My new Dolomite - 1980 1500HL Auto

[Purplebargeken]

Glad you are pleased with it Howard. I still think the nose bit could be better, but if you are happy then that's fine by me.

The rattle can wasn't bad for a Halfrauds one, however, we will get a couple of cans from the same folk who matched LD's. The cans they supply are lovely to use. Still, the rust patches have been dealt with and the car looks much better now. Hopefully in a few weeks it will look even better.

[2F45T4U]

This is still one thing I'm too scared to attempt I need a body shop guru

[JPB]

...I need a body shop guru

Here's the Bodyshop guru:


But she died a couple of years ago, so you'll just need to find another one.

Painting's not difficult, just put all of the work into the surface prep, paint can always be redone until you're happy with it. And use the brush on some interior walls before using it on a car, that way the bristles that are going to fall out will have done so, harmlessly, in your can of B&Q's finest "White with a hint of some exotic fruit that we invented for the purpose."

[Howard81]

Painting's not difficult, just put all of the work into the surface prep, paint can always be redone until you're happy with it. And use the brush on some interior walls before using it on a car, that way the bristles that are going to fall out will have done so, harmlessly, in your can of B&Q's finest "White with a hint of some exotic fruit that we invented for the purpose."

Speaking of which, some of the VW Boys have been roller-painting their cars with excellent results - but again, it's 99% prep work!

I've learnt that if you want to get a decent finish, you NEED to use a DA sander. I've always sanded by hand as I don't have a DA, but the finish Ken got with one was silky smooth. It's on my shopping list now!

Adam, you still have your yellow Dolomite, don't you? Practice on that! Or go ask Rich to teach you

[NFXdynomite]

Speaking of which, some of the VW Boys have been roller-painting their cars with excellent results - but again, it's 99% prep work!

I

I roller painted my V Dub last weekend looks the mutts nutts

[Howard81]

Doing some research into Brooklands Green, I have found out there are actually three different shades

HYF Brooklands Green 1997-2000
HAE Brooklands Green 1975-1982
HMM Brooklands Green 1975-1982

The front of my car was painted with HYF in an off-the-shelf Halfords spray can.

The VIN plate shows the original code as HAE. I am relying on Ken's paint guru to get the perfect match!

I also won a decent front bumper on eBay which I hope will arrive before the Ace Cafe meeting on Saturday

[Howard81]

A rather large parcel arrived yesterday, which revealed my bargain eBay win bumper! It looks great now I've cleaned and polished it up, much better than the old, tarnished one.



And here it is on a rather splendid looking NGU! All I need to do now is find the correct nose badge, but she is all ready for the Ace Cafe meet tomorrow



One more job ticked off the list... although when the front panel gets the proper shade of Brooklands Green, I'll dismantle the bumper and paint the backs silver and the brackets black.

[Oli_88]

That bumper didn't come from Basingstoke did it?
I asked the seller what other bits he has, there's a set of wheels but he never came back to me with a price.

Still, looks really good that does!

[Howard81]

That bumper didn't come from Basingstoke did it?
I asked the seller what other bits he has, there's a set of wheels but he never came back to me with a price.

No it didn't, it was on eBay

[Howard81]

I finally had the tyres transferred over to the new set of wheels, which I think look great!



I am missing one centre though, plus two of the nuts are missing the plastic washers. The centres are Spitfire 1500 parts. Does anyone have these bits?

[sprint95m]

I finally had the tyres transferred over to the new set of wheels, which I think look great!

I'll second that !!!

[Howard81]

I'll second that !!!

They look fantastic on Spitfire wheels, I don't know why Triumph never fitted them as standard. Miles better than those plastic black caps HL's usually had.

With the Spitfire offset, it makes them stick out a little more than the original ones, but the tyres are still under the arches so it's all legal.

Here is another photo, purely because 1. the wheels look great, and 2. I spent ages washing her

[bifold]

I'll second that !!!

They look fantastic on Spitfire wheels, I don't know why Triumph never fitted them as standard. Miles better than those plastic black caps HL's usually had.

With the Spitfire offset, it makes them stick out a little more than the original ones, but the tyres are still under the arches so it's all legal.

Here is another photo, purely because 1. the wheels look great, and 2. I spent ages washing her

Those wheels were fitted as standard to the last of the dolomites made

[Howard81]

Those wheels were fitted as standard to the last of the dolomites made

My car did have them when new, but were kept by a previous owner. Without locating a set with the correct Dolomite offset, Spitfire ones are the closest I can get!

[bifold]

Those wheels were fitted as standard to the last of the dolomites made

My car did have them when new, but were kept by a previous owner. Without locating a set with the correct Dolomite offset, Spitfire ones are the closest I can get!

Spitfire were the ones fitted to the last cars,using up stock was a BL trait,also gave a long in the tooth car a sporty look