The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

The Number One Club for owners of Triumph's range of small saloons from the 1960s and 1970s.
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PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 4:30 pm 
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Posts: 137
Location: Bristol
Quote:
Good result that on the arch SiC! Amazing what a good dollop of filler can hide. I guess at the time it was fitted it was quicker and cheaper to tack the repair panel on rather than repair the original.

All the best for the repairs. It will be a nice solid car.

MC
Very happy as I was worried it'd just be a crusty mess. However I think it's too far gone for the little repair panels that the club does. I think I'll have to try snagging a NOS arch repair panel. Unfortunately they're pretty rare now! Seems to be a case of waiting for them to appear on eBay and get in quick.

_________________
Current Heaps: 1968 Austin 1100, 1974 Dolomite Sprint, 1974 MGB GT, 1985 BMW E28 520i, 2000 Porsche Boxster, 2002 Clio 172 and a boring 2010 Audi A4 that keeps the wife happy!


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PostPosted: Mon Dec 21, 2020 11:28 pm 
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Last bit of metal to go in on the windscreen/dash area. Thank god.

You're upside down, on a cold metal sloping surface with welding sparks falling down on you. Also makes the top of the welds look s##t as gravity pulls the weld pool downwards. Still got to grind it down too which is even more unpleasant as you have red hot iron filings being flung out at you. You try to be on the bottom side of the grinder as less sparks but they're still falling downwards thanks to gravity.

Image

What you see above is two hours of work...

Make a template out of card/thick paper
Cut template to shape
Transfer to metal
Cut metal with cutting disc
Shape metal with flap disc
Clean up metal
Offer up metal to body
Reshape metal to fit some more because you cut out on the wrong side of the line
Repeat the last two a couple of times
Attempt to align the metal in place while fixing into place with magnets
Swear when the magnets and the carefully aligned metal falls onto your face when you let go
Put magnets back on but with a wedge to try stopping them falling off again
Tack into place while using a screwdriver/hammer to keep pressure on area lined up
Weld between tacks
Use air to put out the nearby underseal that's now on fire
Move out of the area because the underseal fumes are wrank and can't be good for your health
Put respirator on
Weld some more
Use air line to try removing condensation from inside your helmet thanks to the respirator
Start welding again but through fog
Swear and do a dance because a hot molten ball of weld has just gone through your Sketchers/inappropriate footwear
Do the above for an hour
Finally sigh at the awful looking welds in the knowledge they'll look respectable once you've run the flap disc over them and also appreciate you don't do this for a day job

_________________
Current Heaps: 1968 Austin 1100, 1974 Dolomite Sprint, 1974 MGB GT, 1985 BMW E28 520i, 2000 Porsche Boxster, 2002 Clio 172 and a boring 2010 Audi A4 that keeps the wife happy!


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 24, 2020 10:18 am 
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TDC Oxfordshire Area Organiser

Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2006 4:32 pm
Posts: 470
Great work SiC and an amusing update!

It is a strange hobby - dirty at times. frustrating, dangerous if not careful but seems to be very addictive also.

Have a good Christmas and keep the updates coming!

MC

_________________
Matt Cotton

TDC Oxfordshire Area Organiser.
TDC/TSSC group meeting - 3rd Tuesday of the month
The Duke at Clifton - OX15 0PE

1980 1500HL - OPD
1976 Sprint - SWU


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PostPosted: Thu Dec 24, 2020 9:04 pm 
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Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2017 7:55 pm
Posts: 436
Location: Maidstone
Quote:
Last bit of metal to go in on the windscreen/dash area. Thank god.

You're upside down, on a cold metal sloping surface with welding sparks falling down on you. Also makes the top of the welds look s##t as gravity pulls the weld pool downwards. Still got to grind it down too which is even more unpleasant as you have red hot iron filings being flung out at you. You try to be on the bottom side of the grinder as less sparks but they're still falling downwards thanks to gravity.

Image

What you see above is two hours of work...

Make a template out of card/thick paper
Cut template to shape
Transfer to metal
Cut metal with cutting disc
Shape metal with flap disc
Clean up metal
Offer up metal to body
Reshape metal to fit some more because you cut out on the wrong side of the line
Repeat the last two a couple of times
Attempt to align the metal in place while fixing into place with magnets
Swear when the magnets and the carefully aligned metal falls onto your face when you let go
Put magnets back on but with a wedge to try stopping them falling off again
Tack into place while using a screwdriver/hammer to keep pressure on area lined up
Weld between tacks
Use air to put out the nearby underseal that's now on fire
Move out of the area because the underseal fumes are wrank and can't be good for your health
Put respirator on
Weld some more
Use air line to try removing condensation from inside your helmet thanks to the respirator
Start welding again but through fog
Swear and do a dance because a hot molten ball of weld has just gone through your Sketchers/inappropriate footwear
Do the above for an hour
Finally sigh at the awful looking welds in the knowledge they'll look respectable once you've run the flap disc over them and also appreciate you don't do this for a day job
Keep going SIC, like you say these type of welds don’t have to look good at this point. Run the flap disc over and all will be well. Maybe a few pin holes to fix, but no bother.

Practise makes perfect they say, and it looks like you are going to get some! By the end of this little project you will be welding like a pro.... :thumbsup:


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 8:38 pm 
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Location: Bristol
Finished welding and linishing them.
Image
Image

Then painted. Rather hard in this cold weather, especially when your heater is broken. Ended up using my heatgun to try getting the metal up to temperature. Worked alright until it sucked up a load of grinding dust... Produces quite a spectacular shower of sparks!

Image
Image
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Glad to get that bit done. Next up is the A-Pillar. Two areas, first around the door near windscreen area and then at the bottom of the A-Pillar. This is a much smaller area but going to be fiddly.

In other news, I saw a offside rear arch panel and decided that would make my life massively easier fixing that arch. Unfortunately someone else must have thought the same thing on theirs, so ended up spending quite a lot and far more than I wanted to. BUT it should massively speed up and improve the outcome. If I don't cock up attaching it.

Wish these were readily available and in current production.
Image

_________________
Current Heaps: 1968 Austin 1100, 1974 Dolomite Sprint, 1974 MGB GT, 1985 BMW E28 520i, 2000 Porsche Boxster, 2002 Clio 172 and a boring 2010 Audi A4 that keeps the wife happy!


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 26, 2020 8:51 pm 
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Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 9:38 am
Posts: 137
Location: Bristol
Quote:
Keep going SIC, like you say these type of welds don’t have to look good at this point. Run the flap disc over and all will be well. Maybe a few pin holes to fix, but no bother.

Practise makes perfect they say, and it looks like you are going to get some! By the end of this little project you will be welding like a pro.... :thumbsup:
I don't think I'll be buying something quite the same amount of welding again for a while! But then I said that last time with the 1100 😬

My next project is already lined up though. Does need some welding but literally only a couple of patches. Ok it's a decade newer but it's quite remarkable how little rust is on it. Definitely much improved rust proofing technology in that time. Technology is an order of magnitude more advanced too!
Image

I'm really looking forward to getting started on it. However I have made a rule that I have to get the Dolomite on the road first.

_________________
Current Heaps: 1968 Austin 1100, 1974 Dolomite Sprint, 1974 MGB GT, 1985 BMW E28 520i, 2000 Porsche Boxster, 2002 Clio 172 and a boring 2010 Audi A4 that keeps the wife happy!


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 02, 2021 8:49 pm 
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With the windscreen area done, the A-Pillar is next.

After cleaning up with the wire wheel I could clearly see the old repairs.
Image

These were cut out.
Image

New metal put in and welded up. The gap at the pillar looks way too big, but it matches the otherside. I guess standard BL varying panel gaps!
Image

Then painted.
Image

The reverse I made up new metal from templates
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But after a lot of attempts, I couldn't get anything that worked properly. So ended up going freestyle and hammering into shape.
Image

Ended up alright, except I struggled to get the paint to stick. Ended up using a heatgun to try getting some heat in
Image

Didn't help that the garage has been pretty chilly! Thankfully I've got a new diesel heater to replace the one I broke (filler dust killed it).
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Today has been tackling the base of the a-pillar
Image

The underneath looked pretty funky under there, so I knew I needed to cut the bottom off. It's gone like this as the water from the channel between the wing above goes down the A-Pillar and settles here. Unfortunately its just another rot trap.

So it had to be cut off.
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After a session with the wire wheel, it doesn't look so bad.
Image

But pitted and thin in areas, it had to be cut out. This left me with a rather large hole.
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At which point my diesel heater ran out of cherry and the temperature was dropping rapidly, I decided to call it a day for tonight.

_________________
Current Heaps: 1968 Austin 1100, 1974 Dolomite Sprint, 1974 MGB GT, 1985 BMW E28 520i, 2000 Porsche Boxster, 2002 Clio 172 and a boring 2010 Audi A4 that keeps the wife happy!


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2021 12:01 am 
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Repair patch in
Image
Image
Image

Next up is trying to recreate and fabricate a new curved bit. I'm also running low on welding gas and lockdown is happening again. Still got 40 bar (out of ~250) so don't really want to change it tomorrow. 😐

_________________
Current Heaps: 1968 Austin 1100, 1974 Dolomite Sprint, 1974 MGB GT, 1985 BMW E28 520i, 2000 Porsche Boxster, 2002 Clio 172 and a boring 2010 Audi A4 that keeps the wife happy!


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 05, 2021 11:05 pm 
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I had hoped to have a whole day working on this but unfortunately sorting out tax and my tax return took most of it. Got the week off, so I want to make as much progress as possible.

However this evening I got on with making a replacement for this piece. I haven't fabricated for quite a while and always find it's very time consuming. I don't have any proper shrinker, dollies or wheels. So instead I make it up of smaller sections that can be bent into shape. This is a pretty simple piece so possible to do it like this without it looking messy.
Image

From this piece I made up some templates and transferred to metal.
Image

Some bending and then many clamps over the old and new piece later, I had everything in place.
Image
Image

With this all in place, I turned my welder down right low. I wanted to tack things in place enough to hold without clamps, but I didn't want to attach to the old piece underneath!
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Thankfully no penetration into the old piece.
Image

Then welded up the seam and ground back for a nice finish. Got pretty darn close to the original. It's a bit bigger as I having to replace metal that's missing. Lumpy bit at the bottom actually shouldn't have been welded up, that was accidental. I'll have to cut that apart and then use the excess to bend into shape on the sill.
Image

Mostly fits into place. Still a bit more to do filling the side you can't see. A triangle piece needs to go in so it fits the sill properly. Also the pillar itself needs some more metal as it's double lined.
Image

_________________
Current Heaps: 1968 Austin 1100, 1974 Dolomite Sprint, 1974 MGB GT, 1985 BMW E28 520i, 2000 Porsche Boxster, 2002 Clio 172 and a boring 2010 Audi A4 that keeps the wife happy!


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2021 11:29 pm 
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Busy fitting my diesel heater in today. This should help improve the motivation in getting the car done. I find nothing worse than working somewhere cold that chills to the bone.
Image

However I did get a chance for a few hours on the car. Welded in a new piece on the A-Pillar, to fill the hole before.

Then started tacking and then welding my new fabricated piece in. The edge to the inside was a bit tricky at the metal is thin in placed and blew thru at the slightest chance.
Image

It still requires the other side doing but decided to do that once this is in. That way I can make it fit properly at the time rather than having to keep readjusting until I can weld it as one whole thing.

_________________
Current Heaps: 1968 Austin 1100, 1974 Dolomite Sprint, 1974 MGB GT, 1985 BMW E28 520i, 2000 Porsche Boxster, 2002 Clio 172 and a boring 2010 Audi A4 that keeps the wife happy!


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PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2021 10:39 pm 
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Finished the base of the A-Pillar. A lot of welding and even more grinding. Actually quite pleased how it's turned out, given my limited tools, experience and skills.

Not many words apart from that, so I'll do a complete picture history of the job to see the transition.

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Next up is to finish a small section in the front wheel arch and bottom of the front wing. After that it's the B-Pillar and continue going backwards!

_________________
Current Heaps: 1968 Austin 1100, 1974 Dolomite Sprint, 1974 MGB GT, 1985 BMW E28 520i, 2000 Porsche Boxster, 2002 Clio 172 and a boring 2010 Audi A4 that keeps the wife happy!


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 6:33 pm 
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We haven't had any rusty photos for a few weeks, so I thought I'd put that right.

Put the front end up on stands so I can tackle this wheel arch.
Image

While I was there, I took out it's eyeballs
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Reflector is buggered and the lights will need to be replaced.
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Started tapping with the little hammer and got carried away
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Decided at this point to attack it with the wire wheel. Can tell this is another one if those areas that has been previously "repaired". No surprise really as TADIS.
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Filler bloody everywhere again.
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Light mounts will need attention. I knew this when looking inside the wheel arch. Again TADIS.
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Decided to cheer myself up by looking at the other wing while I was there. Doesn't look too bad.
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Again with the wire wheel. Much less filler this side and previously repaired. Not as bad though.
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At least these bits aren't structural this time! Club I think does GRP replacements but I reckon these can be fixed up and I'd prefer to have metal rather than GRP wings. Certainly the nearside, offside possibly a bit more work to do though.

_________________
Current Heaps: 1968 Austin 1100, 1974 Dolomite Sprint, 1974 MGB GT, 1985 BMW E28 520i, 2000 Porsche Boxster, 2002 Clio 172 and a boring 2010 Audi A4 that keeps the wife happy!


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 9:28 pm 
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Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2006 4:32 pm
Posts: 470
Great work Simon and some really good techniques there...I like the use of the clamps for the lower a-post repair.

The club do some excellent headlamp panels and also GRP eyebrow sections too. Looking at your front end I imagine you may need these too. My project SWU seemed to be quite good in this area till I started prodding! but like you it's best to find the grot and deal with it.

The temperature is picking up this week so at least the garage will be a bit warmer!

All the best. MC

_________________
Matt Cotton

TDC Oxfordshire Area Organiser.
TDC/TSSC group meeting - 3rd Tuesday of the month
The Duke at Clifton - OX15 0PE

1980 1500HL - OPD
1976 Sprint - SWU


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 10, 2021 11:21 pm 
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Joined: Sun Dec 17, 2017 9:38 am
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Location: Bristol
Quote:
Great work Simon and some really good techniques there...I like the use of the clamps for the lower a-post repair.

The club do some excellent headlamp panels and also GRP eyebrow sections too. Looking at your front end I imagine you may need these too. My project SWU seemed to be quite good in this area till I started prodding! but like you it's best to find the grot and deal with it.

The temperature is picking up this week so at least the garage will be a bit warmer!

All the best. MC
I think I might have to get those headlight panels. Does the wing have to come off for them? At the moment it appears only the outer panel that needs fixing. Was hoping not to have to take the wing off too as looks a right palaver to do! Also then have the fun of getting it back on and realigned.

Which bit is the eyebrows? I always thought it was the external top bit, but reading a few descriptions it sounds like an inner panel?

I'm looking forward to having the warm weather again! We never got any snow here, just bloody freezing.

_________________
Current Heaps: 1968 Austin 1100, 1974 Dolomite Sprint, 1974 MGB GT, 1985 BMW E28 520i, 2000 Porsche Boxster, 2002 Clio 172 and a boring 2010 Audi A4 that keeps the wife happy!


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 11, 2021 5:15 pm 
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Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2006 4:32 pm
Posts: 470
Hi SiC

https://forum.triumphdolomite.co.uk/vie ... 5&start=75

Image

The eyebrow section runs underneath the leading edge of the front wing and a bit of the front nose section - see attached pictures where I replaced mine. It is fixed in position to the inner valence - the ends of which (where the headlight goes through) are often rotten and again required replacement on my car - all available from the club and a superb fit and quality.
You won't need to remove the wing to fit them, infact if you do cut out the remains of the old eyebrow, it will give you some access from underneath to repair your wing section.

James has also detailed this process in his write ups - RUK and DTR are well worth having a trawl through.

HTH. MC

_________________
Matt Cotton

TDC Oxfordshire Area Organiser.
TDC/TSSC group meeting - 3rd Tuesday of the month
The Duke at Clifton - OX15 0PE

1980 1500HL - OPD
1976 Sprint - SWU


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