The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Dave I spent a bit of time in the garage late Saturday evening and I found my indicator housings to make up the dividers for your front lenses.
You can collect at your convenience. Sorry no pics!!

No problem Trev. I can swing by tomorrow evening on my way to the TSSC meeting.

These are the photos of my recent paintjob.




I don't know what went wrong. It isn't supposed to be perfect but I'm not happy with the way it has turned out. I got better results with the pound shop primer that had been on the car for more than a year. I found the Hycote acrylic to be the best stuff so I ordered 3 tins via ebay. That is another of my "I don't know why I didn't think of it before" moments. I should be able to go over the existing paint with the Hycote stuff.

Another job I decided to do because it would be an indoor job was to remove the fusebox and clean the terminals. It went from this.

To this.

I started off with 120 grit sandpaper and then I used some 1200 grit wet & dry. It seems to have made a difference because the voltmeter is reading slightly higher with the headlights on so I've reduced resistance in the electrics. I might even fit a different fusebox with more fuses. When refitting the fusebox, I managed to lose the fusebox cover. It must've got blown away with the windy weather we're having at the moment.

I've also bagged THESE speakers on ebay. I hope it works out better this time round. They're exactly what I'm after.

Hi TM,

It looks like your spray paint has 'bloomed'. It is usually due to it being too cold and damp when it is applied. I can see a lot of moisture on the car in your pics. I'm no expert - far from it - but if you are painting outside in temperatures below about 16deg C, gloss finish paint will go cloudy and go to a matt finish. It will also take longer to harden off. You will have to be patient and wait for a good warm sunny day to get a better result.

A coupe of tips I can offer - try to keep the nozzle of the spray can the same distance from the panel all the time during your paint stroke (usually about 5-6 inches).
Press the nozzle after you start your paint stroke and release the nozzle before you reach the end of your paint stroke. This means the can is always in motion so you will reduce the chances of deep spots of paint. You will get a more even coverage and less thick/thin areas and runs.

It is definitely looking better than it was 6 months ago, so keep it up. I had better go and get on with mine...

Karl, it was a bit damp. Next time, I'll wait for better weather before doing any more painting. The Hycote acrylic paint will go over it no problem. I didn't have that problem with the bonnet because I'd warmed everything up. I won't make that mistake again.

The paint arrived in the post today but there's no way I'm doing any more painting with the weather like it is at the moment. I has been throwing it down and I got soaked just walking from the bus stop on my way home from work.

Fuse boxes respond really well to a dunk in that bilt hamber deox stuff. It comes in powder form in a tub and you can make
up small quantities in a marge or ice cream tub. It really is the biz on leccy bits...

I use a 4 fuse MGB style box on mine. Well worth isolating the box loom at least.

Jonners

Yeah, I really should get some of that stuff. You keep on banging on about it which is a good enough endorsement for me. I've used up my rust killer so it will be on my shopping list. I'm seriously considering a different fusebox and anything is better that what I have on the Dolly at the moment. The MGB one is a good call.

I forgot to mention that on the way to last night's TSC meeting I called in at Trev's place and picked up the dividers that the early type indicator/sidelight units had. The nearside went on without any problems but the offside one was a later type which wouldn't fit. I've got a couple of the early type units which I'm gonna have to cannibalize to make a fully working one. I'm off work tomorrow so if it isn't throwing it down, I'll see if I can make some progress with the paint. I should be able to do the rear valence with the last of the Halfords paint then the 3 tins of the Hycote (which came in the post today) should do for the roof.

I had today off work and the weather was a bit better with temperatures in double figures, some sunshine and no rain so I got some more paint on. This is what the rear valence was like before.


Once I'd got the rear bumper off. I used the last of the Halfords paint on the rear valence.


While the bumper was off I also put some colour on the offside rear wing. When I was putting the bumper corner on I noticed some paper in the cavity between the outer and inner panels so I pulled it out and this is what it was.

A page from the Sunday Express from 1990! I never knew it was there. While the bumper was off I cleaned the threads of all the bolts with my tap and die set and gave them a coating of copper grease prior to reassembly.


Yes, the car is now pretty much one colour now and looking a lot better for it. I used all the 3 tins of Hycote on the roof. It ain't perfect but I can always get some more paint and go over it again. I feel I've turned a corner. It will do until I can afford a proper respray.

Looking good

Looks great. Amazing what a coat of paint can do.

I've just ordered an electric spray gun to do mine. Hoping that will work out cheaper than rattle cans. We'll see. Worth a go for £30

Aldi do a decent sub-£100 compressor. I got lucky and bagged myself one that they'd reduced by nearly half. I'm still waiting for my speakers. I'm hoping these will be better than the last ones I bought.

Oh feck! The flex plate has broken again! I had this very problem in September 2011

It was making the same noises before it finally let go. Fortunately, I wasn't too far from home (I was hoping I'd make it all the way back) so I got it back with the help of an extra pair of hands and gravity. I'll be putting out an appeal for a flexplate and I need to decide on which method I'm going to use to do the job. I took the engine out last time but I had a garage. If I take the engine out, I can fix the oil leak and smarten up the engine bay at the same time. At least I know what the problem is and I've had the experience of having done it before.

Edit: A thought has occurred to me. I should just be able to separate the engine and autobox in situ then the engine can be just lifted out. It is easier than with a manual gearbox.

Toledo Man wrote:Aldi do a decent sub-£100 compressor. I got lucky and bagged myself one that they'd reduced by nearly half. I'm still waiting for my speakers. I'm hoping these will be better than the last ones I bought.

Aldi do some great stuff. Just have to keep an eye out for it when it comes around. Thanks for the tip.

Fingers crossed the speakers arrive soon

Sorry to hear about the flex plate. Hope you can get it sorted soon