The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Pauldaf44 wrote: I have sourced a spitfire engine that is going to find its way into the car whilst I rebuild the original.

You might have a problem with that as only early 1300's ('67 and before) have a parallel crankshaft nose the same as the Spitfire (and all other variants with the 13/1500 engine) and you can't then fit the fwd front pulley and starter ring. Unless you can find an early front pulley.

I suppose you could rig up a cranking handle

EDIT: having just looked at you sig, your car is '67 so it maybe ok, if it has the original engine? If it does just ignore me

Mine is an early car. Its the first half of 67 as on an E plate.

I also read somewhere that the 1300 was only available with cactus uphulstry and Olive paint on the first gen cars.

1300_2door wrote:

Pauldaf44 wrote: I have sourced a spitfire engine that is going to find its way into the car whilst I rebuild the original.

You might have a problem with that as only early 1300's ('67 and before) have a parallel crankshaft nose the same as the Spitfire (and all other variants with the 13/1500 engine) and you can't then fit the fwd front pulley and starter ring. Unless you can find an early front pulley.

I suppose you could rig up a cranking handle

EDIT: having just looked at you sig, your car is '67 so it maybe ok, if it has the original engine? If it does just ignore me

Very useful to know, seeing as mine is a '70 car. So I'll need to find either a 1300FWD Engine or a new pulley....

Bruce now resides in the workshop over the inspection pit, ready for work to start.

Had a few issues getting him there as his ground clearance is awfull and the workshop is down a dirt track. I don't think the car is any lower than it should be but the exhaust hangs stupidly low and when laden will ground out over a speed bump. I also hadn't realised how narrow the track on these is untill I had to drive him over an inspection pit. There maybe an inch clearance either side between the wheels and the pit, so not a lot of room for error.
Ive also definatly taken the right descision to take off the road as it started sounding quite nasty as I drove it into the workshop. Suddenly gone very tappy, running a little hot and idling rough. Just to make things more anoying the exhaust is blowing. Photos will be coming soon but numpty here forgot to take a camera with him today ;D

The exhaust surprised me on a number of occasions. Our chosen MOT man's garage was a bit of a struggle as we had to come up and an angle to prevent it grounding, then turn sharpish to get it onto the ramp. Bit of a mare with the narrow track too. If you're lucky getting him to the workshop will go down as one of the hard bits I'm hoping it will be for mine!

work might be able to start tomorrow but more likely saturday as I have too more urgent jobs to do first.

1. Change the sliding door on a Toyota Estima, this urgent as its huge and really isn't a nice piece of household furniture.

2. Fit a new lockset to my workshop landlords escort van. Again this is doubly urgent as he is now 87 and the van is his only transport. He lives 14 miles from the nearest shop and at the moment can't get in his other than climbing in through the passenger door.

If i get time I will start stripping down Bruce but rest assured I will put up some photos of him in his new home tomorrow evening

Finally got around to starting on this one i.e. managed about an hour today. Resulting in bonnet off, carb and manifolds on the bench, alternator disconected and on the bench, radiator drained and distributor on the bench. Ive decided to have a go at giving myself a hearnia by not hiring an engine crane as a result im draining all fluids and stripping the head off the short block. Then time to remove the short engine. I reckon the engine will be out and be in pieces by tomorrow evening

Good Luck - Me and Oli will tell you how we failed at lifting the engine off the gearbox without the crane. And that was with it out of the car, so we had better access lol!

Find a crane to borrow!

To be fair, I did have a buggered knee.

Oli_88 wrote:To be fair, I did have a buggered knee.

Yeah, but there was still no chance of two of us lifting that block. Even if It did have the head on...

Pah! Shredded Wheat clearly isn't what it used to be.

Well didn't quite get as far as I wanted to do today. One thing is holding me up. The gearbox input shaft is refusing to come out of the clutch housing for love nor money. When I changed the clutch I used a slide hammer but that is a luxury I no longer have. Apart from that slight issue the engine is ready to be lifted out.

Have some photos.



As you can see there is not a lot left in that engine bay. Its only when you have one stripped to this point that you realise just how small a 1300 engine is.



Have a photo of a big pile of bits that yesterday where all on the car. I think ive fallen on my feet with this workshop the kind landlord is now refusing to take any rent because I fixed his van for him. Will be making sure he does get his rent even if I have to leave it under his pillow.

One trick I found that works well when no slide hammer is handy is to improvise a basic puller. Find a socket that is a little larger than the input shaft (3/4 possibly?), take one of the thinner bolts that holds that plate over the bearing cover you just took off to get to the input shaft, and a big washer for the bolt.

Place the socket over the input shaft, square drive end out, put bolt with washer through square drive & into input shaft, and crank it up Worked for me every time (Once I'd got it out the first time anyway, I had to borrow a slide hammer for that.

I'm guessing you greased it well when you put it back in last time? - It makes subsequent removals a lot easier!

^^^^^^^
Yes, what he said

That's my preferred method for removing the input shaft.

All the chrome trim on the car bar bumpers has been removed today ready to prep the bodywork for respraying. I was expecting to find a lot of hidden grot as those chrome trims must be proper water traps, however I am very pleased to say that whoever put them on in Coventry did a very good job of sealing the seams they hide and thus there is not rust there at all! Considering how much rust ive found hiding on the rest of the car in the time ive owned it this is a real turn up for the books.

Unfortunatly the 1967 plastic trim clips have gone brittle and most snapped so I will be needing more. Also the chrome trim from the guttering has died a death. It will need to be replaced or left off either of which im quite happy with.