When I served my apprenticeship in the late 80's one of the mechanics had a Dolomite Sprint, he was a qualified rally driver and god could he make that thing go, handy that it had a brown interior 😂
Wäre man bei diesem Vergleichstest mit beiden Autos eine Holperstrecke gefahren, hätte man den Unterschied, Starrachse, Schräglenker Hinterachse (BMW) gemerkt. Der Test ist eine Lachnummer.👎👎👎👎😥😥😥😥 Viele Grüsse aus Germany
@@enedenedubedene4811 This test comes from a time when the British manufacturers were caught out by cars being imported that were better than their offerings, better built and better value for money. Rather than up their game they tried in vain to promote patriotism so I agree this test is a joke. The Sprint was a great quick little car but long term the BMW was the better ownership proposition due to a better quality product.
I had a British racing green Dolly for a couple of years in the mid 80's it proved to be reliable and apart from a small bit of rust here and there. all easily put right. it was an easy car to live with. comfy and nice to drive.
The firm I worked for used the Sprint for a while, back in the day. Unmarked Police vehicle. Apparently they were brilliant in a straight line but described as ‘odd through the wiggly bits at speed’. They didn’t take the punishment that well either and too often bits broke. So they didn’t last on the fleet, not up to the task intended, wrong choice rather than ‘bad car.’ They were, though, excellent apparently for what the name said - a ‘Sprint’ - just not sustained high speed. Having said all that...when they were sold off the Officers who’d had to endure them at work were the first in the queue to buy them as private cars; they loved them. Great fun to drive except when pushed to the edge. I don’t recall many other cars that the advanced drivers - they got the quick stuff - wanted to spend their own money on. The only other ‘ex Job’ cars I remember them wanting for themselves were the Capri’s, the 3 litre and RS versions. And maybe an Avenger Tiger(?). Cars were interesting back then, even though build quality was questionable by today’s standards.
What a nice car this Dolomite was. When I was a child we were on vacation in GB and I saw this car - nice!! I liked it much more than the BMW. And this lasted until today. This said as a German.
I had a Dolomite Sprint and no trouble. Build seemed fine to me, better than Ford's of the same era. Nippy car and I added twin webers and kn filter. Sounded great and a fun car.
When I was a child one of the biggest attractions of foreign travel for me was seeing all the different cars on the road in each place. I´ll never forget the shock and delight of seeing my first Ford Taunus coupe, for example - it had the face of a Mk, III Cortina but it had a beautiful fastback roof which we never saw in Britain. Now you see pretty much the same Daewoos and Hyundais wherever you go...
My wife and I bought a Dolomite Sprint 2.0 litre from a fella in Norfolk. I thought the clutch was a bit heavy but the car absolutely flew. Turned out the chap was called real Triumph officianado and had fitted a competition clutch. It honestly shaved the 0-60 time down to about 7 seconds. There are a few cars I regret selling and the Sprint is definitely one of them.
Right I owned both cars .. I loved the wolf in sheep clothes of the dolomite. ..mine was like kaki old man brown . People looking down at me standing in front of traffic lights. . I,m talking late 80's .. Wtf is that thing a lada? Yeah right watch my rear lights. ..it was a rocket like you said .. but it also consumed fuel like a rocket .. I loved that thing ,and hated it. .not reliable ,,standard UK car problem ...
I worked on BMW 1600 2002 and TI and they were one of the best designed cars I have ever seen . Great visibility great balance good power decent brakes for the time .And a wonderful little engine and drive line.
there is compression between this two cars ! - BMW full active suspension, - 4 piston calliper brake and individual brake line , two line on each wheel - only 2 valve per cylinder but 130 hp where as this 16 valve makes 127 hp on retarded carburettors ! - torque on BMW way higher due to injector and ....
TheBigCyrus well the Messerschmitt had fuel injectors , spitfire had as you say retarded carburettors and we now who won that square up SPITFIRE and of course the dolomite won the production car racing for yrs kicked the ass of the bmw 😂
@kaferere Kugelfischer worked fine on tens of thousands of 504 TI's, they only had a expiration date of about 100k miles and weren't half the price of Bosch to change. Fair deal I think.
@kaferere Well, so much for superior German engineering. Still the peugeot people pay almost double for an Injection or TI, but then they only drive them on sunny weekends.
I have a Honda paddock jacket which I bought back in 1979 and it still looks good, and only just still fits me. I have kept it as a souvenir of my happy 1970's biking years. Its red and blue, just like the 250 S/Dream that I owned at the time.
It was such a good looking car. My current car (e46 bmw 320i) only beats it to 60 by .5 of second. Must have been a crazy fast saloon in the 70s. Luv and Peace.
It is lovely that he said one couldn't see the minor instruments with the wheel in the low position in the Dolly Sprint.... That is precisely why it was adjustable. Both the short and the tall could find a position allowing them to see all they needed to see. It wasn't really (as he seemed to imply) about finding a position that suited the driver for style, pose or, "where I quite like my hands to be".
Mine was white 1974 model, fast car never had a problem with the engine, still love the vinyl roofs today, did a trip form Cheshunt Hertfordshire to Widnes Cheshire 230 miles in 2h 30m.
A friend of mine had one of these back in the 80's; astoundingly good. No reliability problems. But it was assembled here not the U.K. so no surprises there. It handled brilliantly in the shingle. Astoundingly fast over the Gentle Annie (Napier-Taihape road) even up to its ankles in snow when the road was closed.
Oooh, I remember my burgandy coloured Dolly Sprint. Had a switch on top of gear lever called overdrive. Most comfortable car I ever drove, it fitted around you. And £1600 new, ffs. I would gladly give him 2 grand for that in the mint condition its in. Such a brilliant and nice looking car. 👍👍👍
The interesting feature about the 16 valve motor is it was a single camshaft design so it gave a more compact cylinder head although it was probably not conducive to tuning valve timing wise.
Lane Hogger was actually because bl kept taking the cars back causing problems to filming schedules, Ford on the other hand couldn't have been more accommodating.
I had a dolomite sprint they were years ahead of their time not just the 2litre 16v engine the chassis and brakes were good fit a sporty cam kit bigger carbs and induction and they were superb
@@richardrichard5409 u obviously know nothing about cars ive been lucky enough to own some real nice cars over the years im a genuine petrol head had my own motox race team too won mega championships so mate yours is the funny comment because ive forgot more about cars and bikes than u will ever know
The Dolomite Sprint was a great car to drive but the 16v design meant the cyclinder head was much wider than that in most cars and used to warp, causing a blown head gasket. When that happended, main dealers used to quote for a new cylinder head costing hundres of pounds, so being in the motor trade at the time, I used to buy them up for around £50 per time, spend £10 having the head skimmed, £10 on a simple head gasket and then get around £800 pounds resale. I loved them :)
My Dolomite was called " Bessie " Great little car, and handled brilliantly! Only issues were the fuel tank went rusty, because it sat inside the boot, the rubber gasket between the twin SUs became perished and therefore was letting too much air in the mixture, but God i loved that little car!👍🤪
Actually, Triumph was rescued from bankruptcy by Leyland Motors in 1961, but it all went horribly wrong when Leyland merged with BMC several years later. It did for Leyland's once world-beating commercial vehicle business too
@@martintaper7997 Indeed. Arguably, Leyland Motors was a competent buyer, had they not later fallen for the idea (and the external pressure) of snapping up the money pit of BMC. Their investment in Standard Triumph led to a respectable model range in the mid-1960s
Surely the entire purpose of having an adjustable steering wheel and column is so you can position it to not block the instruments? He’s pointing out the fault that the solution has removed.
To me, it always looked like the kind of car a "Grandad" would buy. It may of been fast, and handled well but I hated the styling. In fact the entire Austin Maurice range looked like Grandad mobiles. Except for Rover, now they made some nice cars.
Tony Bastable literally looks like he's been beamed in from a 2019 Pretty Green photo shoot. That jacket also wouldn't be out of place with a Fjall Raven logo on its sleeve. Absolutely mind-blowing how fashion repeats itself with subtle twists. Great clip too.
It had 127bhp from a 16 valve head with 2 x 1 3/4 SU Carburettors and the Alfa GTV had 133bhp wit a 2 valve head? Well Done Triumph!! Head gaskets blowing was the normal with this engine and so was the water pump seal which would burn off resulting in coolant entering the sump contaminating the oil and wasting the crank journal bearings and big ends? Well Dome Triumph? The Alfa DOHC was a flawless design achieving reliable horsepower and high mileages without any problems. F**K BL!!
@@giuseppegiacomoni7058 British cars were useless then apart from a few but the sprint was still a goer and probably rusted out much later than the alfas or Lancias !!
My Dad had a Sprint in racing green and although it was a great performance car, He carried a large bottle of water as there were recurring issues with its cooling system and the engine always overheated and the car was taken back to the dealers on numerous occasions for repair.
Tony Bastaple. Where is he now? A pretty good mathematician as I recall with a programme called, 'Figure it Out'. The Dolomite Sprint there is a bloomin' automatic though. No-doubt BL didn't make one available to Thames Television. They even have the camera angle such that while Tony is fiddling about with the adjustable steering column you cannot see the transmission tunnel and selector tray, even though he makes mention of manual with overdrive. My first car was my uncles mint '74 1850 with man/o/d in French blue with black interior. Superb, though lost in a race against a Sprint badly! Later got a '72 2.5PI man/o/d and that bloody flew!
Excellent cars i had all but the Sprint always very rare and expensive. 2500 'S ' was the one to have. i wish i had one now. And it's nice to see old 1970's TV.
Yes, the 2500S was without doubt the most complete model: excellent handling, (only model with anti-roll bar fitted, though easy to fit to other models), best ride comfort and a good turn of power, though nothing like a well sorted PI where ultimate power was concerned. But the biggest setback for the S model was with the post '74 model's use of cheap Spanish steel which meant they rotted very quickly. All but gone now, while the Ziebarted Mk1 and early Mk2 models of 2000/2500 models survive, except for PI's which were always sought after by those who knew it was quick and a complete load of rubbish about the Lucas system being unreliable. It wasn't! It just required everything 'on-song', and when it was, 125mph and 0-60 in 8-secs WAS possible. Ask any retired Met officer where the best mechanics set them up. On five star 100-RON fuel with wind following, 130mph was possible in o/d top, but you'd probably quickly wear the engine being close to the 5,350rpm red-line!
I had a Sprint, used to love the Overdrive button on the gearknob, which gave you 2 extra gears. When accelerating in 3rd gear, you could just select the overdrive button and you had an extra gear for hard acceleration! The only problem with the Sprint was the engine needed further development, as head gaskets would blow, timing chains would break, and the radiator was not really upto the job. Triump tuning firms knew how to remedy these features, but British Leyland only spent £5 on the cars improvements from 73-80!
Read a bit of info recently that Janspeed quickly figured out that the original exhaust was junk and simply replacing it would bring them up to 142bhp instantly. Would love one of these now, brings back memories of my Mum's 1500HL she had when I was a kid.
The Sprint was an amazing car and well ahead of its time, I would love to have another one now having been a lucky owner in the late seventies. The single OHC 16V design (direct buckets on inlet and rockers to exhausts) won a design council award in 1973 and was British innovation at its best.
If only half of the head bolts hadn't been at an angle so they tried to move the head sideways as you tightened them. If only the water pump hadn't run dry if the water level in the radiator dropped marginally. My old man had an 1850. I was an expert at replacing the head gasket and the water pump and jackshaft (without removing the engine).
The triumph dolomite sprint.......... Just in case you just bought a BMW 2002. Truly an awesome car for it's time, I had three in succesion in the late 70s early to mid 80s. Yellow, red and finally green all gearshift overdrive models. Learned very quickly to take care in the wet especially transiting the roads across Salisbury plain
wow what extras: vinyl roof...a "sprint" badge!! what we settled for back then... my brother had one, a shame that he always had the bonnet open... :-( 4:11 no advantage as explained above. 1800 quid is about 21 grand in today's cash :-0 I bet the beemer held its value.
The cars and the theme of Thames TV makes me so nostalgic for old British tv series like The Saint, The Persuaders, Department S, The Baron, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), The Champions etc. etc.
The Dolomite sprint was the world's first 16 valve production car. They were one of the first to introduce "overdrive" too. Which is nothing more than fifth gear really. Lol. It was a quick car for its time. I'd love a mint example today. More for nostalgia than anything. Nothing beats a bit of nostalgia, being able to relive your childhood. Only this time from the driving seat instead of the back seat. Lol. 5 1/2 inch rims sounds hilarious today! Front spoiler to "keep it glued to the deck" 🤣 Yeeeeaaah right.
@@MrAdopado The vast majority of overdrives in European cars were invented and developed by Edgar de Normanville,[2] and manufactured by the English company Laycock Engineering (later GKN Laycock), at its Little London Road site in Sheffield. The system devised by de Normanville was adopted and manufactured by Laycock after his chance meeting with a Laycock Products Engineer. De Normanville overdrives were found in vehicles manufactured by Standard-Triumph, who were first, followed by Ford, BMC and British Leyland, Jaguar, Rootes Group and Volvo.
Britain made some really nice cars at one time but hopeless management with an adversarial union relationship was always a problem. Once the designs stopped being so desirable too, imports started looking very enticing.
Yep , I think you're spot on . In the 50s and 60s we made some very inovative cars but by the 70s it all went pear shaped . A mixture of management and unions to blame.
Plus Thatcher opening the doors to a free market economy with subsidies for foreign car makers to set up in the UK. Really killed the UK car industry and the unions. Which were her targets from the beginning. Any organised socialism was a threat to her.
The British have always been good at making engines. Cosworth made the best F1 engines throughout the 20th century. It's... the rest of the car that they always had trouble with.
My dad had one like this - same colour, the lot - in the 80s for a while. He didn't have it for too long as it went up in smoke, ironically outside a fire station. I can't remember the exact details, but I remember talk of the electrics causing it - presumably with a leaky fuel pipe in the mix.
I owned CWK590K for a few years. Purchased from a truck driver in Tile Hill who utterly cared for it. Totally reliable and bloody fast since it weighed only 900kg.
I think those ROVER 75's are way under valued at the moment. Buy as many as you can afford to store away. ( mint one owner full history cars with high spec & V6 manual + Leather will do best ) there will be plenty around, Bought & maintained by Older more careful owners. Maybe there could be some ONE OWNER Cars still out there in top Con'd ? All the Rover MG's are worth saving. their problem is Boy & girl racers have hammered and wrecked many of them. 75's , Buy the Very best you can find and ignore the price , Just pay top Whack for the Very best spec & colours, ALWAYS MANUAL ! & Full history . Probably not worth big money ever but will start to hold their price and rise enough to cover ownership. and be a good weekend show car, and use a tatty / rough one for daily use. then strip it's spares later when needed.
John Krols Had 3 75's back in the early 2000,s a mixed bag really considering they were all new company cars and disposal was at 4 years, real shame Rover is no more.
My Dad had a marina and maxi. Both were sound over all designs (esp maxi) but the marina needed (and got) a respray at 2 years old (yes I said 2 years). The maxi ended up leaving trail of blue smoke behind it at 2 years/15 000 miles. No interest from the dealers/leyland what so ever.. I was 16 at the time but I an still recall the never ending letter-writing in his study. He didn't look well. Brand new cars.
I totally agree Paul, if ever there was a future appreciating ' classic ' , it is the 75.I tried to persuade a friiend who bought a new one in 2003 with the ' good ' Diesel BMW engine , not to sell it earlier this year with only 35,000 miles , B.R green , tan leather , as new mint condition.I sold it on eBay for him and it made a ' paltry ' £1650.His wife had an influence although she has her own car, as it was ' getting old ' and they had the money to upgrade to a non-descript Nissan.I did try ... !.
those dolly sprint engines were great until you had to work on the exhaust manifold to downpipe bolts , it makes my back ache even thinking about it . im sure the car in this video is siting far to high , great armchair seats and a great dash though :)
I wish my BMW had a vinyl roof and a bri-nylon broadcloth interior . The Germans just don't understand finishing touches like 1970s British Leyland did!
I grew up loving tr7s as a kid and ended up with a few tr7s and fitted sprint engines in them as it was an easy stop. In 1989 I swapped a lancia beta spider which I got for 250 quid for an early dolimite sprint which went well, but then I lost reverse in the gearbox and then to my HORROR the steering became disconnected from the steering rack due to the small clamp that connects it together. Considering I used to thrash it around with all my mates in it we could have all been killed so I sold it. I would still love another today though if I could find one at the right price. British receding green and the sunburnt orange and the mauve are my fave colours.
I learnt how to drive in my mums dolly sprint in '75 and ended up buying it from her after burning out the clutch . A lovely wee car but tended to feel a bit odd on some roads in traffic , ie. the front felt like it couldn't make up its mind as to which way it wanted to go . I traded it in for a '68 MGB rag top in '77 . I loved the mg but man did I miss the reclining seats in the Triumph ? :)
It looked 'good' as did other Leyland products of that period, most notably the Stag, as it was styled in Italy. It was a commercial failure which contributed to the agonizing death of the British car industry.
Hairy hill! Tony, electric cars. 0 to 80 in 3 seconds. I'm being flippant but I remember the Dolomite Sprint. It really did pull. I thought it was Italian for 40 years until I watched this!
I always assumed that we Americans were behind the rest of the world because my father's VW Type 3 had mirrors on both sides, while the Fords and Chevys in our neighborhood only had one on the driver's side (the RH mirror wasn't required until the mid 1980s). But I've never seen a car anywhere with no outside mirrors at all. They must have sold a lot of those freaky front fender mirrors to the owners of these cars.
No they did not - although the 2.0 litre BMW E21 model (carbs only to begin with) was introduced in 1975, the 2.3 litre fuel injected 323i didn't arrive until 1979.
@@2Truth2you Eh? The E21 323i was introduced in 1979, not 1998. The E21 model ceased production in 1983, so it's rather unlikely they would have introduced a new engine for it 15 years later...
When I served my apprenticeship in the late 80's one of the mechanics had a Dolomite Sprint, he was a qualified rally driver and god could he make that thing go, handy that it had a brown interior 😂
Wäre man bei diesem Vergleichstest mit beiden Autos eine Holperstrecke gefahren, hätte man den Unterschied, Starrachse, Schräglenker Hinterachse (BMW) gemerkt. Der Test ist eine Lachnummer.👎👎👎👎😥😥😥😥 Viele Grüsse aus Germany
@@enedenedubedene4811 This test comes from a time when the British manufacturers were caught out by cars being imported that were better than their offerings, better built and better value for money. Rather than up their game they tried in vain to promote patriotism so I agree this test is a joke. The Sprint was a great quick little car but long term the BMW was the better ownership proposition due to a better quality product.
The dolomite had an ashtray in the drivers door.
I miss the 70’s.
So practical, enables one hand to be permanently fused to cigarette.
I miss the 70's too.
Between my dad and I we had a Triumph 1300, a Toledo, a 1500, a Dolomite and my first car a Herald 12/50. Never had any problems with any of them.
I had a British racing green Dolly for a couple of years in the mid 80's it proved to be reliable and apart from a small bit of rust here and there. all easily put right. it was an easy car to live with. comfy and nice to drive.
Very good heaters too, which is what counts !!
I've had a 1500HL Dolomite, a 1300 Toledo and a 2500 PI.
Wow, that Thames intro takes me back to my childhood.
A little mimosa yellow dolly was my first car, and I still own her to this day
The firm I worked for used the Sprint for a while, back in the day. Unmarked Police vehicle. Apparently they were brilliant in a straight line but described as ‘odd through the wiggly bits at speed’. They didn’t take the punishment that well either and too often bits broke. So they didn’t last on the fleet, not up to the task intended, wrong choice rather than ‘bad car.’
They were, though, excellent apparently for what the name said - a ‘Sprint’ - just not sustained high speed. Having said all that...when they were sold off the Officers who’d had to endure them at work were the first in the queue to buy them as private cars; they loved them. Great fun to drive except when pushed to the edge. I don’t recall many other cars that the advanced drivers - they got the quick stuff - wanted to spend their own money on. The only other ‘ex Job’ cars I remember them wanting for themselves were the Capri’s, the 3 litre and RS versions. And maybe an Avenger Tiger(?).
Cars were interesting back then, even though build quality was questionable by today’s standards.
I came here for the BMW but fell in love with that Triumph, looks so nice.
If only they still made programs like these. And cars too!
bro is everywhere. But yeah agree.
What a nice car this Dolomite was. When I was a child we were on vacation in GB and I saw this car - nice!! I liked it much more than the BMW. And this lasted until today. This said as a German.
To me, it looked like a car that would not of looked out of place in Eastern Europe.
They had the build quality and reliability of North Korean ships. This said as an Englishman.
@@Ludwig_Van_Astramax Is that a good thing or a bad one.
I had a Dolomite Sprint and no trouble. Build seemed fine to me, better than Ford's of the same era. Nippy car and I added twin webers and kn filter. Sounded great and a fun car.
When I was a child one of the biggest attractions of foreign travel for me was seeing all the different cars on the road in each place. I´ll never forget the shock and delight of seeing my first Ford Taunus coupe, for example - it had the face of a Mk, III Cortina but it had a beautiful fastback roof which we never saw in Britain.
Now you see pretty much the same Daewoos and Hyundais wherever you go...
My wife and I bought a Dolomite Sprint 2.0 litre from a fella in Norfolk. I thought the clutch was a bit heavy but the car absolutely flew. Turned out the chap was called real Triumph officianado and had fitted a competition clutch. It honestly shaved the 0-60 time down to about 7 seconds. There are a few cars I regret selling and the Sprint is definitely one of them.
Torque. Where did your figure come from?
@stephen morris with the BL built speedometer being cautiously optimistic of course...
@@keithw4920 Hits 60mph going 35mph, truly ahead of its time.
It had a heavier sprung pressure plate and this made it quicker.....thats some clutch component 🤣🤣
if the clutch is slipping yes it would improve the times
Fabulous quality video tape OB. Expensive and cumbersome in 1973!
You mean with the whacking great BBC green Goddess trucks parked up along half a mile of road?
pay attention, its THAMES TV@@hpt08
A mate of mine had a Dolomite Sprint in the early 80's and it was a real rocket ship. In fact it was a great little car.
Right I owned both cars .. I loved the wolf in sheep clothes of the dolomite. ..mine was like kaki old man brown .
People looking down at me standing in front of traffic lights. . I,m talking late 80's .. Wtf is that thing a lada?
Yeah right watch my rear lights. ..it was a rocket like you said .. but it also consumed fuel like a rocket ..
I loved that thing ,and hated it. .not reliable ,,standard UK car problem ...
@Pangolin Steak & Bat Gravy Seriously, his Dolly Sprint was superb and went like stink.
I worked on BMW 1600 2002 and TI and they were one of the best designed cars I have ever seen .
Great visibility great balance good power decent brakes for the time .And a wonderful little engine and drive line.
there is compression between this two cars !
- BMW full active suspension,
- 4 piston calliper brake and individual brake line , two line on each wheel
- only 2 valve per cylinder but 130 hp where as this 16 valve makes 127 hp on retarded carburettors !
- torque on BMW way higher due to injector
and ....
TheBigCyrus well the Messerschmitt had fuel injectors , spitfire had as you say retarded carburettors and we now who won that square up SPITFIRE and of course the dolomite won the production car racing for yrs kicked the ass of the bmw 😂
Then you got the e30!!....
My mate next door has a rare A Reg 323i....
E30 anything are getting serious money now!...
@kaferere Kugelfischer worked fine on tens of thousands of 504 TI's, they only had a expiration date of about 100k miles and weren't half the price of Bosch to change. Fair deal I think.
@kaferere Well, so much for superior German engineering. Still the peugeot people pay almost double for an Injection or TI, but then they only drive them on sunny weekends.
Funny how his jacket would be fashionable now.
I have a Honda paddock jacket which I bought back in 1979 and it still looks good, and only just still fits me.
I have kept it as a souvenir of my happy 1970's biking years. Its red and blue, just like the 250 S/Dream that
I owned at the time.
Yeah. He actually looks quite up to date. Even his hair is ok. Fashion goes around in circles. Lately I've noticed girls wearing stuff from the 80s.
It was hip back then as well
@Supper large magicans bunny rabbits D450UL Wow wasn't expecting that! 😉
@Supper large magicans bunny rabbits D450UL covid 19.. Tavistock
Fantastic!! I'm a Sprint nut and I have never seen this clip! thank you
Is *Sprint nut* an expresion same as *tuerca*? Good for car mechanics and designes?
I'm sorry the Dolomite was never sold in the United States. I would have liked to have one.
It was such a good looking car.
My current car (e46 bmw 320i) only beats it to 60 by .5 of second.
Must have been a crazy fast saloon in the 70s.
Luv and Peace.
The Sprint was gorgeous and still looks great today and Bodie had one in the early Professional episodes....so it must be good
Not a Ford Capri V6 then
@@evetsstephen2303 not in the very initial episodes, no.
@@evetsstephen2303 ford went big on product placement for that and the sweeney
It is lovely that he said one couldn't see the minor instruments with the wheel in the low position in the Dolly Sprint.... That is precisely why it was adjustable. Both the short and the tall could find a position allowing them to see all they needed to see.
It wasn't really (as he seemed to imply) about finding a position that suited the driver for style, pose or, "where I quite like my hands to be".
Triumph used to turn out some hot cars in those days. Not just the Dolly Sprint, but TR6 and GT6 mk3 too.
My Dad had a triumph said he was never done fixing at it. After 3 years he went and got himself a Toyota
Yup. The Dolomite was the last British car my dad ever owned.
@BestCanKeanRob2 "Yup/Yep" = "Yes"
That's sad.
Mine was white 1974 model, fast car never had a problem with the engine, still love the vinyl roofs today, did a trip form Cheshunt Hertfordshire to Widnes Cheshire 230 miles in 2h 30m.
Hmm... that's an average of 92mph - tricky without police livery
my god there is a hole or rust spot in the paint already - next to the Sprint badge
Yup
Just a stone chip, isn't it?
Genuine...
Ah, Yes sir .....and at no Extra cost!
It’s either a stone chip or something on the film. The Sprint was a ‘special edition’ and was therefore not stored in a field like many others.
A friend of mine had one of these back in the 80's; astoundingly good. No reliability problems. But it was assembled here not the U.K. so no surprises there.
It handled brilliantly in the shingle. Astoundingly fast over the Gentle Annie (Napier-Taihape road) even up to its ankles in snow when the road was closed.
He's from New Zealand in case anyone is wondering. Spen King commented that the NZ assembled Rover SD1s were better put together than the British ones
An adjustable steering column but no door mirrors on either side. Great stuff.
Mirrors are for nerds, man! 😎
The mirror manufacturer was probably on strike that week.
Oooh, I remember my burgandy coloured Dolly Sprint. Had a switch on top of gear lever called overdrive. Most comfortable car I ever drove, it fitted around you. And £1600 new, ffs. I would gladly give him 2 grand for that in the mint condition its in. Such a brilliant and nice looking car. 👍👍👍
A nice Dolomite Sprint will cost you between £15,000 and £25,000 these days!
@@howard81 phew!!
The interesting feature about the 16 valve motor is it was a single camshaft design so it gave a more compact cylinder head although it was probably not conducive to tuning valve timing wise.
I think cheap n very nasty design, make do and mend would be a better description😉
I was waiting for a race between them!
It sounds bloody glorious.
The Professionals ( TV show with Bodie & Doyle ) used a Dolomite-sprint for their car at first rather than a Capri...
gan9e they did but sadly had to move over to ford because the leyland cars kept breaking down on set.
Lane Hogger was actually because bl kept taking the cars back causing problems to filming schedules, Ford on the other hand couldn't have been more accommodating.
The film company was also Paying for the BL product, where Ford gave them cars for FREE. Product placement....
So what is the first car they are seen in...a TR7. Just watch the pilot episode.
Then later on sadly, the beautiful Escort RS that Doyle drove in the show got stolen!!
I had a dolomite sprint they were years ahead of their time not just the 2litre 16v engine the chassis and brakes were good fit a sporty cam kit bigger carbs and induction and they were superb
🤣🤣🤣🤣 Funny comment sir
@@richardrichard5409 u obviously know nothing about cars ive been lucky enough to own some real nice cars over the years im a genuine petrol head had my own motox race team too won mega championships so mate yours is the funny comment because ive forgot more about cars and bikes than u will ever know
Tilt and reach adjustable steering column in the early 70s, on a mass market car. Now that is ahead of its time.
My old man had a purple Sprint. Loved that car.
Interesting he didn't mention that even with 16v it remained simple because no dohc was required.
When the presenter looks like a gangster from Get Carter, you know your in the 70s 😁
The Dolomite Sprint was a great car to drive but the 16v design meant the cyclinder head was much wider than that in most cars and used to warp, causing a blown head gasket. When that happended, main dealers used to quote for a new cylinder head costing hundres of pounds, so being in the motor trade at the time, I used to buy them up for around £50 per time, spend £10 having the head skimmed, £10 on a simple head gasket and then get around £800 pounds resale. I loved them :)
My Dolomite was called " Bessie " Great little car, and handled brilliantly! Only issues were the fuel tank went rusty, because it sat inside the boot, the rubber gasket between the twin SUs became perished and therefore was letting too much air in the mixture, but God i loved that little car!👍🤪
Magenta - RUO 706N was mine, automatic and flew like nothing else!
My first car, as a 19 year old in 1982, was a 1974 BMW 2002 tii. Bought it for £825.
I reckon Triumph would've lasted a lot longer if it hadn't been swallowed up by BL. Great clips, more please!
I reckon most companies would have lasted a lot longer if they weren't bought by BL
@@RaspberryCai you are so right apart from Rover. If Triumph and Rover had merged they would have made magical cars.
Actually, Triumph was rescued from bankruptcy by Leyland Motors in 1961, but it all went horribly wrong when Leyland merged with BMC several years later. It did for Leyland's once world-beating commercial vehicle business too
@@chrisg6086 But a competent buyer was also a possibility. (BMW now own the Triumph car name but sadly do nothing with it).
@@martintaper7997 Indeed. Arguably, Leyland Motors was a competent buyer, had they not later fallen for the idea (and the external pressure) of snapping up the money pit of BMC. Their investment in Standard Triumph led to a respectable model range in the mid-1960s
I Loved the dollies dash
He reminds me of Alan Partridge. I'm surprised how potent the Dolomite was.
You clearly don't remember it then
I definitely think he must have been an inspiration for AP
Surely the entire purpose of having an adjustable steering wheel and column is so you can position it to not block the instruments? He’s pointing out the fault that the solution has removed.
Dolly all day for me. I remember the one my Grandad had, wood dash. Loved it.
In the seventies, a wood dash was the pinnacle of sophistication.
To me, it always looked like the kind of car a "Grandad" would buy. It may of been fast, and handled well
but I hated the styling. In fact the entire Austin Maurice range looked like Grandad mobiles. Except for
Rover, now they made some nice cars.
Bry-nylon broad cloth. Makes me excited just thinking about it.
that's funny !
Sounds like the name of a 70's Rock star, with a penchant for man made fibres, him and his band mates, Steve Sateen, and Viola Velvet 😁
Tony Bastable literally looks like he's been beamed in from a 2019 Pretty Green photo shoot. That jacket also wouldn't be out of place with a Fjall Raven logo on its sleeve. Absolutely mind-blowing how fashion repeats itself with subtle twists. Great clip too.
The sprint was a big deal when I was a lad I didn’t realise it had 130 Bhp though that’s good going even for today !
It had 127bhp from a 16 valve head with 2 x 1 3/4 SU Carburettors and the Alfa GTV had 133bhp wit a 2 valve head? Well Done Triumph!! Head gaskets blowing was the normal with this engine and so was the water pump seal which would burn off resulting in coolant entering the sump contaminating the oil and wasting the crank journal bearings and big ends? Well Dome Triumph? The Alfa DOHC was a flawless design achieving reliable horsepower and high mileages without any problems. F**K BL!!
@@giuseppegiacomoni7058 British cars were useless then apart from a few but the sprint was still a goer and probably rusted out much later than the alfas or Lancias !!
My Dad had a Sprint in racing green and although it was a great performance car, He carried a large bottle of water as there were recurring issues with its cooling system and the engine always overheated and the car was taken back to the dealers on numerous occasions for repair.
Tony Bastaple. Where is he now? A pretty good mathematician as I recall with a programme called, 'Figure it Out'. The Dolomite Sprint there is a bloomin' automatic though. No-doubt BL didn't make one available to Thames Television. They even have the camera angle such that while Tony is fiddling about with the adjustable steering column you cannot see the transmission tunnel and selector tray, even though he makes mention of manual with overdrive. My first car was my uncles mint '74 1850 with man/o/d in French blue with black interior. Superb, though lost in a race against a Sprint badly! Later got a '72 2.5PI man/o/d and that bloody flew!
Excellent cars i had all but the Sprint always very rare and expensive.
2500 'S ' was the one to have. i wish i had one now.
And it's nice to see old 1970's TV.
Yes, the 2500S was without doubt the most complete model: excellent handling, (only model with anti-roll bar fitted, though easy to fit to other models), best ride comfort and a good turn of power, though nothing like a well sorted PI where ultimate power was concerned. But the biggest setback for the S model was with the post '74 model's use of cheap Spanish steel which meant they rotted very quickly. All but gone now, while the Ziebarted Mk1 and early Mk2 models of 2000/2500 models survive, except for PI's which were always sought after by those who knew it was quick and a complete load of rubbish about the Lucas system being unreliable. It wasn't! It just required everything 'on-song', and when it was, 125mph and 0-60 in 8-secs WAS possible. Ask any retired Met officer where the best mechanics set them up. On five star 100-RON fuel with wind following, 130mph was possible in o/d top, but you'd probably quickly wear the engine being close to the 5,350rpm red-line!
britishcomposters,
Thanks, very interesting info.
Also presented Magpie.
I had a Sprint, used to love the Overdrive button on the gearknob, which gave you 2 extra gears. When accelerating in 3rd gear, you could just select the overdrive button and you had an extra gear for hard acceleration! The only problem with the Sprint was the engine needed further development, as head gaskets would blow, timing chains would break, and the radiator was not really upto the job. Triump tuning firms knew how to remedy these features, but British Leyland only spent £5 on the cars improvements from 73-80!
Read a bit of info recently that Janspeed quickly figured out that the original exhaust was junk and simply replacing it would bring them up to 142bhp instantly. Would love one of these now, brings back memories of my Mum's 1500HL she had when I was a kid.
Good old Triumph Dolly. Great car, when it would start.
The Sprint was an amazing car and well ahead of its time, I would love to have another one now having been a lucky owner in the late seventies. The single OHC 16V design (direct buckets on inlet and rockers to exhausts) won a design council award in 1973 and was British innovation at its best.
If only half of the head bolts hadn't been at an angle so they tried to move the head sideways as you tightened them. If only the water pump hadn't run dry if the water level in the radiator dropped marginally. My old man had an 1850. I was an expert at replacing the head gasket and the water pump and jackshaft (without removing the engine).
In the motor trade it was known as the Doloshite lol
The triumph dolomite sprint.......... Just in case you just bought a BMW 2002.
Truly an awesome car for it's time, I had three in succesion in the late 70s early to mid 80s. Yellow, red and finally green all gearshift overdrive models. Learned very quickly to take care in the wet especially transiting the roads across Salisbury plain
wow what extras: vinyl roof...a "sprint" badge!!
what we settled for back then...
my brother had one, a shame that he always had the bonnet open... :-(
4:11
no advantage as explained above.
1800 quid is about 21 grand in today's cash :-0
I bet the beemer held its value.
I like how he talks specs and engineering rather than dumbing it down and talking nonsense!
The cars and the theme of Thames TV makes me so nostalgic for old British tv series like The Saint, The Persuaders, Department S, The Baron, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), The Champions etc. etc.
The Dolomite sprint was the world's first 16 valve production car. They were one of the first to introduce "overdrive" too. Which is nothing more than fifth gear really. Lol. It was a quick car for its time. I'd love a mint example today. More for nostalgia than anything. Nothing beats a bit of nostalgia, being able to relive your childhood. Only this time from the driving seat instead of the back seat. Lol.
5 1/2 inch rims sounds hilarious today! Front spoiler to "keep it glued to the deck" 🤣 Yeeeeaaah right.
Cars with overdrive were available at two decades before the Dolomite Sprint.
@@MrAdopado I didn't say it was the first car to have it did I? They were one of the first to have it on a four door production car.
@@terra2805 You said it was "one of the first" to have overdrive ... I'm saying it wasn't "one of the first" to have overdrive. That is indisputable.
@@MrAdopado The vast majority of overdrives in European cars were invented and developed by Edgar de Normanville,[2] and manufactured by the English company Laycock Engineering (later GKN Laycock), at its Little London Road site in Sheffield. The system devised by de Normanville was adopted and manufactured by Laycock after his chance meeting with a Laycock Products Engineer. De Normanville overdrives were found in vehicles manufactured by Standard-Triumph, who were first, followed by Ford, BMC and British Leyland, Jaguar, Rootes Group and Volvo.
Britain made some really nice cars at one time but hopeless management with an adversarial union relationship was always a problem. Once the designs stopped being so desirable too, imports started looking very enticing.
Yep , I think you're spot on . In the 50s and 60s we made some very inovative cars but by the 70s it all went pear shaped . A mixture of management and unions to blame.
Plus Thatcher opening the doors to a free market economy with subsidies for foreign car makers to set up in the UK. Really killed the UK car industry and the unions. Which were her targets from the beginning. Any organised socialism was a threat to her.
The British have always been good at making engines. Cosworth made the best F1 engines throughout the 20th century. It's... the rest of the car that they always had trouble with.
Amazing that it lasted the duration of the filming without rusting apart.
Very original and hilarious to boot
@h Mishin
That's no way to talk about a BMW 😂
My dad had one like this - same colour, the lot - in the 80s for a while. He didn't have it for too long as it went up in smoke, ironically outside a fire station. I can't remember the exact details, but I remember talk of the electrics causing it - presumably with a leaky fuel pipe in the mix.
I owned CWK590K for a few years.
Purchased from a truck driver in Tile Hill who utterly cared for it.
Totally reliable and bloody fast since it weighed only 900kg.
Parts seen falling off this vehicle are of the finest British craftsmanship!
I owned a dolomite sprint way back , it was a good car but did not like hot days in traffic.
A lovely little car. We had the Triumph 2000
Great little fun cars to drive , and fast
0:09 that's one really steep hill right there 😂
Rake ánd reach adjustable steering in the 70's : impressive!
I cherish my Dolomite 1850HL from 1980 along with my Rover 75 V6 from 2000. Both lovely British designs and a joy forever.
I think those ROVER 75's are way under valued at the moment. Buy as many as you can afford to store away.
( mint one owner full history cars with high spec & V6 manual + Leather will do best )
there will be plenty around, Bought & maintained by Older more careful owners.
Maybe there could be some ONE OWNER Cars still out there in top Con'd ?
All the Rover MG's are worth saving. their problem is Boy & girl racers have hammered and wrecked many of them.
75's , Buy the Very best you can find and ignore the price , Just pay top Whack for the Very best spec & colours,
ALWAYS MANUAL ! & Full history .
Probably not worth big money ever but will start to hold their price and rise enough to cover ownership.
and be a good weekend show car, and use a tatty / rough one for daily use. then strip it's spares later when needed.
John Krols Had 3 75's back in the early 2000,s a mixed bag really considering they were all new company cars and disposal was at 4 years, real shame Rover is no more.
John Krols I
My Dad had a marina and maxi.
Both were sound over all designs (esp maxi) but the marina needed (and got) a respray at 2 years old (yes I said 2 years).
The maxi ended up leaving trail of blue smoke behind it at 2 years/15 000 miles. No interest from the dealers/leyland what so ever..
I was 16 at the time but I an still recall the never ending letter-writing in his study. He didn't look well.
Brand new cars.
I totally agree Paul, if ever there was a future appreciating ' classic ' , it is the 75.I tried to persuade a friiend who bought a new one in 2003 with the ' good ' Diesel BMW engine , not to sell it earlier this year with only 35,000 miles , B.R green , tan leather , as new mint condition.I sold it on eBay for him and it made a ' paltry ' £1650.His wife had an influence although she has her own car, as it was ' getting old ' and they had the money to upgrade to a non-descript Nissan.I did try ... !.
Dolomite utterly streets ahead in every respect !!
I’m loving this programme. Does anyone else wish we had a no nonsense Car series like this again?
those dolly sprint engines were great until you had to work on the exhaust manifold to downpipe bolts , it makes my back ache even thinking about it . im sure the car in this video is siting far to high , great armchair seats and a great dash though :)
Should have got a Spitfire, do all that while sitting on the front wheel!
I worked with a bloke with an 1850. Used to transport 5 big lads across London with no probs. Great acceleration for a 1980 car.
A mate Nearly rolled a second hand Dolomite in 1977 when he was test driving it. Scared the crap out of me. The handling was diabolical
When he lifted the bonnet he was checking the head gasket hadn't gone (again)!
i owned a 1973 BMW 2002 , you could go 100 mph like you were standing still, awesome car
They went like Stïnk !
J. Clarkson
@@edlancer350 what does that mean
Nice car the Triumph Dolomite.
I wish my BMW had a vinyl roof and a bri-nylon broadcloth interior . The Germans just don't understand finishing touches like 1970s British Leyland did!
Too true.
I grew up loving tr7s as a kid and ended up with a few tr7s and fitted sprint engines in them as it was an easy stop. In 1989 I swapped a lancia beta spider which I got for 250 quid for an early dolimite sprint which went well, but then I lost reverse in the gearbox and then to my HORROR the steering became disconnected from the steering rack due to the small clamp that connects it together. Considering I used to thrash it around with all my mates in it we could have all been killed so I sold it. I would still love another today though if I could find one at the right price. British receding green and the sunburnt orange and the mauve are my fave colours.
I learnt how to drive in my mums dolly sprint in '75 and ended up buying it from her after burning out the clutch . A lovely wee car but tended to feel a bit odd on some roads in traffic , ie. the front felt like it couldn't make up its mind as to which way it wanted to go . I traded it in for a '68 MGB rag top in '77 . I loved the mg but man did I miss the reclining seats in the Triumph ? :)
Loved the old Dolly Sprints!
I really like these Triumphs. Right, time to go look in the classic classifieds.
Tony has a real easy style, someone you can rely on
I like this presenter and a dam good car ...very popular in yellow
Its a short video because it was the only 5mins the car worked!
Lol, when he got in the Dolomite I was wondering would it start first time.
😂😂😂😂😂
pure Partridge.
buckleyboyben
Wrong marque.
Sadly, no string backs. For extra purchase
I’m not driving a Mini Metro, I’m not driving a Mini Metro, I’m not driving a Mini Metro!
bri-nylon broadcloth
Good old Tony Bastable! dx
Still a good looking car I would love to see full episodes of this program any chance 🙂
It looked 'good' as did other Leyland products of that period, most notably the Stag, as it was styled in Italy. It was a commercial failure which contributed to the agonizing death of the British car industry.
In the US we got all the gorgeous British 2 door sports cars, but never the beautiful 4 doors.
....Tony Bastable....bloody hell!!!!
Got to be said,Dolomite looks better than the BMW.
Beg to differ!
I agree, much nicer styling on the Dolomite.
I like the idea that it was Triumph who came up with the idea that four valves had more area than two valves.
That dolomite was 20 years ahead of its time.
Hairy hill! Tony, electric cars. 0 to 80 in 3 seconds. I'm being flippant but I remember the Dolomite Sprint. It really did pull. I thought it was Italian for 40 years until I watched this!
I always assumed that we Americans were behind the rest of the world because my father's VW Type 3 had mirrors on both sides, while the Fords and Chevys in our neighborhood only had one on the driver's side (the RH mirror wasn't required until the mid 1980s). But I've never seen a car anywhere with no outside mirrors at all. They must have sold a lot of those freaky front fender mirrors to the owners of these cars.
2 years later, triumph had the dolomite Sprint and BMW had the 323i
No they did not - although the 2.0 litre BMW E21 model (carbs only to begin with) was introduced in 1975, the 2.3 litre fuel injected 323i didn't arrive until 1979.
RIALAS
And the BMW was still slower 😂
@@TheRoybeasley 1998.
@@2Truth2you Eh? The E21 323i was introduced in 1979, not 1998. The E21 model ceased production in 1983, so it's rather unlikely they would have introduced a new engine for it 15 years later...
I always loved the Dolly Sprint, fun car!!
127bhp was a big deal back then and 16valves was a big innovation at the time.