Project Rusty Triumphs in Scotland - To gas or not to gas(less MIG) - 09/11/24

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

 

 

 

 

{facebookwankerrant}That's a 1500 (or 1500TC) and therefore is NOT a Dolomite and is therefore RONG. {facebookwankerrant/over}

 

Where is that one btw? Someone I know wants a scrap one to cut body sections from.

[JeeExEll]

Random pic I found by chance at lunchtime whilst looking for something else. I have just managed to find a pic of it again by googling 'abandoned Triumph Dolomite'.

 

Pic dated 2012 with some other details. Maybe the car is still there.

 

Link -

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/49619143@N03/8254019029

[captain_70s]

Where you going for a MOT then?

Same garage that did my Civic's. Just up the road from my flat in a little industrial estate. They had a Morgan Plus 8, MX5 NA and a Mk2 Golf in the last time I went so seem old car friendly...

[purplebargeken]

The headlight pics were really helpful mate, thanks.I have two brand new units to go in and replace the Avenger ones fitted. 

 

Looks like you have a handle on the bits that need doing but I would suggest that you fit the rear bumper bit as it would look better and less likely to be a cause for interest. The car having a bit of a wash would also help obv. There are shitters en route who have offered support so what the heck, go for it and I look forward to hearing a positive outcome. Wish I could help in some way but light years away from your location.

[captain_70s]

If I can find appropriate bolts I'll fix the bumper, the old ones were bent so I chucked them. Hopefully it'll rain enough to wash the dust off!

 

I thought Dollys, Allegros and Avengers all used the same lights?

[purplebargeken]

Not so apparently. I was under the same impression.

[Jack_Harpers_Teeth]

Very similar (the headlights).  Some have pilot lights, some have the glass divots in different places (you can notch out the frames of your Dolomite to accommodate these spurious divots), best to get the right ones if you can but the others can be adapted.

[purplebargeken]

To be fair, this is the first time in the history of ever than I have had anything but the right one's in any of the tons of small Triumph saloons I've owned.

 

Not bad going really

[captain_70s]

I am return, there is a shit, rusty green car outside my flat and it's booked in for an MOT tomorrow morning.

 

I'm fucking knackered. Moar updates later....

[Eddie Honda]

Superb!

 

Knackered? Pffft! Lightweight!!

[Eddie Honda]

WELL?

 

Did you sleep through your alarm?

Being dry-bummed by the polis?

Stevie Wonder on the Pat 'n' Mick?

 

WE WANT MOAR!!!

[captain_70s]

Waiting on the MOT results... Also, got the bird over!

 

What I will say is it's a lot fucking colder up North, the clutch bleed nut is in a fucking silly place and pulling out of a layby into a motorway in a car that takes 30+ secs to get to 60 is an "experience".

[Eddie Honda]

pulling out of a layby into a motorway in a car that takes 30+ secs to get to 60 is an "experience".

Lookshurry! I done nearly all the M40 & M6 one night in a Maxi that would barely pull 40mph.

 

Was an absolute cock waiting for a decent gap in L1 near Spaghetti, because shoulder had some cones across periodically making it impossible to take a run at it.

[Eddie Honda]

That's a list.

 

 

Should've gone down to Whiteinch MOT

[bezzabsa]

as an aside, whats a MOT'd Dolo worth???

 

would love another 

[SiC]

as an aside, whats a MOT'd Dolo worth???

 

would love another

http://autoshite.com/topic/30033-triumph-1300fwd-now-%C2%A3699-with-piccies-now/

 

£699. Might want to fix it first.

[captain_70s]

Left it at the garage, they reckon about £180 for the welding to fix the rot which my Isopon skillz had failed to hide, rear shocks are utterly fucked in all fairness and the rest is small stuff I can probably sort myself. All in all, not a bad fail for a car that's been sitting for 2 years, shame about the rot!

 

Detailed trip updates coming soon once I have acquired all the videos/photos.

[320touring]

Good stuff!

[SiC]

What happens after it's fixed? What's the for sale tag on this thread about?

[Eddie Honda]

What happens after it's fixed? What's the for sale tag on this thread about?

Erm, he drives it?

 

For sale tag is a artifact from the mellow yellow days?

[SiC]

Ah. I just thought it would be crazy that if after all this work to sort it, he was selling it!

[captain_70s]

4 sail tag was from back when I was selling the Civic, I forgot to remove it, because moron.

[captain_70s]

Right'o. Hear is my Dolorescue write up. Video(s?) will be released once I've had the chance to retrieve and edit them! 

 

After all, how hard could it be to drive a car 200 miles after it'd been sat for 2 years?

When working backshift I get Fridays off so I booked a Monday as a holiday for a long weekend off, enlisted the help of a good mate to drive us up there and follow me back, invested in a new car jack and a variety of tools/parts, arranged insurance and booked WAC 257S in for an MOT on the Monday at my local garage. We set off at 8:30am on the Friday and hit snow in the Cairngorms, we didn't get to the garage until it was pitch black and freezing, we dumped our supplies and went back to my parent's place to sleep for the night.

 

 

After this point there is a distinct lack of pictures as I was rather busy!

 

We got back to the garage at about 10am the following morning (Saturday) and set about tinkering. Flushing the stale petrol from the fuel lines, putting 20L of fresh unleaded in the tank and a bit of tweaking to the ignition timing saw the car running again. It also transpired the lengthy stay in the garage in the damp coastal air had done the bodywork no favours with wheelarches practically peeling off and the lower rear panel behind the passenger side rear wheel simply disintegrating under prodding.

My mate who now has the 1850 came over for a while and we set about getting the clutch working. This was an utter pain in the arse as there was not enough access to the bleed nipple to tighten or loosen it with a spanner. Tightening it hand tight and quickly wacking a socket over it let air back into the system. We toiled until well after dark at which point we were very cold and disheartened, as a last ditch attempt we went back to my mate's farm and cut the appropriate spanner in half to allow it more movement, it only bloody worked! I gave the car a celebratory drive around the yard having to pre-set the throttle as the cable was sticking and stuck it back in the garage.

 

On Sunday we arrived at the garage at about 9:30am. I went to the local shop on the way and bought quite a bit of Isopon fibreglass and easy sand filler, some sandpaper, a rattle can of Brooklands Green and a tin of black Hammerite, my bodywork repair materials of choice.

We started bodging the various holes in the bodywork to make the car look slightly more presentable, we also pumped up the tyres using a 12v electric pump, fitted a new throttle cable (choke still has to be set under the bonnet), loaded all the other junk from the garage into our two cars. I gave the Triumph a few more spins around the yard to check the steering and brakes, topped all the fluids and declared it to be go time as it was midday and I really wanted to get over the mountains before it got dark.

 

We hit the road and the initial drive to get petrol at Huntly went well, it was clear the rear shocks were fucked as the car bounced like a trampoline but otherwise the car drove very well despite a complete lack of power. At this point the weather turned to shit with torrential rain and gale force winds battering the car, I added 30 litres of fuel to the tank at Huntly and set off for the next checkpoint at my parent's place in the Cairngorm National Park. We got there with no bother at all and I decided that we'd brave the trip to Glasgow, if the car had played up that would have been where I'd have left it but the thing was performing great.

 

We hit the road again ASAP as light was fading, I had a brief arse clench moment as a police car went by in the opposite direction just as we left Strathdon but they gave us no attention other than the usual "that's an old car" glance. I also had to stop at every junction to check the map which was a good opportunity for adjusting the ignition timing on the fly as I was doing it by ear and feel and it took a while to find a good balance. Despite uphill stretches being taken at 30mph in 3rd gear and some rather scary snowy/icy bits of road we cleared the Cairngorm mountains just as the sunlight faded entirely.

Once we hit Perth we were on to the dual carriageways and motorways which would be a big test on a car that's been sitting and rarely ventured over 55mph when it was running! Turns out I needn't have worried, aside from a few puffs of blue smoke from the exhaust suggesting the exhaust stem seals need attention I rapidly found myself blatting along quite happily at 65-70mph and overtaking lesser vehicles on a regular basis, not in the least because by this point I was knackered and wanted to get home quite badly.

Then I got home.

 

 

It really was that simple. Although driving around city traffic revealed the throttle wouldn't quite go back to a low idle unless you stomped on the pedal first which was a bit anti-social. The following morning I attacked yet more bodywork with Isopon and spray paint and sent it off to the garage for it's MOT.

 

 

 

The result was a fail although not a particularly bad one. It needs a bit of welding to the O/S/R sill, both rear shocks are shagged, handbrake does almost nothing and needs adjusting, exhaust is blowing at the manifold, number plate bulb is out, horn won't work, front brakes are slightly imbalanced and the sticky throttle cable issue.

 

It's currently at the garage having a quote for the welding and shock replacement made up, the other jobs I can easily do myself. The bloody thing will be MOT exempt as of next May anyway but I'll be having it checked over annually anyway. The bodywork still needs doing, but that'll require saving up for panels and also keeping an eye out for rare NOS rear wheel arches which could be hard to find...

[320touring]

Good effort, will need to get it and sonic together

[danthecapriman]

Nice job, sounds like it went very well all considered.

[DeeJay]

 

 

This pic pretty much sums up my impression of driving anywhere in Scotishland.

[Tickman]

If the rear shocks are like the Toledo the whole lot comes out very easily. If you have a friendly garage that would physically swap the spring over they are very easy.

[Shep Shepherd]

Well done, that man!

[timolloyd]

Great result, well done. I've had worse MOT fails on modern daily drivers!

[captain_70s]

For bonus points I also collected this 1977 Sharp music system while I was up there. It's only mostly broken.