Little progress on the 1850

I managed to get one of my exhaust nuts on but I need a deep socket and a UJ (I had one but it broke ages ago) to finish off my exhaust. I fired the car up and the rev counter is now working. I managed to get the fan belt on by removing the alternator mounting bolt far enough to fit the belt but it needs finishing off. The starter stopped working so I have to start it with a screwdriver to bridge the terminals. The rain didn't help so hopefully I can make some more progress this evening when I've got the right tools to finish off. Snowdrop's exhaust is blowing again. I keep on scraping the downpipe/middle section clamp on the drive at home. Hopefully once I've remade the joint it should cure the problem.

Nuts to this

My nuts an spring washers arrived in the post today so I'll be battling the rain to get the exhaust attached to the manifold and we should have a quieter Dolomite 1850. I'm no further on with replacing any of the other bits. Digging stuff out is a no no with this wet weather at the moment. I'll need to make some proper connections for the coil and get the VIN plate riveted back on (it had come off)

It lives!

I've now got my Dolomite 1850 running just 48 hours after getting the car. As suspected it was the +ve side of the coil that needed connecting. I studied the wiring diagram in the factory workshop manual and read the section about the coil which said which colour wires were fitted to which side of the coil. Armed with this information I searched the engine bay and found two wires which corresponded to the wire colour (white/yellow) for the +ve side of the coil. There was also a white/slate wire which is for the tachometer. (rev counter) Once the white/yellow wire was connected to the coil (I had to bodge it as the two wires had female bullet connectors. I'll use something more permanent later on.) the car fired up without any problems whatsoever. The fuel gauge can't be far wrong as it was reading just under the 1/4 mark. The car was noisy but that was because the exhaust downpipe isn't bolted to the manifold. I've already ordered the nuts & spring washers from Rimmer Bros so once they've arrived I can sort that out and it'll run a lot quieter.

More progress

Got a bit further with my 1850. I filled the radiator, I replaced the wiper blades, got a new fanbelt but I couldn't fit it so I've left that. I found the windscreen washer jets in the boot so I fitted them. Just need the washer bottle. I wonder if my Toledo one will fit. I jacked up the front of the car and put it on axle stands. I adjusted the selecter and now the reversing light doesn't come on when the lever is in the "park" position. The starter now works but the car won't run. The live feed for the coil isn't connected so I need to investigate. I'll get the circuit diagram printed from the workshop manual. Not long before this car will be running. While I was under the car I noticed a couple of more places that will need welding. The NS chassis rail (the Triumph Dolomite Club sell this section should the worst come to the worst) and a small hole in the OSF inner wing. Again, these aren't major problems especially if I can get my RBRR co-driver to sort them out for me. I also noticed that the fuel and brake lines are insecure at the NS chassis rail (where the rust holes are) but that's not anything major. I didn't expect a pristine car but getting it back on the road should be easy enough.

My addition to the fleet

I've bought another Dolomite. This one is a 1972 1850 which means that it is classed as a "Historic Vechicle" which means free road tax. At £275 including delivery from Surrey it was well worth a punt. The first pic below is what it looked like when it arrived.

After a wash and a vaccuum the car looked better. One of the tyres needed inflating so it was off with the wheel and over to use my tyre inflator which runs off Blue. While the wheel was off I looked at the brake pads and they look like they'll need replacing.

I fitted the rear number plate, reconnected the battery & fitted the rear seat base which had come off. Most of the electrics work except the starter motor (the motor itself is fine. Just a wiring problem from the ignition switch), horn, one of the courtesy light switches, one of the inner headlights & the windscreen washer. I need a new fanbelt, wiperblades, air cleaner, winscreen washer bottle, windscreen washer tubing, nozzles. The exhaust manifold to downpipe joint needs assembling and there's no spare wheel. According to the seller the car has Sprint carbs (SU HS6s) so I might either fit a Sprint air cleaner or replace the carbs with proper 1850 items. It also has a Mountney steering wheel. I might just sell that on and refit the original which is in the boot along with a few other spares.

Accident scene revisited and other stuff.

When I took Project Blue in for the MoT I walked all the way to Anita's house so I could go to work in Snowdrop. On the way I passed the scene of the accident I had in the Dolomite Sprint. As you can see the cable box is none the worse which was more than could be said for the Sprint.

On closer inspection there were still pieces of glass from the NSR door which took the brunt of the impact.

Project Blue didn't need much for the MoT. Just brake hoses, some adjustment to the handbrake and one new tyre. Total cost: £220 which is less than last year.

Snowdrop is still running fine. I checked the oil the other day and it was way down so I put the last of my oil in which brought it up but was still below and today I bought a litre of Duckhams 15W40 (the nearest they hadto 20W50) from my local Motosave and the level is now between min and max. It'll do until the next oil change which is just over 1000 miles away.

Exhausting part 4

Yesterday I ordered a new bracket and a rubber for the exhaust tailpipe from T.D. Fitchett. The part arrived in the post today and it is the right part so once it is fitted Snowdrop's exhaust should be 100%

MoT time for Project Blue

I went to my local garage to arrange the MoT and Blue will be going in sometime next week. I'm fairly confident that it'll pass. After all, Becky passed her last MoT (August 2006) without even any advisories so fingers crossed.

Wheely great

Before I get on to the main subject I just wanna say that I ordered a new tax disc for Project Blue. The MoT is due on July 10th so I'd better sort that out as well. Can't see the car failing on anything.

Anyway, back to the story. I got some sheets of wet and dry yesterday evening and got to work on Snowdrop alloys. I started off on the 220 grit and I noticed an improvement straight away. The right rear wheel didn't need the 220 grit so I left it. The left rear was the worst so it didn't come up too well but it was better than before so a step in the right direction. I moved on to the 1200 grit and after that it was time to polish the wheels with some metal polish I had. I'm pleased with the result but the left rear wheel will need some more work to bring it up to standard.

Exhausting part 3

Last night I sorted out the blowing rear joint on Snowdorp's exhaust. I undid the joint applied LOTS of exhaust paste and put it back together and now I have a 100% leak free exhaust. While I was at it I replaced the middle section rubber with one I had that was in as-new condition. The only thing left to sort out is the rear bracket. I can see some more MIG practice coming on...

Exhausting part 2

The maifold joint started blowing again so on Friday evening I removed the carbs, (for better access) undid the joint, smeared LOTS of exhaust paste both sides of the manifold gasket and put it back together. I was at the West Yorkshire TSSC meeting on Tuesday and I was talking to Mik one of my Triumph friends (he races a Spitfire 1500) and told him about my exhaust woes and he advised me to use exhaust assembly paste so I followed his words of wisdom instead of Roy's. The worst part of the job was refitting the carbs but I got there. The rear section is still bowing at the joint (I didn't use any assembly paste when I fitted it) so I'll have to sort that out when I get chance. On Saturday I took Snowdrop out to Scarborough and she didn't put a foot wrong apart from a noise on the way backwhich only appeared on the overrun. It turned out to be a couple of loose wheel nuts so once they were tightened all was well. The next day was a show for Snowdrop at Harewood House where I tagged along with West Yorkshire TSSC like I did last year. The club won a prize for their stand which was just a few Triumphs, a plain beige gazebo and some banners. It's been 350 miles since I sorted out the exhaust manifold joint and it is still holding up. I think I've cured it. Just that rear section joint and for the first time Snowdrop will have a 100% leak-free exhaust.

Photos of the "Dales Bramble"

Just thought I'd write about the "Dales Bramble" that took place on Saturday. This first pic was at the start from the Pendle & Pennine meeting venue (the Old Stone Trough in Kelbrook) there were 6 of us in 4 cars.

By the time we got here we'd lost one of the Spits back at Hawes where we'd stopped for a "comfort break". We didn't go the the Wensleydale cheese factory but I've already been there a couple of times so I wasn't bothered. It was quite enjoyable and we had a few stops at Jervaulx Abbey (good food in the tearoom), Masham and Fountains Abbey. I quite liked the straight roads and the single track roads. Snowdrop was the right car to take on this run. The exhaust had let go near Grimwith Reservoir but I was able to carry on and peeled off at Bolton Abbey and made my way back home without further incident.

Glass replacement

Yesterday evening I decided to make a start with Becky by cleaning up the broken glass. Spen turned up to see the next door neighbour and then started to help. First up, he fetched a vaccuum cleaner and the broken glasss was soon taken care of. Next we installed the replacement glass. Having done this before I was prepared having bought some washing line and some cheap washing-up liquid (75p) from the local Co-op. It went quite well and we managed to fit the trim strip using flat bladed screwdrivers. Al done in time for me to make the local TSSC meeting in time. Having done the rear glass has encouraged me to start and get this car back on the road. The carbs will be next to sort out.

Exhausting

I went down to Lincolnshire yesterday to pick up the exhaust rear section (from Roy the same guy I got the carbs from) and it was as described. Well worth it. I clocked up a total of 250 miles in Blue and despite losing a bit of power a few times the journey was trouble free. I'd already put some Redex in the tank when I filled up so that may have solved any remaining problems with the fuel system. When I got back I changed Blue's coolant and then I moved on to replace Snowdrop's exhaust rear section. The exhaust is still not leak-free because it is blowing at the manifold. Roy did impart to me some words of wisdom on the subject. I could either use bathroom sealant (still got some left from when I did the Sprint's windscreen) or lithium-based grease instead of assembly paste so I'll gave the bathroom sealant a try. Roy said he'd done the sealant on his and it has remained leak-free to this day. I balanced the carbs and there is more power. The front carb was sticking but a bit of carb cleaner has hopefully freed it. That blowing manifold gasket doesn't help though...

Good and bad news

The guy who sold me the carbs for Snowdrop sent me a linkage along with an original throttle cable so the linkage is now as it should be. I adjusted the ignition timing back to 10 deg BTDC as the car was pinking under load after my previous timing adjustment. I removed the rear exhaust section and welded it up as best I could (I'm still a crap welder) but during today's "Dales Bramble" (a run out in the Yorkshire Dales) the rear exhaust section let go. The car is still drivable but I need a new section of exhaust as I have nothing suitable in my spares collection. I have sourced a replacement so I should be back up and running soon.

The DVLA have sent me a reminder for Blue's tax. Why can't the Government reintroduce the rolling date for free road tax? One thing worse than paying tax is not paying it. My new arrival (when I get it) will cost me nothing to tax (the reason why I was interested in the car in the first place)

A few more things

Here's the latest:

One of the terminals on the starter motor to solenoid cable on Snowdrop broke. I ended up getting an off-the-shelf cable from my local Motosave costing me just over £3 and it fitted perfectly as well as solving the problem. I'm still trying to quieten my rear section of exhaust and I've resigned myself to getting it welded. I dug out my timing light last night and checked the timing and I retarded it to about 12-13 deg BTDC and it has made a difference. There is now a bit more power and it runs better. The car starts better and it doesn't run-on when I turn the ignition off. I finally got a response from the DVLA about the keeper history. I now have the name of the first registered keeper, the name of the dealer who supplied the car (Cox of Keighley) and I found out that Snowdrop is still on the original engine.

Last week one of the local kids smashed Becky's rear window. One of the dads (I'll call him Spen) has offered his help and even searched high and low for a replacement glass. I managed to get hold of one from the Acclaim Guru and Spen is not only going to help me fit it but he's gonna help me get this car back on the road so it is a blessing in disguise.

Nothing new with Blue. I might need to change the fuel filter but other than that she's running fine.

Did a bit more spannering

Yesterday evening's spannering didn't go too well. I fitted the temperature sender and now the gauge is reading higher than before. I'll check the voltage stabilizer first. I tightened the screws at the bottom of the seat back on the rear seat. I finally got round to investigating the loose radio aerial and it will never fit properly so I'm looking at a replacement. Nothing a trip to my local motor factor won't solve.

Dodgy temperature gauge

The temperature gauge stopped working over the weekend. I was able to eliminate the votlage stabilizer as the fuel gauge was working fine so I earthed the wire from the sender and it was working so I ordered a new sender from Rimmer Bros and it has arrived today. The sender was originally from the Toledo so it's no surprise it has finally died. I'm looking at adding to the fleet but as nothing's been finalized I'll be keeing the details under wraps. All I'll say is that I'll be doing the Round Britain Reliability Run in it.

Choke sorted

The choke cable arrived yesterday so I fitted it and I now have a fully operational choke. To swap the choke I had to remove the air cleaner and the reset control for my trip counter. I put some fuel treatment in the tank when I filled up yesterday. I also bought some Castrol Valvemaster Plus. It costs the same from my local Motor World as it does for Valvemaster ordinaire from Halfords so I reckoned it was worth a punt. There's a local show on this weekend so hopefully I'm all set.

A bit of fettling with Snowdrop

One of my alloys needed touching up so it was out with the black Hammerite smooth. While I was at it I did the sills, blower motor, brake servo, the radiator and the door mirror. Not perfect but it looks better than before. I also sorted out the exhaust. The tailpipe joint hadn't been done properly so I dismantled it and reassembled it making sure it was done properly this time. I found some small holes in the rear silencer so I filled them with some exhaust putty and now I have a totally leak free exhaust for the first time on this car. I've also ordered a brand new choke cable from Rimmer Bros. The choke is still sticking and the trimmed cable isn't helping.