Dolomite Sprint
Discussion
Decided I want a dolomite sprint 2.0L 16v just need to convince the wife that a) I can be trusted to look after a classic and b) it ain't too expensive.
Few questions. They seem very rare with no advertised at the moment. Is there someone who would know about any for sale I would be able to contact? Do I also need to find one with over drive?
I've never been a fan of SU carbs so I've seen I can change these to 45 webbers if I get the head ported and add a straight through exhaust. Again, who would be the best person to contact about modifying it to fast road spec.
When I find a car, I presume I'll have to look for the usual rust but is there anywhere in particular that can and does cause problems? And finally owt else to look out for?
Few questions. They seem very rare with no advertised at the moment. Is there someone who would know about any for sale I would be able to contact? Do I also need to find one with over drive?
I've never been a fan of SU carbs so I've seen I can change these to 45 webbers if I get the head ported and add a straight through exhaust. Again, who would be the best person to contact about modifying it to fast road spec.
When I find a car, I presume I'll have to look for the usual rust but is there anywhere in particular that can and does cause problems? And finally owt else to look out for?
Never you mind said:
T-195 said:
One coming up for Auction in Kings Lynn on 13/4.
Details are on Car and Classic.
Other than that.
Dunno.
Might be a bit too soon that one though it looks decent enough. Still need to convince the Mrs. Details are on Car and Classic.
Other than that.
Dunno.
I sort of remember these from back in the day as a kid.
They were high performance saloons for the time and quite expensive. The engine was quite complex for those days too.
You had to be doing quite well and be a bit of an enthusiast to have bought one new and secondhand they had a strong following.
I imagine it’s rarity and a sort of snobbery against BL stuff that stops them from being better known today.
They were high performance saloons for the time and quite expensive. The engine was quite complex for those days too.
You had to be doing quite well and be a bit of an enthusiast to have bought one new and secondhand they had a strong following.
I imagine it’s rarity and a sort of snobbery against BL stuff that stops them from being better known today.
Never you mind said:
When I find a car, I presume I'll have to look for the usual rust but is there anywhere in particular that can and does cause problems?
Everywhere.......its a 70's BL car....and often rot is in hard to access and hard to see areas on these.In theory, those that are still around are likely to have been restored or part restored by now to have lasted this long, but doesn't mean to say, that they have been done well, or haven't started rusting all over again
I'd join Club Triumph and the Dolomite Club first and absorb as much info from there before viewing cars. Probably best source of finding a decent car to begin with as well.
https://www.club.triumph.org.uk/menu/1/view
https://www.triumphdolomite.co.uk/dolomite/
swisstoni said:
I sort of remember these from back in the day as a kid.
They were high performance saloons for the time and quite expensive. The engine was quite complex for those days too.
You had to be doing quite well and be a bit of an enthusiast to have bought one new and secondhand they had a strong following.
I imagine it’s rarity and a sort of snobbery against BL stuff that stops them from being better known today.
I like the look of them and considering the price of other iconic classics from that era they seem to be a bit of bargain. They were high performance saloons for the time and quite expensive. The engine was quite complex for those days too.
You had to be doing quite well and be a bit of an enthusiast to have bought one new and secondhand they had a strong following.
I imagine it’s rarity and a sort of snobbery against BL stuff that stops them from being better known today.
0 - 60 in 8.7 seconds which for the time was pretty fast. Think they could do that in 2nd gear. Rear wheel drive as well
Lotobear said:
I've always found these cars interesting.
Why no love for SU's - they're a superb carb, arguably better than Strombergs and easier to live with than 40's/45's?
Any carb setup right shouldn't be difficult to live but I just like the noise twin 45s make.Why no love for SU's - they're a superb carb, arguably better than Strombergs and easier to live with than 40's/45's?
Thanks for links though. I'll take a gander.
80quattro said:
If Dolly Sprints are that rare, you need to buy one when one's for sale, and crack on with your convincing skills. Try an electric cattle prod if all else fails.
It's not a cash thing it's a "You wont look after a classic, they need constant tinkering and you just don't have the skills" type thing. So basically I've got to convince her I am a beard and sandal wearing tinkerer of classic cars. Never you mind said:
T-195 said:
One coming up for Auction in Kings Lynn on 13/4.
Details are on Car and Classic.
Other than that.
Dunno.
Might be a bit too soon that one though it looks decent enough. Still need to convince the Mrs. Details are on Car and Classic.
Other than that.
Dunno.
It's always easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. This is a maxim which has served me well over the years.
Regarding the car - I haven't seen one for sale for a while, but the last ones I saw seemed good value compared with a lot of contemporary metal, especially the Italians, which seem to go for silly money.
aeropilot said:
Never you mind said:
When I find a car, I presume I'll have to look for the usual rust but is there anywhere in particular that can and does cause problems?
Everywhere.......its a 70's BL car....and often rot is in hard to access and hard to see areas on these.In theory, those that are still around are likely to have been restored or part restored by now to have lasted this long, but doesn't mean to say, that they have been done well, or haven't started rusting all over again
I had six of these, in various engine sizes, many years ago. My ultimate intention was to drop an RV8 in one but the then-MrsC got in the way.
The last one I had, I knew was rusty and I parked it in the garage for a few years before starting on it. Once I got the outer sills off, everything inside there just crumbled to the floor. I gave in at that point and weighed it in.
They also always go at the edges of the panel at the front of the bonnet. And the front wings.
The Sprint will take some mechanical loving too, they had a terrible reputation for eating engines but this was largely due to lack of the correct type of maintenance, the requirements of which run some way deeper than, say, an A-Series. IIRC you have do do things like checking the head bolt torque regularly to avoid warping and HGF.
The 1850 engine is more robust at the price of a small reduction in performance. Body & trim-wise they are the same car except for certain body colours.
Blue one that is up for auction looks like it's had a iffy spray job plus some other inaccuracies. Not sure if it's over priced or not. Might join the dolomite forum and ask around.
Now I've been looking at them the level of want has increased. Want this more than I wanted a GT3 RS Manthey conversion I recently bid on
Now I've been looking at them the level of want has increased. Want this more than I wanted a GT3 RS Manthey conversion I recently bid on
Never you mind said:
Blue one that is up for auction looks like it's had a iffy spray job
Might be the original paint then I remember when my cousin came around to our house in 1977 to show off his brand new Dolly Sprint he had taken delivery of the previous day.....
The paintwork was diabolical....had to go into dealer paintshop a few weeks later to have virtually the whole front end of the car ahead of the windscreen repainted under warranty
That car spent so much time in the BL dealers, my cousin got so fed up with it, he part ex-d for a Volvo 240 within 18 months.
I Had a cooking Dolly, changed the gearbox to o/d ( needs an auto rear cross member and prop shaft ) and changed to Stroms to 1'5 ( i think) SU's
Going down to mums along the M26 late at night was lovely sitting on three figs plus
Only down side are the steering U bolts once the rubber gets a bit past it the steering is 'interesting' and check the U/j on it as well
Lad has now got a Sprint and a 1500HL on rebuilds cant wait to get back behind the wheel again
Going down to mums along the M26 late at night was lovely sitting on three figs plus
Only down side are the steering U bolts once the rubber gets a bit past it the steering is 'interesting' and check the U/j on it as well
Lad has now got a Sprint and a 1500HL on rebuilds cant wait to get back behind the wheel again
Get a good one, and sort out the appalling brakes (they are absolutely shocking) and add a set of decent dampers. The standard Unipart ones from the factory were garbage. They won't take a relentless hammering like a Golf GTI but should be reliable if well looked after. I reckon these are the next hot ticket to double in value in 2-3 years. When a pushrod Mexico is £35'000 for a tidy (but not perfect) example, £8000 for a Sprint can't last forever.
coffinvalley said:
I had a really rough one around 1985 which was a deathtrap. Still sort of liked it as only a 19 year old could...
Thought i would try again and bought a so called restored one around 2005. Really hated it . Maybe just me .....
I did the sameThought i would try again and bought a so called restored one around 2005. Really hated it . Maybe just me .....
you are not alone .......reminiscence best left in the past on this one. I really wanted to like it but it was just awful to drive (and it was a good restored one too around 2008)
We loved our Sprint, but that was back in the late 70’s, we chopped in a 1275GT for it, then chopped in the Sprint for an Escort Sport after the Dolly’s head popped and the mains ran....nasty noises.....running at well over “cruising speed” on the A12 with the webasto open we didn’t hear the mains running until we slowed down, the fault with the cooling system was when it ran low the temperature gauge never registered any overheating!
But look after them and they are excellent, and treat them like they are a classic.
Only issue we had before that was the rear axle control arms would flex the floor pan and gradually tear the floor mountings which needed strengthening and welding, I think BL special tuning did an “upgrade” plate for rallying for that problem.
But look after them and they are excellent, and treat them like they are a classic.
Only issue we had before that was the rear axle control arms would flex the floor pan and gradually tear the floor mountings which needed strengthening and welding, I think BL special tuning did an “upgrade” plate for rallying for that problem.
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