Jump to content

Rusty Triumphs in Scotland - Dolomite in "most reliable" shocker - 08/02/24


captain_70s

Recommended Posts

I know that street you live on. Don't know why, but I do. :?

Probably 'cause it looks like every other late 1800s Glasgow street!

 

I didn't notice any dead nuns or kittens at all.

I omitted the bit of the story where my lethal car smashed through the Cairngorms Home for Crippled Orphan Children Suffering From Depression which is staffed by nuns on their annual "bring a kitten to the Cairngorms Home for Crippled Orphan Children Suffering From Depression" day...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well done, they all sound like nice easy jobs. Just one point I need to pick you up on. Triumph OHV engines don't have valve stem seals! The top of the valve guide sits a half inch or so proud of the top of the head and that's all there is to stop the oil going down there. My advice is don't worry about it and buy some cheap 20/50.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd forgotten how lacking in power it was, and how short first gear is! Took a while to get a feel for the steering which is far more direct than the Honda, I had a tendancy to overcorrect for crosswinds etc and waver across the road. The brakes also need a good shove compared to the modern despite the servo, although it slows down rapidly when required. Took a while to get back into the habit of rev matching and double clutching, I crashed the gears a few times!

 

By the time I hit Perthshire I'd gotten a bit more comfortable and was throwing the car into corners like the good old days. Certainly not lost any charm although after 200 miles I was knackered, takes way more concentration to drive it and the seat does nothing for my back!

 

Good to be at the wheel of my car though, the Civic is just a car I use out of necessity, the Triumph is MY motor of choice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

New seat cushions next on the order list? ;) I know my drivers one needs doing badly. Little things like that can make the experience less enjoyable for me. Metal bars against the spine doesn't make for a too comfortable ride.

 

I guess your Dolomite is a 4 speed? I'm still learning on mine to not put it into reverse instead of second!

 

Good to here it was good fun to drive again. Hopefully it's restruck the spark and refilled the mojo on it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Excellent outcome fella - not a bad fail list either...... I'd be well proud of that. I can understand the worry of a relativley long journey right out of the blocks - but I've managed it in a fair few old Trumps without issue and now just close my eyes, pray a little and head off.

 

I'll side with you on the seats - IIRC i really didn't like the longer journeys in the sprint...... just couldn't take it. Only thing I couldn't get on with in that car.

 

Looking forward to MoT success and pinsharp* handling* updates!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ah, memories of doing a 450ish mile move south with the Skoda - which would spontaneously boil whenever I used more than about 1/2 throttle or ventured north of 50mph.  That was a long journey!

 

Shap was climbed at somewhere around 35mph as I recall - and coasted the whole way down the other side with the engine off, waiting for it to cool down again!

 

Also, much want for that music centre... that's a lovely bit of kit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is it the one next to Glen Shee ski centre?

It is indeed, I also took a route that was named on the satnav as "Old Military Road", it was icy, snowy and single track...

 

Did the whole endevour just in time as my parent's place at Strathdon now looks like this:post-19482-0-08812500-1511213628_thumb.jpeg

 

I did have a cushion for the trip but it's a back support issue more than an arse problem, need to acquire a tartan travel blanket though...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Total costs thus far.

 

Recovery £300

Parts £100

Garage labour £400-500

 

I'll also still need to spend plenty of time sorting the throttle cable, horn, rear drums and exhaust manifold myself in order to scrape an MOT.

 

Eyes are certainly watering at this point... although once the money is spent I will be left with... a rusty, worthless car that's held together with Isopon and hope...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Progress has slowed, a combination of weather, work and having no free time has messed me about something rotten. The car went away to the garage and had new rear shocks fitted and had the dodgiest sill patched up.

 

Before:

post-19482-0-48329200-1513993926_thumb.jpg

post-19482-0-90521000-1513993946_thumb.jpg

 

After:

post-19482-0-87086800-1513993973_thumb.jpg

post-19482-0-81474200-1513993984_thumb.jpg

 

Not exactly as stock but I did stress all that will be getting pulled off before long anyway as it'll be getting TDC sills at some point so I just wanted it good enough for an MOT and not look terrible from 50 yards...

 

I also invested in a "quality" car protection device:

post-19482-0-41046600-1513994078_thumb.jpg

 

Also sorted the horn, bought a pair of repo Lucas 9H horns, high-tone and low-tone. Fitted the low tone for now until I can be bothered to wire in the other. Works fine, not sure what the old horn is, its quite a bit bigger and was made in France...

 

So, on to the exhaust, it's blowing where the manifold meets the manifold. It is supposed to be held in place by three studs/nuts, one stud is snapped, two nuts are missing, it's held in place with the one remaining. The plan is to replace the missing nut (bringing us to to 2/3) and then plaster the join in Gun Gum. The manifold can come off and be tapped out and re-studed in summer... I've been held up by not being able to find anywhere local to supply the 5/16 UNF nuts, I thought the studs had been replaced with metric items but seemingly not. I've now ordered some online and await their arrival.

 

Now, rear brakes. I set at the thing a while ago in search of the infamous Dolomite "self adjusting" adjusters resulting in much confusion as it turns out that 1300's are the one car in the range that get the old style manual adjusters, like a Spitfire. By the time I found this out I was cold and needed to go to work so I abandoned the task.

post-19482-0-60531400-1513995014_thumb.jpg

 

I went back to it the other day, again before work. Careful observation will note my street is not exactly flat, it slopes both along it's length and it's width and the surface is knackered. The only place I dare to jack the arse of the Doloshite up is on the back axle under the diff. This isn't terribly stable... My first attempt at jacking it up got the thing in the air just enough to get the stands under when the jack rolled sideways and the car fell off wedging itself in to the curb. I moved it away on the starter and went for attempt two, now the tarmac under the car was just too pot holed to even bother trying, pushed the car a bit more forwards and wedged the front tires into the curb, attempt three. This time I got the thing in the air and on to the stands albeit with the jack perilously teetering on three wheels.

 

Went to take off the N/S wheel and found the car was now too close to the tall curb to get the wheel off past the hub/wheelarch. Fine, whatever, it can just stay there under the hub, I'm not daring to take the car any higher. Went round and realised I'd made the rookie mistake of not loosening the O/S wheel before it was off the ground. No matter, I jammed the gearstick into reverse and yanked on the handbrake. Promptly went round and span the rear wheel with my spanner regardless. Usually I use my big torque wrench for extra leverage but that's gone missing in the move, at this point I was getting quite grumpy. So I lowered the car back down on to the ground to find that it made no difference, the wheel nuts as well be welded on. Even smacking my spanner with a hammer or jumping up and down on it had no effect at all other than making something squeak/goan loudly in the N/S front suspension/hub area. Fuck it, running low on time before work now.

 

Went about trying to get the choke working. For some reason the new cable can't be routed in a way that doesn't foul the throttle linkage on the carb, I suspect it's actually for a Spitfire or something. By jamming it under some metal fuel line and threading it through the bit on top of the rocker cover that is supposed to hold the clip that holds the cable (doesn't work at all, just pings off) I've now acquired a functioning choke. Throttle cable surround is still held in place with a cable tie at the carb end as this too doesn't quite match the old one and thus won't fit properly.

With the new choke cable now working the car is much easier to start, no more having to wedge the linkage open in the engine bay with a screwdriver...

 

I'm now off work till the 4th of Jan so hopefully I'll manage to get the thing ready for a trip back to the MOT station in 2018. Will have to pop into the hardware shop and buy a breaker bar to remove those wheel nuts, nuts for the exhaust have been ordered. Need to get a bulb for the rear numberplate light, not sure on the uneven application of front brakes, might farm that out to the garage.

 

I did at least wash the car as whenever it rained a massive cock would appear on the roof that had been drawn in the garage dust...

post-19482-0-47976700-1513996829_thumb.jpg

 

I also decked it in tinsel that my girlfriend donated to me in the hope that it won't get towed away and crushed if it looks more festive so I'll get some pictures of that tomorrow...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those new sills look perfectly fine to me and I wouldn't notice the non-originality. I've given up going for originality. I think it's called preservation not restoration by those in the know. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. Just getting the damn thing going so it can be used.

 

I know you don't like it much, but at least your mk7 Civic allows you to earn a living. Plus it stops the girlfriend running away after you've broken down by the side of the road again - even after a couple of days tinkering and not spending time with her! :P Don't forget that the car needs to take a lower priority than her. My other half often reminds me of that. ;)

 

It does sound like you're nearly there with this now. Last few bits to get her back on the road. Have you tried having a lookout for a place/lockup where you can work on the car safely? Nothing worse than working on a unstable car.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...