The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

wouldn't the whole roof "pattern" be different anyway, between the 2500 and the dolomite ?

I have a few things I'd like to try with the roof anyway, so need to leave some connectors for power and fixing points, so I'm quite adaptable. If the 2500 to dolomite headliner was a straight swap, I'd either patch over the interior light hole or use it somehow. I was thinking along the lines of an LED interior light, a mounting point for a video-cam, auxillary switch panel, dunno, few possibilities...just got to run the wires in anticipation !

and thanks...

stu

straylight wrote:wouldn't the whole roof "pattern" be different anyway, between the 2500 and the dolomite ?
stu

I fitted a new T2500 headlining (bought cheap in a Rimmer Bros sale) to a Sprint. It was oversize so had to be trimmed. I presume some trimming would also have been neceesary to fit it to a 2500.

If you can acquire a good T2500 headlining cheaply, couldn't you compare your old Sprint headlining to it, Stu?
Please note the order of the roof bars (colour coded) as these bars differ from each other.
Why not fit a T2500 interior light in addition to the Sprint one?

ah, penny drops.....

thanks 95M, makes sense......

...and it is the weekend again....have to slash a few paddocks, but after that, I can get back under the car. Thinking about windscreen removal today....the laminated screen on the sprint has delaminated very slightly and has a few small cracks in it. The older red beast has an intact windscreen but we don't know if it is laminated or just safety glass. Few options.....strip back and respray, leaving the vinyl roof until last, and then removing/refitting a new (or SH screen from the red beast) when I do the roof. Or simply remove the screen now and see what can be done with it (repair of delamination being a possibility). Every time the windscreen gets replaced, I'm looking at $100+ for the seals....

well, finish the slashing first and then start work on the car. Priorities !

stu

got the slashing done on saturday.....spent sunday on the car.

slow progress. damn bumpers....spent a long time getting the rear bumper off, got the tank out, removed the wiper assembly and steering support brackets. Removed the chrome trim from the gutters (another great forum tip, use a can/bottle opener) and cleaned up the engine. The amount of gunk I blew out of the water channels was eye-opening, looked like coagulated yellow snot mixed with rust flakes.


rust around passenger pillar. The worst of it. George will work his miracles here I hope


drivers side not as bad


this looks bad, but it is mainly superficial


this is henry, he was the one sitting in the engine bay holding the 3/4" spanner wedged in when the shoulder on it broke.


passenger side roof. rear.


driver side, the passenger side is equally as bad


superficial


big boot, the red paint is from a repair I did when I had the fuel tank out in around '88, it has lasted well. Interesting exercise getting the tank out. I drained the fuel at the electric fuel pump (under the passenger floor) and then went about getting the tank out, only to find it still had 20+ litres in it, so I manhandled it out, petrol spilling everywhere, took it outside and salvaged the petrol, which was 10 years old. I've put it into a non-critical vehicle ! tank is in great nick too


windscreen out. The rubber had perished and with a few cracks already on the screen, I used it as an experiment to see how careful I would need to be....answer was not careful enough. First screwdriver lever point put another crack, and even with the rubber out, I managed another crack down the passenger side. Wife helped, so I blamed her.




drivers side roof rust. I'm wondering about taking the roof off the red machine and just replacing the whole thing.

the engine was couriered to Mount Gambier this afternoon ($20 each way, cheaper than me driving the 140km). Specialist head machinist is going to do the head while he sends the block on for a rebore. He is happy to do the little end bearings and pison rings, but doesn't want to reassmble the crankshaft, plain talking, just said it wasn't his speciality....Which means I'll give it a go here.

Looking ahead to finances and there is no way I can spend the $1700 quoted on the soda-blast, so a combination of electric sander, elbow grease and paint stripper is going to have to do. A local sandblaster will then finish off the engine bay while I try and leave the inside as intact as possible, paint wise. sandblaster quotes about $300.

still a long way to go. Still haven't taken off the front sub-frame. Bit hot on the weekend, pushing 40C in the shed and a bit tired today.

stu

Well done Stu, looks like you're getting on pretty well. Not sure why you would use a screwdriver to get the windscreen out though. All you need is your hands & sometimes your feet. From the inside of the car start to peel the rubber back in the top corner and give it the odd thump with the side of your fist. If it has a load of sealant holding it in, recline the front seats, lie on your back & GENTLY put pressure on the corner of the screen. Once it starts it will come out fairly easily.

I managed to remove the windscreens and the rear glass from my spares 1500fwd & Toledo without any problems. I've still got those particular pieces of glass and they're for sale for £10 each. If you're careful and take your time it'll come out in one piece. If there's any sealant scrape it off before you refit the glass otherwise you'll have problems. I found this out when helping to refit a windscreen on a Sprint at the October 2006 Restoration Show. There was some sealant (presumably to cure a leak at some point) which was preventing the windscreen from going back in. Once it was scraped off the windscreen went back in no problem.

The approved method is a s follows...

Remove plastic (chrome) trim insert...

Go Inside car...get large flat piece of something to spread load of feet.
recline seats...place feet on chose flat thing (plank, polysterene, even thikc cardboard helps...push out gently but firmly towards top of screen...observe as inner rubber seal lip gives way and screen top pops out...
More feet the better so assisatnt is useful.


Do not lever at corners with large blunt levers or attempt to uct through seal with knife...unless you want a few useless shards of glass..

Jonners

Thanks for the advice again. Obviously I can't afford to break the rearscreen, this is still in good nick, so I'll try and push it out properly. Problem is, the rubber is no longer flexible, so it is a bugger to get off around the window rim. I might resort to using the stanley knife again and being a lot more gentle. I think this will be tonight's job.

then I can get the headliner out and check out the underside of the roof.

thanks again

stu

success....it feels like I achieved more in an hour after work today than I did all weekend....got the rear screen out, rubber is intact, screen is intact (although one of the lucar connectors came adrift from the screen, so I'll have to solder it back on) and then I got the headlining out. The rubber is still flexible and in good condition, so I'll use it again. The seal strip (plastic/chrome) didn't survive, so a new one of those.

Now it is in my hands, it looks like I can simply patch the sections that have torn and give the rest a good wash.

had a good look around the internet again, registered with triumpowners, saw mad marts excellent website, found the dollysprint website and the excellent tuning instructions, had a good read of the sprintparts website, the resources are fantastic. When I looked around in 2000 (ish) I think I found one Dolomite restoration site, now the internet has brought dolomite owners from around the world together. There I was, thinking I would struggle for help and parts, be very much out on a limb, but everywhere I turn there is advice on ventilated discs, electric water pumps, exhausts, reassembling the engine.....bloody fantastic. Kudos and thanks to you guys who are racing dollies or have restored the cars and have put your collective experience online.

stu

back again with a smallish update. Spent sunday arvo stripping out the wiring loom and trying to catch up with mad mart's progress. Drilled out a few rivets, cleared out most of the dash area and set up for the removal of the sub-frame by taking out all the forward brake lines.

The other thread I started asked for some help with piston sizes. I'm glad to report that mark (sprintparts) came to the rescue and the plan is to buy a second hand 40 thou OS piston to replace #1 and new rings all round. Put a sleeve in the block for #1 so that the pistons are all 40thou OS. Balance the pistons, conrods, bottom ends and gudgeons, then the head engineer will return it to me for reassembly. Bought myself a reasonable torque wrench as well. Thanks for the advice and encouragement Mark

During the week it was play time with fiddly bits:



the dash had basically delaminated and I was left holding (carefully) the intact outer veneer, bits of the middle layers and an almost intact back layer. Mixed up some resorcinol glue, fashioned up a jig, pinched some pegs from the clothes line and over two nights, jigsaw puzzle style, glued the thing back together. I know I've got the spare dash in the donor, but I hate throwing stuff away ! If it all works, then great, if it doesn't, then I'll grab the donor.

Question though, what stain is prefered on the dash. Walnut stain looks too dark. baltic pine looks a bit muddy compared to the original which had a kind of yellowish tint iirc. maybe maple ? I take it the best finish is a two pot poly, which tend to dry yellow in my experience. Lots of one pot poly floor stuff on the market might be worth a go. satin obviously.

Looking at Mad Mart's great progress with the stripping, I think I'll dedicate a few nights to rubbing the car back by hand, see how it pans out.

stu

Never known what the true colour is, in the factory photos it always looks a deep warm reddish brown which fades to today to a more golden brown.

Noticed Rimmers are selling NOS veneer sets in their sale but (to me) they don't look right to what I know, in the photo in the sales flyer (seem to have very dark wide grain) but it maybe just the photo.

Keep up the good work.

Stu, I would try a medium teak stain. It will be lighter than required after one coat, so try adding another coat, then another etc to get the desired effect. I use a soft cloth (good quality paper hand towel) to apply stain which is always thinly applied, just wipe away any excess.

The two brands of stain I use (Liberon and Rustins) often both show variations in shade (sometimes these are big changes) when changing to a new batch of the same colour. Also, the wood used takes the colour differently (eg ash compared to oak). I suggest you experiment on an odd bit of wood first.

I think Teak is an excellent suggestion. I have one spare door trim which I saved from an accident when I replaced the door, so a test piece is happenin'...thanks 95M......

thanks stan part.....and that name is awesome !

Hi Stu,

The piston and rings are on the way to engine reconditioner via post. I hope that the piston is OK, as it is secondhand. I also included some valve stem seals for the cylinder head. If you don't want they just return them for refund/credit. I did not have any contact number for you so I thought I would let you know what is happening.

Mark

thanks Mark, excellent foresight ! (from you, not from me)

I take it you and Philip both use the SPRINTPARTS nick ?