How bad is my Sprint?

[shaunroche]

I think we discussed the heater and head plumbing on this too.

I need convincing again that its not wrong as he has it....

Jonners

It's purely positional at the moment....I am clueless about the plumbing but plan to make it as std as possible....If that is actually possible with this set up.....

[sprint95m]

I used an inline switch for the fan, fitted into the top hose.
The fan is a slimline Revotec 280mm, for which I made a bracket (from 8mm steel bar) rather than employ cable ties
through the radiator core. It may be possible to fit a bigger diameter fan but I haven't tried.

On the second page of the link about the 9-3 radiator I have posted a photo of the bottom hose I use.
This clears the sung frame/engine mounts well and incorporates the necessary T-piece for the expansion bottle hose.
Said hose is routed around the back of the engine.

You're a while off yet Shaun, so when you get nearer that stage I will advise on hose sizes/elbows/clips.



Ian.

[shaunroche]

Many thanks for the info Ian - I'll be sure to get onto this when the time comes; however, having seen Paul Booker's car at the NEC yesterday, and the perfect front end, I have had a monumental change of heart.

Whilst Alan (Fabricator) has done as good a job as could be achieved with what he had, it is no where near good enough. He has fitted the pattern front panel and made it fit the wings and fitted the bonnet to suit. The fit of the wings was not quite right to start with having been bodged previously: at no point where they parallel to each other. The grilles don't fit due to the lack of depth of the panel and the o/s is so out of position, no amount of filler will allow it to transition from the panel to the wing whilst keeping the edge profile.

Therefore, the car will be going back to the fabricator's first thing next year (no funds at hand before then!) and the wings removed and the front panel scrapped and the whole thing re-done with a genuine front end supplied by Paul.

It's a bitter pill to swallow and I should have gone with my instincts right at the start and taken the wings off etc...oh well, you live and learn I suppose!!

[lazeruspete]

Shaun,

I had the same work done on my car, new front panel(inner and outer). Paul(Dad) warned me not to use a pattern panel and he gave me a NOS one he had. Even this needed alot of fiddling to get it to fit. But as such the grilles fit etc.

It is worth adding that the n/s wing(i think) is 10mm longer than the o/s. Obviously Triumphs' tolerances weren't the best! And 40 years later it makes Alans job difficult.

Pete

[shaunroche]

Shaun.....It is worth adding that the n/s wing(i think) is 10mm longer than the o/s. Obviously Triumphs' tolerances weren't the best! And 40 years later it makes Alans job difficult.

Pete

Let's see what this panel is like that you Dad offered me!

Whatever happens, these wings have got to come off as they're not even parallel; the whole front end has been accident repaired, badly, before I got it and I should have just done it straight away like I originally thought.

Just need to get your Dad to answer his pm's!

If all else fails, I still have the club fibreglass front panel that I got from Alun....just not sure about it....

Anyhoo, we will prevail!

[Carledo]

With only minor fettling, the club GRP wings and front panel can be made to fit very nicely indeed!

Like this!



Steve

[shaunroche]

That's a fully grp front end?

That looks tremendous! Way better than I expected!

Can we have some more pics please....perhaps a few of the joins etc.?

[Carledo]

That's a fully grp front end?

That looks tremendous! Way better than I expected!

Can we have some more pics please....perhaps a few of the joins etc.?

Thats a full (club) grp front end over a new steel inner front panel. There are still a few old Smith and Deakin grp wings about, don't buy them even if they're cheap! They don't fit and are almost transparently thin.
The front panel takes a bit of work to fit but the wings are simple - and everyone whose seen it is shocked to discover its grp! Alun's refusal to accept anything but top quality has paid dividends.
If its not peeing down tomorrow, i'll take some close ups of the relevant joins.

Steve

[shaunroche]

That's brilliant Steve, thanks....I'll look forward to seeing them if you're not washed away!

I wish I'd have taken more interest in the car at Alun's with the GRP front end now!

If anyone else has any pics or info to share I'd be really interested in seeing them please!

[davy67]

I would be interested to see more pics of the GRP wings and front panels too. I'm still struggling to get my steel wings and panels to fit well, giving acceptable panel gaps.

David

[Edin Dundee]

Yes, pics please, I really want to see how these fit together.

[Carledo]

I've took a load of pics today but am having a bit of bother with photobucket again!
Bear with me, they will be up soon! However, because of the interest from several parties, i'll probably start a thread in the "Dolomite related" section to put them in.

Steve

[shaunroche]

No worries Steve.....looking forward to seeing them!

[shaunroche]

So, plan as it stands now is to take the new front panel off completely and scrap it, and put a front end on off a donor car that PaulB very kindly supplied.

In the car's dim and distant past, the car has had a new off side wing that hasn't been put on particularly well as it turns out, so we'll undo that and reattach it in a better position....lining the donor panel up shows that that wing to be closer to the CL of the car, by about half an inch which would explain the woeful bonnet lines.....even more expense on top of the £6k plus the chassis work has cost so far....about three times more than budget!

On the plus side, TrackerJack has finish the engine build.......I'm a bit pleased it must be said!

Need to get the twin 45's reconditioned now!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai_oLL4m1lg

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xd0Okb-ZZzU

[DoloWIGHTY]

You look and sound very happy in the video.....and the engine don't sound too bad either!