RE: Triumph Dolomite Sprint: Spotted
Discussion
Dad had an 8v Dolomite and it perfectly illustrated why the British car industry was in terminal decline. Nice design, brisk performance and a lovely cabin . But ...how about five gearboxes in first 20 k miles ? And often major delays getting new box - only resolved on one occasion by Dad ,who was a GP and needing a car 24/7 somehow getting hold of BL boss Lord Stokes and giving him an earful.
But that was just the start of its appalling record - engine would often 'run on' after turning it off , for up to 30 seconds(and this on a new car) , overdrive came and went at random and, best of all, the front suspension collapsed as I was driving to Silverstone early one morning - we were crossing Wentbridge viaduct at 80mph at the time - turning sharp left was a a tad worrying...
In short , a treacherous piece of s
t. Dad bought a Honda as his next car and drove them till he died, 30 years later .He had to replace a battery once , and that was it ..
Enjoyed watching Andy Rouse drive the Sprint in saloon car racing but otherwise ...forget it .
But that was just the start of its appalling record - engine would often 'run on' after turning it off , for up to 30 seconds(and this on a new car) , overdrive came and went at random and, best of all, the front suspension collapsed as I was driving to Silverstone early one morning - we were crossing Wentbridge viaduct at 80mph at the time - turning sharp left was a a tad worrying...
In short , a treacherous piece of s
t. Dad bought a Honda as his next car and drove them till he died, 30 years later .He had to replace a battery once , and that was it ..Enjoyed watching Andy Rouse drive the Sprint in saloon car racing but otherwise ...forget it .
swisstoni said:
Funny, I had completely forgotten about the Toledo these were based on.
This is the British motor industry. It wasn't anywhere NEAR as simple as that...It all started with the 1300 FWD.
Then that got a bigger engine, and a longer nose and tail and became the 1500 FWD.
Then the smaller engine moved to RWD, kept the short tail, but got a simpler version of the long nose, and gained a 2dr body alongside the 4dr - the Toledo.
Then the 1500 moved to RWD and became the 1500TC.
Then the 1500TC got the choice of still-bigger engines to spawn the Dolomite 1850 and Sprint.
Then the Toledo gained the longer boot and became the Dolomite 1300, but still with the simpler nose.
Then the entire lot sort-of-interbred to split into the Dolomite 1300 and 1500 ("Toledo" nose) and 1500HL/1850/Sprint ("Dolomite" nose).
Then the whole British motor industry imploded under the weight of its own lunacy and incompetence.
Radioron said:
I had one of these in the same colour scheme. Great fun car - but hugely expensive to run. Mine had a regular problem with the starter motor which always required an engine removal to get access.
Agree it's a pain in the arse job, but it's not engine out with a bit of practice!Truly infectious cars. My first car was a Vermillion 1500HL.
I always dreamed of a Sprinted 2 door Toledo and many years later, this became a reality. BL may have decided that it wasn’t the Sprint that the world would want, but it was my perfect combination. I have spent an awful lot of time and money on mine. Other cars have come and gone, and more will, but I intend to own this car forever, and hope I can pass it down to my daughter one day too.
Most people have a car that just does it for them, this is mine.
I always dreamed of a Sprinted 2 door Toledo and many years later, this became a reality. BL may have decided that it wasn’t the Sprint that the world would want, but it was my perfect combination. I have spent an awful lot of time and money on mine. Other cars have come and gone, and more will, but I intend to own this car forever, and hope I can pass it down to my daughter one day too.
Most people have a car that just does it for them, this is mine.
Owned a turd brown late ('81) Sprint for a number of years in my twenties loved its despite is typical BL reliability or lack of.
It cracked a valve guide in the head (probably down to over exuberant revving) so rebuild the engine with a nitrided crank, Group2 cam and a pair of E-type SU's. I also came a across a short 4.11 LSD axle and modded front subframe with adjustable lower arm mount s(bit more negative) and solid rack mounts. It was a joy to hit 6.5k revs in OD top on suitably wide and long spaces.. It used to rev to 8k on the rev counter in gear, must faster than a mates 1.9 205 GTI, though not as nimble and front brake pads used to catch fire if pressed for too long ( i think the were DS2500s). Knackered loom causing random electrical shutdowns combined with rust everywhere below the door locks put paid to my ownership. It needed to be bullied to make progress, no finessing it around bends as the slippy diff was fairly stiff and used to push the front if you weren't getting the rear steering. And mine used also regularly knock out the front bush of the starter motor, I think I did 3 swaps and yup it was a royal pita getting those out.
It cracked a valve guide in the head (probably down to over exuberant revving) so rebuild the engine with a nitrided crank, Group2 cam and a pair of E-type SU's. I also came a across a short 4.11 LSD axle and modded front subframe with adjustable lower arm mount s(bit more negative) and solid rack mounts. It was a joy to hit 6.5k revs in OD top on suitably wide and long spaces.. It used to rev to 8k on the rev counter in gear, must faster than a mates 1.9 205 GTI, though not as nimble and front brake pads used to catch fire if pressed for too long ( i think the were DS2500s). Knackered loom causing random electrical shutdowns combined with rust everywhere below the door locks put paid to my ownership. It needed to be bullied to make progress, no finessing it around bends as the slippy diff was fairly stiff and used to push the front if you weren't getting the rear steering. And mine used also regularly knock out the front bush of the starter motor, I think I did 3 swaps and yup it was a royal pita getting those out.
Great cars, these. My very first car was a white 1850HL automatic. I ran it for about three years and it never gave me any major trouble. Very relaxing, competent car.
Worryingly, I've had nine in total – or, at least, nine Dolomite-shaped things (two 1500s, one of which was converted to Sprint specification from its original FWD configuration).
I still contend that one, VXG 707N, was the most entertaining road car I've ever personally owned. It had been lightly upgraded – twin front calipers, stiffer suspension, reprofiled needles – and ran like an absolute top. It was cheap and tatty, so I could hoon about in it without fear of damaging it. Eventually, after living at 6500rpm+ for several months, the head gasket let go – so I skimmed the head, replaced the gasket and continued.
I painted it satin black, in the end. Remarkably, it's still going to this day, even after living life on track for a while. Incredible induction noise.
It just pipped, in entertainment terms, this one to the post:
Ground clearance issues aside, it was a very neatly engineered conversion. To my delight, this has reappeared on the MOT system recently. I thought it was dead. Just an injected 3.5 and an LT77 five-speed gearbox, but great fun in such a light package.
The 'best condition' award went to a 1500HL I picked up; it was in great shape but I didn't have it long, admittedly. Pleasant enough, but the 1850HL's more flexible (and resilient) powerplant made it the far more enjoyable car to drive on a daily basis.
Also have a two-door Toledo in the family, albeit one with a Stag V8 and a whole load of other upgrades.
Anyway, if you ever get to try a decent Sprint, do. They're remarkably good fun and far sweeter, in my experience, than Escorts of the same era (of course, that may just be down to the cars I've driven – but those, too, were in good condition).
Worryingly, I've had nine in total – or, at least, nine Dolomite-shaped things (two 1500s, one of which was converted to Sprint specification from its original FWD configuration).
I still contend that one, VXG 707N, was the most entertaining road car I've ever personally owned. It had been lightly upgraded – twin front calipers, stiffer suspension, reprofiled needles – and ran like an absolute top. It was cheap and tatty, so I could hoon about in it without fear of damaging it. Eventually, after living at 6500rpm+ for several months, the head gasket let go – so I skimmed the head, replaced the gasket and continued.
I painted it satin black, in the end. Remarkably, it's still going to this day, even after living life on track for a while. Incredible induction noise.
It just pipped, in entertainment terms, this one to the post:
Ground clearance issues aside, it was a very neatly engineered conversion. To my delight, this has reappeared on the MOT system recently. I thought it was dead. Just an injected 3.5 and an LT77 five-speed gearbox, but great fun in such a light package.
The 'best condition' award went to a 1500HL I picked up; it was in great shape but I didn't have it long, admittedly. Pleasant enough, but the 1850HL's more flexible (and resilient) powerplant made it the far more enjoyable car to drive on a daily basis.
Also have a two-door Toledo in the family, albeit one with a Stag V8 and a whole load of other upgrades.
Anyway, if you ever get to try a decent Sprint, do. They're remarkably good fun and far sweeter, in my experience, than Escorts of the same era (of course, that may just be down to the cars I've driven – but those, too, were in good condition).
Edited by Lewis Kingston on Sunday 7th January 19:36
gweaver said:
This thread and this video from Pembrey are not helping!
Okay, so it's got a KV6 in it - but this never fails to raise a smile.Lewis Kingston said:
gweaver said:
This thread and this video from Pembrey are not helping!
Okay, so it's got a KV6 in it - but this never fails to raise a smile.
I had a light blue one back in the '90s as my second ever car to replace a mostly polly filler Escort Mexico. I ran it as a daily for a couple of years and covered about 40k, which required a fair amount of work every month to keep it going. The Mrs even learned to drive in it and it was her first car for a while, which was impressive as it had no power steering so was a bit heavy at parking speeds.
I spent a fair bit of time making mine handle better and coax a bit more performance from the engine with the usual carb, manifold/exhaust, cam upgrades. For the '90s it was surprisingly quick, could keep up with most stock hot hatches of the time once moving.
I'd love another one but I think I'd rather have a GT6 instead as it is a bit prettier.
I spent a fair bit of time making mine handle better and coax a bit more performance from the engine with the usual carb, manifold/exhaust, cam upgrades. For the '90s it was surprisingly quick, could keep up with most stock hot hatches of the time once moving.
I'd love another one but I think I'd rather have a GT6 instead as it is a bit prettier.
s m said:
This is the modded one I remember - was very quick - well known on retro rides forum
Yes, I was fortunate enough to see Darren's race a few times back in the day. It's still around, I think – just in long-term storage. 700bhp or so made it fairly lively, haha!This was another modified one that I always lusted after:
My dad ended up buying the powertrain out of it, in the end, as Phil – the owner at the time – was putting a 4.2 AJP into it (!). Unfortunately, despite getting the engine in the bay, the project stalled after that and the lot got broken up and sold on (I think). Would have been devastatingly quick, I think.
Edited by Lewis Kingston on Monday 8th January 08:26
can't remember said:
I have to admit that I love Triumphs if this ere. The Dolly Sprint, the 2500s , and the Stag (if properly serviced) were really good cars. Chuck in the bargain bucket Toledo and the GT6/Spitfire and you had a really good line-up.
Well done BL/Rover for killing Triumph.
When you look back it does seem strange that they let Triumph die while choosing to keep the Rover brand alive. A descision no doubt made with sales figures of the day contributing but from the comfort of today’s world and the modern contempt for boring brands and love of the more exciting you definitely get the impression it is a brand that should still be with us. Well done BL/Rover for killing Triumph.
J4CKO said:
Triumphs of that era were good looking, quite upmarket as well, these really had a certain something.
A Mate had one on his path, it was rotten as a pear back in 1992 ! he dragged it through like 3 house moves and finally got rid.
Never felt much love for these. TR7 aside most Triumph’s looked incredibly dated even when new.A Mate had one on his path, it was rotten as a pear back in 1992 ! he dragged it through like 3 house moves and finally got rid.
hardworker said:
Nice. It would be great for Britain to have even 1 decent sized car manufacturer (have France, Italy and Germany sold every single last one of their car manufacturers to foreigners?). We should make a point of buying back JLR (and iconic Rolls Royce) at the first opportunity or revive Rover.
Why? So that they can be starved of investment and churn out crap products again?It's not 1972 anymore.
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