Triumph Dolomite 1300SE review - the rarest triumph to survive? Morris Leslie
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.พ. 2025
- Here we have a a super rare Triumph Dolomite 1300 SE, I do a full review and drive to find out what the rarest surviving Dolly is like.
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#triumphdolomite, #morrisleslie,
I think the Dolly is such a handsome car
I've seen this car in the metal. It is a 1500SE with the 1300 engine and metallic paint. The yellow one is long gone and the orange one was last seen in Coventry. This particular car previously bleonged to a gentleman by the name of Bill Shankland who passed on in May 2022. He also owned a Panther Rio.
The (eventual) Herald replacement was the FWD 1300, joined by the 1300TC. Next the 2 door Toledos came first, followed by the 4 doors. They were a 'simplified' 1300 with RWD. The proper replacement for the FWD 1300 was the FWD 1500, joined by the automatic and the TC, both in the extended body. The long body then got the RWD of the Toledo, uprated to take the 1850 engine. The FWD 1500 converted to RWD and was joined by a 1300 entry model and the 2 liter Sprint model. There were a number of special promotional trim packages and automatic and overdrive were phased in on 1500 models and above. This saga is complicated enough but for export and overseas builds there were other permutations like 1500 Toledos after the 2 doors were dropped and top trims filtering down the range from the OHC cars.
This all sounds clear as mud but I hope I cracked it ;)
I had a dolomite 1300, from 1980 to 1990, great car I did over 100,000 miles, the only problem with this model is the clutch, they are very difficult to fit, I had mine done, but the garage that did it said it was a nightmare to fit, they are hydraulic as well, body work was not that good to stop the rust
That gear stick gaiter looks like its made from a dead womble.
I had a 1850HL with overdrive in the 80s great car. You could use the overdrive in 3rd as well as 4th. I don't remember the carpets in mine being as plush as that 1300. lovely car.
BSM driving school used 1300's before Metros came out, probably because they are an easy car around town to drive. My Dad had a 1850 HL back in the day, great car I remember it well even though that was nearly 50 years ago.
Pity it didn't have the circular warning light cluster found on other triumph's
I had a beige Dolomite with a brown vinyl roof, a bit of a granddad's car for a 17 year old, and being a 17 year old I wrecked within a couple of years. And yes... I regret not looking after it.... but it was beige.
My very first car in 1987 was a dark green 1978 Dolomite 1300. It certainly taught me a lot about car repairs. I once managed to blow the rear differential during a particularly enthusiastic burnout - traction was not a strong point, and neither was power. The seats had a peculiar concrete like quality. Had very nice access to the gearbox by removing the ‘bell-housing’ under the gearlever, made dropping the gearbox really quite straightforward. All said and done, it had its charm, but I wouldn’t want to own one again 😅
This is a fun little survivor. I'm slightly surprised the 1300 SE didnt make it into production.
Triumph by then were dying but didnt know it.
Rhe gestation of the 1300/1500/Toledo/1500TC/Dolomite1300 and Dolomite 1500 was insane.
Massive, capital, straywgic decisions were being taken as if they were short-term tactical options. Switches from RWD to FWD and back to RWD.
Slightly different bodyahells representing entirely different model ranges.
Madness... Ultimately, the madness of the moribund corporation.
But... The Dolomite was a nice car. Everyone remembers the Sprint, qhich was rare and had a reputation for capricious and flighty reliability.
But the "cooking" versions made up the bulk of sales and they were nice, comfortable, pleasant cars.
There was a 1500 SE that made (very limited) production as a run out model. I think it was based on the lower-spec 1500.... single headlamps, no centre arm rest etc.
My impression was that the SE was a "use what's left in stores" model. It was not as plush as the 1500 HL.
The coffin for Triumph had already been prepared. 😢
My first car after passing my test was a brown Dolomite 1300. Lovely old thing, comfy, really tight turning circle, gear lever right there under your hand, and no overdrive of course on a standard car. As a new driver, it only had two rates of progress: 80mph or stop, but it stood up to everything I threw at it.
With (I think) 58bhp when new, the 1300 didn't exactly have a surfeit of power, so I can't imagine you'd have gone up many hills in overdrive top in the one shown here.
There's going to be quite a bit of rust under the Vinyl covering the C Pillars - There was on mine, the C Pillar outer skins needed replacing.
The spoiler is the one from the Sprint and 1850
With a wee 1300? Must huff & puff up hills!
Wow love them
It wasn't a low oil light. It was a low oil pressure light. When that came on while driving, your engine was doomed 😅😅😅. I know.
Lovely car!
Aways had a soft spot for the Dolly... they were quite rare cars over here, and only the Sprint made it onto the Italian market, but obviously (sadly) it didn't stand a chance against the bigger/faster/cheaper Alfa Romeo Alfetta...
Greetings from Italy.
When a British made engine of that era didn't leak oil, it didn't have any😂. Love your channel ❤
My Dad had a number of brand new Triumphs including 5 Dolomites. One of those was a 1500SE and I can confirm that the burr walnut dash and door cappings were standard as well as the deep pile carpets and chin spoiler from the 1850HL/Sprint models.
The Spitfire steel road wheels, radio and front seat belts were also standard along with the green tinted windows, unique black paintwork and silver SE striping.
It was a beautiful car and although replaced by a 1500HL,one of the last, the seating material and carpets were far superior in the SE and the dash and door cappings were of a higher quality.
I bought a new Triumph 1500 in 1973 the last year of the front drive versions, they switched to 1500 TC rear drive the same as the 1850 Dolomite.
My car was brown exterior and brown vinyl interior, wing mirrors not door mirrors
I seem to remember a limited edition Dolomite 1500 SE in the showroom where I worked It was quite a smart looking car in black colour and with silver stripes. Was this the final attempt to get what was the 1300SE launched?
Passed my test in a BSM Dolomite 1300. I don't remember it being sluggish..
Should get that sticking brake sorted out...
Interesting. There was a 1500HL and 1850HL which was a much better bet imo. They had full instrumentation inc. a rev counter and the distinctive segmented warning light cluster. I never had either, but did have the Dolomite Sprint 2.0 litre 16V which was a great car back in the day.
Audio cassettes were around from the mid sixties!
Nice looking motor but the driving experience seems underwhelming. I once owned a Giulia 1300, which should be in the same category. The Alfa was a truly fantastic cars to drive: Engine, gearbox, brakes, chassis, I liked everything about it. Hope you will ever get to test one of these!
Want one
Seems like it would have been a great runaround town car.
Triumph really had a hard time deciding which smaller engines would work. I think there was an earlier FWD 1300 Dolomite and a 1300 RWD Toledo ?
It’s a shame Leyland didn’t drop Austin and Morris and just keep Rover, MG and Triumph.
It's quite confusing how the evolution of this car went but it started off as a the FWD "1300". A restyle, which looked like the later Dolomite, additionally gave the FWD "1500". A "1500 TC" model was launced, which went to RWD.
A similar looking car to the 1500 was launched with the 1300 engine to become the RWD "Toledo", which had the boot styling of the earlier "1300". The bodyshell was then commonised so that all model becaime known as the Dolomite.
No doubt I've missed something.
I had a lot of triumphs in the 80s and early 90s. There is a lot of misconceptions regarding British cars and unreliability. The 1300 triumph engine is very reliable it doesn't have the big end weakness of the longer stroke 1500. With overdrive I am sure this could be a great car as most cars back then were under geared, its unfortunate the brakes were sticking probably due to lack of use as it would have been a great road test. The reason reliability is not alway good on these cars is the present parts quality.