RE: Triumph Stag: Spotted
Discussion
ttish thing to say. I like the Scimiters too.Raygun said:
bobtail4x4 said:
technically yes, the prototype was finished in 1978, the main run of production cars were claimed to be built in jan 1980, I doublt they could build that many in a month, so lots must have been built late 79.
But he couldn't of bought one in the 70s?
It surprises me so many auto stags were sold. The manual o/d gives you six gears and with plenty of torque makes for a great GT car.
With a wind deflector and tonneau over the rear seats it gives considerable luggage space as well ( my boot is normally full of spares on the basis that if I take it I won’t need it!!).
There’s an efi equipped stag pushing out about 250 bhp reliably...
With a wind deflector and tonneau over the rear seats it gives considerable luggage space as well ( my boot is normally full of spares on the basis that if I take it I won’t need it!!).
There’s an efi equipped stag pushing out about 250 bhp reliably...
I love Stags, had 4 back in the 80's. They weren't particularly fast, didn't handle that great, but driving a good one was like being in something that felt and sounded a lot more expensive than the £2-3k you could buy one for back then. I don't know how much it would cost for a full body/engine restoration on one now, but it should be a £20-30k car in todays inflated classic car market.
It costs about £40k-50k to get someone else to do it so not financially worthwhile but enthusiasts still do it.
I should have bought the 355 I was looking at but spent the money on having my first car restored.
Don’t know if that makes me a true petrolhead or an idiot - (idiot of course) but the car means a lot to me even though it is effectively trigger’s broom.
I should have bought the 355 I was looking at but spent the money on having my first car restored.
Don’t know if that makes me a true petrolhead or an idiot - (idiot of course) but the car means a lot to me even though it is effectively trigger’s broom.
I've had two Stags, one for a few years and then another (which I have now had for 10 years) when I discovered the first would never be really nice as it had too much wrong with it. We did a full restoration on mine a few years back, it was on the cover of Classic Cars after that.
Both had HGF...as long as you catch it in time and know someone with experience (getting more difficult). It's not expensive to fix, especially not in the context of a £16k car, and once fixed they should stay fixed if looked after. As with pretty much any classic it's the body you need to worry about. I did dyno my first one, it got just over 120bhp but we had to do the head gasket a few weeks later!
What I really like about the Stag is that it can do everything. It's a proper 'chrome and carbs' classic but drives really well. It's more than fast enough to keep up with traffic, and with electric windows, power steering etc it's really easy to drive and properly usable. I have used mine as an only car for months at a time. The handling is good enough to have a bit of fun down a nice country road, but it's still practical, I've had four adults in mine (but only with the hard top on or the soft top down, I also do have rear seatbelts). It's simple enough to do most things yourself and parts aren't an issue. As someone else said they even get 25+mpg, and obviously free tax (on most by now), pennies for insurance and they are still relatively cheap.
I've had lots of cars since buying my first Stag...classic and modern Jaguars, modern BMWs, classic Land Rovers, even a Rolls Royce but it's the Stag I'd never part with.
Both had HGF...as long as you catch it in time and know someone with experience (getting more difficult). It's not expensive to fix, especially not in the context of a £16k car, and once fixed they should stay fixed if looked after. As with pretty much any classic it's the body you need to worry about. I did dyno my first one, it got just over 120bhp but we had to do the head gasket a few weeks later!
What I really like about the Stag is that it can do everything. It's a proper 'chrome and carbs' classic but drives really well. It's more than fast enough to keep up with traffic, and with electric windows, power steering etc it's really easy to drive and properly usable. I have used mine as an only car for months at a time. The handling is good enough to have a bit of fun down a nice country road, but it's still practical, I've had four adults in mine (but only with the hard top on or the soft top down, I also do have rear seatbelts). It's simple enough to do most things yourself and parts aren't an issue. As someone else said they even get 25+mpg, and obviously free tax (on most by now), pennies for insurance and they are still relatively cheap.
I've had lots of cars since buying my first Stag...classic and modern Jaguars, modern BMWs, classic Land Rovers, even a Rolls Royce but it's the Stag I'd never part with.
Edited by varsas on Monday 22 October 13:10
blade7 said:
All of mine were manuals, but I never got the point of overdrive on 3rd, apart from playing exhaust tunes switching it in and out. One had stainless exhausts and sounded like a Trans Am 
It's nice when you are driving a bit harder when you never need 4th O/D, switch down to 3rd for the corners and then 3rd O/D for the straights when you've got back up to speed works well I've found...much easier than going between 3rd/4th...unless your gearbox is nicer than mine!It’s a James Bond car with an ejector seat switch in the gear lever- there is no more to understand.
When I first bought mine I used it a lot for work - I was the only person not to make money out of mileage claims.
I also remember a drive through the snake pass when my carb linkage was playing up. I was getting about 7mpg...
I was chased by a 205. When we came to the first bend and I changed down the overrun was interesting and the flame sufficient to convince the 205 that I was running something hotter than a poorly tuned v8!!!! He stayed behind me rather than overtake at any point. Probably waiting to see me blow up ! On the way back in a snow storm the handling was remarkably good for a rwd car.
When I first bought mine I used it a lot for work - I was the only person not to make money out of mileage claims.
I also remember a drive through the snake pass when my carb linkage was playing up. I was getting about 7mpg...
I was chased by a 205. When we came to the first bend and I changed down the overrun was interesting and the flame sufficient to convince the 205 that I was running something hotter than a poorly tuned v8!!!! He stayed behind me rather than overtake at any point. Probably waiting to see me blow up ! On the way back in a snow storm the handling was remarkably good for a rwd car.
Dr Interceptor said:
I love mine... 
It's a great looking car, same with the Sprint in my eyes. I'll never forget the inca yellow one we had and as a young lad the utter disgust at trading it for a Metro City X. Going from a interior with character and a cool wooden dash, velour seats and a natty exhaust note to this white goods car with an engine that made lots of whining noises was rough. The Sprint probably outlived the Metro as well. 
Raygun said:
Not no more, if it's 40 years old or more and historic on the log book you can put b&w number plates on it. Even before the said new rules came in I'd like to think it was NOT on the high priority list to enforce it by the police force.
Old style b&w number plates are still only legal on cars manufactured before 1 Jan 1973. It's not a moving goalpost. woody33 said:
My Dad arrived home with a brand new one in 1976. As a 7 yr old, a switch in the gear lever 'that made you go faster' was the subject of wonderment with my mates in school the next day.
a time when learning about cars might have come, in part, from leafing through somebody else's magazinesmaybe the occasional visit to the public library, which always had that particular scent as well as an air of practised silence
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