Dolomite Sprint Rear Axle

[NIck Myra]

I have been offered a complete rear axle from a Dolomite Sprint.
My Marina Differential is becoming noisy.

I've been told it can be made to fit to a Marina Based Roadster.

Is this possible, is it worth it, is there anything I should watch out for?

Any help would be appreciated.

[dogoncrazy]

Re: Dolomite Sprint Rear Axle

Talk to Lee Hunter as to what's involved, but from what I hear it's worth the peace of mind and they are becoming rarer.

[NIck Myra]

Re: Dolomite Sprint Rear Axle

Talk to Lee Hunter as to what's involved, but from what I hear it's worth the peace of mind and they are becoming rarer.

Thanks Alison?
But I have no idea who Lee Hunter is on this forum? Perhaps if he reads this he can post on this thread?

Anyone else?

[dogoncrazy]

Re: Dolomite Sprint Rear Axle

Nick
I have sent Lee an e mail asking him to respond.
Regards Alan

[stevejgreen]

Re: Dolomite Sprint Rear Axle

I have shared a document at http://kvisit.com/S1Mb2AQ

Whilst not specific to the Dolomite Sprint Axle, it gives some general guidance on Marina Axles and options available.

I also shared a Dolomite Sprint Workshop Manual (beware 20mb) that includes a section on servicing a Dolomite Sprint Axle http://kvisit.com/S372TAg

I hope these help.

[NIck Myra]

Re: Dolomite Sprint Rear Axle

Thanks Steve, as you know, I registered and I have read both those documents, they were a great help but.....

The Dolomite Sprint Axle looks to have larger diameter wheelstuds and I think I will need to change the suspension mounts and even the handbrake arrangement looks different. I did also see a pic somewhere of a Sprint Axle with disc brakes, that's not the standard drum!

I read that somewhere in the MOC there is a Marina Roadster Tech Advisor, is that Lee, or am I waiting to hear from or someone else?

[listerjp2]

Re: Dolomite Sprint Rear Axle

Hi Nick That will be me. Although I am not as conversant as say Steve or Lee in the area of the Dolomite rear end. I would definitely take your lead from them as they have both done it and have worn the tee-shirts. Good luck with your quest. Adrian.

[CosworthCabrioLee]

Re: Dolomite Sprint Rear Axle

Hi Nick sorry been away, yes you are correct the dolly axle will fit as its the same width and also the same pcd. Give me a call on 07720398794 and I can give you more info.

[NIck Myra]

Re: Dolomite Sprint Rear Axle

Hi Nick sorry been away, yes you are correct the dolly axle will fit as its the same width and also the same pcd. Give me a call on 07720398794 and I can give you more info.

Thanks for coming back to me Lee.

Don't mean to be awkward, but I'm not in a GMT time zone right now, should be back for Xmas, calls to UK mobiles will be very expensive meanwhile.
Can you give me relevant links to a write-up or reference document please? Was anything ever published in Pitstop?

[CosworthCabrioLee]

Re: Dolomite Sprint Rear Axle

No problems Nick I will type all info up put on here tomorrow night once on lap top, will also go into anti tramp bars and panard rod

[stevejgreen]

Re: Dolomite Sprint Rear Axle

Possibly some use, but if you cant see the axle itself, no use at all........
I am also, not currently GMT, and away from my reference books etc. but the weather is warmer than UK.

On the underside web of the differential housing, beneath all the dirt and paint, should be a number VAX??????. Often only lightly stamped and hardly legible.
The X gives an indication of age, 1, early, 2, Mid, 3, Late.
If you have an axle number ending with S, don't tell anyone, is one of the rare standard Limited Slip versions.
It is always possible that a Quaife LSD has been fitted to a standard axle, but I would expect the past owner to be very aware.

[stevejgreen]

Re: Dolomite Sprint Rear Axle

I left it for a while to give Lee a chance to do his writeup.

My thoughts and experience are that anti-tramp bars and panhard rods have their place but only if you plan to take a standard Marina based car to the next level with a bigger power plant. It's worth fitting all new suspension rubbers etc to tighten up the rear end, and then at a later date when welding in new engine and gearbox mounts, review the rear suspension.

A 3.45 Sprint axle will reduce your acceleration slightly but should improve top speed, but the biggest impact on speed it the brick like aerodynamics of a Roadster with it's wings trying to lift the car off the road and the power of the B Series engine.

I did do a write up on my Sprint axle install at http://www.fastmarinamagazine.com/in...hp&f=13&t=2860 I think I covered everything necessary. Later on that forum I went into fitting rear disc brakes from an MGF using both MGF calipers and discs, but using a custom caliper bracket.

Others have said that the transmission tunnel needs some modification, I needed none, nor did I modify any webs on the differential housing. Maybe I was lucky and the original build of my car was different from others. It was without doubt a close fit.

On balance I would say its a worthwhile mod. The parts for both the Marina and Sprint axle/differential are readily available, but the ratio change of about 5% feels like an overdrive, engine revs dropping appreciably at A-road speeds. The Sprint axle can readily take the power of a Zetec engine or more, so its future proof.

[NIck Myra]

Re: Dolomite Sprint Rear Axle

Thanks Steve, that's quite a write up and with the other stuff you shared it looks like a reasonably simple job.

I will have a close look at the transmission tunnel before I get too carried away.
From your pics it looks like the diff nose is offset, is that really the case? So I may only have to modify one side of the tunnel?

It may be some time before I get to take things apart but I can at least prepare the axle for installation.

I like the idea of tramp bars and perhaps a panhard rod but agree that it's something that can wait till and if I go for more power.

[stevejgreen]

Re: Dolomite Sprint Rear Axle

That's fine Nick, only too pleased to help even though most is away from the MOC forum. Most of the project was completed when it was pretty much text only and not editable.
If you decide to go for it, I would be interested to see if your findings are the same as mine.
Good luck.

[ggrum]

Re: Dolomite Sprint Rear Axle

Hi Nick,

The Dolly Sprint axle has a physically bigger diff than the Marina unit and you may need to 'flare' out the tunnel slightly at the axle end to give the necessary clearance. This is not too much of a problem with a LWB Roadster but I couldn't do it in my SWB because the seats are as far back as they can go and there is no room to widen the tunnel. The other option I considered was removing some of the webs on the diff casting but in the end decided against it and stuck with the Marina unit (which is also a bit noisy but has been for years and not getting any worse)