Beschreibung
Triumph Dolomite Sprint 1975 P Reg
Completed Club Triumph Round Britain Reliability Run 3 times
Featured twice in Practical Classics Magazine
Regularly serviced with much history
Tax Exempt
New MOT
Full length sunroof, manual overdrive
This is a solid, reliable, tidy car, capable of regular use. It has completed the 2, 000 mile RBRR three times, and been featured in Practical Classics magazine twice (Professionals tribute, and 70’s sports saloon).
It is in standard specification throughout, apart from heavy duty springs all round, and an electric fan.
It is old enough to qualify for historic vehicle status, and is therefore exempt from road tax. The car has MOT until July 2018.
The car has covered 101, 800 miles, with around 7, 500 of those being in my possession since I bought the car in 2012.
During my ownership, the car has had a new quality timing chain and tensioners, jackshaft, water pump, Yokohama tyres, electric fan, radiator, wheel bearings and has been fitted with the Shacktune wheel bearing spacer kit. I also had the driver’s seat foam replaced, and changed the gearbox mount. The spark plug tubes have been uprated to alloy to reduce oil leaks, and the cam cover bolts have been changed to allen key type.
I have made some repairs to the front valance, jacking points, and rear inner arch, and had the passenger side sill replaced professionally.
I am reluctantly selling the car to give me the space and funds to complete the restoration of my first car.
Overall, the car is in presentable condition, runs well, and performs as a Sprint should. The engine has always run slightly warm (on the move just below half way on the guage, in traffic just above), but the electric fan does its job and keeps it at the right temperature. The cylinder head has always been fairly noisy, but as it runs well at any engine speed, I have left it alone. The engine does not consume oil, and does not smoke at high engine speed. I retorque the cylinder head and change the oil and filter every 3, 000 miles religiously, and would recommend all Sprint owners do the same. The electric fan is wired in to a Kenlowe thermostat which is adjustable. The oil filter has been converted to the spin on type, and I attach a small magnet to attract any metal which might be moving through the system. The car is running an electronic ignition.
The gearbox is good, and overdrive works well. The propshaft does wobble if you pull away quickly, but on the move there is no problem or noise from this, or the back axle. The car was originally an automatic, and has been converted by the previous owner.
The brakes have had no attention, apart from cleaning up prior to the MOT. As far as I know, the pads and shoes are standard.
The shock absorbers are standard, but I uprated the springs to heavy duty (standard height) last year, as the car had bottomed out on the RBRR with a heavy load in the boot on undulating roads in Scotland. It gives a slightly bouncy ride, but is better on undulating roads with a full boot.
Paintwork is largely good. The car has been repainted in a non standard colour in the past, and some areas have been painted since with a slightly different shade of white. There is some bubbling at the back of the roof panel under the vinyl, which I was concerned about when I bought the car, but it hasn’t got any worse, so I have left it alone. There is a small patch of rot on the inner face of the bonnet.
I have thoroughly undersealed the floor, sills, and inner arches.
The interior is comfortable and tidy. The headlining has some tears and staining in places. Carpet is good in most places, but a bit worn on the sills. Driver’s seat foam has been replaced, and the seats are generally in good shape, and very comfortable. The full length sunroof is a real bonus, and isn’t especially draughty for rear passengers, even at speed. The wind deflector does its job, but is cracked in the centre. The car has rear seat belts, one static and one inertia real, so our family of 4 have enjoyed days out together.
The boot trim is tatty, and would benefit from replacement or clean up. The car doesn’t seem to have a great deal of sound proofing other than the carpet, but I haven’t found it especially noisy when on the move.
The headlamps have been converted to BMW halogens which run off relays. Their performance has been very good in night time driving, and capable of running throughout the night non stop on the RBRR, unlike the standard sealed beam units without a relay.
An alarm system is fitted, but it is old, and so it is disconnected. The electrics generally work well, but it is an aspect of the car which would benefit from improvement, as the location of some of the wiring, and the connectors used are not ideal. This is not my forte, so I have left it alone on the basis that it works well.
An old cassette player is fitted with 4 speakers, and the car has an electric aerial.
A towbar is fitted, but never used by me. I removed the electrical connectors as they were causing problems for the MOT, but I have the kit and will include with the car.
The exhaust is the sports type, single pipe, in stainless steel.
Car is available for viewing in Coventry evenings and weekends, family commitments permitting.
Thanks for looking.
