The Triumph Dolomite Club - Discussion Forum

Hi Guys,
Came across a local Sprint which has a 'normal' commissioning number VA24xxx, but an unusual suffix letter at the end DLOK. (it is definitely a capital K..)
I know DLO means Manual O/Drive, but I've never seen the 'K' before - can anyone shed any light on this?
This car has an LSD fitted, but no 'S' on the comm.plate..

Hope the lockdown over there isn't too severe or too extended - keep your collective chins up.
Best regards
PeteB

No initial light on the K, it's not listed as any option in the parts list, nor as any country code.

But with a comm number in the VA24xxx range, (series 3 car) it doesn't fall into the normal range of original Aussie cars most of which seem to be series 2 cars with comm numbers in the 15-18k area. So it may have gone elsewhere before finishing up in Oz or been exported as a 1 off special order in "Knocked down" form, rather like the CKD (completely knocked down) cars assembled in NZ. Is it Yellow?

Steve

Hi Steve,
It's yellow, and the comm plate list it as paint code 64, but the actual paint looks more like 94 to me (less 'lemon', more 'butter'..).
It does have an electric steel sunroof - I wondered if that might get you a 'K' on the comm's plate?
Your suggestion on a knockdown kit sounds like a possible answer, as I think all Sprints officially brought in to Oz were Mimosa....

Best regards
PeteB

I do not think that Dolomites used the same numbering system as the TR7, it's rather a coincidence though K was used on TR7's to denote Australian specification.
Shown here: https://www.triumphwedgeowners.org/vin ... oded.html
(In the table under the "1979-1980 Canley-Built Cars" heading)

Additionally K was used for Stag's fitted with a speedometer calibrated in Kilometres such as those for Australia
Shown here:http://www.stagbytriumph.co.uk/comm.html

In Britain, a series 3 Sprint (VA 20,000> VA267xx+) would have had Inca Yellow paint (code 94) from 76 on rather than the stated 64 which is Mimosa. You are correct in that all original Aussie export Sprints were yellow and Mimosa would have been correct on a series 2 car which most were (certainly all the ones I know the comm numbers of, but that's not more than a double handful out of several hundred, hardly a statistical universe!) But who knows what could have been done on an export car, especially one that may have been a one-off?

I don't think the K would be anything to do with the sunroof, flashy as the tin electric slider is, it's not factory! ALL Dolomite sunroofs were aftermarket add ons, even the ones fitted between order and delivery new.

I don't know about the K code for Australian export TR7s, The only code I can find in Dolomite literature is a more sensible AUS. But K for a kilometer speedo sounds eminently sensible. Especially on a RHD car.

Steve

MikeyB wrote: ↑Sat Nov 14, 2020 5:31 pm I remember an Inca Sprint being sold on ebay in the UK a number of years back that had an electric steel sunroof. When new the car had been provided to someone in BL management, the roof was fitted when the car was new. Whether the fitment had been contracted out who knows.
Could this car have somehow ended up in Australia??

It's possibly the same car and equally possibly not!

What I CAN say is that ANY sunroof was never a listed option in the official pricelist. However, I spent nearly 2 years at "Car Hood Company's" Harrow branch fitting the Britax/Weathersheilds fabric sunroof to all manner of new cars including dozens of Dolomites. I'd say 90% of our sunroof business there was pre delivery installs on new cars. At circa £250 in 1976/77 when I was there, it was quite a pricey add on to put in a clunker! In those days, an electric steel slider was the creme-de-la-creme of sunroofs, normally reserved for Rolls and Bentleys or the occasional Merc (I think the Wood and Pickett Sprint has one) They'd only be installed by a VERY select few companies (like W+P) and the cost would be astronomical, at least double that of the Weathershields offering. Which accounts for their rarity!

I really enjoyed my time there, there was something immensely satisfying about taking a lump hammer and bolster to a brand new car!

Steve

Hi Pete,

DLOK means indeed RHD with Kilometer speedo.

As far as ik know, fellow forum member Straylight has a Sprint with DLOK suffix and has made a list of surviving Aus Sprints before. There's only a couple of Aus specced Sprints in the > VA20*** series. Could you're local one be VA 224**DLOK instead of VA 24***DLOK as that one was the newest known and came from the Quensland area?



Best regards,