The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

The Number One Club for owners of Triumph's range of small saloons from the 1960s and 1970s.
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 2:32 pm

All times are UTC




Post new topic  Reply to topic  [ 1 post ] 
Author Message
 Post subject: Dolly Story
PostPosted: Thu May 26, 2022 2:58 pm 
Offline
Future Club member hopefully!
Future Club member hopefully!

Joined: Fri May 21, 2021 3:14 pm
Posts: 50
I have just sold my Dolomite after 46 years. I wrote this story as a memento to post on Facebook. Maybe others will have had similar relationships with their cars.
--------------------
Back in 1976, I was driving a Morris 1100 around. It had had a messy crash and because it was an old car, it had been fixed cheaply. I was looking for something newer. A friend mentioned that his father in law had bought a Triumph Dolomite the year before. He was a fiddler, and it was such a luxury car, there was almost nothing needed doing to it, so he sold it. I managed to pick it up from the dealer before someone else got it.

The Dolomite at the time was a competitor to BMW. Faster, more luxurious, more comfortable, better looking. Even today, it is still considered one of the most beautiful British cars ever made. And it was much cheaper.

I drove it every day for 15 years. To work. Around town. On long trips. I once drove it to the Snowy Mountains for a skiing trip. It was a wonderful touring car.

By 1991, I was doing a bit of bushwalking, and the Dolly was not really comfortable on dirt roads. I bought a Subaru and my mother drove the Dolly for the next 20-odd years, but never very far.

Work had been done on it. In the 1980s, the original English paint was not coping with the Australian sun, so I had it stripped and repainted in the original colour, French Blue. In 2005, there was an engine problem and it was cheaper to get a new short engine than to repair it. Seats were recovered in about 2010, having lasted a remarkable 35 years. It has only ever had a couple of rust spots in the doors, and I had them properly fixed by replacing the metal rather than using putty. Looking through my files the other day, I see I still have receipts for every part or bit of work ever done on it.

A few years ago, Mum became unable to drive, and the Dolly has sat in my carport since then, being driven only occasionally, and - sadly - deteriorating. I had thought about selling it, but it was complicated. I had no idea what it was worth - one fellow offered me $800 for it but I knew it was better than that. Then there was the task of finding it a good home - I wanted it to go to someone who would appreciate it for what it was. And there was a lot of emotional baggage attached to it - it has been with me for 46 years!

Earlier this year, my Subaru had a minor accident and was written off, and I got to drive the Dolomite regularly again. I really enjoyed it. It was real driving, unlike modern almost-self-driving cars. I got waves from the owners of other old cars. People would talk to me in carparks and and ask me all about it. And it is easy to find in a carpark as it is a bright colour compared to the dullness of most current cars!

And I scared the drivers of some modern cars at the traffic lights! How could that old car beat them? (Hint: First gear goes up to 80km/hour.) But it was not all rosy. Driving on wet roads required care. Tyres in 1975 were very skinny without the grip of modern tyres.

Then came the fatal day when I heard a rattle from underneath. There was nothing loose that I could see, but eventually I was advised that it was likely a gearbox problem. At this stage, hardly anyone knows how to work on these cars. I spent over 50 hours on the phone talking to people that had been recommended. Many had retired from mechanical work, but eventually I found someone who would repair the gearbox. Then I just had to find someone to take it out of the car - which eventually I did.

But while doing this, I spoke to an old fellow who restores classic cars. He would have done it, but already had months of work lined up. But then he said "Do you want to sell it?" I did. It turned out his daughter had had a Dolomite, and had expressed an interest in having another. But there was still the question of price.

So I did a bit of research - thank heavens for the Internet. Ten Dolomites had been sold over the last ten years, although others may have been sold privately. It turns out that an unregistered car sitting in a shed for years would sell for $2500-$3000. Ordinary cars sell for $5000-$11000, and fully restored ones sell for $16000-$18000.

So now I had a price range and potentially a buyer. And today they came to look at it and have bought it. The lady had had a Dolomite when she met her husband.

It is a sad moment for me, but I am consoled by the fact that they will love it like I do.

---

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

_________________
1975 Dolomite 1850 manual (no overdrive), French Blue
Owned since 1976.


Top
   
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic  Reply to topic  [ 1 post ] 

All times are UTC


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: AhrefsBot [Bot], Amazon [Bot], Matt Cotton and 23 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Limited