The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

This is one of those how long is a piece of String questions...

If you have a rotten 4 speed TR7 you wont have a useable gearbox, but you will have the engine and the 3.63 diff
If you have a 5 speed TR7 you will have a useable gearbox that will require extensive mods to fit a dolly but has been done. You wont have a diff.

Your diff is 3.27. These are a bit weak and will give you pretty high intermediate ratios. The dolly 3.63 diff already gives 40+ in 1st and 60 + in second, so it might be a laugh to go faster but will need a lot of rowing. Be interesting to see how it goes....You can swap the diff last.

Your drag will be finding a box and pedals. Then you have to swap sump, end plate and mountings around. With regard to end plates you will find the TR7 one is countersunk to go with the flywheel. So you either need to cut a section off where the slave goes so it doesn't hit the dolly rack or just drill the dolly back plate to take the TR7 bolts and TR7 flywheel, which fouls the dolly end plate bolts. Ive done it both ways - but you dont have an 1850 manual flywheel and spigot bush.

Why not just stick the TR7 engine in as an auto? Should go well....and saves changing pedals and clutch hydraulics? You cant use the TR7 ones so need to source dolly ones...and an 1850 dolomite manual gearbox or one with o-d preferably. Then you need the matching cross member and mountings which you wont have on an auto.

Oh and the TR7 dipstick reads wrong on the dolly sump...just stick 8 pints in and note the reading....and you need the alternator brackets from the 1850 too...

Probably a few bits more to tell but that's the basics...

TR7 8v engined dollies are great cars...Ive done 2.

Jonners

Bell housing and input shaft are far too long....slave cylinder in wrong place.

You can use the box if you find an 1850 input shaft and bell housing, but its pretty much a box rebuild to swap them as you need to drop the layshaft to swap the input shaft.

Jonners

If you convert your Dolly Auto to manual that's another Dolly 1850 Auto lost. I appreciate you may wish to own a manual Dolly, and an 8v 2.0L manual would be an interesting 'modded' version, but with a very small number of Dolly Autos currently on the road they are a fast disappearing model. How many have already been lost to Sprint conversions? There are classic car enthusiasts, like myself, who prefer to drive an automatic.

Just my two-penneth - I'll get my coat...

I like the idea of a 2 litre auto, sounds like a good idea. It would probably go as well as an 1850 manual.

I like my Dolomite autos, I had a sienna brown one that I rescued and sold on, now I have a Mallard 1850 Auto which I really enjoy driving and one day I'll finish my Sprint Auto.

There are people looking for specifically an Auto due leg or knee problems.

myredmini wrote:Think ive decided to sell it on and buy a manual, found a 1500 dolly i want so will be up for sale tonight on here. Cheers

I would put in one word of caution. I am converting a 1500 to Sprint spec, to use your TR7 engine in that car will not be a trivial task. You will have to change the subframe, and diff, the 1500 one would be munched by the bigger engine.

markas wrote:If you convert your Dolly Auto to manual that's another Dolly 1850 Auto lost. I appreciate you may wish to own a manual Dolly, and an 8v 2.0L manual would be an interesting 'modded' version, but with a very small number of Dolly Autos currently on the road they are a fast disappearing model. How many have already been lost to Sprint conversions? There are classic car enthusiasts, like myself, who prefer to drive an automatic.

Just my two-penneth - I'll get my coat...

Isn't that a solution that will make everyone happy? Get people doing auto conversions to send the unwanted bits of the transmission to the club? That way you have a set of spares and if someone is unable to use a manual due to age or other reasons. The parts to convert a manual to auto will be available.

The dolly 1500 auto will have many similar issues to overcome, The diff will be strong enough but isnt that helpful ratio wise.

Your best diff to use would be a Sprint one behind a TR7 engine with a manual box. I would also use a Sprint sub frame and adaptor plate with a Sprint o-d gearbox and prop shaft to go with the Sprint diff.

This would be one of the most optimised dolomites possible...nice reliable 8v engine, strong box and diff.

Jonners