What's your earliest Sprint or Dolomite memories?

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VYO 372M · #1 Post by **VYO 372M** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 8:57 am

Hi,

Can anyone remember their earliest Dolomite or Sprint memories?

Prehaps you can remember seeing them in the showrooms back in the 1970s or had a relative or a friend who owned one.
Maybe you was given a lift in a Sprint and it made a big impression you, I know it did in my case!

Steve

MalcGE · #2 Post by **MalcGE** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 9:16 am

Oh Yes, A neighbour of mine, his Dad came over to see him one day, Pimento Red Sprint, MOD, Came belting down our culdesac - That's one of those (still quite new) Dolomite Sprints (IIRC it was M or N Plate) WOW. In mid 1970's the era of go fast mini's, flip fibre glass fronts, mamba alloys, sundym glass, vinyl roofs, plastic seats, etc to see a 'sporting saloon' with Alloys, Vinyl, Tints, Cloth, Wood and overdrive swith on gear lever it was the DB's. All I new about the engine was that it was 2.0 'special' and quick, good enough for me.

Then in 77 ' 78 Archers Solihull, BL Dealer had a 'big event' Nice white Sprint in the centre of the showroom, came away with a poster of one of the racing Sprints - that was it, I was having one but had to wait until I was 17

Never been without one since

HolgerS · #3 Post by **HolgerS** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 10:53 am

No early memories as the Dolomites are very rare in Germany

Can you believe that the main distributor for Germany in the 70's was unable to see the benefits of the car and therefore only 2 (yep TWO) Leyland dealers across Germany sold them. When one of this two dealers showed up with his private Sprint to the annual Leyland dealers meeting at the German main distributor the head of sales came out and immediatly told him to remove the foreign manufactured car from his property and asked him why he had not shown up with a Leyland car. Can you imagine that

No wonder they did not sell much over here......

.... and therefore the first time I saw it was in the 90's in a magazine and later at Triumph shows in the UK. But to overcome this lack of a early memory I can see mine now on a daily base

tangocharlie1 · #4 Post by **tangocharlie1** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 6:41 pm

This is the reason i have owned a dolly since i was 16.

I am now 35 when i was about 10 (1981) i went with my father to view several motors, he was trading in his s reg marina, my dad is one of the old school who would only buy british cars, (still does) and i think he hankered after a rover sd1 at that time. I remember one particular car sales near hamble on the A27 we pulled in because he had spotted a Morris Ital or something, i wondered off on my own and their on one of those big ramps that they used to put the car of the week on, was a bright yellow car with black roof tinted glass alloy wheels, twin exhausts, a must have when you were a kid (T Reg i think), i clambered onto the ramp and peeked inside black interior wooden dash sporty steering wheel, i called my dad over, is this english dad i enquired, oh yeah it,s a Triumph son, can we have it then i said, no a bit too dear that one, but it,s on special this week, NO came the reply, i was mortified and promised
myself that one day i would own one of those cars. IT'S GREAT TO LIVE THE DREAM.
By the way my dad bought a T reg marina estate in gold missed opportunity me thinks, i wonder where that yellow sprint is now. ?

Lewis · #5 Post by **Lewis** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 6:47 pm

Saw one when I was 16/17 in the Stondon Classic Car museum, just as I started to learn to drive. At the time a Stag was too expensive to buy and insure, so my mum (of all people) reckoned I should start with a smaller one, that one.

Was a (light) brown 1850HL....

Few months later and well, there ya go....

george · #6 Post by **george** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 7:00 pm

saw the very first of them and of course did some spanner work on them

DavePoth · #7 Post by **DavePoth** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 7:02 pm

I remember being about 4, my grandad had a 1500HL in Russet. I was very taken with all the wood and thick carpet.

george · #8 Post by **george** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 7:07 pm

i'm not telling you my age

LAWFIELD · #9 Post by **LAWFIELD** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 7:14 pm

My Grandad had a 1977 Dolomite 1500HL and used to take me for driving lessons in 1985. I remember thinking how fast it was compared with the Fiesta or whatever car the driving instructor had. The only problem was the rumble when I got to about 50 mph, the big ends were going

Cheers

knightrider150 · #10 Post by **knightrider150** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 8:31 pm

i didnt think much of them but my dad bought my car for 400 pounds... yes thats right.. 400

in 2002 !

i wanted mum to get something modern but dad bought this and said look james these things are really something else.

he took me up the road and WOW! QUICK CAR!!

it was love and the day i hit 17 it was mine.

VYO 372M · #11 Post by **VYO 372M** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 6:46 pm

I remember seeing a brooklands green Dolomite HL parked outside our local doctor's one day in 1987/88 and became hooked on Triumph's small saloons ever since.

I didn't see a Sprint until late October 1988, although I had kinda heard of them.
There were two examples, a blue one and a purple one standing on the forecourt of Tommy Davidson's Triumph Specialist situated in Bawdeswell.
Upon enquiring about the two Sprints I was told that the blue example had just sold the day before and the purple example had a knackered gearbox.
In the end I settled for the white 1500 HL parked in between the two Sprints.

The first time I rode in a Sprint was in the very early 90s, a friend of mine owned a rough white Sprint but it went like a rocket even though it was standard.
This Sprint was driven very hard indeed and many a car boy racer came unstuck trying to keep up with the Sprint.
I remember one lad saying that his Acclaim was the quickest and the fastest Triumph ever built, then he met the Sprint....

Steve

By the way Tommy Davidson's Triumph Specialist is no longer trading, it closed down in around 1990/91 after a visit from the tax man.