The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Actually that is another area where moderns have come a long way. Most are below 0.3 these days whereas a dolomite
is over 0.4.

So a dolomite 1850 top speed of around 105 (if jetted right) is consistent with the moderns top ends of around 115-120 for golfs and foci with similar engine powers of around 90 ish hp.

Its also why its tough to get much past 120 in a Sprint.

The p6 3500S is a bit better and will do 125 on its 150 bhp

Jonners

Did they (anyone) ever put a Dolomite in a wind tunnel ?

Mahesh wrote:Did they (anyone) ever put a Dolomite in a wind tunnel ?

Think if you did that you'd see a cloud of rust leave via the big fan and just have four tyres left.

So I decided to give Nina a good old blitz yesterday, pushed her up to 65 for a few miles, and she got mighty hot! She's always run a little hot, but she was on the 3/4 mark. I've bought one of those IR temp guns to check what temp she's actually running at, need to whip out the thermostat and check that too at some point. The hoses feel hot and relatively soft so I think they're alright, don't think I've got an airlock. Be interesting to see what she's running at!

As far as I know, the temp gauge should be at half, maybe a touch over until the thermostat kicks in, when was the thermostat last changed,
and the cooling system flushed.

Also worth checking how old the voltage regulator (above the fuse box) is. If its the original I would say contact the club for an exchange unit,
mine was giving me false readings.

Not sure about the thermostat but the cooling system was flushed last week. The voltage regulator was done by the previous owner from memory, the last 3 years I think. I need to get a voltmeter and check it!

If the temp increases on an "easy" run at 65, it means the rad isn't doing its job. Possibly thermostat, so a good place to start. Next bet would be the rad, and a flush won't open up a blocked core.

Hopefully a thermostat change. Try running the car without one, see if it still gets hotter? (but leaving the stat out long term is a bad idea)

Just put the thermostat in an old saucepan on the stove....
Form you own conclusions about its fitness for purpose....

Jonners

I happily drive my 1850 at 60 mph without any problems. I agree that the noise level in an older car makes it sound as though it's struggling compared to the much quieter and smoother moderns. Simple solution- turn the radio up!!! Tractor boy

Check the coolant level first in both the expansion tank and in the filler ontop of the thermostat. Make sure heater is set to HOT when you top it up. Topping up is done throgh the thermostat housing - not the expansion bottle.
Also run the engine and squeeze the pipes that go into the rad to move any air. If the heater is not blowing hot when the temp guage is at 1/2 then it is probably low coolant level and air locks in the system.
Did you have the inlet manifold off recently? I am sure I read you did some work on the carbs/manifold. And did the guage always read above the 1/2 way mark previously?

I took the Herald out on Sunday and it ran hot (about 3/4).

Both Sunday and Monday were both hot days but how much difference should it make?

I think it's worth another run this week sometime (any excuse !).

Nothing wrong with ohv's Jonners.

My old ice blue Toledo....

It is quite ridiculous how some moderns, even fairly tame ones like my own can cruise quite happily at 120mph plus, the radio will even turn up the volume to drown out some of the road noise. Equally I've driven some cars like a Corsa 1.2 which struggled to maintain a comfortable 70 as it was so woefully underpowered, you drop gears and it just gets louder with no appreciable increase in speed.

In my 7 Series, if I can hear the engine on the Motorway it's not legal.
70mph at 1600 rpm.

Shame the stereo sounds better in the Sprint.

geeksteve wrote:

Mahesh wrote:Did they (anyone) ever put a Dolomite in a wind tunnel ?

Think if you did that you'd see a cloud of rust leave via the big fan and just have four tyres left.

Spat my coffee out! I can picture it now, 4 tyres and a poly steering coumn bush gently spinning on the floor..!