1980 Triumph Dolomite Sprint

The Dolomite Sprint Series 4 offered was first registered in February 1980 and is presented ready for its next adventure after being thoroughly recommissioned by Ant and his team. It is finished in Inca Yellow, which is much more unusual than the Mimosa Yellow which the first batch of Sprints made were all painted in, as this is a late Series 4 example, the Sprint’s final incarnation.

Series 4s are considered more desirable and are definitely rarer, with only 834 produced in the model’s 7 year production run. Series 4s benefit from detailed improvements, most notably in having dual circuit brakes and a speedo calibrated in clearer 20mph increments. The drivers door mirror and rear fog light were also obligatory from 1st January 1st 1980, to meet new regulations.

This car was purchased for restoration by Ant after being dry stored for some years. The previous owner had spent over £18,000 on restoring it over a period of years but not quite finished the task. This original restoration work included fitting poly bushes to the entire suspension, grooved and slotted front discs and height adjustable rear suspension. The engine was rebuilt and modified for better breathing utilizes twin Weber 45 DCOE carburettors, and Ant reports that it certainly pulls extremely well, being significantly more responsive than a standard Sprint. It also has a stainless-steel sports exhaust system connected to the standard manifold, so sounds superb.

Ant and his team have sorted the brakes and fuel system where needed, fitting two new front springs and shock absorbers, and a high-torque starter motor. They have also restored the interior wood veneer which had, as is quite common on 1970s Triumphs, lifted away from base and gone cloudy. The luxurious interior ambience of these cars is an important part of their appeal and the black cloth interior trim on this car was otherwise in very good condition. Ant and his team have also fitted a new inner and outer sills on the driver’s side and repaired areas of damaged paintwork. There was no serious rust to fix other then the sill, just damage from the normal rigors of time and Ant feels that sills aside (which is common issue on these cars so knowing it’s been done to high standard is important) the shell has never needed any serious welding.

Ant Anstead’s reflections on this car:

"The Dolomite is a cool mixture of conservative styling and avant-garde technology which has now been largely forgotten outside of the circle of Triumph enthusiasts. That 16-valve, four-per cylinder head configuration has become the norm on performance cars so it’s cool to be reminded that Britain got there first and any car that’s successful in saloon car racing always has a certain cachet".

N.B. The image used in our catalogue is a library photo. There will be photographs of the actual car on our website shortly.