Dolomite Sprint head; salvage or scrap?

[Magenta Auto Sprint]

I had a Sprint cylinder head with a stud seized in sitting on the shelf for years, all complete. A few months ago, I took the head to a small engineering workshop near me (T L Engineering Elstow Beds), they removed the stud but then said that there was some pitting on the gasket face that would require a small amount of welding, two of the hardened exhaust valve seats require replacing (£50 a seat) and the exhaust valve guides would benefit from replacement.

They have some method of lining the valve guide and broaching to the size of new valve stems.

I have a spare sprint head anyway but just wondering if it worth spending around £200 on top of the £100 already spent to save this head or cut my loses.

Malcolm

[xvivalve]

Relatively speaking, heads seem to be fairly plentiful, so I would schedule what needs doing to it and store it on the shelf along with the list attached to it until it becomes the least worst option and have the work done to it at that time. I've thrown too much stuff away in the past that would have come in useful later...

[sprint-revival]

I find parts availability extremely regional, and although I have come across several cylinder heads the condition varies wildly and most are too far away to collect. Also is your head an early or late one (with 2 casting mark). I have purchased 5x cylinder heads in the space of 8 months and of those only 1 is a later one, it seems the later ones survive in fewer numbers. Just this morning I drove up to Suffolk to collect 3x Sprint heads from a breakers yard that were going to be destined for the metal recycling skip if no one saved them by the middle of next week, all will be useable, with no pitting on the gasket surface, and not over skimmed either, 2 even included cams, and one had a cam sprocket.

I agree with Alun, throw nothing. I can see a time when parts are going to be next to impossible, I would say we are not far off already!

[xvivalve]

Just this morning I drove up to Suffolk to collect 3x Sprint heads from a breakers yard that were going to be destined for the metal recycling skip

I presume (hope) you asked if they had anything else?

[SprintV8]

Just this morning I drove up to Suffolk to collect 3x Sprint heads from a breakers yard that were going to be destined for the metal recycling skip

I presume (hope) you asked if they had anything else?

Is this the breaker that had the fire damaged Sprint?.

[sprint-revival]

Just this morning I drove up to Suffolk to collect 3x Sprint heads from a breakers yard that were going to be destined for the metal recycling skip

I presume (hope) you asked if they had anything else?

Ofcourse I did!

Tbh I think my poor old focus estate was a bit overloaded!





Once I had packed the heads away the yard owner said he had some other bits, took me to a corner of the yard and there sitting on a pallet covered by a tarp was an almost complete Sprint block, with pistons, crank, jackshaft, water pump, oil pump, fuel pump etc all in place. The bores and face had been covered in grease for storage. It was mine for £50 and the yard owner loaded it for me using the fork lift (getting it out the other end on my own was fun!).

I pretty much cleared out all the Dolomite spares there at the moment. Haul included - 3x Sprint heads, 1x Sprint engine, 1x Drivers door in Inca? (don't think from a Sprint as glass is not tinted/Sundym), 2x Sprint engine timing covers, 2x exhaust manifolds, 1x downpipe, Sprint airbox, coolant bottle, washer bottle, dizzy cap with leads, late type indicator unit with lens, various headlamp rings and finishers, wing mirror, Sprint engine plate with cast bellhousing attached.

All in all a rather successful trip. The yard owner has said he will keep in contact with me, and I will pass info onto forum as and when any Dolomites or Toledos arrive at the yard. Most of the parts I collected today I was told came from the same source a garage clearance.

I have taken a look at the engine briefly this afternoon, this has F grade pistons so standard bore. Definitely a sprint block and looks a fairly late one going by the number, however the last letters have me a little confused as I thought the number usually ends with HE. The block is VA22***HFA (its faint but fairly sure its HFA at the end). My original block from my 77 car had a VA19*** number so it must be later than that I would have thought.

[sprint-revival]

Just this morning I drove up to Suffolk to collect 3x Sprint heads from a breakers yard that were going to be destined for the metal recycling skip

I presume (hope) you asked if they had anything else?

Is this the breaker that had the fire damaged Sprint?.

No I don't think it is.

[xvivalve]

It'll be HEA as suffix.

A good haul there; nice!

[Carledo]

I have taken a look at the engine briefly this afternoon, this has F grade pistons so standard bore. Definitely a sprint block and looks a fairly late one going by the number, however the last letters have me a little confused as I thought the number usually ends with HE. The block is VA22***HFA (its faint but fairly sure its HFA at the end). My original block from my 77 car had a VA19*** number so it must be later than that I would have thought.

VA22***HEA would be correct for an engine originally backed by an automatic transmission.

The number in the 22k range I would associate with a build date around late 78, that's only approximate and garnered from the fact that there were gaps in CAR build chassis number ranges that weren't copied in the engine numbers. So by the time you get to engine number 22000 it's (roughly) gonna be fitted to car number VA26500. My own Sprint is comm number VA261**DLA built in June 78 (also an auto car) So you can sort of work it out from there.

I don't know what my original engine number was, it wasn't carrying it's original engine when I bought it, the V5 only gives the engine number as VAHEA, this was quite common as the registering dealer often couldn't read the engine number, even when new! The car now has a Vauxhall engine!

Steve