The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

You are right as usual Jeroen, i stand corrected Sorry Veloce

Tony.

dollyman wrote: ↑Fri May 08, 2020 10:01 am You are right as usual Jeroen, i stand corrected Sorry Veloce

Tony.

No need to apologize. For a second I thought I was going gaga, because I couldn't remember changing the springs.

veloce_rosso wrote: ↑Fri May 08, 2020 3:03 am

soe8m wrote: ↑Thu May 07, 2020 11:09 pm

dollyman wrote: Changing the dampers wont change the ride hight, that is down to the springs/

Tony.

Yes they can. There are a lot of diffences in lower springseat heights of aftermarket shocks for Dolomites. The orientation where the lower seat is welded on the tube related to the lower fitting eye. This will cause the car to be lower or higher using the same spring.

Jeroen

Can't remember changing the springs... pretty sure I didn't. But purchased Spax adjustable shocks. That leveled the car out IIRC

Jeroen is quite correct, I have a fair collection of rear shox, good used, nearly new, at least 1 NOS etc from a variety of manufacturers. But almost impossible to build a matched pair, the spring seat positions varying by as much as an inch in the worst case! I've been toying with getting 2 that are closest and putting the higher seat of the 2 on the drivers side to compensate for the driver. Not sure if i'm just tight, or it's my hatred of waste! Or possibly my natural hoarders inability to throw anything away that MIGHT be useful someday! Then there's the theory that poor quality modern replacement parts may be worse than the old stuff i've already got!

I pushed the boat out and bought the ASP Gaz for the Carledo, purely to get the desired ride height in the face of Zero information available on anything but Sprint spring rates complicated by my car having different power unit weights and CofG from my mods. I'm not usually that profligate with money, but it was the simplest solution at the time. And it let me keep to standard NOS springs, Sprint front and Toledo rear, which are fine on my very light (760kg kerb weight) car.

Steve

veloce_rosso wrote: ↑Wed Apr 29, 2020 12:01 am

James467 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 28, 2020 9:14 pm

matt of the vivas wrote: ↑Sun Apr 26, 2020 5:17 pm Get in touch with James Shepard on here. Hes restoring an early 1850 that he will sell when its done, it will be a good one.

Thanks Matt!

Yes I am currently restoring Nina, unfortunately due to the current situation I have slowed a bit as I am stuck with looking after the kids!! But it will leave me with a new paint job and fully wax (Bilt Hamber) rust protected, new brakes, electronic ignition, fully relayed cibie halogen headlamps (loom by Jeroen) the full works. When you are ready feel free to give me a shout.

I have a couple of updates to do, the rear wheel arches are now done and I just need to fit the outer sill.

https://forum.triumphdolomite.co.uk/vie ... 19&t=35610

Hi James. Just seen the photos on your link and it looks a honest example. You don't live too far away from me, which will be handy once the situation eases. Out of interest, what colour are you having the Dolly painted?

Sorry, I'm being rubbish at replying to posts at the moment! It will be repainted in its original colour of Honeysuckle.

Carledo wrote: ↑Sat May 02, 2020 1:55 pm You and a lot of others mate! Probably part of the reason for it's demise! I had a subscription because the nearest source otherwise was a 30 mile round trip. But gave even that up about a year ago, purely on cost grounds. (I also gave up my TSSC membership as it offered the least of my 3 club memberships)

But I have virtually a complete set including issue one!

Steve

I also have issue one of Triumph World, Steve.

If you find the issue numbers you are short of I might be able to help.
I have a box of them which I bought on ebay some years ago.
When I say bought, what I should say is I paid for postage, the seller was happy for them to go to a new home.
It wasn't a complete set though....



thanks,
Ian.

James467 wrote: ↑Wed May 13, 2020 12:22 pm

veloce_rosso wrote: ↑Wed Apr 29, 2020 12:01 am

James467 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 28, 2020 9:14 pm

Thanks Matt!

Yes I am currently restoring Nina, unfortunately due to the current situation I have slowed a bit as I am stuck with looking after the kids!! But it will leave me with a new paint job and fully wax (Bilt Hamber) rust protected, new brakes, electronic ignition, fully relayed cibie halogen headlamps (loom by Jeroen) the full works. When you are ready feel free to give me a shout.

I have a couple of updates to do, the rear wheel arches are now done and I just need to fit the outer sill.

https://forum.triumphdolomite.co.uk/vie ... 19&t=35610

Hi James. Just seen the photos on your link and it looks a honest example. You don't live too far away from me, which will be handy once the situation eases. Out of interest, what colour are you having the Dolly painted?

Sorry, I'm being rubbish at replying to posts at the moment! It will be repainted in its original colour of Honeysuckle.

S'okay. I've been rubbish myself -- with life. I'm trying to recover from a serious back problem I've had for the last couple of months.

Morning everyone. It's been a long time since I last visited this forum. After all the chaos caused by the pandemic and getting my business up and running, finally looking at early Dollies.

Yesterday I looked at a early 1850 for sale. It's not a King's ransom but it's a solid example. However, because I've been out of the Dolly loop for so long I'm hoping the learned members could give me some advice.

Firstly, the owner has owned it for about 10 years. The owner hasn't driven it. The car, although quite solid is in need of some TLC.

Pros: Nice, tight engine; The oil smells okay (I sniffed the dip stick & oil filler cap) bodywork is rust free apart from a few tiny blemishes. I checked all the usual places such as the arches, sills, checked the inner wings and so on and so forth; interior is complete and all seems good.

Cons: Water pump leaking; not been serviced in who knows when; The brake pedal has no pressure but does spring back. I presume, then, it's the master cylinder that's shot as there's no sign of leakage; Because of the amount of time not used I would have to change all the braking on the four sides (discs and pads and possibly pipes); Wheels need to be refurbed; I would also guess the clutch plate might need changing.

Haven't driven the car as the brake peddle isn't inspiring. As we all know, for a car that's nearly 50 years old once you start digging I could end up with a can of worms. Then it depends which way the worms wiggle. I know the brakes and water pump are the first port of call.

Any advice and idea on how much I should offer the seller would be much appreciated.

Cheers, V_R

If it's a solid, original car grab it.
The mechanical side is easy enough and parts are plentiful.
It's always the bodywork that's harder.
Price: I paid £2k for a rock solid SE last year, similar condition. No brakes, stood for years, blemishes on the paint but no real rust. At that price I was happy.
An early 1850 is arguably more desirable. And someone is trying to sell a "sprint shell" with no rust but needing paint and missing mechanicals for £6500....
I'd aim for between 2.5 and 3k.

matt of the vivas wrote: ↑Fri Jun 18, 2021 10:05 am If it's a solid, original car grab it.
The mechanical side is easy enough and parts are plentiful.
It's always the bodywork that's harder.
Price: I paid £2k for a rock solid SE last year, similar condition. No brakes, stood for years, blemishes on the paint but no real rust. At that price I was happy.
An early 1850 is arguably more desirable. And someone is trying to sell a "sprint shell" with no rust but needing paint and missing mechanicals for £6500....
I'd aim for between 2.5 and 3k.

Decided there's too many doubts, as it's a non-driver. If the asking price was lower I would be tempted but he's asking a grand too much for a car that needs a lot of tinkering and plenty of money before it's fully safe to drive.

I fully appreciate you won't find everything original on a 50-year-old car, but there's too many alarm bells ringing.