Tiumph Dolomite 1850 - opinions?
Discussion
Hi fellow devotees to the combustion cycle, I'm rather attracted to the Triumph Dolomite 1850 (I'd rather have a sprint but seeing as they're around £1500 rather than £700 and it's only a car to p1ss about in I'm restricted to the lesser powered model) and I was wondering if you lot have any opinions on handling, speed, reliability, what generally fails mechanically, and basic power modifications etc - I've tried googling but all the sites I've found seem to be of the 'rose tinted spectacles' variety and go on and on about how great they are so I'm looking for a balanced view
Thanks
Tom
Thanks
Tom
a Dolomite 1850 was my first ever car Get yourself a copy the latest edition of Retro Cars magazine (Jan2005). There's a very good feature about the development and tuning of the Dolomite engine, what parts are still available and where to source them from.
There's also a seperate article about Brian Culceth who professionally, drove a number of Triumph cars incuding the Dolly and the 2.5PI in International Rally Championship series events between 1970 and 1982
>> Edited by sparkythecat on Wednesday 22 December 14:30
There's also a seperate article about Brian Culceth who professionally, drove a number of Triumph cars incuding the Dolly and the 2.5PI in International Rally Championship series events between 1970 and 1982
>> Edited by sparkythecat on Wednesday 22 December 14:30
minimax said:
Dollys are OK, but you've bought the Pug now anyway havent you?
I have, but seeing as I bought it for pocket money, this project is still on!yeehar!
Allllrighty then!!
Sprint's are dreadful, sorry but I was in the thick of warranty work on them when they were new.
Bloody rapid but totally unreliable, terrible head design and blew gaskets regularly.
What is nice is an 1850 with a Piper cam, gas flowed head and twin forties, sounds great and is much more reliable than the Sprint.
Tend to suffer from notchy gearchange mostly caused by early pressure plate failure on the clutch causing it to drag. Some of them had overdrive which makes a collosal difference to your fuel consumption, so seek that out.
Konis make a HUGE difference to the handling and make it nice and predictable.
They have a nice interior too, very comfy.
Try and get a non rusty one, although that is very difficult, but I don't know if you can still get any panels for them.
My first car. Great back seat 
(even had ankle straps
), handbrake let me down while 'on the job'. Thats was fun trying to stop the car rolling down a hill while atempting re-entry.
It was a lovely car...except it was a rot box and always let me down. Put me off 'british leyland' at the time.
(even had ankle straps), handbrake let me down while 'on the job'. Thats was fun trying to stop the car rolling down a hill while atempting re-entry. It was a lovely car...except it was a rot box and always let me down. Put me off 'british leyland' at the time.
Sprint's are dreadful, sorry but I was in the thick of warranty work on them when they were new.
Bloody rapid but totally unreliable, terrible head design and blew gaskets regularly.
What is nice is an 1850 with a Piper cam, gas flowed head and twin forties, sounds great and is much more reliable than the Sprint.
Nothing has changed with mordern car's either,
Gearbox's blowing up,Head gasket's failing, Cambelt's snapping well before due date and constant electrical problem's.
Give me a old car to work on any day.
Bloody rapid but totally unreliable, terrible head design and blew gaskets regularly.
What is nice is an 1850 with a Piper cam, gas flowed head and twin forties, sounds great and is much more reliable than the Sprint.
Nothing has changed with mordern car's either,
Gearbox's blowing up,Head gasket's failing, Cambelt's snapping well before due date and constant electrical problem's.
Give me a old car to work on any day.
Tom
I've had 2 1850's way back. French Blue with Black interior, and Maroon with beige. Loved both. Much better with overdrive but it was an expensive option new, so quite rare. Engines were without problem, and I have some old cine film showing the blue one cruising at 100mph on some motorway 'somewhere' in 1976. The only fiddle is valve clearance adjustment and all the shims might not be off the shelf now. Strombergs weren't great either. Gearchange is notchy with wallowy stick and a primitive nut & bolt selector arrangement I remember. Gearbox access is good through the inside as the tunnel unbolts. Better shockers would tighten things up but the rear suspension has conflicting geometry so rears don't last long. I changed quite a few. Nylon bushes in the front would help. The engine/subframe/body arrangement makes for refinement but feels wallowy (that word again). Propshaft location is not great - floppy centre mount. Armchair seats, wooden dash - classic interior. Horrific rot in doors and front panel. Get a good one and you'll enjoy. Simpler than the Sprint and not much slower. I put a vinyl roof on the blue one with Triumph 5.5J steel rims and Sprint coachlines. It looked the business. Well it was 1976.
Dave
I've had 2 1850's way back. French Blue with Black interior, and Maroon with beige. Loved both. Much better with overdrive but it was an expensive option new, so quite rare. Engines were without problem, and I have some old cine film showing the blue one cruising at 100mph on some motorway 'somewhere' in 1976. The only fiddle is valve clearance adjustment and all the shims might not be off the shelf now. Strombergs weren't great either. Gearchange is notchy with wallowy stick and a primitive nut & bolt selector arrangement I remember. Gearbox access is good through the inside as the tunnel unbolts. Better shockers would tighten things up but the rear suspension has conflicting geometry so rears don't last long. I changed quite a few. Nylon bushes in the front would help. The engine/subframe/body arrangement makes for refinement but feels wallowy (that word again). Propshaft location is not great - floppy centre mount. Armchair seats, wooden dash - classic interior. Horrific rot in doors and front panel. Get a good one and you'll enjoy. Simpler than the Sprint and not much slower. I put a vinyl roof on the blue one with Triumph 5.5J steel rims and Sprint coachlines. It looked the business. Well it was 1976.
Dave
She was my second car at the tender age of 18 (me that is)! White with black vinyl 'C' pillars. I painted the Wheels white (I was ahead of my time, as far as automotive fashion goes) with the original black plastic centre caps. Black interior, no overdrive, tinted windows. She was a babe!!
Then one day, while I was turning into a narrow side street in Farnham, someone rammed me up the backside and did a runner. She was never the same.
Great car. Very light on the back end, the gear lever rattled like hell, and I ended up chasing the rust around the body. Watch particularly above rear window/roof vent area, nose panel and door bottoms. I'd have another, if I had the room.
Warren
Then one day, while I was turning into a narrow side street in Farnham, someone rammed me up the backside and did a runner. She was never the same.
Great car. Very light on the back end, the gear lever rattled like hell, and I ended up chasing the rust around the body. Watch particularly above rear window/roof vent area, nose panel and door bottoms. I'd have another, if I had the room.
Warren
My Dad had one of these in the late '70's when I was about 10. It was a dark blue pre-HL model with beige velour and I particularly remember it having 'part time' overdrive (flick the switch on the gearlever and about 5 minutes later it engaged!). He loved it and had it for about 3 years, only changing it when the dreaded tin worm took over. The bloke who bought it put his finger through the front wing when he was investigating a mysterious bubble on it! I still go all misty eyed when I see one in good nick, especially as the car Dad replaced it with was a beige Opel Ascona 1.6S that was sooo slow in comparison...
In the 70's Triumph meant 'sporty' package with quality brit interior. The Dolomites were in the same sector as the small BM's. BMW had nothing like the image it has now. I had a go in a 2002Ti while I had my 1850 Dolly (70's), and it wasn't as good. The interior was plasticky, the steering was vague, and the performance was nothing special. If it had been, I might have gone for one and followed a different brand loyalty. Today, the close match is the 1 series - small luxury car. A Triumph based on that package could be as successful as the MINI with the right amount of retro content.
sparkythecat said:
Get yourself a copy the latest edition of Retro Cars magazine (Jan2005). There's a very good feature about the development and tuning of the Dolomite engine, what parts are still available and where to source them from.
There's also a seperate article about Brian Culceth who professionally, drove a number of Triumph cars incuding the Dolly and the 2.5PI in International Rally Championship series events between 1970 and 1982
There are more features about the good old Dolly and what to do with it in this months edition of Retro Cars (Feb 2005)
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