The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

What Terry said ^^^^^^

I agree there's nothing much between the 175CD Strom and the stock SU and it's not a bolt on fit.

The only thing I would add is that, rather than going for twin SUs, I'd go for a single 45DCOE Weber. Manifolds are available to suit the Triumph engine and the club now produces a 4 branch exhaust manifold tailored to the Dolomite/Toledo body.

As Terry said, the Dolomite front (and rear) antiroll bar is a bolt on fit to a Toledo, all the holes are present to fit them. A word of caution though, there is a tube spacer in the front tie bars where the links bolt through, make sure you get them with the bar!

Whilst you have the engine in bits, it's a good idea to have the valve seats converted for unleaded fuel (if it's not been done already) and personally, i'd recommend getting all the rotating parts balanced to at least blueprint standard. It's worth doing for the increased smoothness and engine longevity alone!

Steve

Whilst I was searching for something else, I recently came across an advertisement for a New Zealand specification, 1974 Triumph Toledo 1500; a low-mileage (or more precisely, low-kilometerage), long-term-stored example of which, is currently for sale in New Zealand (where English is the official language and speed limits have long been specified in km/h), priced at NZ$ 7,500 (aproximately £3,925 @ the 8th August 2018 currency-exchange rate of NZ$ 1 = £0.523318).

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-c ... 1a36e373e9

According to the description, the car had been taken off the road in 1989 and then refurbished and repainted (colour described as Teal) but not reassembled, but kept in what I presume to be dry storage.

What intrigued me was the Smiths speedometer, which was of similar appearance to mine, but whose large-numeral outer scale is calibrated in km/h (i.e. 0~160 km/h) and small-numeral inner scale is calibrated in mph (i.e. 0~100 mph). When were miles & mph superceded by kilometres & km/h in New Zealand?

Spare, second-hand early-model Toledo Smiths speedometer, for my British specification, 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300



New Zealand specification, 1974 Triumph Toledo 1500's Smith's speedometer



What also intrigued me was the rear bumper, which I believe to originate from an early-model Triumph Dolomite 1850. Did New Zealand specification Triumph Toledos have a plain bumper like mine and number-plate illumination in the underside of boot-lid top or was production rationalised by using a Dolomite bumper!?! In one of the pictures below, one can just see the edge, of what might be a number-plate illumination unit in the underside of boot-lid top

Hi All

I've met the young guy who owns that Toledo, he had it at the Wellington British Car day in February last year . it a very straight little car and as mentioned he resurrected it from long term storage. He seemed to be pretty keen on it so Im surprised he selling it - may be his circumstances have changed.

The rear bumper on that Toldedo is different from mine in that the bumpers on most NZ Toledos are plain with out the with out the centrepeice.

Anyway its a very nice little car - seemingly very straight and fairly original looking, however $7500 is pretty strong money for a Toledo so will be interesting to see what he gets for it. These small triumphs are rare and somewhat overshadowed by spitfires and the big saloons which are s relatively easy to find despite the fact that they are becoming more expensive.

No progress on my Toledo at the moment I have the everything that I want stripped out of the car and it will go to the wreckers next week. Im picking up the green car in September so am looking forward to getting it up and running.

AlastairC wrote: ↑Thu Aug 09, 2018 11:14 pm Hi All

I've met the young guy who owns that Toledo, he had it at the Wellington British Car day in February last year . it a very straight little car and as mentioned he resurrected it from long term storage. He seemed to be pretty keen on it so Im surprised he selling it - may be his circumstances have changed.

The rear bumper on that Toldedo is different from mine in that the bumpers on most NZ Toledos are plain with out the with out the centrepeice.

Anyway its a very nice little car - seemingly very straight and fairly original looking, however $7500 is pretty strong money for a Toledo so will be interesting to see what he gets for it. These small triumphs are rare and somewhat overshadowed by spitfires and the big saloons which are s relatively easy to find despite the fact that they are becoming more expensive.

No progress on my Toledo at the moment I have the everything that I want stripped out of the car and it will go to the wreckers next week. Im picking up the green car in September so am looking forward to getting it up and running.

I too thought NZ$ 7,500 might be a bit steep for a Triumph Toledo, albeit one that "appears" to be in excellent condition. Typical second-hand car prices can vary a lot from one country to another and I'm told that because of the WOF requirements, importing old, second-hand cars into the country can be fraught with heartache; even with a car one has owned for many years and has easily passed the British MOT.

For my records, I downloaded the pictures and noted down the details of what had been done to the car. Apart from the tatty brown carpet and possibly the under-dashboard parcel shelf, the interior looked to be in pristine condition.

I did wonder why the twin 1¼ inch SU carburettors had been removed and replaced with a single 1½ inch SU carburettor. I also doubt whether the LED reversing lights would be regarded as original!

Another feature I noticed was the chrome trim inserted into the rear window's rubber seal. My four-door, 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 has a plain rear-window rubber seal, with no provision for chrome trim; much the way I prefer it. I only wish the front-windscreen rubber seal were also plain.

Regulations might have changed in the past few years since researched details of the WOF - Warrant of Fitness (New Zealand's equivalent to the MOT), which I read was required yearly for cars of up to 3 years old and half-yearly for cars of more than 3 years old. According to the sales details, the Toledo's WOF was valid until January 2020, which is nearly 1½ years in the future.

The car appears to have been relisted as follows:

https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-c ... 461bf59a3d

I suspect that there is a very simple explanation as to why there is a different rear bumper on this car. The photographs of the car when it was originally sold in mid 2017 show the car incomplete and the sales description made it clear that the seller was not sure that all parts associated with the car were present. We tend to be not so bothered down here as to what parts might be incorporated into a rebuild.

The earlier photos also show the car fitted with the rear screen rubber incorporating the silver trim. These cars and some of the other cars in the Triumph range were assembled in New Zealand and incorporated some New Zealand sourced parts. The trim and finishings were often quite different to those cars assembled in the UK.

This car will be subject to a six monthly warrant of fitness check. The WOF detail shown on the website is likely to be a misprint.

The price does seem a little high. That will be the reason it has been relisted.

The vendors (listed as member “roxanne1” since August 2003, on the trademe.co.nz website) describe the car as being a 1974 Triumph Toledo, purchased by them in July 2017, following a period of storage since 1989, during which the car had been wholly or partially disassembled, presumably renovated as necessary, and then repainted but not reassembled for whatever reason.

It is unclear whether the odometer reading of 56,302 km (i.e. 35,000 miles => less than 2,500 miles per year) is indicative of the car’s total distance driven, but for a car that was 15 years old in 1989, 56,302 km (i.e. 35,000 miles) equates to an average mileage rate of less than 2,500 miles per year).

Assuming an average use rate of 12,000 ~ 15,000 km per year for 14~16 years (i.e. late-1974 to early 1989 or early-1974 to late-1989), one might have expected the car to have covered a total of 168,000 ~ 240,000 km, suggesting that the aforementioned Toledo has probably been once or twice around the clock; corresponding to an actual odometer reading of 156,302 or 256,302 km, which is consistent with the vendors having replaced both the carburettors and the steering rack. One would need to see documentary evidence of odometer readings on successive WOF certificates to be sure.

Close inspection of the ignition distributor, indicates that it has a Lucas 25D4 distributor, with Vernier adjuster, whereas my 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300, registered in mid-November 1974, has the later 45D4 distributor, which lacks a Vernier adjuster.

Engine compartment, viewed from nearside



Comparing two of the pictures showing the steering-column mounted, combination stalk switch for the horn, direction-indicators and headlamp dipping, it appears that in the course of taking the photographs, the 1974 Toledo switch has been replaced by a Dolomite switch.

Offside of dashboard & steering-column switch



Front seats & dashboard, viewed from open offside front door



It would also appear from the position of the handbrake lever, that either the rear brake shoes or the handbrake cables need adjusting! At the moment, I don't think that handbrake would hold on Baldwin Street in Dunedin!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_S ... s_Look.jpg

It's nice to see a Toledo fitted with rear seatbelts, which I fitted to my four-door, 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300, sometime during the late-1970s.

Rear seat & rear seat belts, viewed from open offside rear door

AlastairC wrote: ↑Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:59 pm

Which Triumph Toledo is this Alistair? It looks as though it needs digging out from all that debris and given a good wash and brush up.

naskeet wrote:

AlastairC wrote: ↑Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:59 pm

Which Triumph Toledo is this Alistair? It looks as though it needs digging out from all that debris and given a good wash and brush up.

This is the toledo I am picking up next month. It is complete apart from the gearbox and engine. I will use the gb and engine which I have taken out of my now scrapped white Toledo.

Well just when I was ready to head off up country to pick up the green toledo my mechanic rings up and tells me that a client who has bought in a Toledo that is complete runs and I think it is registered and warranted. An elderly client of his no longer wants it. My mechanic has bought it but hasn't got time to restore it so he asked me if I want it for a few hundred dollars so Im off down to his place of business shortly to have a look.

A few hundred dollars would be better than the $1500 (plus trailer hire etc) that I have ear marked for the green toledo. I really like the colour of the green car but it is pricey considering that it dosent have an engine or a gearbox.

So we will have to see what condition this other car is in.

will report back shortly.........

Some not very good pictures of the car.

Some little bits f rust in the bottom of the right hand doors, a little bit of rust in the boot and a small spot of rust in the front firewall, apart from that in very good shape, bit of a tidy up and it should be right. Am getting the mechanic to give me a list of warrant issues also get it on a hoist and check underneath and I may send it straight to the panel beater to get the rust sorted whilst its in town. The fuel pump dosnt work but I have several at home and they are the electrical ones as well so smaller simpler and more reliable.

The colour isnt as nice as the the green one but will be a lot quicker and cheaper to get it up and running.

cheers

Alastair

My Green Toledo was delivered yesterday and Im quite happy with it. Theres hardly any rust apart from the odd surface stuff. I've given it a good clean and it looks a whole lot better, quiet a lot of bits have been stripped off it unfortunately, however I have all the parts from the previous car. The only thing that I think I will need that I havent got is the front grills. It hasnt got an engine or gearbox in it so I will probably take the opportunity to clean out the engine bay and clean up the front suspension/ steering and the subframe before that engine and gearbox I have in to it.
Ill get it up in the air tonight and have a look underneath it and see how things look under there.

As you can see there is very little rust in the front grill are but i wonder what I can put in there to protect that metal work and to kill what little rust there is in there?

cheers

Alastair

So Alistair, how many Triumph Toledos do you now possess!?!

AlastairC wrote: ↑Mon Oct 01, 2018 11:59 pm

I found many years ago that the chromium-plated, moulded-plastic trim in the front-windscreen rubber seal of my 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300, progressively shrunk in length with each passing year. The plastic also became brittle and the chromium-plating pealed off. This is one of the reasons I would like to replace my perished front-windscreen rubber seal with a plain seal of a type that does NOT require a trim insert.

Hi All

Thanks for that I had just tracked down some springs and shocks on face book from a toledo so I may abandon that and just go with some springs/shocks from Rimmers so at least I know I am getting the right thing. Changing things if they're not right is a bit of a hassle from New Zealand.

I put some polish on the toledo last night in an effort to just tidy it up a bit - it really is surprising how good a condition it is in terms of the condition of the shell.

I had a look underneath and it is in good shape apart from surface rust. It still has seemingly untouched jacking points and the sills are as new. The speedo says it has done 41ks - maybe that its actual mileage?

So a few questions:

What do I start on first ? Any suggestions ? the motor and gearbox aren't in the car so thinking I might repaint and rebush the front suspension and sub frame first and then perhaps tidy up the under bonnet area. So much that needs doing .....

The underside: Im thinking I will wire brush it with a drill/angle grinder (that will be a fun job) and then neutralize the rust with something (any recommendations ?) and then underseal it with something suitable, Im told hammerite do a product for undersealing?

I cant find any one out here that would replate the various small brackets in the suspension. Is there an alternative to doing this? Is there some kind of paint that will work instead - some sort of galvanizing paint or similar. And rather than getting the suspension components blasted I might just use the wire brush in a drill and paint them myself. I did this with the stag and it seemed to work quite well - or well enough for my purposes