The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Good evening,

My name is Mark, I live in Colchester, Essex and this is my story.

I am 31 years old and my dad has owned a 1979 (I think) Triumph Dolomite Sprint since the late 1980's. I have many memories of going to Pleasurewood Hills and various holiday parks up east anglia. I remember that they car was honeysuckle yellow with a rather nice chocolate brown cloth interior. The car had a twin pipe stainless steel exhaust that was very noisy along with a full length sun roof.

This car has been in storage for the past 20 years and is desperately in need of restoration, there are even plants growing through the engine bay!

I have spoken with my dad over the past years regarding this restoration and how we would go about it. He would want to keep it completely stock where as I liked the white dolomite we bought and used in he early 90's. Possibly with the rally decoration!

Anyway, this is where I am now. My dad has terminal cancer and the prognosis is not good. One of the last things he said to me was that I would need to take the lead with this project. I will of course aim to respite this car to its original yellow and brown glory but I have no idea where to start with this. I remember that my dad had rimmer brothers magazines in the house during the 90's and think this may be a place to start? I also remember that we have steel front wings which were bought many years ago which my dad seemed to think we're quite rare?

Anyway, I am not a classic car enthusiast, my last cult car was a fiat coupe. However, I do intend to work on this project in the coming years and would appreciate any advice with regards to places to contact, recommended tradesman etc. I am not a mechanic in any way so I am not sure how much help I will need for this project. Or even how much a full restoration will cost!

I will take some pictures in the coming weeks to show the distance this project has to go. Thank you for reading and wish me luck!

Mark

Welcome to the forum. If you have a look at the restoration projects section you will be amazed at what some folks achieve
with cars starting in a pretty bad way.

I really like the Honeysuckle and Brown trim combo, and a full length folding sunroof is a nice accessory but must be watertight.
Your first steps will be to get it out in the open and give it a clean. Then you can see what you are up against.

Start your own thread in the resto section and we all love pics...

Jonners

Welcome the forum Mark. Get that resto thread started. There are other suppliers besides Rimmer Bros. I had a Sprint in exactly the same colour and trim. Don't forget to join the Club. It is well worth every penny of the membership fee.

To inspire you, here are a couple of photos of my Sprint.

Hello Mark, welcome to the forum.

There is no better place on the net to get sage advice and encouragement. This site is stocked full of gurus who will be more than happy to give all the answers to the questions you need, all that info will help you no end and make you project a lot easier, smoother and in the long run..a nice memory to have.

I am no mechanic at all, but I have managed to restore and maintain two Sprints over 14 years with the help of these legendary people..so if I can do it, I'm sure anyone can.

The fact that you have storage is a great start, keeping your resto dry is good for the soul.

Lots and lots of pictures and questions please..no matter how silly or mundane you might think they are..we love them all and anything to do with a Dolomite!

Once a resto is done..especially one that is close to the heart, it gives an immense sense of pride and achievement..I wish you the best of luck with your quest.