The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

I am located in the States, with a Sprint and 1500SE (only one in the USA)
I am looking for original door mirrors for the Sprint. The mounting foot on the ones I can source (universal fit from TEX) are almost 1 1/2" shorter than the original. Thus, they couldn't be used because the holes would be visible with the smaller mounting foot. Suggested solutions? What I need is the glass and the rubber/plastic mounting ring, the housing is in decent shape.

Also the fuel gauge on the Sprint will not go above 1/2 full. The car is now running, but had sat almost 2 years (with Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer in tank). Could the sending unit have gotten "stuck", not giving full range? Ideas or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Harry Cornelius
Colorado, USA

The door mirrors are commonly available in the UK as they also fit Minis and other BL cars from the 1970s. I'd imagine that pretty much any supplier over here would be happy to ship them over the pond.

Hi Harry, Try these chaps, i am sure they will post to the States
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TEX-DOOR-MIR ... XQuCdTezDK

Tony.

Re fuel gauge, does the temperature gauge also read low? They're fed from the same 10v mechanical regulator on the bulkhead.

Hi Harry,

The rheostat on the sender is a fine copper wire coil and they can corrode if left in the same place meaning you can get a false bottom or top reading. To test it, remove the sender from the tank and operate the float arm manually with the ignition on and thefuel gauge should alter accordingly. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to replace the whole assembly.

However, a false top reading is often a simple matter that the float has perforated and is half full of fuel meaning it is not as buoyant as it should be. In that instance, you need a new float.

Let me have a look around, I did have some mirror components in a box, but I may have cleared them out in a ruthless moment a while back! I can definitely find a sender unit or just a float though.

If you do needs complete sender unit, keep the float part from your’s for the day you find a perforated one; it’s a common fault!

Thanks for the information on the sending unit. I went ahead and ordered a new unit, which sounds like it should solve the problem. I'll keep you updated.
As for the mirror (LH side), the "mounting foot" for the one on the car (which appears original) is 4 1/2" long, the mounting foot on the replacement one made by Tex are only 3 1/4". So, the replacement would not even cover the holes where the old unit was. It is the black plastic retaining bit for the glass that has broken. The mirror housing and glass bit are in good shape.

Thanks for any further ideas or suggestions.

Harry

There may be nothing wrong with your sender unit, it may just be the float, but go ahead, don’t test it and replace the lot. When NOS senders are no longer available and only poor quality aftermarket ones abound, we’ll deal with the new problems that situation creates in the best way we can.

harryrc1 wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2019 1:48 am Thanks for the information on the sending unit. I went ahead and ordered a new unit, which sounds like it should solve the problem. I'll keep you updated.
As for the mirror (LH side), the "mounting foot" for the one on the car (which appears original) is 4 1/2" long, the mounting foot on the replacement one made by Tex are only 3 1/4". So, the replacement would not even cover the holes where the old unit was. It is the black plastic retaining bit for the glass that has broken. The mirror housing and glass bit are in good shape.

Thanks for any further ideas or suggestions.

Harry

I had a similar issue recently and to fix it I reversed the mount then fashioned a small metal plate secured by the fixing screw so that it acted as a wedge engaging the metal brackets sloping surface in place of the broken off plastic. I suppose its a bodge but it can't be seen when the mirror is in place and its stronger than the original. Its also a good idea to keep the ball and socket lubricated so that adjustment doesn't stress the mounting.

harryrc1 wrote: ↑Wed May 15, 2019 1:48 am Thanks for the information on the sending unit. I went ahead and ordered a new unit, which sounds like it should solve the problem. I'll keep you updated.
As for the mirror (LH side), the "mounting foot" for the one on the car (which appears original) is 4 1/2" long, the mounting foot on the replacement one made by Tex are only 3 1/4". So, the replacement would not even cover the holes where the old unit was. It is the black plastic retaining bit for the glass that has broken. The mirror housing and glass bit are in good shape.

Thanks for any further ideas or suggestions.

Harry

Hi Harry,

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago. I will dig out the info on the replacements that I got and let you know.

Andrew

These:

https://www.europaspares.com/universal- ... -lens.html

I can measure them, if it would help.

Good point xivalve.
I will dig through my spares and see if I have a spare float. Maybe an original float that has a faulty sending unit? I'll let you know.

Thanks.
Harry