Looking for a British classic convertible with 4 seats!
Discussion
CAPP0 said:
I remember when I was a kid there was a batty old dear down the road who had a saloon. In hindsight, she was probably permanently pootled. One day, by the local shop, she clipped another car and the front wing rolled back exactly like an old-fashioned sardine can!
I bought mine from an old chap who'd had it from new and clearly starting using his gate posts to guide himself into his drive! I restored it, ran it for a few years and sold it about 15 years ago - recently came onto the market as completely original and unrestored - must have done a good job! IroningMan said:
I had a Vitesse convertible as my only wheels for a few years; nice in town and for pottering down unclassified roads, but a complete rickshaw compared to a Stag.
A really good GTC is also a nice car, but the interior's not a patch on the Triumph.
The Vitesse is fun but agricultural - I went from a 1969 Mk 2 convertible to a 1970 Mercedes 250ce and thought I was George Jetson....A really good GTC is also a nice car, but the interior's not a patch on the Triumph.
I like the Vitesse, but have to agree that it is a relatively crude and old fashioned car. Mine came with a dynamo when new (that soon went west, as even a Lucas alternator is better than a Lucas dynamo). A good Stag feels classic and 70s ish but not so ancient that it becomes a bother.
As for head gasket poppage and such, any classic car can and will kersplode at various points. Anyone who buys any old car, even the most peachy example of a type, and expects it not to have snags and problems (sometimes big ones), is, I suggest, not being realistic. I try to keep my old heaps well maintained, and have many trouble free trips in them, but I still regard the best toolkit as a mobile phone and an AA card.
As for head gasket poppage and such, any classic car can and will kersplode at various points. Anyone who buys any old car, even the most peachy example of a type, and expects it not to have snags and problems (sometimes big ones), is, I suggest, not being realistic. I try to keep my old heaps well maintained, and have many trouble free trips in them, but I still regard the best toolkit as a mobile phone and an AA card.
NO SUCH THING! The only convertible Plus Twos are cut jobs done by blokes in sheds. Try it if you like it, but I would take some persuading on that. Also, the Plus Two is very much a plus two - the rear seats are OK for children, but adults would find them cramped. Stags are not ginormo in the back, but they are bearable.
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C616039
Isn't it a spider chassis so taking the roof off wouldn't make that much difference?
Isn't it a spider chassis so taking the roof off wouldn't make that much difference?
I am not a strict originalist, but I am not a fan of the Spyder chassis. Lotus are utterly, utterly, rubbish at many things (I say this as a Lotus fan), but chassis design is not one of them. The trick is to find a real Lotus chassis that has been galvanised or otherwise protected from falling to bits.
Stag. Stunning looking car with a pain in the arse of an engine. It will blow a head gasket at some point but then so will a Rover 75 1.8..
I know which I'd prefer and its not the Rover. (been there.)
Don't bother with Stags with the wrong engines in either, which people seem to think are worth the same or more than correct spec Stags. A Stag with a V8 Rover will be all over the road..
Get a Stag and enjoy it.
I know which I'd prefer and its not the Rover. (been there.)
Don't bother with Stags with the wrong engines in either, which people seem to think are worth the same or more than correct spec Stags. A Stag with a V8 Rover will be all over the road..
Get a Stag and enjoy it.
Stags with Rovers are, as far as I have seen, worth less than Stags with the correct engine. Fashion has changed, and people are now putting the proper engines back into cars that had been given Rovers. As you say, the Rover alters the car's weight and balance, being lighter than the Triumph unit.
varsas said:
I've had three Stags.
First one blew it's head gasket about a year after I bought it. Had the engine re-built.
Second one bought from a specialist. All arranged, phone call the day I was supposed to pick it up, it's not ready as it's blown a radiator hose. Turns out it'd blown it's head gasket, got my money back.
Third one had a rebuilt engine about 20 years/30k miles ago. Blew it's head gasket about 3 years after I bought it.
If further proof is needed that they do, indeed, still blow their heads the video of mine is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi0TlUwZK0A
Maybe I've been unlucky, but I keep hearing that all the problems have been solved and that any car you buy will be fine. It's almost as much of a cliche as their unreliability. For the avoidance of misunderstanding, I really like Stags and think the engine is lovely when it's working properly.
My suggestion:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rover-P6-open-top-unique...
(P6 V8 'convertible', allegedly factory. You'd need to budget for a roof)
That's interesting. Yours is the only other Stag that I've seen apart from my own with the timing info on a plaque on the air box.First one blew it's head gasket about a year after I bought it. Had the engine re-built.
Second one bought from a specialist. All arranged, phone call the day I was supposed to pick it up, it's not ready as it's blown a radiator hose. Turns out it'd blown it's head gasket, got my money back.
Third one had a rebuilt engine about 20 years/30k miles ago. Blew it's head gasket about 3 years after I bought it.
If further proof is needed that they do, indeed, still blow their heads the video of mine is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bi0TlUwZK0A
Maybe I've been unlucky, but I keep hearing that all the problems have been solved and that any car you buy will be fine. It's almost as much of a cliche as their unreliability. For the avoidance of misunderstanding, I really like Stags and think the engine is lovely when it's working properly.
My suggestion:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rover-P6-open-top-unique...
(P6 V8 'convertible', allegedly factory. You'd need to budget for a roof)
Edited by varsas on Friday 17th July 19:24
TR4man said:
That's interesting. Yours is the only other Stag that I've seen apart from my own with the timing info on a plaque on the air box.
Hmm...my car also has chromed cam covers (which I don't think are standard) so maybe it's part of a dealer-fit engine-bay dress up kit? Always reminded me of the plate you get on a Miura!Classic Chrome said:
1st post in 98 months!Top lurking!
And yes, Stag is the answer to the OPs's question.
Classic Chrome said:
And you say that because………? 
CAPP0 said:
Classic Chrome said:
And you say that because………? 
Gassing Station | Classic Cars and Yesterday's Heroes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff