Dolomite Sprint-Future Purchase

[Jon Tilson]

Being a southerner I'm a bit biased, but I dont think you will find one in Scotland worth having unless its a 2nd or 3rd car and only used in summer months and the owner has a garage. The extra damp and road salt used for the extra 3 or so months are just too much for the crap BL tin and paint of the 70's.

So look down here for a decent chance.

Mine has survived for over 25 years ownership and regular all year round motorway commutes back in the day. It then had a long period of indolence and then I had it rebuilt with new floorpans and a cill and a respray. Its not a concours job and its still in some ways a work in progress. I've yet to sort the spoiler and it has no stripes and screen trim strip, but its not bad. It went back on the road about 3 years ago and Ive used it pretty much like a modern again ever since. Its only faults
during that time have been wear and tear...the intermediate steering column shaft needs doing as its a touch wandery and the exhaust blows where the downpipe ends.

Over the years I have polybushed the drag struts and rack mountings and it has a stainless exhaust. I also used goodridge hoses. Its a bit thirsty on its trick camshaft and new jets. I drive it like a loon though but get below 30 mpg.

I'm thinking of selling it soon, once Ive fitted a new large bore downpipe to cure the blow and given it a fresh Mot.

If you want some pics PM me. Its worth around 3750 cos of the fancy cam and vernier pulley and long term ownership that these cars really need to get sorted properly. There are some real sheds out there so be careful.

Jonners

[TDS]

Overdrive.
It must have overdrive.
There should be a very nice early Sprint on the road in Dundee by the end of the year!

Great I cant wait to see it !

[TDS]

Overdrive.
It must have overdrive.
There should be a very nice early Sprint on the road in Dundee by the end of the year!

Great I cant wait to see it !

[xvivalve]

This forum is only the part of it; join the Club, £26 per annum and get all the additional benefits such as access to parts at prices not available to non members and parts not available elsewhere full stop!

MikeyB and Martin's cars would only change hands for considerably more than £4k and in Mike's case probably wouldn't change hands at all!

[Toledo Man]

One supplier I can heartily recommend is T.D.Fitchett. They are a bit "old school" in that they don't have a website (one of my young TSSC friends said he would offer do a website for them) and the bloke that answers the phone comes across as a "Mr. Grumpy" but once you get past his demeanour it is great. They know their stuff, they accept plastic and your order comes in the post the next working day by Royal Fail. I've never had any issues with quality and their prices are competitive. They advertise in the classic car mags so you should be able to track them down without too much difficulty.

This forum should be the first place in your search for a Sprint. My last 2 Dolomites (a Sprint and Brown) were sourced via here. Other places to try are eBay (you MUST view the car before bidding - I viewed my Dolomite 1300 which had been listed and ended up buying it privately.), Triumph World, Classic Car Weekly, Classic Car Buyer and the other classic car mags.

I second what has been said by Julian (tinweevil) about the cooling system. There's nothing wrong with having an electric cooling fan (modern cars have them) but the cooling system needs to be in tip top condition in the first place rather than it masking a problem. I run Brown with a 50/50 mixture of blue antifreeze. I know some on here would say that 50% is too high but I keep it below 50% and top up with water which shouldn't dilute it too much. The last time I drained Brown's cooling system the coolant was still clean despite a 2 year lay-up in my unheated garage so I reckon I'm doing something right. Aside from a collapsed heater hose I've had no issues with Brown's cooling system and my Sprint didn't have any problems either apart from the fan trying to bury itself in the radiator.

My "Project Brown" thread is another thread you should look at. Most of the 1850 stuff applies to the Sprint as well.

Good luck in your search.