I was under the impression that the RWD Triumph 1500TCs were equipped with factory-fitted front & rear suspension anti-roll bars as standard!?! I certainly remember from long-ago breakers’ yard visits of yesteryear, that the FWD Triumph 1500s had a straight rear-suspension anti-roll bar, which lacked the necessary downward curving section to clear the propeller-shaft of my RWD Triumph Toledo.
As you discovered to your cost, buying a second-hand front anti-roll bar, without the associated mounting hardware, was a false economy! However, I get the impression that rear anti-roll bars which require only four generic bolts, nuts & washers to mount them, are also periodically listed on E-bay at prices typically ranging from £10 to £15.
In mid-August 2021, I found the following FWD Triumph 1500 and RWD Triumph Dolomite front & rear suspension anti-roll bars listed on E-bay. The two second-hand rear-suspension anti-roll bars priced at £13•99 and £15•00, would both have been significantly cheaper than the new one you bought from Rimmer Brothers.
Front-suspension anti-roll bar (ex Triumph Dolomite 1300, 1500, 1500HL, 1850, 1850HL & Sprint):
To Clear Triumph Dolomite & Sprint Anti Roll Bar No Mounting Brackets Available, Condition: Used, Price: £10.99
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174536682935 ... SwDPtfwXeR
Rear-suspension anti-roll bar (ex Triumph Dolomite 1850, 1850HL & Sprint);
Triumph Dolomite 1300/1500 Toledo Anti Roll Bar Restoration Classic Car Part, Condition: Used, Price: £13.99
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/383393729879 ... SwpI5eL2yO
Dolomite Sprint 1850 Rear Anti-Roll Bar Dolomite Toledo Upgrade, Condition: Used, Price: £15.00
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265179838474 ... SwzmxgtK91
Rear-suspension anti-roll bar (ex FWD Triumph 1500!?!);
TRIUMPH DOLOMITE SPRINT REAR ANTI ROLL BAR, Condition: Used, Price: £24.99
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184798062067 ... SwhGZgiSBu
To me, this looks like a rear anti-roll bar originating from a front-wheel drive Triumph 1500, which would probably not clear the propeller-shaft on a rear-wheel drive car!
I can’t comment on what would happen with a RWD Triumph 1500TC equipped with just a rear anti-roll bar, if driven to the limits in special-stage, road-rally style, but for “normal” moderate-speed driving on the public highway, I foresee no problems with any strange / unpredictable steering or handling characteristics, based upon past experience during the latter half of 1982, with my four-door, RHD 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 “HL Special”, whose only other significant deviation from factory-standard specification at that time, was 5½ x 13 inch Cosmic alloy wheels (21 mm offset) shod with Kelly-Springfield Steelmark, steel-braced 175 SR13 (i.e. circa 175/80 SR13 ~ 175/83 SR13) radial-ply tyres and a ¾-inch higher ground clearance.
Sometime during the summer of 1982 (I didn’t record a precise date & mileage!), I initially fitted just the rear-suspension anti-roll bar that I had salvaged from a Triumph Dolomite Sprint at a breaker’s yard in Buckinghamshire; the front anti-roll being inaccessible at that time. A few months later, after the cars there had been repositioned, I was able to also salvage from the same donor Triumph Dolomite Sprint, the front-suspension anti-roll bar with all but one of the fittings (i.e. a tubular spacer; of which I was able to make a substitute). The front anti-roll bar & fittings were rather rusty and in need of some refurbishment, so it wasn’t until the winter of 1982/83 (I didn’t record a precise date & mileage!) that I fitted the refurbished front anti-roll bar.
I don’t have a precise record of how many miles I covered, between the summer of 1982 and the winter of 1982/83, driving with just the rear anti-roll bar fitted, but it’s likely to have been something in the range of 3000 to 4000 miles, on successive Friday & Sunday evening journeys, between CIT – Cranfield, on the Bedfordshire & Buckinghamshire border and my home in Canvey Island, Essex, via Ampthill, Baldock, Buntingford, Puckerage, Bishops Stortford, Hatfield Heath and Chelmsford.
The route included a long stretch of winding roads, with a series of many sharp bends (some of circa 90 degrees) at intervals of a few hundred yards, between Bishops Stortford and Chelmsford. The 80•0 mile cross-country journey, typically took 2½ hours under normal traffic conditions (32 mph average speed), 2¼ hours under light traffic conditions (35½ mph average speed) and 2¾ hours under light traffic conditions on deep snow-covered road (29 mph average speed).
When appropriate sections of the M25 motorway were completed, a journey via an alternative route of virtually the same total distance, typically took 2 hours under normal Sunday evening traffic conditions (40 mph average speed).
Board index » The Triumph Dolomite Club » Dolomite-related [Start here!] » 40+ Years With A 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 “HL Special”
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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
https://forum.triumphdolomite.co.uk/vie ... 98#p335498
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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