DTR - Project Recommission 1972 'Dolomite' Manual

[geeksteve]

Ziebart - my car is covered in that stuff. If you weld near it then it becomes indistinguishable from napalm..

[Reg]

Fantastic find ..I look forward to the updates..

[James467]

Thanks everyone!

I'm going to have a go at starting her today. Compression is low, but I suspect the rings are gummed up a bit and I may have a tight valve. A heat cycle will help free everything off.

[Triumph1300]

DeTRitus, definitely a good name.............
After the Troll in the Discworld novels of course.

[James467]

DeTRitus, definitely a good name.............
After the Troll in the Discworld novels of course.

Yeah thanks Bruce, that names now stuck!

So, this weekends job was to see if I could get Detritus started. I did a compression test to see if there was enough compression to get it to start, nothing so the bores were soaked in diesel overnight and some sprayed down the inlet to free off any sticky valve stems.

Compression test the next morning and we had a bit of compression.

Checked the wiring behind the rev counter, had to connect some wires to make it work and run a wire to the coil.

Changed the oil and filter.

I blew out the carbs with an air line and the fuel pump filter, this normally helps free of any sticky floats and valves so they don't over spill and p**s fuel everywhere!

Replaced the coil, plugs, leads, cap, rotor arm, points and condenser. Pulled the dizzy to do this and gave that a clean up and lube at the same time.

Tried to start - no fuel. I connected a line to the pump and it wasn't sucking so I replaced the pump with one in my parts bin.

Tried again.... yep we have fuel, the rear carb was overflowing dramatically, the upside of this is that it cleaned off all the rubbish from the block! Blew that out again.

Crank crank crank - pop

Er hang on, dizzy must be out 180 degs! Checked TDC, yep, whoops! That's a bit embarrassing.

Next try...



Click on the picture to view the video!

Woo hoo it fired into life! Engine wobbles a lot when it stutters, the mounts are toast but it runs!

Then I thought, I'll bleed the clutch and see if I can get it to move....



Nice! I have another in my parts bin somewhere.

I stopped there and drained the tank - I now have 10 litres of circa 1990s stinky 4 star!

Pulled the headlights off to inspect the front end better, NS is excellent, everything behind the outer panels is intact including the eyebrow. Just needs a really good clean up and some patches on the wing.



OS needs a new headlamp panel really and has a couple of small holes in the inner valence, nothing bad, easily repairable.



I found some pieces of an old pair of eyebrows that were attached to a valence so they can be used to repair these. The rest of the repairs on the front end should be simple sheet metal fabrication.

Even the headlamp gasket retaining rings are in good condition with just surface rust.



I noticed a strange puddle in the footwell. My first thoughts were windscreen, so I closed everything up and put the hose on the car and it doesn't seem to be leaking, but the carpet isn't wet. Strange, of course I could have just left the door open a bit accidentally when it was raining!



Unlike RUK, I am not in such a rush to get this finished so am going to take my time with it, but the next thing to do will be to pull the engine out and do the welding.

Need to get RUK back on the road again this weekend and make a start on finishing the MG so I can get NWL in the garage over the winter so it will take a back seat for now. I may get the clutch working in due course so it's easy to move. I will swap parcel shelves though, I want a radio in RUK this one is cut and has the radio pod etc... I want to keep RUK's original one uncut.

Onwards!

[dollyman]

i think that could be "sweat" on the front mat

[Carledo]

Think the puddle is probably just from getting in and out in the rain! It's right where your feet go!

Steve

[James467]

It's been raining here for over a day and the inside of the car is bone dry, Steve's right. Must have been where I was getting in and out.

[Mahesh]

Yes, I believe you

[NickMorgan]

Lovely looking car. It looks like it should be a great project.

[James467]

This morning I received the V5 in my name (showing one previous owner) so am happy to get going.

I always hold off until the V5 comes through just in case there are any issues.

Time to start getting some parts together, I have done this before so it shouldn't be difficult!

[Mahesh]

Do be making sure the speedo and rev counter are straightened up.

Just a pet hate of mine.

[James467]

Thanks to Andy Aldridge we now have a rev counter, just need to paint the bezel black...



I also have a complete set of clocks thanks to David Reid.

The car needs to be moved back onto the drive over the winter so to do that I really need a working clutch (because I can't be bothered to push it!). I had a spare couple of hours today where I could have a go at fitting a new master, slave and pipe and see if it was seized onto the flywheel or not.

As you can see the old one was pretty manky!





Everything came off without any issues, no seized nuts or bolts for a change!



New system in, just needs filling and bleeding.



It took a few bleeds to get it working, I had a few air bubbles in the master but a pressure bleed got them out. Amazingly I have a working clutch! Started it up and I also have 4 gears. Need to get the rear end up in the air to see if we have a working overdrive now. The next job is to clean out the tank so I can fill it up and move it safely.

[Jon Tilson]

That's because your bleed screw is below the inlet on the slave. If you reverse them it will bleed more easily.

When I do 1850's I just run a rubber pipe from the bleed screw venting into the master reservoir. Few pumps soon has all the air out.

You'll know next time.... though I have often mentioned this trick before. Its sooooo cool when you do it first time...


Jonners

[James467]

Do you know what, I didn't even think of that. I love learning new things!

I have to disconnect it when the engine comes out to do the welding properly so I'll remember that.

Thanks for the top tip Jonners!