It lives

I managed to revive Snowdrop. First up I bought new points and condensor on Friday after work. I fitted them when I got home but the car wouldn't start. Today I bought new plugs, leads, dizzy cap and rotor arm. I fitted the rotor arm first and tried the car and she started first time. I'm not pissed off at buying all these parts are the car is due a service anyway so I fitted the rest of the bits and all is well. I'll be doing oil and filter changes on Snowdrop and Blue but now I've brought Snowdrop back to life I'll need to take her for a run to get the oil warm before I change it.

Breakdown

I went to the local TSSC meeting in Snowdrop last night and on the way back she died on me. I checked the obvious things and came to the conclusion that there was no spark at the plugs. If I had my feeler gauges I would have been able to fit the spare points/condenser assembly that got me off the M1 last year. I called out the recovery and the guy came to the conclusion that the condenser had failed as the points were sparking but there was no spark at the spark plug leads. He didn't have any feeler gauges so I ended up going home on the back of the recovery vehicle. I probably won't be able to do anything with this car until I do the oil change. This means I'm back down to one useable car in Blue.

I've heard nothing from the insurance. I hope I don't get stung for lots of storage charges at the recovery place. I've got quite a few options on the Sprint but I think a replacement car will probably be the way forward. Whether it will be another Sprint, that remains to be seen.

Oil changes

Like a bus service you wait ages then 2 come together. Snowdrop's oil and filter change is overdue. The oil I'd bought for the Sprint's next oil change will be used for Snowdrop. Project Blue is a few hundred miles away from an oil and filter change so all I needed was filters for both and oil for Blue. I needed some screenwash so that little lot came to just over £26 from my local Motosave. While I was there I checked Blue's oil and it was below the minimum mark on the dipstick so I immediately topped up with the oil I had left from the last oil change. The guys at Motosave were good. I gave them the registration numbers and they came up trumps! The oil changes will have to wait until next week as I'm going to Stoneleigh this weekend for the first show this year. I'm going down on the Saturday to help with the Triumph Dolomite Club (Club Triumph had their turn last year!) which means I get free entry! I'm booked in at the nearest Express Holiday Inn so no problems with accommodation like last year!

All tanked up

At last I finally got round to fitting the replacement petrol tank for Project Blue. I took advantage of some free time today and some dry weather. I sprayed the top half of the tank with some black Hammerite smooth (the bottom half has underseal on it) then I removed the old tank and fitted the replacement tank. It went well and I fitted a new fuel filter. I was able to get most of the petrol out and in the replacement tank so I can make it to a petrol station. I think a road test is beckoning...

While I was in a spannering mood I fitted Project Blue's original carbs onto Becky, hooked up some jump leads, a few squirts of Easystart and hey presto SHE RUNS! Like a bag of spanners but the car is a runner. (just!) I think I'm in with a chance of getting this one back on the road.

My suspicions are confirmed...

I've just got a leter from the assessors and the Dolomite Sprint is a total loss. From their letter they're assuming that I'm not going to keep the salvage. I'd better get the claim form sent off. I'd like to use this car as a donor for another Sprint. Somebody even suggested transplanting the Sprint running gear into Snowdrop. Now that would be a real Q car especially if I kept the steel wheels!

Insurance claim

I rang Footman James to put in my claim. They were helpful and said an assessor would be round to look at the car in a few days. Meanwhile I went round to the recovery place to clear out the rest of my stuff. A couple of the guys in the yard were helpful. I gave the recovery firm my insurance details so I won't have to worry about storage costs. One of my Dolomite friends has offered me a bodily sound Sprint so I may be able to ressurect the car in some shape or form but I'm getting too far ahead of myself at this point. I'll have to wait and see if the car's a total loss (highly likely) and what the insurance will offer me.

I think I've killed it...

Last night on my way to Anita's house I lost control of the Sprint on a dry straight road which was well lit. The back end broke away to the right so I steered to the right to straighten up then it went the other way and ended up going sideways and hit a cable box. The nearside has been pushed in with the rear door taking the most damage. The B post is bent and the rear of the car is misaligned. Fortunately, I was just a bit shaken up but otherwise uninjured. Amazingly, the car was still drivable so I was able to park up and call the recovery service. The Sprint is now stored at the recovery company's yard (they have storage facilities) and Project Blue has been put back into use. I can't understand how I lost control. I've been up and down this same stretch of road in all weathers (especially during the recent rain) on a daily basis and I've never had it slide out of control. The only explanation I can think of is that there was some diesel on the road (this has killed many a Triumph through no fault of the driver) causing me to lose all grip. I'm glad that I didn't hit any other cars. I suspect that this car is beyond repair due to the distortion of the bodyshell. I'll have to see what the insurance says. A sad end to such a fine car...

Starter motor troubles

This problem has been coming on gradually and now it is getting to the point where I need to address it. What happens is when I turn the key the starter will click. It takes several tries until the starter spins. I've asked the question on the Triumph Dolomite Club forum and it looks like that either the connections are dirty or the starter needs to be reconditioned. I'm hoping to remove the starter tomorrow if the weather stays dry.

Insurance

I've got my renewal quote from Footman James. Just short of £400 so I've gone ahead with the renewal. Over for another 12 months and not bad considering I've got 4 of my cars on the policy. One more thing out of the way! The next thing will be the road tax on the Sprint.

Sorted!

Yesterday I went over to S&S to pick up the fan assembly. It was complete with the fan blades and at £25+VAT it was well worth it. Simon & Steve are great guys - true enthusiasts. I spent more time chatting with them. The place is an Aladdin's cave of TR7 parts. I wouldn't mind a TR7 myself but I've too many Triumphs!

The weather was dry so when I got home I got down to the spannering. The old assembly came off quite easily but the bolts were awkward to get at. Fitting the replacement wasn't too difficult but once again the bolts were awkward to get back in but with the help of my 1/2" spanners (no room for a socket & ratchet) I got there in the end. I also fitted the new fan belt I'd bought from Rimmer Bros and tensioned it up. The old one is now in the boot as an emeergency spare. While I was at it I removed and refitted the bracket for the air cleaner trunking as it was held on by only one bolt. It is fitted to the right of the radiator sharing it's mounting bolts. I'd fitted it in a bit of a rush using only the top bolt. I repositioned the battery clamp as it wasn't quite in the right place and I finally fitted the loose exhaust clamp. It had been like that since before my Irish jaunt! The result - it works a treat! I found out why the battery clamp had been moved. When the car was ticking over the air cleaner would come into contact with the battery clamp. I suspect that an engine/gearbox mounting is the root cause. I'll have to dig out the list that Carl (who owned the Sprint before Mark) had done.

The sh*t really has hit the fan!

It's finally happened. The fan has decided to let go just as I was setting off tonight. Fortunately, it hasn't done much damage. When I took a look I noticed that the tolerance ring had broken so I'm wondering if that was the cause. I'd spoken to S&S Preparations who have a second hand viscous coupling for £25 which now has my name on it. Snowdrop's going be put into service if she will start. I haven't used that car since last Saturday. I'm now forced into action if I want to get the Sprint useable again. I'm down to one useable car now. It's at times like this when I'm glad I've got a fleet. I'd have been stuffed if I hadn't sold Snowdrop!

The sh*t has hit the fan

Well not quite...

A noise has appeared and I've traced it to the viscous coupling on the fan. I've already ordered a new fanbelt and a tolerance ring from Rimmer Bros and I've sourced a good secondhand viscous coupling from a known fellow TDC member. I just wish this bad weather would let up so's I can get some spannering done. I've got an exhaust clamp that needs doing up and the wet cold weather is stopping me from doing anything.

Luck of the Irish

My trip to the Emrald Isle went without a hitch and the Sprint didn't let me down even though I went all over Ireland. The car just kept right on going. I'm in no doubt that it will finish the forthcoming RBRR which will be taking place in October. Thursday saw us going to Waterford. Friday was a trip to Belfast to the Ulster Transport Museum. Unfortunately, there were no Triumphs there but there was an Amphicar. (which had the Herald engine) On Saturday we went to Athlone which is right in the middle of Ireland. On Sunday we ended up in Dun Laoghaire (where the Boomtown Rats originally came from) before getting the ferry back. A few hours before I got on the ferry I saw a French blue Stag in Dublin. As he overtook me the driver waved at me. I didn't expect to see another Triumph in Dublin let alone a Stag!

Suspension woes

There's been a rattle with my Sprint whenever I hit a bump or a speed hump and whenever I set off there was a "twitch". It turned out that the two were related. I jacked up the OSR corner and after removing the wheel I found out what the problem was. The right hand tie bar was loose due to the nut becoming undone! Fortunately, it hadn't come off! Upon closer inspection I found out that the clip that is supposed to stop this very thing was missing on both tie bars. I suspect that whoever rebushed the rear suspension didn't reassemble it quite right. I've called Mark (the Sprint's previous owner) to see if he can shed any light on it and left a message on his answering machine (I normally HATE answering machines with a passion and I usually hang up) so I'm waiting for him to come back to me. I've got all the parts I need to replace what's missing but for the time being I've tightened up the nut and fitted split pins which is better than nothing. It has cured the problem and once I've replaced the gearbox oil (hurry up Brian!) all will be well for my forthcoming trip to Dublin next Wednesday.

The heat is (back) on

Sorry for not updating this as I've been struck down with a bad cough which kept me off work for most of this week just gone.

I went over to Brian's in the hope of trying to cure the lukewarm heater. We flushed the heater matrix (it was clear) and came to the conclusion that the heater valve was faulty. The fanbelt was retensioned and isn't squealing any more. I'm looking at tuning the carbs so I bought a decent carb balancer from my local Moss. While I was there I bought a 82 deg thermostat to see if that was the problem. Fitting the thermostat was easier than I thought and it has cured the problem. The car warms up quicker getting up to temperature as it should and the heaters are warmer than before. Problem solved!

All moved now

The move is complete & as you can tell from the pic Project Blue made it up to the new home. I comitted a schoolboy error when I reconnected the battery and ended up blowing one of the fusible links. I robbed Becky's to get the car going again and fortunately the car seems to be none the worse but I think I've killed the radio/cassette. I've got a nice Panasonic radio/cassette or I could fit that Sony CD player which was in Becky.

The Sprint's fanbelt has started squealing (only does it when I've got the headlights on - strange!) so it will need retensioning. Trouble is that it is a bit awkward to get at and the wet & cold weather hasn't really helped. I've also noticed that the overdrive sometimes slips so I'll need to check the gearbox oil level. (another awkward job when you don't have a garage with a pit!) I've fitted most of the parts that I ordered from Rimmer Bros. The wheel centres are on and I fitted the air intake hoses so the car is that bit closer to what it was like when it left the production line in 1975. I'm now on the reserve list for the Round Britain Run so if enough crews drop out then I'll be doing the run. The Dolomite Sprint is the car of choice (a no-brainer!) and my co-driver is Brian an ex-work colleague who restored a Herald 13/60 convertible. If you're reading this Brian I'll be in touch soon!

Splashing out

I've been giving the debit card a bit of stick. Well when Rimmer Bros are having a Dolomite Parts sale you've gotta take the liberty of getting a few essential bits. This is more importantly so when you've just entered your Dolomite Sprint in next year's Round Britain Reliability Run. I've have already ordered the following bits:
2 air intake hoses
2 wheel centres (missing from the rear wheels)
12 spark plugs
Air intake hose bracket (bolts on the the right hand side of the radiator)

I'm probably not done yet. I'm toying with the idea of fitting a spin-on oil filter conversion (told you the Sprint was nearly 100% original spec!) and getting a replacement engine steady bracket. I can't think of anything else I might need. The windscreen's leaking somewhere (I found water in the drivers' side footwell today) so a replacement windscreen rubber and sealing strip could be next on the shopping list. I've helped install windscreens on a couple of Dolomite Sprints before so I know what to do.

Parts on the move

I'm now at the point where the parts emporeum has to move. As I mentioned earlier there's an outbuilding which will be home to the new parts emporeum. I've now got use of my mate's van and I was able to shift one load of parts last night before my torch battery ran down. I'll be carrying on where I left off tonightby which time my torch should be fully charged. If there's enough room I'll also be getting the rest of my parts from the garage I had use of (if they're still there!). I still need to move Project Blue. This will have to wait until I've finished moving my parts. My tools are in the boot so it won't be a problem.

Moving

As I mentioned earlier Anita is moving house and the Sprint has been put into service to move stuff. It's amazing what you can do with these cars. Here it is parked on the driveway.

One of the first things I did was put this sign on the fence. I've had it nearly 18 months and I've finally found somewhere I can put it.

As you can gather I've not had any time to do any spannering. My parts collection still has to be moved along with Project Blue (once I've reconnected the battery. I removed it to charge it up). There is a small outbuilding which is suitable and it even has electricity and light so it might make a good working area (space permitting).

Good & bad.

I'm gonna start off with the bad. Project Blue has let me down big style. I was supposed to go down the the Heritage Motor Centre on Saturday. The car started to run like a bag of spanners which I put down to the fuel filter being blocked. After changing the filter it happened again so I turned back at Nottingham and I managed to get back as far as Birstall when the car died and wouldn't start again. I called out the breakdown people and got the car towed the rest of the way to Anita's house. The ongoing fuel filter blockage problem is due to a rusty petrol tank the only cure for which is replacement of the tank. Fortunately, the local Acclaim Guru has provided me with a replacement tank (rust free!) so Project Blue will be out of action until I can fit the tank. This shouldn't be too difficult because I've done it before.

Moving on to the good. I cured a small problem with the Dolomite Sprint's cooling system in that it wouldn't go above the quarter mark on the temperature gauge. The first thing I did was to replace the expanison tank cap, then I flushed the cooling system and refilled with fresh coolant. It seems to have done the trick as the heaters feel a bit warmer and the gauge reads a bit warmer but it still doesn't go above halfway. Problem solved! This car is less trouble than Project Blue at the moment.