The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

DazasDolly wrote:
How is the rest of the floor and boot looking Steve?

Darren

All 4 floors look good, no holes, clean paint (at least on the inside) and dry though there is a substantial upward dent in the NSF one, nothing a big hammer can't fix! The boot floor is also reasonable, both arches have rotted away from it a bit but the shape is still there and the rot has not encroached into the floor itself. Its actually not as bad here as the Carledo was and I repaired that without difficulty so this bit at least is a walk in the park! Steve

DoloWIGHTY wrote:I guess you need to look at the context of why cover sills were put on?

The car was probably 10 - 15 years old, by that time simply another "old car" and this was a (cheap) way of keeping it MoT'd for another year (or two).

Seems daft now but I guess you can say it at least saved the car into this millennia rather than being scrapped in the 1980s?

I do appreciate that "back in the day" when welding was done by gas and fire was a constant hazard, many jobs were done like this but it does NOT excuse leaving the rotten remains of the old sill behind to destroy the structure from the inside when 5-10 minutes with the tinsnips would have done the job! It is my unfortunate lot to replace sills on "older moderns" frequently but however ragged and manky the car is, I still do a proper job since I never believe the "just one more MOT and i'll get rid of it" line and hate having to do it all again 2 years later when the "new" sill has rotted out! In the main my customers appreciate this attitude and will pay a few quid more to get a decent job! Steve

That guy is selling stuff on the bay as we speak

Darren

Carledo wrote:2) With regard to doorskin bottom repair sections, just how far up the door do they go? as you can see from my pix the rot extends at least 4 or 5 inches above the lower swage and though 3 of the 4 door shells are recoverable, its probably cheaper to get better 2nd hand doors than fork out for full skins (I saw a few at Stoneleigh this year for about £90 each!) Any thoughts welcome, Steve

Seeing as your questions seem to have been ignored(?) , I shall answer the second one.
The door repair sections only cover the lowest section below the (lower) swage. With that in mind, I suggest sourcing secondhand doors.

You seemed to pretty much answer your first question yourself......

Mikey, you have a pm, and thanks! Steve

A few more pics of the work ahead!

















I've got loads of pix of the doors too but they're a bit redundant if i'm going to get some S/H ones. The prop centre bearing was a bit of a surprise, most of the mechanicals are in fairly good shape apart from the brakes which are mosly seized and will be replaced as a matter of course anyway! This single circuit car also has the infamous rear brake load sensing valve, now I've actually seen one and its bracket I am even more sure that the dual circuit car I broke for the Carledo not only didn't have one fitted but had NEVER had one in the first place, the bracket is completely different. Perhaps someone could confirm this? Steve

Only the Sprint had the brake balance valve; post production the Sprint was found to be critically over braked to the rear.

Door repair panels do indeed only go up to the lower swage line; I do have some NOS skins in the cellar as well.

I do have the soffit part of the cill assembly, and it is zinc plated but 2" too long, an error which developed in the hand over from one fabricator to the other but easily remedied and far better than being 2" too short!

I have a spare centre prop bearing somewhere too...

Oh, VLK had the remains of three separate cills under the current one when we stripped that down!!

Fair few s/h doors here too.

[quote="xvivalve"]Only the Sprint had the brake balance valve; post production the Sprint was found to be critically over braked to the rear.[/quote)

I know the balance valve was Sprint only, however the 1980 (tandem circuit) Sprint that I broke (a truly terminal Pageant blue car) didn't have one and moreover didn't have the much bigger bracket at the front of the the rear flexy hose or the axle mounted bracket for the control arm. So I assume the prv was deleted on tandem brake cars unless someone can tell me otherwise! I'm not really bothered about it, I have produced my own solution with a line mounted Cavalier pressure control valve on the Carledo, its not perfect, at low road speeds its still possible to lock the rears first but at higher speeds it is no longer possible to make it change ends under heavy braking so I guess its good enough! My query is driven more by curiosity than anything else! Steve

Steve,
once you fit a Trackerjack front brake system you'll find the need for the load sensing valve completely disappears .
(You get used to the powerful brakes very quickly, thereby taking them for granted!)

sprint95m wrote:Steve,
once you fit a Trackerjack front brake system you'll find the need for the load sensing valve completely disappears .
(You get used to the powerful brakes very quickly, thereby taking them for granted!)

A T/J system is definitely on my shopping list for this car (and maybe for the Carledo too if I ever want to trackday it, drag racers don't need fantastic brakes!) as hopefully my missus will drive it sometimes and she has dodgy knees and a bad back. I presume the trackerjack goes inside the standard Sprint rims? I want to keep this one looking as stock as possible, at least from 20 feet! I'm also intending to marry the Vauxhall downpipe to the Rimmer Bros standard-but-stainless exhaust that came with the car, I think it will be man enough for the job, just about and with the autobox, a power curve oriented more toward bottom end grunt than top end power will also favour this solution. Steve

Carledo wrote:I presume the trackerjack goes inside the standard Sprint rims?

Only just, it is necessary to grind a little off the calipers for clearance if using Sprint alloys.
(Standard steel rims have ample clearance!)

Carledo wrote:

xvivalve wrote:Only the Sprint had the brake balance valve; post production the Sprint was found to be critically over braked to the rear.[/quote)

I know the balance valve was Sprint only, however the 1980 (tandem circuit) Sprint that I broke (a truly terminal Pageant blue car) didn't have one and moreover didn't have the much bigger bracket at the front of the the rear flexy hose or the axle mounted bracket for the control arm. So I assume the prv was deleted on tandem brake cars unless someone can tell me otherwise! I'm not really bothered about it, I have produced my own solution with a line mounted Cavalier pressure control valve on the Carledo, its not perfect, at low road speeds its still possible to lock the rears first but at higher speeds it is no longer possible to make it change ends under heavy braking so I guess its good enough! My query is driven more by curiosity than anything else! Steve

My 1980 Sprint has got all these bits so it's probably more likely your car was at some point re-shelled or someone forgot to put all the bits on.

Vermillion is colour code CAE - it should be stamped in the VIN plate.

Sorry Howard, don't know where thats come from! I know its Vermillion, the vin plate says its Vermillion, even my signature on here says its Vermillion! (See below) Steve