Hello from Salisbury. Putting a 1500 Dolomite and auto Gearbox in a 13/60 Herald.

[Richeee]

Hello.   

Thank you for letting me join the forum.

Hopefully this uploads OK and is inthe right section as not to offend any one.

I have owned several Triumphs over the years. Started with a TR7 back in 85.  Had a 1500 spitfire that was pulled from a collapes garage and drove round the fields befor selling to spares guy from Bond club. Then another Tr7  in 2010 but now working on a Herald basket case that I aquired back in 2009 from my brother.   Who also owned it as a basket case for 10 years befor that. Neither of us have ever seen it together and bits have gone astray.  Also have a very rotten donor car, whick may actually not provide any useful bits but will assist as its complete and together and will aid as a model of how things fit.

Have recently completed a ground up / nut and bolt restoration of a series 2a landrover.    Then sold to recoup some funds and thought it was about time i got round to the Herald.

The idea is to fit a 1500 dolomite engine complete with Borg Warner 65 auto box.    Just cause i like autos. And getting older and i creak a bit. 

Will start a project thread to follow my efforts and how i have adapted the chassis but thought i would just upload if it works a couple of befor and after photos of the chassis. The photos seem to have come out in the wrong order but hopefully you will get the drift.

Richard

[Colin Lindsay]

That's going to be interesting! Keep us posted.

Back in the day I found a 1300 Dolomite with engine bay fire damage and discussed swapping the automatic box into a Spitfire, but it was beyond the skills of a lot of us in those days. I'll be very keen to see how it goes in a Herald.

 

[PeteH]

Back in the 80`s, SWMBO had a Vitesse, but following surgery lost the musculature to be able to use a Manual Gearbox. So it got sold. Only weeks later, there was a article in Courier, (i`m almost sure) about an auto box transplant, Think the donor was a 2000, in that instance?.

Can the "Courier" archive be "seached".? or is it the case of flogging through all the back issues?.

Pete

[Colin Lindsay]

The 'Turning Circle' article from 1989:

https://www.tssc.org.uk/tssc/uploaded_files/Turning Circle 14b - October 1989 - Vitesse.pdf

[Richeee]

Thank you very much for the article.

Appreciated.   Its all a learning curve and interesting to read how some one else approached the same thing.

 

Thanks again.

 

[PeteH]

On 18/02/2022 at 20:36, Colin Lindsay said:

The 'Turning Circle' article from 1989:

https://www.tssc.org.uk/tssc/uploaded_files/Turning Circle 14b - October 1989 - Vitesse.pdf

That could be the one I saw? but I thought it was slightly earlier?, and I don`t remember any suggestion of Chassis mod`s?. But it is in excess of 30 years ago?.

Pete

[TomL]

Hi Pete et al,

Yes, there were chassis alterations because of the auto-box's sump.  Consequent alterations to floorpans as well.

Tom

[PeteH]

Another question?. Was there one based on the Dolomite series Auto`s.
 

Pete

[TomL]

Not that I know of. The 1850/2-litre engine is difficult to fit in a Herald/Vitesse. The 1500 is the more logical choice. The four cylinder engine could be fitted further forward, possibly reducing the amount of chassis mods.

Tom

[Richeee]

Hi.  As you may see in my project thread,  that i stated after this introduction  , that i have the 1500 and borg warner 65, from a dolomite, temporarily in the altered chassis to see the clashs.  

I have now cut the bulkhead floor to fit the bulkhead down.  

Tbh have read that this would be difficult conversion and tried to choose the smallest combo.

The engine is on the mounts in the normal position.  Have to sort the gearbox mounts. But does not look to bad.