Listed here on eBay and parked in Winnipeg, Canada with a bid of $2,134.95 at the time of writing, is this 1973 Dolomite 1850HL. Have you ever seen a Dolomite before? This one was imported to New Zealand in May of ’73, then imported to Canada in January, 2001 and the current owner purchased in 2002. The engine was rebuilt in 2004 with 105K on it and now has an additional 10K put on it. Other maintenance history includes: gearbox rebuild and stainless exhaust in 2014, respray to factory original color, front end work, new carpet, headliner and refinished wood trim all done in 2006.
This model was Triumph’s answer to the compact performance-luxury cars like the BMW 2002 and Ford Cortina GXL. Lots of standard equipment was included: twin headlamps, a clock, full instrumentation, luxury seats and carpets, a heated rear window, and a cigar lighter. The car was capable of 100 mph (160 km/h), with 60 mph (97 km/h) coming up in just over 11 seconds.
What a beautiful car, it appears all the maintenance that is listed was done. Everything looks to be in order, neat and tidy. The interior is traditional Triumph, with a walnut veneer dash, TR6 type gauges and wood trim on the doors.
There aren’t many examples of these in North America for good reason, they were never sold on this side of the world. If you want one, here’s your chance. What a cool car!
Cheers,
Robert
That is a beautiful example of a great car, but the one you want is the 2 litre sprint, which was the first production 16 valve engine. They shared design of the brilliant engine with Saab and the block is largely the same as this 1850 (there was an 1850 sprint but it only has 8 valves) but the head is different obviously with a wider timing chain.
I put one of the 16 valve engines into a TR7, not an unusual upgrade and in my opinion better than the more common v8 upgrade, you don’t have to change any running gear (good idea to improve the brakes) just the engine and exhaust down pipe.
Dolomite sounds like a character from Dr. Who.
Love these. In my advancing years I have grown fond of roll-up windows after driving a TR3 for years. The Dolly pushes all the right buttons: quirky, razor-edge styling, rarely seen in the wild even in the Triumph crowd, quick enough to stay out of its own way.
Local club guy has one in burgundy and it is stunning. I agree the 2L “Sprint” version is the way to go but I wouldn’t kick this one out of bed.
This one looks terrific for an old Brit sedan that’s been around the world. In the Old Country these are seen an little pocket rocket sedans. I think Victor is right—the desired model is the Sprint, but I’m sure there would be buyers for this. Brand new exhaust, driveshaft, rebuilt engine…..
If I owned this I’d want to keep it, especially if it’s not going to bring a big pile of money in Winnipeg. How often do you see these in No America, especially in this condition?
If I really wanted to sell it I’d list it in the UK. I’m guessing that even with the shipping cost there would be people who would buy it. At the very least list it on Ebay UK first and see what happens. With that great set of photos it will sell.
I was looking at one in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, many moons ago. It had a weird little bonnet (hood) scoop on it, on looking at i could see a weber carb sitting in the middle, on closer inspection it had a V6 3l ford in it.
Anyone know what it takes to bring one in from canada?
My mum had a 1500HL when I was growing up. It was very well appointed with the wood dash, loads of gauges and comfy seats etc but was a bit of a pig to work on due to stupid design ideas like having to remove the carpet and unbolt the trans tunnel to remove the gearbox – great for getting oil on your seats!
These have a strange history, Triumph were making them as the FWD 1300 in the 60’s when most saloons were RWD, then in the 70’s as FWD caught on, they made it RWD with the Dolomite. No wonder BL went bust.