfortably hot to sit on initially, and when wearing short trousers my sweaty thighs stuck to the fabric. I was also concerned about the lack of head restraints, which I knew to be an important safety feature, with regard to minimising whiplash injury.

With these things in mind, I periodically visited the local car breakers' yards on Saturdays, where I eventually bought a complete set of second-hand front & rear, Triumph Dolomite 1850HL dark-blue cloth seats, whose rear and side panels were trimmed with black leatherette; a colour combination which complemented my Triumph Toledo's existing colour scheme of Mimosa-yellow paintwork, black carpet and black-vinyl covered door-trim panels & rear parcel shelf. The complete set of front & rear seats cost £30, which seemed quite reasonable at the time.

I was also offered the matching Dolomite HL door-trim panels, incorporating a carpet panel at the bottom and walnut-veneered cappings at the top. This seemed excessively ostentatious to me and likely to be more difficult to keep clean than my existing black-vinyl covered door-trim panels, so I couldn't really justify the extra cost. However, the Dolomite HL large-sized, front & rear aluminium sill-protection plates, seemed like a worthwhile investment, for which I paid just a nominal sum.

Triumph Dolomite HL scuff-protection plates for sills

Image

The Dolomite HL's front seats incorporated head restraints and featured the added luxury of magazine pockets on the back. The driver’s seat was also adjustable for height; providing three different height settings. Not wishing to have mismatching front and rear seats, I also elected to purchase the Dolomite HL two-piece rear seat, which incorporated a central drop-down armrest.

Much to my surprise, I later discovered that the spacing between the seat runners, was greater on the front seats from the Dolomite HL than those on the Toledo. Fortunately, when I raised the Toledo's carpet, I found another set of captive threaded bolt holes in the floor, to accommodate the Dolomite HL's wider-spaced seat runners, but I did need to punch some additional holes in the carpeting.

My subsequent years of driving the car, convinced me that substituting the cloth-covered Dolomite HL front & rear seats, was a worthwhile upgrade for both comfort and safety. The sill scuff-protection plates also proved their worth.

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


Last edited by naskeet on Fri Feb 05, 2021 2:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Wed Feb 03, 2021 5:11 pm 
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Substituted Triumph Dolomite Adjustable Steering Column & Associated Switch Gear – Winter 1982/83

By the winter of 1982/83, my driving experiences in wet weather, had thoroughly convinced me of the need to upgrade the Toledo, with a steering-column-mounted, windscreen-wiper & washer stalk-switch. It would be so much easier, quicker and safer to find a stalk-switch on the steering column, to activate the windscreen wipers and/or washers, especially at night on an unlit road, when one could NOT easily see the location of the Toledo’s factory-fitted, dashboard-mounted, windscreen-wiper & washer switch.

Board index » The Triumph Dolomite Club » Dolomite-related [Start here!] » Triumph Toledo / Dolomite, Front & Rear Window, Wiper & Washer Upgrades

https://forum.triumphdolomite.co.uk/vie ... 75#p340975

The original dashboard-mounted, windscreen-wiper & washer switch could later be re-employed for a rear-window wiper & washer system of some sort, if I ever got around to retro-fitting one; assuming this would be practical!?! This is similar to what I did with my 1973 VW “1600” Type 2 Kombi; using a second-hand 1968~72 VW 1600 Type 2 dashboard-mounted, windscreen-wiper & washer switch, for my retro-fitted, second-hand, SWF cross-over-arm, pantograph rear-window wiper (salvaged from an early-1980s vintage Vauxhall Astra estate Mk.1) and wiper-arm mounted washer jets.

Windscreen soiling was particularly bad after the rain had stopped, when the road surface was still covered with a film of dirty water. As a consequence of this, one’s front windscreen was frequently swamped by a deluge of gritty, dirt-laden spray, from the wheels of passing vehicles, of which large lorries and buses were particular culprits.

Under these circumstances, one needed to quickly activate both the washers (owing to the lack of cleansing rain) and wipers, particularly if there was only a little water accompanying the dirt and grit. On busy roads, especially dual carriageways and motorways, one sometimes needed to repeat the wash & wipe process, a few times every minute, which on some of my 80 mile journeys, almost emptied the 2 pint windscreen-washer reservoir of water!

Hence, at the next opportunity, I made another pilgrimage to the local car breakers’ yards, where I salvaged a complete steering-column nacelle & switch assembly from a “four-headlamp” Triumph Dolomite, comprising:

• Two-piece, moulded plastic nacelle, held together with three machine screws;
• Windscreen wiper & washer, combination stalk-switch, with flick-wipe facility;
• Headlamp-dip, direction-indicator & horn, combination stalk-switch;
• Main headlamp & sidelight, rotary-switch.

It is questionable whether it was necessary to buy both stalk-switches, but the stalk-end, push-button switches of the Toledo and Dolomite were of a different style, and I wanted a matching pair of stalk-switches for aesthetic reasons.

When I tried to fit the Dolomite steering-column nacelle to the Toledo steering column, I discovered an insoluble problem! The positions of the three fixing screws, which held the upper & lower halves of the Dolomite nacelle together and secured it to the steering column, were not compatible with the Toledo steering column; the triangular arrangement of screws and screw-holes being configured differently.

Being determined not to abandon this project, I resorted to also salvaging the Dolomite’s complete steering-column assembly and associated three-spoke steering wheel, with leather-covered, padded rim, whose diameter was slightly smaller than that of the Toledo. As things turned out, the substitution of the Dolomite’s adjustable steering column & associated steering wheel, proved to be a beneficial, albeit unintentional upgrade.

However, when I substituted the Dolomite adjustable steering column, I discovered that there was a space between the mounting brackets and the front bulkhead below the windscreen, owing to differences between the Toledo’s flat-panel dashboard and the Dolomite’s moulded dashboard with separate curved-profile instrument panel. Hence it was necessary to incorporate spacer shims to rigidly mount the steering column.

As one would expect, the Dolomite adjustable steering column, came complete with its own steering-lock, ignition switch & ignition-lock-barrel, but without a matching ignition key. I didn’t want to incur the additional expense of sourcing a new ignition key and I preferred to avoid having two separate keys for the ignition and front door locks.

Hence, I removed the ignition-lock-barrels from both the Dolomite steering column and the Toledo steering column, and swopped them over. This involved unfastening the special “tamper-proof” shear-bolts, that held the ignition-lock-barrels to the steering columns; something which I accomplished by centre-punching the heads of the shear-bolts and gently tapping them in an anti-clockwise direction, with a small hammer & cold chisel. Conventional socket-head machine screws were substituted in place of the special “tamper-proof” shear-bolts.

This was the shear-bolt removal technique, that was recommended in Section 57 – Steering Operations, Sub-Section 57.40.31 – Steering Lock / Ignition Switch, of the official loose-leaf, 1970~74 BLMC Triumph Toledo workshop manual (ordered in circa April 1975 from Mann Egerton, the local Rover & Triumph dealership, in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex).

Toledo Repair Operations Manual, Publication Part Number 545168/2E, Edition Unspecified, Service Division, Triumph Motors, British Leyland UK Limited.

Having all the major switch-gear, including the main light switch mounted on the steering column, was a vast improvement and I’m surprised that BLMC Triumph hadn’t already upgraded the later-model Toledos in this way, at little if any additional cost! After all, the 1976 onward, rationalized, “two-headlamp” Triumph Dolomite 13/1500, with the fixed, non-adjustable steering column, was so equipped.

The additional single-pass, flick-wipe facility, also proved to be particularly useful in conditions of light drizzle or fog, when only a single, occasional sweep of the windscreen wipers was needed. Of course, having an intermittent, variable-intermittent or rain-sensing-intermittent (e.g. OEDES Raintracker™ RT-50 or RT-50A controller & rain-sensor kit) wiper might also be useful, as the next level of upgrade; which might be more readily accommodated by substituting a windscreen wiper & washer stalk-switch from a Triumph Stag!

OEDES Raintracker RT-50 rain-sensing wiper controller & sensor literature

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/li ... r_rt50.php

Photograph of the complementary Raintracker™ RT-50 controller & rain-sensor kit, supplied to me in 2005 by OEDES, in Minnesota, USA, for my 1973 VW “1600” Type 2 motor-caravan

Image

I am in no doubt, that having a steering-column mounted, windscreen wiper & washer, combination stalk-switch, greatly improved driving comfort and safety. In the USA, the NSTSA (i.e. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) is said to have implicated driver distraction alone, in at least 26% of fatal accidents, during a one-year period. An article in the British press (i.e. “The dashboard danger”, Daily Mail, Thursday, 28th April 2005, Page 31), also echoes this view; saying that adjusting controls such as switches for lights or windscreen wipers & washers, almost doubled 0•75 to 1•45 seconds, the time taken to react to a hazard and activate the brakes in an emergency.

Although not crucial, having the main lighting switch on the steering-column nacelle, was quicker and more convenient to use and it freed-up space on the dashboard, for more minor accessory switches. Alternatively, I could have retained the Toledo’s original dashboard-mounted main lighting switch, as a front & rear fog-lamp switch or even a two-zone, electrically-heated, front-windscreen switch, if such windscreens ever become available for the Toledo & Dolomite.

The Dolomite’s bulkier steering-column nacelle, with considerable unfilled space inside, also offered scope, for the incorporation of additional steering-column mounted accessory switches; an option I enthusiastically exploited in the near future for the following electrical accessories:

• Matched pair of 7 inch diameter, Lucas 20-20, H3 55W quartz-halogen, auxiliary driving lamps;
• Matched pair of 7 inch diameter, Lucas 20-20, H3 55W quartz-halogen, front fog lamps (Lucas part No. 55423 12V);
• Matched pair of surface-mounted, Starlux rectangular rear fog lamps;
• Single Lucas Square-8, H3 55W quartz-halogen, auxiliary reversing light (i.e. repurposed front fog light).

I had found the 16 inch diameter of the original Toledo steering wheel, slightly too large for optimum comfort, especially with regard to the ease with which one’s fingertips could activate the headlamp-dip, direction-indicator & horn, combination stalk-switch.

The Dolomite’s three-spoke steering wheel appears to be similar, if not identical, to that of the Triumph Stag; which is said to be of 16 inches diameter on the Mk.1 model and 14½ inches diameter on the Mk.2 model. I later retro-fitted long, tear-drop shaped rubber grommets in the tear-drop shaped slots of the steering-wheel spokes; which I think I salvaged from a late-model Dolomite.

http://www.stagbytriumph.co.uk/specs.html

« 3 spoke alloy with padded rim and centre boss. The Mk 1 steering wheel was 16 inches (406 mm) in diameter while the Mk2 was reduced to 14½ inches (368 mm). Some late cars had the slots in the spokes filled with black rubber. The steering column is adjustable by approximately 4 inches (102mm) axially and 2 inches (51mm) vertically and incorporates an anti-theft locking device »

In hot summer weather, one’s hands tended to become sweaty and slipped easily on the Toledo’s smooth steering-wheel rim. In contrast, one’s hands became colder as a consequence of grasping the poorly-insulated steering-wheel rim, in cold winter weather, necessitating the wearing of gloves. Sadly, my woolen gloves didn’t grip very well!

The Dolomite’s padded & leather-covered steering-wheel rim, of slightly smaller diameter than that of the Toledo’s (i.e. 14½ inch instead of 16 inch diameter), was more comfortable to use in both summer and winter and facilitated easier operation of both stalk switches with one’s fingertips.

Board index » The Triumph Dolomite Club » The Public Bar - General Chat » The consensus on the best steering wheel size

https://forum.triumphdolomite.co.uk/vie ... =5&t=34256

https://forum.triumphdolomite.co.uk/vie ... 57#p321239

I also had the impression that the Dolomite steering wheel was slightly easier to hold, but this might be attributable to a combination of factors, which include: (a) steering-wheel diameter; (b) steering-wheel rim-thickness, as influenced by padding thickness; and (c) more optimal positioning of the steering wheel, which was facilitated by the adjustable steering column.

The Dolomite steering wheel featured a central circular padded cover, which not surprisingly, was embossed with the word “DOLOMITE”. Given that my car was a Toledo rather than a Dolomite, this was most inappropriate, but within a few months, I was able to salvage a substitute padded cover from another Triumph (I cannot recall which model or model-year), embossed with the word “TRIUMPH”, that was more than acceptable.

1975 Triumph Dolomite Sprint Automatic, with early-model style instrument panel, late-model style gauges and a “TRIUMPH” embossed steering-wheel centre-pad

Image

Image

One of the features of the Dolomite steering wheel, which I later discovered to be undesirable, was the light-reflection property of the three chromium-plated spokes. Driving in certain directions, during particular times of day, the sunlight reflecting off one or other of the spokes, caused uncomfortable glare, which impaired my vision and posed a safety hazard. I believe that some of the later-model Dolomites, had black-painted steering-wheel spokes, which should be better in this respect. The glare from sunlight, reflected off the stainless-steel TEX windscreen-wiper arms, was another source of major visual discomfort and safety hazard when driving in certain directions, during particular times of day.

Elliot Wales? Triumph Dolomite/Toledo - Buy, Sell & Wanted – 19th October 2019

Looking for a steering wheel foam centre cap like this that says 'Triumph' on it. Will swap for a Dolomite one plus £10. Cheers.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =3&theater

Image of "TRIUMPH" embossed steering-wheel centre pad

Brendan Pearson?Triumph Dolomite/Toledo - Buy, Sell & Wanted – Posted 24th August 2019

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... ater&ifg=1

Image of Dolomite steering wheel with black spokes

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The exact configuration of the Toledo’s original non-adjustable steering column and associated two-piece moulded-plastic nacelle, are rather hazy in my memory to say the least.

Although I might have once known the answer, I now wonder whether it might have been possible to retro-fit the Dolomite steering-column-mounted, windscreen-wiper & washer switch, to the Toledo’s original non-adjustable steering column and retain the original Toledo plastic nacelle; albeit with an extra slot cut in the nacelle to accommodate the extra switch-stalk!?!

I also wonder whether the configurations (including the fastening-screw positions) of the two-piece moulded-plastic nacelles, are the identical for the Triumph Dolomite 13/1500 with non-adjustable steering column and the Triumph Dolomite 1500/1850 HL & Sprint with adjustable steering column!?!

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


Last edited by naskeet on Thu Jul 28, 2022 7:14 pm, edited 8 times in total.

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PostPosted: Wed Feb 03, 2021 5:13 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 06, 2014 4:38 pm
Posts: 535
Location: South Benfleet, Essex
Mystery of the Pursuing Invisible Jet Fighter!?! – February 1983

During the winter of 1982/83, I noticed a strange, unfamiliar noise, which increased in intensity with road speed and appeared to be independent of engine speed. As the weeks passed, the noise became progressively louder and gave me the subjective impression that I was being pursued by a Tornado jet fighter; the noise seeming to originate from somewhere behind me.

At a relatively modest speed of 40~50 mph, the noise became almost intolerable after a few weeks, so I urgently needed to identify the source! By taking my engineering-student friend & colleague for a drive one day, he was able to try different listening position and eventually determined that the noise probably originated from a worn, nearside front wheel-bearing; an hypothesis I was able to confirm the following weekend, when I removed the nearside front wheel hub and inspected both the outboard & inboard taper-roller bearings.

When I cleaned and inspected the rollers of the inboard taper-roller front-wheel bearing (Timken L44649), I discovered that the rollers were noticeably pitted, where the hardened surface was disintegrating. After replacing the complete bearing with suitable equivalent (Unipart GHB 101) on 4th February 1983 at a mileage of 29,435, the noise vanished completely, so I was well pleased with my efforts.

_________________
Regards.

Nigel A. Skeet

Independent tutor of mathematics, physics, technology & engineering, for secondary, tertiary, further & higher education.

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=308177758

Upgraded 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 (Toledo / Dolomite HL / Sprint hybrid)

Onetime member + magazine editor & technical editor of Volkswagen Type 2 Owners' Club


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