Triumph Dolomite Sprint Emerges After Nearly 30 Years Off the Road

A Triumph Dolomite Sprint that has barely turned a wheel since 1997 has appeared for sale on eBay – and this looks like a wonderfully complete project for someone prepared to wake it up properly.

The 1978 Sprint has been with its current owner for 31 years and, remarkably, has covered just 73 miles since its last MoT test almost three decades ago.

It isn’t running, it needs rust repairs and the seller makes no attempt to pretend that a quick polish and fresh battery will put it back on the road.

But it is complete, largely together and still has that fabulous 2.0-litre 16-valve engine sitting under the bonnet.

For anyone looking for a Triumph Dolomite Sprint restoration project, there’s plenty here to get interested in.

Parked up in 1997

The story behind this Dolomite Sprint is perhaps its biggest attraction.

Its current owner bought the car in 1995.

Some work was carried out to get it through an MoT and it was then completely resprayed in its original colour before returning to regular use.

In 1997 it passed another MoT.

And then, after covering just 73 further miles, it was parked in a garage.

The owner’s attention had moved towards motorcycles and the Triumph gradually became one of those cars that was always going to be dealt with another day.

We’ve encountered that story more than a few times.

One year becomes five.

Five becomes ten.

Then one day you realise the car in the garage hasn’t been properly used for almost 30 years.

From garage find to driveway

For most of that time, the Sprint remained tucked away indoors.

According to the eBay description, it was occasionally started and driven in and out of its garage.

That changed a couple of years ago when the garage was lost and the Triumph had to be moved outside, where it has since been kept under cover on the driveway.

And now, after 31 years with the same owner, the decision has finally been made to let somebody else take it on.

It’s exactly the sort of long-term ownership story we love finding attached to an old car.

What makes a Dolomite Sprint special?

The Dolomite Sprint deserves rather more recognition than it sometimes gets.

Triumph launched the Sprint in 1973 as the high-performance version of the Dolomite, with a 1,998cc version of its slant-four engine topped by an ingenious 16-valve cylinder head.

Rather than using two camshafts, Triumph’s engineers found a clever way of operating all 16 valves with a single camshaft.

The result was 127bhp – serious performance for a compact four-door British saloon in the early 1970s.

Period performance figures put 0-60mph at around 8.4 seconds, while the distinctive GKN alloy wheels were another significant feature. The Sprint was the first mass-produced British saloon to have alloy wheels fitted as standard.

The cylinder-head design even won a British Design Council award in 1974.

It’s little wonder the Dolomite Sprint has become such an interesting part of British performance-car history.

The original fast family saloon?

There’s something else we particularly like about the Sprint.

Long before performance versions of ordinary family cars became an industry in their own right, Triumph was already doing the basic recipe rather well.

Four doors.

A comfortable, wood-trimmed interior.

Rear-wheel drive.

And enough performance under the bonnet to surprise rather more exotic machinery.

It wasn’t a stripped-out homologation special pretending to be a family saloon.

It really was a practical four-door car that happened to be properly quick.

Today we’d probably put it somewhere in the ancestry of the performance saloon.

Back in 1973, it must have seemed rather outrageous.

This one still has plenty of its Sprint identity

Importantly, the eBay car isn’t being sold as a dismantled restoration abandoned halfway through.

The seller specifically says that it is complete and hasn’t been stripped for parts.

It retains its Sundym tinted glass and five original alloy wheels.

There’s also what is described as the correct or original overdrive gearbox, while the engine is a factory Silver Seal replacement unit.

A nearly new stainless-steel exhaust is fitted too.

The original brown interior was replaced during the 1990s with the black interior you see today, which appears remarkably presentable considering how long the car has been laid up.

And that dashboard is still unmistakably Dolomite.

Lots of wood, lots of instruments and a wonderfully period driving environment waiting for somebody to bring the rest of the car back up to scratch.

Will the 16-valve engine run again?

The signs aren’t entirely discouraging.

The Sprint was reportedly last started approximately two years ago and is said to have run sweetly at that point.

It won’t start now because the starter motor or solenoid appears to have stuck.

However, the seller says the engine can be seen turning freely when the car is put in gear and pushed.

It also still holds coolant.

Obviously, after this length of time we’d be approaching the first proper start very carefully rather than simply freeing the starter and seeing what happens.

Fresh fuel, fluids and sensible checks first.

But knowing that the engine isn’t apparently seized is certainly preferable to discovering a completely immovable slant-four.

There’s restoration work waiting

This isn’t one of those adverts where the phrase “easy project” is doing some heroic heavy lifting.

The seller is refreshingly clear about what the Triumph needs.

A complete restoration is envisaged, including taking the paint back and giving the car another respray.

The vinyl roof needs replacing.

There is rust requiring repair, particularly around the bottom of the offside rear door and outer sill.

The brakes and clutch hydraulics will also need attention after such a long period standing, with failed seals specifically mentioned.

However, the seller says the car is by no means rotten and describes areas including the screen pillars and front wings as appearing very good.

There are no photographs underneath, so anyone seriously considering bidding would be wise to take up the invitation to inspect it properly.

The car is in Reading and the seller is happy for potential buyers to jack it up and have a look underneath.

We like that.

A Dolomite Sprint worth saving?

From the photographs, this looks like exactly the sort of restoration project that generates debate.

It isn’t a pristine survivor that would be spoiled by taking it apart.

Nor is it an empty shell with boxes of unidentified components scattered around three sheds.

It’s a complete old Triumph that was parked up, largely left alone and now needs somebody willing to work through it.

The faded red paint, tired vinyl roof and little areas of deterioration tell the story of its years in storage.

But then you open the driver’s door.

There’s the wood dashboard.

There’s the wonderfully 1970s black interior.

And under the bonnet sits that distinctive 16-valve Sprint engine.

You can immediately imagine what the finished car could become.

Almost 30 years since its last MoT

Perhaps the statistic that really brings the story home is those 73 miles.

The Sprint passed its last MoT in 1997.

It covered just 73 miles afterwards.

Think about how much has changed since then.

Yet this Dolomite was sitting in its garage, effectively waiting for someone to come back to it.

Cars like this are still sitting in garages all over the country. If you’ve got an old car that’s been off the road for years and the time has come to part with it, you can find out more about selling your classic car to UK Barn Finds.

Now, nearly three decades later, it finally has the opportunity to return to the road.

We hope somebody takes it on.

Fancy taking on a Triumph Dolomite Sprint?

The car is being sold by a friend of the long-term owner, who has known both him and the Sprint for decades.

It’s a seven-day eBay auction with no Buy It Now price, and the seller says the auction will be allowed to run to its conclusion.

Collection will require a trailer – this isn’t a car you’re going to drive home after winning.

If you want to see what else the seller currently has listed, you can find their eBay listings here:

https://ebay.us/Fu6Dmv

And if this particular project has put you in the mood for some 16-valve Triumph hunting, you can see the current selection of Triumph Dolomites for sale on eBay here:

https://ebay.us/FpfMVH

After 31 years with the same owner and almost 30 years effectively off the road, we’d love to see this one rescued.

The only question is: would you restore it completely, or try to preserve a little of that wonderfully sleepy garage-find character?