The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

So having just spent £100 having the propshaft wobble fixed I asked the local garage to do a pre-MOT checkup on it expecting the usual weekend's worth of spannering.

Unfortunately long periods of sitting combined with lack of enthusiasm and funds haven't done it any good and I was handed a full A4 sheet of things that needed doing. I have narrowed it down to a simplified list as thus:

1 - Replacement of anything and everything to do with the brakes
2 - Repairs to chassis leg
3 - Replacement of anything and everything to do with the steering
4 - A bit of carb tuning
5 - Replacement of bypass tube twixt water pump and themostat, again.
6 - A bit of weekend fettling with wiring, electrical earths, exhaust rubbers etc

Now, the budget for getting the car sorted is £500 (which is incidentally the size of my overdraft), the chassis leg is going to consume a considerable amount of that so everything else will have to be DIY. The nice thing is that once the work is done it'll be like driving a whole new car and will be good for years to come and I'd rather not give up and sell it as it'd most likely end up on the local banger track.

The braking system is my biggest concern, I'll be doing this myself but I'm not entirely sure what parts I'll need and I can't get the car up in the air to replicate the original system immediately. I'm hoping some of you will know what parts I'll need and how many for a '76 Dolly 1850HL as I'd like to get most of the parts ordered ASAP so I can start as soon as the car is in the garage. Shopping list currently looks like this:

3/16" copper brake pipe
2x front flexi hose
1x rear flexi hose
1x 4-way connector
1x Brake master cylinder seal kit
Pipe cutting tool
Pipe bending tool
Pipe flaring tool

I think I'm right in thinking the car has the single line system and the unions are 3/8" UNF bits, I've based the list on the Haynes manual for my Dolly 1300, I assume it has the same system as the 1850 but this is BL and Haynes so it could be entirely incorrect! Any info on the unions and any other bits I might need would be most welcome.

I'm surprised if you need to replace the 4 way connector...but yes, a '76 car should be single line.

If your budget is tight then the flaring tools will be expensive for good ones. Save money and get pipe pre-made by someone like Stevsons. They come cut to length c/w unions. You'll need a mini pipe bender and that's it.

Use money saved to upgrade to Kunifer which is better than copper and won't work harden and split with potentially devastating consequences. Think on my set of pipes it was about £6 more!

Definately use cunifer pipe. Copper will seize onto the steel unions so when you need to undo them from a wheel cylinder for eg they can twist and snap.
Bend the pipes with your thumbs, it surprising how accurate you can get them.

Measure the existing pipe lengths with a piece of electrical cable so you can keep the shape in the old pipe for reference.
Cut new pipe to length with a good cutter (worth a few quid for a nice cutter)
Take the pipe to a garage with your new fittings (dont forget grommets ) and ask them to flare them. They wont charge much I doubt.
Bend pipes following the shape of the original.

Tony

I can confirm that the brakes are definitely single line. Remember that cunifer is harder than copper so a cheap flaring tool won't be up to the job. Best to farm this particular job out to the professionals.

Sorry disagree....

I have used cunifer pipe and made up rear axle brake pipe sections with the cheapo draper tool that costs about 20 quid.

I suggest a caliper seal kit and new pistons where needed is a good idea. Indolence in the damp and dark will mean you probably have a seized
one each side.

I would also bit the bullet and fit silicon dot 5 fluid too. It lasts ages to for ever, doesnt absorb moisture so will help stop corrosion in
your cylinders and its the time to do it of you are re-rubbering everything.

Did mine years ago - minimal brake maintenance since...

Jonners

Jon Tilson wrote:........
I suggest a caliper seal kit and new pistons where needed is a good idea. Indolence in the damp and dark will mean you probably have a seized
one each side......

Jonners

If I were going to that amount of work and cost - buy refurb calipers from the club.

I've on occasion bought 4 pistons and a seal kit for less than the cost of 1 caliper.....

But its a time and confidence thing, so I wouldn't criticize anyone for buying club ones...

Just keep the old ones for core...

Jonners

captain_70s wrote:3/16" copper brake pipe
2x front flexi hose
1x rear flexi hose
1x 4-way connector
1x Brake master cylinder seal kit
Pipe cutting tool
Pipe bending tool
Pipe flaring tool

I think I'm right in thinking the car has the single line system and the unions are 3/8" UNF bits, I've based the list on the Haynes manual for my Dolly 1300, I assume it has the same system as the 1850 but this is BL and Haynes so it could be entirely incorrect! Any info on the unions and any other bits I might need would be most welcome.

As has been pointed out, a professional flaring tool will be some 25% of your budget.

Since you are a TDC member, I will happily flare pipes for you FOC.
Which could save what, £30 or £40 against buying a pre-made set?

Please PM me if you are interested.....




Ian.

Went for a nosey under the car today, looks grim.




That's the O/S chassis leg under the underseal somewhere, I suspect that further poking/underseal removal will reveal less and less metal*. Am I right in thinking there are meant to be drain holes there somewhere? The previous owner said whoever undersealed the car last had blocked loads of them but I think he must have missed some.

*Update, I've since gone poking/scraping about with a screwdriver and gotten back to decent shiny metal at the front, wobbly edges on the leg itself though. Looks like it's been welded before? The rear end is a bit of a mess, the metal is soft all along the trailing end...

Looks like you need to get under and get dirty with a good scrape or cup brush on a drill and clean it all up.

Looks like a club chassis leg is the way ahead...

Jonners

Further poking has revealed bad things...





From what I can tell the leg has been patched previously, no drain holes from what I can see. The 70 million inch thick layer of underseal has done it's job but the thing has rotted from the inside out.

I absolutely agree with Jonners. You want to get this done once and done right. It will be a "subframe off" job to replace the chassis leg. You might as well rebush the subframe at the same time while it is off. Super Flex bushes are the ones to get.