Bolly Dolly - Now boringly reliable - snoooooooooze

[beko1987]

Loudwater, at the saab garage

[Eddie Honda]

Oh right, round the corner from Loudwater Garage. Bit of trip from Thame.

 

In ye olden days I used to go to Car Specialists in Piddington. My current centre of choice down there is Barton Reynolds on London Road.

[beko1987]

Yes, its a bit of a trek from thame, but usually I go from work at marlow, and where i used to live in marlow it wasnt far.

 

Its just timing this time that im coming from home, im on paternity leave. At least itll get a good run and be nice and hot on arrival, when I come from marlow their usually still cold!

 

Ill pop round if you want on me way back...

[Guest Breadvan72]

Finally, tracked to its lair, the other local Sprint  (possibly a fake, not sure). Early, no radio aerial, no door mirrors, possibly an 1850 in drag. Seats a bit better than mine (my driver's seat cushion is lumpy). Mine also shown for comparison of Mimosa and Inca (all of you will be experts on that, natch). I almost knocked on the house door, but [a] it was 0720,  that might seem a bit weird; and anyway just because I have the same car as some dude that doesn't mean we'd get on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest Breadvan72]

Naturally, if some random geezer turned up at my place at 0720 and said "Oi mate, my car is like your car, only a bit different, or something", I would invite him in for Mr Kipling's and let him shag my sister, but that's just how I roll.  I don't have a sister, but let's not get technical.

[Six-cylinder]

The Dolly has been there for years, there used to be a bubble car too.

[Guest Breadvan72]

The VW blocking the Dolly in is called G17 REV, but has to been got up to read GI TREV in a manner that a keen constable might take issue with.  From this we may conclude that Trev might be a bit of a git, and/or a serving or former member of the US infantry forces, and/or that he might not be too scrupulous to fake up an 1850 inna Sprinty stylee yo.  Mes aploges if the car is a righteous echtersprunterwagen, and also if Trev is not a git. 

[Noel Tidybeard]

 

our Free Vehicle Report

 

Registration OEC466L

Vehicle

Details Manufacturer Triumph

Model 1500

Colour Yellow

Fuel Type Petrol

Engine Size 1493cc

[purplebargeken]

Looks like the 1500 shell was used to rehouse some Sprint bits maybe.

 

Naughty of 'em not to update the engine size details if something else is fitted

 

OEC 466L is listed by the DVLA as a  Triumph 1500 , the Sprint only came onto the market as of June 1973 and the 1500 HL was introduced in the mid-70's.

 

This could be a Triumph 1500 FWD that has been altered but you'd have to fabricate a bit to get the RWD stuff to fit or an early 1850 that has had a 1500 engine fitted. 

 

Looks like a bit of plate rape maybe. Looks tidy in that late Inca yellow though.

[Guest Breadvan72]

It has the interior of an 1850 or Sprint, and an overdrive gearstick.  Lots of Rimmer parcels in the back, so maybe a work in progress.  I could see if the Inca car is FWD by racing it up Aston Hill on the A40, which is presently covered with wet leaves on the fast but tricky corners at the top; but with a 1500 engine it would still only be half way up the hill whilst I was spinning off sideways on the top corner.  

[purplebargeken]

Triumph Spinning is an accredited event and should only be encouraged. 

 

The 1500FWD engine will entertain further by spewing its rotoflex couplings along the road in an artistic manner and the timing chain will rattle a tune of your choice from the mid 70's. 

 

The owner will of course have prepared for this by having a spare 1300 engine and associated gubbins ready for converting to RWD at the roadside.

[Guest Breadvan72]

I have been carefully exploring the Sprint's wet road handling over the last week or so.  My technique is rustier than my Jag, but may be improving slowly. The Sprint, which has had its suspension fiddled with by a previous owner in a mildly Barryish but acceptable fashion,  is pretty bomb proof in the dry but can best be described as feeling faintly skittery on a wet surface.    

Of all the cars that I own, the Sprint (Michelins) is the one that is the hardest and therefore the most rewarding to drive fast around corners.  The Landy (Maxxis) is not in the contest as it doesn't go fast around anything.  The SD1 (Toyos) is surprisingly nimble and sure footed and doesn't need much effort.  The Lotus (Goodyears) has more grip than Gripper Stebson on dinner money day and is flattering even to the average numpty such as me.  You would have to be a total bereft to fling that one in a ditch, wet or dry.  The Jag (Nexens) is fine so long as you get used to its vague steering and remember how heavy the car is.  The Beemer (Michelins) is mostly waft but with just a bit of twitch, and the old school autobox sometimes unhelpfully wants to change gear mid corner, so is best locked into 3 for any hoonettes  

The Sprint is all about late, quite firm braking, forward weight transfer, slow in, progressive power from the apex and push, push push on the exit.  It is so narrow and light that you can position it quite accurately, and drift ever so slightly on the exit of wide bends.    The brakes are, despite what people say about Sprint brakes, fine.

 

I am wondering if the clutch may be starting to slip a bit in second.  I will monitor that.  

[purplebargeken]

I've only been in one other Sprint before and that had been tweaked mildly. Suspension, tyres and so on were top notch.

 

This car went like the scalded cat type thing. Fuck could it shift. 

[Guest Breadvan72]

Clutch suspect - not sure if hydraulics or clutch itself.  No biggie, as the parts are easily obtained.  

[captain_70s]

I've only been in one Sprint, an auto, I was a passenger. It certainly shifted nicely and sounded great, it had recently been returned to the road and was good fun indeed. The owner had no hesitation on flooring it on the straights and coming out of junctions sideways. it really did fly for a 70s saloon!

 

It was also my sort of motor, with it's gaffer tape covered rust holes, missing trim and awful bonnet vents...

 

 

It really is amazing how differently a Dolly drives in the wet compared to the dry. My 1850HL stuck to the road fantastically on a dry day, but in the wet it could be a right bugger and swift cornering took a great deal of concentration, wariness and respect. It certainly rewarded you with a very satisfying driving experience though, I particularly liked the long, but smooth, throw in the gearstick from 3rd to 4th.

 

I never had any issues with brakes, and mine were/are in a questionable state of repair/functionality and always had been...

[Guest Breadvan72]

Clutch slave cylinder foutu, but new one in the post, should be fixulated on Monday.

[Guest Breadvan72]

 

Posting the photo below on the Dolomite Facebook group prompted a rather firmly opinionated and none too well mannered chap to say that the steering and front suspension would now be ruined.   He couldn't find anyone to agree with him on that point (engineers and recovery dudes included), but he asserted it most vigorously.  

 

 

[Rocket88]

Clutch slave cylinder foutu, but new one in the post, should be fixulated on Monday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only other person I've ever heard use "foutu" is my Dad, who is a confirmed Francophile.........

[trigger]

I've had run ins with that Jonners chap before. In Dolomite circles he's meant to be very clued up and to be fair he's given me some sound advice on the forum on mine but he does come across as a complete arse at times.

 

When I had my Acclaim he'd comment on how rubbish they were and how they are an insult to Triumph owners everywhere, it used to piss me right off as he couldn't let it go and his opition is right.

 

He's a odd chap.

[Guest Breadvan72]

He is a rude twat, as far as I can see.  Being a self proclaimed expert on Dolomites makes him a big fish in a very tiny pond. 

 

I love Triumphs, but I don't hate Acclaims.  The Honda deal saved BL, and Acclaims, although not Triumphs, are rather good cars..

[trigger]

Not according to him, and he's always right. He even started a group once to specifically slate Acclaims, that's how much of a twat he is.

[Guest Breadvan72]

If that I IZ HATEZ ACCLAIMZ website even came into contact with this website (World Centre of Acclaim Love) it would be like matter and anti-matter, and the Universe would explode.

 

I might set up a new site called Campaign for Understanding of Non Triumphs.   Might need an acronym, though.

[Guest Breadvan72]

 

Clutch slave cylinder foutu, but new one in the post, should be fixulated on Monday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only other person I've ever heard use "foutu" is my Dad, who is a confirmed Francophile.........

 

 

 

Vive la France!  Vive ton père!

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Id love to know how exactly this guy reckons that a reverse tow is gonna damage the front suspension. Total nonsense.

[purplebargeken]

That is a lot puzzling. 

 

At least the clutch gubbins is not in the bowels of the dash like on MG ZT

[cort1977]

Id love to know how exactly this guy reckons that a reverse tow is gonna damage the front suspension. Total nonsense.

Agreed, I can't see how he comes to that conclusion.

[purplebargeken]

Acclaims are neat little cars. I was invited to look at a metallic green one a few years ago. It was part of an estate being disposed of.

 

Sadly it had sat in a damp garage for a number of years and was in a very sorry state. Even the roof had rusted through

 

Our local newsagent had a metallic green Acclaim CD. That just soldiered on for years and years, looking slightly more knackered each year until it went away, never to be seen again. Sad.

[Guest Breadvan72]

Having tried two Acclaims, I would say that they are peppy, reasonably handly, and well made.   Triumph purists who hate them are just being silly.  It is indeed a shame that BL kept MG alive while killing off Triumph, but that's just how it goes; and the fact is that the market favoured and still favours the technically crude MG products over the more sophisticated Triumph cars.  In a parallel universe, Triumph would have become the British BMW, but now it's just a name that BMW keep in a drawer. 

[Guest Breadvan72]

Clutch fixed yaaaay.

[Guest Breadvan72]

A cautionary tale about using an old (in this case 40 year old) car as an actual car rather than as a weekend toy. Scenario: dark night, wet road, 40 mph extended village, no street lights. Dark grey car parked in roadway, mud covering rear lights and reflectors. Me, in Dolomite Sprint, driving at just under 40 mph, terrible OE dipped beams, lamps probably a bit covered by road clag, screen a bit smeary. I see the parked car late, and a white van is approaching on the other side of the road. I brake hard. Too hard. Cadence braking technique forgotten, brakes lock, car enters skid to right, skid training kicks in - declutch and steer into skid. Car stops short of parked car but with nose well across centre line. White van man is awake, stops, winds down window, is gracious about my apology. On I go.

Note to self: revise cadence braking, consider lighting upgrade, and don't be a lazy cunt about washing front of car if used in winter.