The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Stan Part wrote:The headlamp support panel is only held at one end, it does seem to "float" at the other end.

Sorry to contradict that, Alan, but the outer edge of each headlamp panel should be spot welded down its join with the return lip of the wing. To the side of each wing, the return edge falls vertically and mates with the fold at the outer edge of the headlamp panel.
This is true of the edges of the unused, genuine Unipart steel wings and of those fitted to the car which are as they left the factory so yes, the headlamp panels should be supported down their outer edges as well as along the top, where the eyebrow panel fills the gap between headlamp panel and wing tip across the entire width of the wing.

Thanks Ken a may invest in a powerfile to neaten the welds on the inner wing.
what i also need is a way to remove any migged panels such as the headlamp panels without doing too much damage so they can be refitted

JPB wrote:

Stan Part wrote:The headlamp support panel is only held at one end, it does seem to "float" at the other end.

Sorry to contradict that, Alan, but the outer edge of each headlamp panel should be spot welded down its join with the return lip of the wing. To the side of each wing, the return edge falls vertically and mates with the fold at the outer edge of the headlamp panel.
This is true of the edges of the unused, genuine Unipart steel wings and of those fitted to the car which are as they left the factory so yes, the headlamp panels should be supported down their outer edges as well as along the top, where the eyebrow panel fills the gap between headlamp panel and wing tip across the entire width of the wing.

Never seen that before. All the ones I have encounted have only been spot welded on the end nearest the nose of the car an no where else.

Hmm, could it be that the design changed at some point? Both ACU and the current car have the outside edge of the headlamp panel spot welded to the edge of the vertical lip return on the wing and the top attached to the eyebrow. Was this later changed?
Are you saying that the many (and I know that you've met quite a few) cars you've seen have nothing connecting the outer edges of the headlamp panels to the wings or to the underside of the eyebrow? Wouldn't that mean that muck from the road would be able to find its way straight past the headlamp supports and lodge in behind the headlamp bezels?

Hmm. Could do with seeing both variations of this. If anyone has any photo's of this from previous restorations please pop them up for us to see. This is quite interesting

If tomorrow's a good day, I'll pop out and remove a headlamp bezel from mine, which is totally original in the way that those areas are constructed, then take a photo to show how the wing and headlamp panel/eyebrow and headlamp panel are joined.
I'm curious, since Alan knows his onions so, if he says he's seen other cars with that joint missing, then he has, beyond doubt.

Feel free to remind me that I've said I'll do this if no picture(s) have appeared by about 6 tomorrow evening, which is when it starts to get dark.

On SFB there were no brackets on the inner wing to tack weld to...



...so I just put a couple of tacks onto the inner wing...

Yep, that's how they've been attached to the wing return in my two, both as they left the factory in that area. Thank goodness, I would have had to pull a couple of lamps out had it not been for this photo.

So Mart's picture confirms it that there isn't any factory welds on the inner wing to headlamp panel - it just floats there, unless you put the welds in yourself, which seems the logical thing to do.

John, I suspect with your early cars have more attention to engineering deatail and better thought out and they went the extra to put seal that end up. Later, I suspect BL bean counters said it took too long and it was done away with.

As I say I have never seen any welding at that end of the panel, they have all been just as in the pictures at the top of this page - loose at one end.

Thankyou to all of you on your help with this so far and cheers Mart for the photo's. Oh and JPB for the kind offer to remove one of your own for reference.
So back to the subject in hand, my panels look like they tip inwards (towards the nose area) so they would probably give a near criss cross of light on the road. Also my panels where they mount look different to Marts unless its my eyes playing up. On that inner edge mine are angled, this is also the same as the ones i've seen on Rimmers.
Mart were yours original to the car?
I will be removing them at some point soon so i can get in behind and clean up the front panel, so what i need to do is work out whats been done wrongly to them before i try and refit

These panels on your car look fine and original to me with the correct angles.

Perhaps you're right, and maybe i'm worrying over nothing. But if you look at the photo's with the headlamp bowls, you will see that the inner bowls have been squashed in at the back where they are pushing against the front panel.

That's cos someone has attepted to fit bowls which shouldn't be there!

The inner one only have mounting rings. Not bowls.

So, the back of the headlamp can actually be seen from inside the engine bay like this:



All you have to do to make this ring up is to snip away the actual bowl part leaving the outer ring in place I guess.

The more i come on this forum. the more i love this club! I'm learning so much from this its brilliantm cheers for this info stanpart! Ok i may now seem a complete numpty, but my knowledge is growing from doing this resto.

You beat me to it Alan. Also the bowls & plates should be pop riveted on, not screwed. Oh! and they're not original Dolly bowls, they seem to be plastic not metal.