The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

I disassembled a spare Sprint dash clock, a Kienzle one, that didn't work. That was because I want to reset the hands on the working one because the little hand is on the hour when the big hand is on 6 - why do they call the other one the second hand, it's obviously the third.

I've got the spare apart, fixed the mechanism so it works, and got it back together. But I had real trouble getting the chrome ring off and on the front, and it's a bit split. It goes back together well enough to go in the hole in the dash, but the splits are visible.

So has anybody done this job successfully and got any tips about uncrimping and re-crimping that front ring?

Graham

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The 16v Slant 4 engine is more fun than the 3.5 V8, because you mostly drive it on the upslope of the torque curve.

Factory 1977 TR7 Sprint FHC VVC 697S (Now all of, but still needs putting together)
B&Y 73 Dolomite Sprint UVB 274M (kids!)
1970 Maroon 13/60 Herald Convertable (wife's fun car).

Yes, over the years I have tried to open gauges and have always had trouble getting the chrome ring off without damage. I would be interested to know how it should be done.

Isn't the Dolomite clock an amazing gadget? It's a clockwork clock wound up by electricity about every three minutes. What demented genius came up with that idea? Mine loses about 5 minutes a day, but that's OK as I simply adjust it when I start the car. I love to hear it ticking.

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Mike
(1969 MGB GTV8, 1977 Dolomite 1850HL, 1971 MGB roadster now all three on the road)

I have done a couple of gauges and I'm afraid it is basically dumb luck whether you can get the chrome ring off/on with minimal damage. I've never managed it with non, it does tend to damage the chrome, through I have managed to limit the damage to bit you can't really see.

No real trick, just go slowly and don't use too much force.

An allround wonder of German engineering.

But I guess it's hard to do an accurate clock off a noisy, variable, DC supply with no solid state, etc. I remember a Russian export valve powered radiogram (Rigonda?) with AFC on AM back in the 60s - a servo on the back of the tuning knob that I assume was run off a signed DC error output from the IF stage. But it worked, God damn it!

The clock in the car winds every 2 mins, and the one I just fixed every 25 seconds. So I think that one needs more work on how far the solenoid throws the spring.

Graham

_________________
The 16v Slant 4 engine is more fun than the 3.5 V8, because you mostly drive it on the upslope of the torque curve.

Factory 1977 TR7 Sprint FHC VVC 697S (Now all of, but still needs putting together)
B&Y 73 Dolomite Sprint UVB 274M (kids!)
1970 Maroon 13/60 Herald Convertable (wife's fun car).

I took a tacho to bits to fix a busted input pin and put a pointer off a Herald speedo on it. That was easy - juts turn the ring so its lugs line up with the slots in the flange. But this clock's ring has no such mechanism. It looks to be crimped on with no means to remove but bend the whole ring out. At which point it cracks.

Graham

_________________
The 16v Slant 4 engine is more fun than the 3.5 V8, because you mostly drive it on the upslope of the torque curve.

Factory 1977 TR7 Sprint FHC VVC 697S (Now all of, but still needs putting together)
B&Y 73 Dolomite Sprint UVB 274M (kids!)
1970 Maroon 13/60 Herald Convertable (wife's fun car).

I know you buy new rings for all the gauges,but isnt the clock a bigger size ?

Yes, it's about 2.5" to the outsides of the ring. Can't see any that size anywhere.

If I'd known the ring on the broken clock would split, I might have tried to cut the case away from the ring instead, and maybe be able to reuse it on the working clock.

Graham

_________________
The 16v Slant 4 engine is more fun than the 3.5 V8, because you mostly drive it on the upslope of the torque curve.

Factory 1977 TR7 Sprint FHC VVC 697S (Now all of, but still needs putting together)
B&Y 73 Dolomite Sprint UVB 274M (kids!)
1970 Maroon 13/60 Herald Convertable (wife's fun car).

Have you tried The Gauge Shop, they may be able to help getting a new ring for the clock

Looked on the Gauge shop website and don't see the half chrome half black clock like the Sprint's. I'll give them a ring tomorrow and ask.

I also wonder if I tighten the right size jubilee clip round the ring and lever the crimped over edge up, that might save it from splitting. I can fit the repaired one for now, after I look at the solenoid, and have a look at doing the one in the car. Maybe there's still value in finding another broken one to play with first.

Graham

_________________
The 16v Slant 4 engine is more fun than the 3.5 V8, because you mostly drive it on the upslope of the torque curve.

Factory 1977 TR7 Sprint FHC VVC 697S (Now all of, but still needs putting together)
B&Y 73 Dolomite Sprint UVB 274M (kids!)
1970 Maroon 13/60 Herald Convertable (wife's fun car).

Spoke with the guy at the Gauge shop, and it seems you can't get the parts anymore. So I've bought one off ebay that may work. Alternatively it may serve to practise taking apart and maybe fixing if it's the same problem, or providing parts else.
I've ordered the right size jubilee clip to see if that method of uncrimping the ring without it splitting will work.

Graham

_________________
The 16v Slant 4 engine is more fun than the 3.5 V8, because you mostly drive it on the upslope of the torque curve.

Factory 1977 TR7 Sprint FHC VVC 697S (Now all of, but still needs putting together)
B&Y 73 Dolomite Sprint UVB 274M (kids!)
1970 Maroon 13/60 Herald Convertable (wife's fun car).

Well the 65mm jubilee clip turned up, and it seems to work as a way to hold the rim from splitting while I lever up the crimped back edge. It needs the clock pushed down into the clip laid on the bench. But I levered up all the back edge of the one that was split with no further damage. So I can now I can disassemble the one in the cat and see if I can fix the hands - or use the ones out of the spare.

By the way, does anybody know whether the second hand on the ones used in 73 Sprints was orange or yellow? I have an orange one on the one in the car and a yellow one on the spare. And I don't know for sure if the one in the car is the original as the speedo wasn't.

Graham

_________________
The 16v Slant 4 engine is more fun than the 3.5 V8, because you mostly drive it on the upslope of the torque curve.

Factory 1977 TR7 Sprint FHC VVC 697S (Now all of, but still needs putting together)
B&Y 73 Dolomite Sprint UVB 274M (kids!)
1970 Maroon 13/60 Herald Convertable (wife's fun car).

The launch info appears to show a yellow one. Don't know where the orange one came from - the two clocks I have look identical from the front otherwise.



Graham

_________________
The 16v Slant 4 engine is more fun than the 3.5 V8, because you mostly drive it on the upslope of the torque curve.

Factory 1977 TR7 Sprint FHC VVC 697S (Now all of, but still needs putting together)
B&Y 73 Dolomite Sprint UVB 274M (kids!)
1970 Maroon 13/60 Herald Convertable (wife's fun car).

It's always been my thought that the second (third) hand starts off orange and gradually fades to yellow over time.

But if the (presumably) new one in the brochure is yellow, maybe i've got it wrong!

I've got at least half a dozen clocks here, in both Keinzle and the later Smiths config, don't think any 2 have quite the same colour second hand, though the Smiths ones show less variation in colour and are generally more "orange".

On the matter of accuracy, the Smiths model I chose at random from my collection for the Dolomega has been keeping almost perfect time for the 3 months it has been in continuous operation since I cured the battery drain, I set it right by the wall clock in the garage and have not reset it since, it's about a minute behind the master now. I'm happy to live with that!

Steve

Note to self to put BOTH back an hour, not done it yet!

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'73 2 door Toledo with Vauxhall Carlton 2.0 8v engine (The Carledo)
'78 Sprint Auto with Vauxhall Omega 2.2 16v engine (The Dolomega)
'72 Triumph 1500FWD in Slate Grey, Now with RWD and Carledo powertrain!

Maverick Triumph, Servicing, Repairs, Electrical, Recomissioning, MOT prep, Trackerjack brake fitting service.
Apprentice served Triumph Specialist for 50 years. PM for more info or quotes.

From the original brochure, the general colour accuracy of which can be verified from things like the red and white on the tacho, it seems clear that it would be slightly preferable to use a clock with a yellow second hand.
But the clock I have with a yellow one don't seem as good as the one with the orange one, as it rewinds about every 30 seconds (it's got a bit better for a few days running) and the one with the orange hand runs over 2 mins between rewinds. I tried lubing that part of the mechanism, but that made it worse for a bit - and screwed up the calibration a lot.
I've found I can take the min and hour hands off and swap them, but I haven't worked out if or how I can change the second hands. Anybody done that?
Graham

_________________
The 16v Slant 4 engine is more fun than the 3.5 V8, because you mostly drive it on the upslope of the torque curve.

Factory 1977 TR7 Sprint FHC VVC 697S (Now all of, but still needs putting together)
B&Y 73 Dolomite Sprint UVB 274M (kids!)
1970 Maroon 13/60 Herald Convertable (wife's fun car).