Hello, and where have all the cars gone?!

[Galileo]

The forum says Dolomite related start here, so it seems like an encouragement to do just that!

After looking for a cheap runaround and getting quite down at the thought of becoming a Honda Jazz (etc) owner I accidentally noticed Triumph in the Autotrader make dropdown. Well damn that dropdown, because I idly clicked on it and spotted a nice looking Sprint for £6, in mimosa (though they list minosh as the colour, think it's a typo) . Now I used to walk past a very nice one in Inca on my way to school in the 80s and always fancied one, but ended up making do with my dad's Mk2 2000 when I passed my test. I then had the thought of getting one that I just could not shake, and preferably in Inca.

So moving on, I did some searching found a nice looking Inca one in Preston (belonged to a member on here called Deano) and after a conversation agreed to come up and take a look. Sadly someone with a bulging wallet and local beat me to it, and suddenly all of the Sprint's on the market seems to have vanished, bar the £6k one on Autotrader. Practical classics says this on pricing: Concourse £6750, good £4750 average £2000 and £950 for rough. Issue is that the cars I've seen seem to be in the average at best category but with good to concourse prices!

Great, you haven't nodded off yet, because I was wondering if £6k is way too much to pay, I want to drive the car and not admire it sat in my garage, so I wasn't after something so mint I'd be scared to drive it, but I'm running out of search options. I've tried Autotrader, Ebay (with reservations about that), Carandclassic (the phone costs are mad, £1 a minute...), Classiccarsforsale, Gumtree and Exchange and Mart with no luck at all, am I looking in the right places?

[geeksteve]

I wouldn't pay much attention to Practical Classics pricing... As for places to look, the forums are as good as it gets - I did get mine on eBay by luck.

Steve

[Maidstonerob]

You could also look at 1850 hl most of the Sprint extras and not exactly a slouch.

Put some Sprint alloys on and other than badges and vinyl roof look the same

[Galileo]

Must say that I have been considering an 1850 instead (what's 8 valves between friends after all eh?!) but it was a Sprint that brought me here and I'm still hopeful, am I wrong to be, does the 1850 hold it's own on modern roads in the same way that the Sprint does? And as to pricing, well, they do seem to be all over the place and I haven't really quite worked out what the difference between a £4k and a £6k car is, though I must admit that the one I saw that was £7k looked like it had just rolled off the production line, the paint even had that gorgeous old school deep gloss...

[Carledo]

I would say 5k will buy you a decent Sprint that doesn't need anything much doing to it, 7.5K is pretty top money but an exceptional car, either concouse original, historically significant or sympathetically improved (but still bodily perfect) will command up to 10k
1850s generally go for about half those prices but are catching up rapidly so may represent better value for money. Power wise the 1850 is only about 22 bhp behind a Sprint (a VERY quick car in its day) and is no slouch, even by todays standards.
As you have discovered, not many people are selling nearly perfect cars, probably because they are too busy (and happy) driving them! But they DO turn up, you just have to be quick!

Steve

[tamtrucks]

any good dolomite is a good buy,,better to have something then nothing at all my 2p

[Mad Mart]

Power wise the 1850 is only about 22 bhp behind a Sprint

37 BHP

[Galileo]

Thank you for some really useful information, good to know what the realistic price expectations are, because it seems that maybe the £6k was not that out of range after all. Trouble with being a Yorkshireman is that I need to know that I'm not paying over the odds, we're not tight as made out, just careful not to waste money!

Emailed the seller about the one I spotted, and they have put some pictures up now, and included what has been done recently:

Current mileage is 84091
The body work is exceptional, I can’t see evidence of any rust.
There is a receipt for work done to the N/S rear arch.
The exhaust was replaced in 2010, this is a S/S item
Major mechanical repairs include
New Clutch
Cyclinder head overhauled
New T/chain
New Radiator
New Water pump
New Stering rack & suspension joints
New Prop
New pinion diff seal
New S/column
New shock absorbers
New brake M/cyl
New Clutch slave & M/cyl

http://www.karden.co.uk/stock/triumph/3 ... ingDetails

Not too keen on the black cills, that's what they used to look like on my dad's cars when they were going a bit rotten and a load of bitumen paint would get it through the MOT!

I'm off to take a look, and If it looks as good underneath as it does on top, I may very well ask Mr Barclays for some cash..!

[xvivalve]

Black painted cills are standard, though you will see some restored Sprints with body coloured cills; black gives the car a far sleeker look in my opinion.

An early non overdrive car that looks in good order, non standard wheels and the seats have been changed as it wouldn't have had headrests when new. Is that a 135 front badge?

Needs to be viewed as the camera can make any car look good...

[Mad Mart]

As a guide. The last Sprint resto I sold for circa 6k was about 7-8 years ago. All the rest sold for a fair amount more.

[Galileo]

Well I've just come back from my 3 hour round trip, and sat down for a stout cuppa but thought I would thank those that had commented, and give an update.

First impressions are good, top and bottom with no signs of rust below, indeed the floorpan seems to be very clean and painted black. The cynic in me wonders what that could be covering up but it all looked smooth, especially around the important structural bits. The cills looked to have been properly replaced, I guess they could be the originals but I doubt it, sounded very tinny when tapped though. I noticed there was a small oil leak from the diff, and the engine or gearbox but nothing dramatic. There was a bit of a whine from the gearbox when in third, and my goodness the gate is huge, and I kept trying to put it into 5th! The indicators don't flash if the foot brake is on, but otherwise the electrics all seem to work fine. The engine ran on briefly but a car of that age wouldn't have an anti-run on valve I'm guessing, so hopefully that's not a concern.

So after my test drive I got out and the very nice temporary sales chap (owner is on holiday) asked me what I thought, and I said that if it was a 2 year old Vauxhall Astra I would have walked away as fast as I could! I did ponder for some time if I'm doing the right thing, but the more I thought about it, unlike that 2 year old Astra, I've no idea when the next one will turn up, or the condition, so decided there and then to take the plunge and bought it. Handed over a deposit, will pick it up next weekend but HCC 857N (please let that not be a known car for the wrong reasons!) is pretty much mine now. I'll have to get the number plate changed from reading "Graham's Sprint" under the registration index just to make sure though!

I'm not sure about the nose badge xvivalve, but it does have 135 badges on the D pillar rather than Sprint ones, would a 1975 car have had those rather than Sprint badges? Agreed about the black cills giving the car a lower profile, just that distant memory of the horrors covered up with bitumen paint. The lack of overdrive does concern me a little, having many years ago driven a Triumph 2000 with and without OD, it was a much more relaxed car on long stretches with it; perhaps a possible retrofit option?

And thanks Mad Mart for the pricing help, it has put my mind to rest that I'm not paying over the odds, though as I haven't seen one of your restored cars they may well be in a league of their own.

Well, this has been an interesting Saturday, better finish my tea and get on to Mr Barclays for the rest of the money..!

[Toledo Man]

Welcome to the forum. I don't think this one is known to the Club. I've seen the advert and I've noticed that it has Minilite style wheels and K&N air filters on it. A recent MoT pass is a good sign but is no guarantee. Have you considered starting a thread in the "resto" section? I know it will be more of a running report but it is nice to share your progress (and problems) with the rest of us. Do you still live in Yorkshire? The next local area meeting takes place this coming Tuesday and the details are in my sig below. The 135 badges are not the normal Sprint badges. The Sprint was going to be named the Dolomite 135 because of the power of the engine (135bhp) but Triumph could only manage to get them to produce 127bhp so the name was hastily changed to Dolomite Sprint at the last minute but by then they had already made a few "Dolomite 135" badges so they're quire rare. I can supply you with the correct Sprint badges that you need. Don't forget to join the Club. The membership fee is worth every penny.

[Galileo]

It might not be known because it might have helped if I quoted the correct registration, it's HHC 857N. Coincidently the misquoted one does belong to a Triumph, a 750cc motorbike!

It has got a fresh MOT with the one advisory of 'minor oil leak', and I've asked the dealer to check up on that as the owner has listed the diff seal as having been just replaced. My experience of K&N filters without a cold air feed is not a positive one, on one of my cars I fitted one to it struggled in hot weather. So to cure this I put an aluminium panel between the air filter and the engine, then with some concertina hose fed cold air from above the front splitter, worked really well. Not sure about the wheels, rather prefer the look of the originals but they may grow on me. As to the badges, I'm wondering why someone would remove the 'Sprint' ones and put '135' in their place? If not original, then I think they should go.

When I pick up the car next week I can take a closer look at the detail, and take up your suggestion of starting a thread in 'resto'. Though I'm hopeful at this stage that it wouldn't get too many updates! I moved away from Bradford many years ago now and turned into a southerner, if there any meets around the Cambridge area then I'd be interested. Definitely going to join the club, I just logged in to do that very thing, but see that it's not an easy online process.

Now to do some research on how to make a 40 year old car reliable!

[Toledo Man]

I was born in Bradford and I was down in Cambridgeshire a couple of weeks ago on my annual camping holiday. It is easy to join online. Just pay by PayPal. Simples! The single best thing you can do to improve reliability is to fit electronic ignition.

[Galileo]

Next time you come down this way, let me know and I'll have a holiday up Bradford way, just to maintain the balance!

The website home page didn't mention Paypal, but that'll make things simpler, I'll look harder.