The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

The Number One Club for owners of Triumph's range of small saloons from the 1960s and 1970s.
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2019 9:29 pm 
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Location: Camborne Cornwall
I am just about to start restoration of my 73 mimosa sprint. Va2089. It needs new wings and lower front valance . Sills etc. The trouble is I am torn between the wings and front panel. I have seen the club grp ones which are very good. But will it effect the value of the finished car or desirability of it? Purist would say steel but I want the car to last another 46 years! Your input would be most grateful. Cheers David


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 06, 2019 10:39 pm 
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Joined: Sun Aug 21, 2011 5:12 pm
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Location: Highley, Shropshire
Well you have already worked it out, it seems to me!

The reasons for choosing one material over another, comes down to the intended use of the vehicle. I think you can ignore final value as any thorough Sprint restoration is likely to cost more than the finished vehicle is worth, unless you do ALL the work yourself including the expensive painting and value your labour as zero. In such a case, it is a labour of love and again, final value is not a factor!

So if you want a "better than new" cup hunting trailer queen, then obviously steel is mandatory. For any other purpose, including driving it, in the manner intended by it's designers, on a regular basis, GRP, particularly the clubs own highly accurate and solid panels, is more than adequate.

So the decision is simple, do you primarily want to drive it, or polish it?

Steve

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'73 2 door Toledo with Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 8v engine (The Carledo)
'78 Sprint Auto with Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v engine (The Dolomega)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!

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


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 12:32 am 
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I am afraid the answer will be yes, I suspect it will reduce values, given a choice between steel and GRP, people will prefer steel.

As for the results you can get, it rather depends in how straight your car is, how much time you put into prepping the panels and your skill level. I could never quite get the door shut lines as tight as some of the cars with original panels and the same with the bonnet shut lines. To be fair I have seen some members who have got it bang on and some cars with steel panels that are all over the place.


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 9:36 am 
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I will be carrying out the work myself I been stock piling parts for months for it. Obviously my time is free. My 1850 has one pattern wing and one grp. Fitted by the previous owner. The grp fits far better than the crappy after market one. I want the car To be used but also good enough to show. Plus given the fact of being an early car it's needs to be original as possible. I like the fact grp will never rust! It's a dilemma??!


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 11:09 am 
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I'm a great fan of the Club's GRP front wings on my 1850 daily driver. (SWK) .
I'm the one with a notice on the nose of the car at the shows saying ...
" Guess which is the Club's GRP wing ?"

The quiz is getting easier this year as the nearside wing is developing rusty patches :-(

I used Derek on here to fit and spray it btw.

Tony.


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:11 pm 
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Your car doesn't have a 'pattern' wing as they were never made.


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 8:54 pm 
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Quote:
Your car doesn't have a 'pattern' wing as they were never made.
I'm not so sure about that, no positive evidence, just a feeling that there WAS a company making pattern panels for all sorts of obscure stuff, in Denmark IIRC and they may have made Dolomite wings. Can't quite remember the name of the company, getting old I guess!

But you may equally be right and it's just a badly made and badly fitted NOS wing. Some of those turned out after production ended (and in truth, on late production cars) were pretty awful, simply because the tooling they were made on was beyond life expired! Even earlier cars had panel fit problems, there is a well known production line pic floating around that shows a Dolomite with a truly AWFUL gap at the O/S/R door! I have seen MANY original cars with similar inadequacies. In fact, if the gaps are really good all over the car, chances are it's been restored! I had to have the shell jig straightened from accident damage on my own Sprint and the guy who did it joked that it was straighter now than when it left the factory. Since he worked to 0.1mm and the factory emphatically did NOT, this was true and not that funny to me, but i'm pleased to have a car that straight! Even so, I spent many hours getting all 4 doors, bonnet etc to fit perfectly to MY satisfaction!

I was already aware that it's an early car, since it's on the OP as VA2089. Crucially though, it's not quite one of the "first 2000" and even if it was, there is no particularly special extra value conferred on them, only the first 20 press cars from the Geneva launch are really worth a bit more and I would say all the known survivors there are accounted for. Along with the "Motor" magazine (or was it "Autocar"?) long term road test car and the handful or so of surviving works competition cars. The first 2000 are certainly a bit more sought after by the cognoscenti, but outside that limited market, a Sprint is just a Sprint. And it's value is determined purely on condition. As it should be!

I guess that GRP panels will lower the value a touch, but probably not much more than the difference in original price of the panels concerned. What it WILL do is make the market place smaller as anyone looking for a pot hunter, or an investment, probably won't want it at all. Personally, I don't think that's a bad thing!

Steve

_________________
'73 2 door Toledo with Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 8v engine (The Carledo)
'78 Sprint Auto with Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v engine (The Dolomega)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!

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


Last edited by Carledo on Sun Apr 07, 2019 9:26 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 9:05 pm 
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Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2017 9:57 pm
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Location: Camborne Cornwall
Must be a badly fitted genuine one then. Gaps to bonnet scuttle and front panel are fine to the door is terrible. The door gaps are spot on. I wrongly assumed it was an after market item. I did by a nsf wing of eBay in need of repair The vendor said it was oe. Still we learn something every day?


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PostPosted: Sun Apr 07, 2019 9:07 pm 
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Sorry wasn't oe. An after market item. Stupid predicted text!


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