The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

If my Dolomite 1300's engine were to fly out of the engine bay due to a stiff breeze and a Dolly 1500 twin carb unit were to land in it's place how much stuff would need to be changed to get a functional motor car?

The reason I ask is that I may have sourced a cheap 1500 lump in running order and my 1300 is pending a rebuild, I may want to drop the 1500 in the 1300 on a temp basis so it's not sitting about being useless for ages and I'm not rushing to rebuild the original lump and can do it as time/budget allows. Are the engine mounts/subframe the same? What's the deal with gearbox compatibility? If I had a 1500 gearbox would I need a different prop? How similar are the exhaust systems?

Other questions I've forgotten are doubtless available...

Just about a straight swap. BUT where did the engine come from (car?)
If a spit 1500 then you will need to swap the sump. If a dolly 1500 it may have the odd flywheel that needs the rare dolly 1500 starter. However, I think dolly 1300 had the "large" flywheel bolts so swap the flywheel. Of find a spit 1500 flywheel.

Swap the exhaust manifold and then you will keep the existing exhaust, plus avoid the pesky 1500 downpipe gasket issues. Besides, the twin 1500 downpipe makes virtually zero difference to performance (BTDT)

It should all be very straightforward, with the exception of the exhaust system. The 1300 has a 4-1 cast manifold with a single down-pipe and the 1500 has a 4-2 manifold with a twin down-pipe. I am not sure if you can use the 1300 exhaust manifold with the 1500 twin carb inlet manifold. The best bet would probably be to get the correct system and down-pipe for the 1500 exhaust manifold and to retain the manifold and twin carb set-up, if you re-fit the 1300 engine. The 1300 engines do go quite a lot better with the twin HS4s although you will need to fit different needles.

You could also fit an overdrive 'box with 1500 engine but that will require different mounts and a shorter prop-shaft.

The 1500 motor is in a partially stripped and rather rotten T reg Dolly sitting in a yard, I've been offered the whole car for a decent price. It drove in there but the interior is out and the guy can't remember the mileage, he thinks it came with paperwork though so is going to have a look for it. Floors and front end are knackered and there is the usual rust on the C and A pillars.

I need to have a better look at the car and see it running first but it has promise as a parts donor, it's got a regular manual 'box I think...



There is a 1500fwd in the same yard, but it's been in a crash, last MOT'd 2008... I saw this for sale a couple of years ago but it looked fairly crusty around the wheelarches and the front panels are shot. Might be saveable with a donor front end and a talented welder but the A pillars are crunchy and I dunno' what the underside is like...

There are a few permutations as the guys have said. The pick up points are all the same.

The 1500 starter has to go with a 1500 flywheel. Whether or not your 1300 flywheel fits that 1500 crank is
a moot point, but you need the right starter and flywheel combination.

You cant run a 1300 single carb with the dolly 1500 exhaust as the single carb inlet manifold fouls it and wont
sit square against the head.

You will need some wiring changes to go with the 1500 starter solenoid if that's how you do it.

So if you do buy it make sure the starter comes with it...

Also the entire exhaust is a different diameter. So get what you can of that too....

Jonners

But as I have said, the 1300 exhaust manifold will bolt straight to the 1500 engine. In fact you could use you existing single carb if needed, you would only lose approx 5bhp and gain a bit in economy over the twin setup (this is backed up by proper Rolling road figures done by John Thomason and his meticulous fuel consumption records. I have never seen anybody else produce documentation/evidence for similar comparisons)
Only downside is I can't remember which needle he used!

I would be using the twins with the 1300 exhaust. I have done just that on heralds in the past.

Re flywheel, if you can get teh proper 1500 starter that would probably be easiest, but I am 70% certain dolly 1300 flys used the larger bolts, unlike spitfire 1300 and heralds etc.

Useful clarification Clive...

In my case when my 1300 downpipe broke I used a 1500 exhaust setup that I had to hand and was scuppered by the
single inlet fouling the 1500 exhaust. I expect this could even be cured with some machining to effect clearance.
I reckon a single HIF44 would do the job nicely.

I would start with the same needle as the 1300 uses. You dont want a lot of top end on a 1500....

Jonners

It should be possible to carry everything over to the 1500 lump. It is only a temporary measure while the original 1300 lump is being reconditioned.

Jon Tilson wrote:Useful clarification Clive...

In my case when my 1300 downpipe broke I used a 1500 exhaust setup that I had to hand and was scuppered by the
single inlet fouling the 1500 exhaust. I expect this could even be cured with some machining to effect clearance.
I reckon a single HIF44 would do the job nicely.

I would start with the same needle as the 1300 uses. You dont want a lot of top end on a 1500....

Jonners

My mind is full of useless info, but some is getting hazy.

Nope, I tried chopping a single inlet and twin downpipe manifold. Can't be done (i went through the castings on both) however cutting and rewelding the inlet should do teh trick, but really getting a 4 branch would be the way to go (though "difficult" on these cars. Indeed, a single 1 3/4" car is the best route according to Kipping. I would ultimately use that with a single downpipe manifold I think.

Just checked on teh rimmers site. It confirms (as much as it can) that dolly 1300 and 1500 used the same flywheel bolts.

That means in this case I would use the 1300 flywheel and starter. The 1500 won't be too much for the smaller clutch unless seriously abused, but I doubt that will be the case!

Cheers for the advice chaps!

I've parted with some dosh and the blue 1500 is now mine, not sure exactly how much of it's drivetrain will end up in the 1300 yet! Most of the metalwork is shot but I'll cut anything out that looks solid enough to re-use as you never known what might rust on a Dolly!

It would be nice if you save the logbook:

A very long time, during the 90s, I think that Inverness registered 1500 fwd was "discovered" with some incredible low mileage,
in original condition having been off the road for years and years.
Did it then go to Elgin?




Ian.

Well, that car has 8,000 on the clock. I assumed it had gone around as the car is rusty in all the usual places but it did look to be an unmolested example and the interior was MINT. Shame about the front end...



I saw it for sale a few years ago, it had the front end damage and looked fairly frilly around the wheel arches etc so I wasn't really interested at the time. The chap who owns the yard said that the previous owner planned to restore it but gave up after it was crashed. To be honest if I had the storage facilities I'd probably drag that one out too if only to strip it for spares and trim before it gets too ruined!

If any of them have a good fuel tank bay floor section I'd be a very happy bunny if it could perhaps find its way to London. Mine is bolloxed.

Cheers

Ken