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: Sun Jul 11, 2010 11:22 pm 
Hello Folks.......Just doing my introduction as I've just bought a '69 1300 FWD (white with red interior Reg Number NDX 997H)
I've just "nearly" finished a three and half year resto/custom on a 1963 Humber Sceptre (traumatic, expensive & I could have given up on numerous occasions !!) so the last thing I needed was another toy !! The missus pointed out that I really ought to just finish & enjoy one car, before I buy another !! But you know how it is, I had cash burning a hole, the car was relatively local, the price seemed ok, it had loads of spares & a clean 12 mths MOT.
The car has been registered with the club in the past, due to a converstion with the previous owner & the stack of club mags in the boot.
The plan is to run it "as is" & do a sympathetic bit of resto over the winter. It's not cosmetically pretty, but appears structurally sound.....so I'll just enjoy it for now & hopefully get my teenage son enthusiastic about working on it too.
The car appears to have spent most of it's life owned by a doctor in Burton on Trent & "looked after" (badly !!) by a classic car restoration company in Swadlincote Derbyshire......who quite obviously employed Ray Charles in their bodyshop !!!
Ok, questions.......On my journey home, 70 miles at a steady 55-60 mph the car over heated & the expansion tank had a hissy fit !! Is this expected cruising speed or will they touch 70 ?? Could a new thermostat & a good flush through help out there ?? .....a new thermo always works in my humble mechanical knowledge.
Anyone got any good doors going cheap (colour unimportant !) the drivers door is looking a bit grim at the bottom.....I guess I could skin it at a push but I want to smarten up/restore on a budget.
Best place to get touch up & aerosols mixed up ?? Or is the colour (leyland 19 White ?) available as a good match in another manufacturers range off the shelf anywhere ??
That'll do for now.......Hopefully catch up with some of you soon.....I'm in central Lincoln, the kettle is always on & the missus makes some mean cakes !!
Cheers......Dave
P.S any tips for a techno-phobe on the easiest way to get pics on here ???
P


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 11, 2010 11:54 pm 
Hi Scoot,

Welcome.
Triumph White 19 can be mixed by some vendors, I've recently found a company reasonably local to me who will do it for £8.99 per aerosol, so you should find a company near you.
Rimmers (check the web) do it for a reasonable price but the shipping is expensive, perhaps they're local to you and you can collect? The cans are made by Tetrosyl under the CarPlan range, and I've had some problems with the nozzles.

Personally I find the easiest way for the photo's is to upload them to the web (webshots etc), and using their links just drag and drop into a post.

Others will help you out with the other questions soon.
:bluewave:


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:00 am 
Welcome to the forum and good choice of car, I have a white fwd with red interior or at did have untill someone lese got their hands on it but it is now safe back in my care, dont look at the restro thread 'justyns 1967 1300fwd' (or similar title) if you are easily scared :lol:

Paint, yep avalible form most places but you will find after 40 years it no longer matches the car.
You car should easily hit 70 cruising if in good tune, when i get cars i flush the coolant system through and run them without a thermostat for a couple of weeks and reflush then fit a 'stat, make sure tthe rad is good condition.
I might have door spares but im in Southampton and will have to check what I have.


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 12:25 am 
Thanks Gents.....much appreciated. I have a paint factors near me that can mix-up aerosols & the car was painted sometime in it's life so it might match ok....it's only small areas that need painting anyway, so I'll give it a go.
The car was cruising at 55-60, but I daren't push it up to 70. I think a good service & tappet adjust is in order......it sounded pretty rattley.....it'll give me chance to test drive the Gunson Clickadjust that I was given (anyone got data on the amount of clicks for a 1300 fwd ?)
Interested in doors 1300Dolly, I do have a friend in Southampton, so it might be do-able.....or perhaps courier dependant on the finances.
Thanks once again......keep the advice coming people !!


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 15, 2010 11:24 pm 
Hi Scoot and welcome! As Jusytn says, you've picked a great car (just between us, probably the most deserving of "classic" status in the entire range :twisted: )

They should sit happily, if noisily, at 70+ although if you do it for any length of time without overheating - although the oil pressure can drop following a run like that if you haven't got good stuff (and possibly a dose of STP) in it. It is doing about 4500 rpm at that speed after all! But, at 55 - 60, it should be happy all day (in fact, week) long. Mine will sit at that while towing a trailer tent and stay right in the middle of the temp range between here (Anglesey) and the New Forest, while still giving around 35 miles to the gallon. That's despite her being a used, abused, and ex-Adam* car :lol:

As for tappets, getting them really quiet can be a challenge because the rocker gear is prone to wear but it's not terminal and the rocker gear is easily and cheaply available if it gets too annoying (about £55 for a complete reconditioned set from Paddocks). The valve clearances should be 10 thou on inlet and exhaust - I've no idea how that translates on a Clickadjust cos I've never used one.







* If you stick around long enough you'll learn what that means, or search for posts by 2F45T4U if you don't want to wait ;)


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 16, 2010 7:44 am 
Hi and welcome. I also have one of these wee beasties (see Project Grey). Justyn has my old car but it wasn't me who sprayed it black. Have a look at the piccies.

These cars are really quite nice indeed, a good oil change using a proper non-return valve filter, a slop of STP and a fettle with the clearances should be ok. A good few folk fit a feed from the oil pressure switch to the rear of the engine by the rocker cover (there's a small bolt at the back) which gives the rockers a good spray of oil. No doubt Justyn will tell you what it's called 'cos I can't think at the moment. They aren't expensive and I will fit ne when I get some spare cash.

Other than that check the rotoflex donuts for wear/splitting too. A good flush and proper coolant should help, I think it is recommended to fit an 88 deg thermostat (well on the Dollies it is, I think the same applies), check your hoses too.

All the best and good luck.

Ken


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 9:10 am 
Thanks once again for all the info people.....I will definately give it a good & thorough service real soon. Where's best value for money for service consumables ?? I asked at my local motor factors for a thermo last sunday....& although helpful, none avail (suprisingly !) I drive past rimmers everyday, but have never had the need to pop in (they don't do many 60's Humber parts !!).....so I guess I should check them out ....or are they considered too pricey for everyday parts ?? As for the valve clearances.....I was given the Gunson device by a work colleague the sort of man that must own every tool EVER...but doesn't use them !) & I'm really not overly sure about it. I had to re-read the instructions over & over......I agree with the previous advice on 10 thou, but Mr Gunson says to put a 10 thou in first, set the Gunson & then ADD another 10 thou on top !!....How's that work ?? .....I think the traditional method is the best way forward........don't reinvent the wheel !!


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 10:20 am 
Quote:
...Mr Gunson says to put a 10 thou in first, set the Gunson & then ADD another 10 thou on top !!....How's that work ?? .....I think the traditional method is the best way forward........don't reinvent the wheel !!
Instead of the Clickadjust (sp?), you could set the clearances by using two feeler blades and allow for the wear ridge that way.

Here how:
You know what the correct gap is, yes? One blade alone won't read that gap accurately as the rocker pads will have some wear on their faces so: Enter the correct blade plus another (size unimportant but I tend to use a thicker one) then count how many turns are required to reduce the gap by the thickness of the blade which equates to that gap.
Then remove both blades and screw down the adjuster until there's no clearance at all.
Then turn the adjuster up by the number of turns you measured earlier, that will give you the exact clearance required but will allow for the wear step that, were you to use just the one blade, would cause the actual clearance to be too tight to enter the gauge.

The above is exactly how the Clickadjust and other tools of its type will work, but obviously the device is quicker than the two feeler blade method and even more accurate as the gearing within the device means that your gap can be tied to one tiny movement of less than a minute rather than the few degrees you'd see when going to retighten the locknut when you've counted the turns manually.

So nobody tried to reinvent the wheel, the Clickadjust works, reduces the time required to do the job with two feeler blades and gives greater accuracy.

:|


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 10:32 am 
Quote:
...I drive past rimmers everyday, but have never had the need to pop in (they don't do many 60's Humber parts !!).....so I guess I should check them out ....or are they considered too pricey for everyday parts ?? ...
By removing the need for shipping I guess Rimmers would be competitively priced for most parts. The great thing is the actual range of stock they carry. I love their website, the best of the bunch.


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 18, 2010 7:44 pm 
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Joined: Tue Oct 03, 2006 4:50 pm
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Location: Next to my Computer
I find myself using their website for parts reference...

As has been said if you take shipping out of the equation the prices are pretty good.


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