Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Rdover]

Maybe this section should become the Stag section

I've just laid my hands on a barn find P reg Triumph Stag hidden in a garage for 10 years less than 5 miles from my house.

Went to see it last night and despite a shonky paint job it is a complete car in good solid condition. It was the late owners pride and joy, owned from new and used regularly until it was put away for the last time due to ill health.

The main punt seems to be the engine. I'm told that if it turns over by hand twice (ie 720deg) it will start. If not, it is expensive. I think the brakes are ok so I could be lucky and have a nice classic convertible for very little money.

Current plan is to dry store it until the end of the summer and when the Alldays gets put away for the winter I'll take the Staaaag into the garage for a winter of sorting, cleaning and fettling.
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Richard

[Rick]

Good stuff, look forward to following progress with your "modern"

RJ
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Rick - Admin
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[Rdover]

[PAUL BEAUMONT]

But the posts here will be no where near as interesting, Richard!!

[Rdover]

[Rdover]

And the car is brought home and....... the engine is seized 😂

Now for the eternal stag choice; convert to Rover or rebuild the original?
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Richard

[badhuis]

Congratulations with your Stag!
As to what to do with the engine - it all depends on what your plans are in the future. Do you want to keep it, or sell in the foreseeable future?

A Stag with its original TV8 is a great combination and worth more money. A good TV8 is a lovely engine. But to get to that stage might be hard work. TV8s are notoriously hard to dismantle - the heads are stuck to the block. There are many frightening stories of owners trying to separate these.
If you want a driver for yourself asap and do not mind originality then maybe a cheap good RV8 might be an option. That would not be an option for me, I would rather throw money restoring the Triumph engine.

Dion
(received my Stag this week as well!)
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a car stops being fun when it becomes an investment

[Bitumen Boy]

[Ray White]

I'm with our Boy on this. Perhaps you could start by making an assessment of the engine. If the crank is scored or worn engine removal will be on the cards anyway. (You need to first disconnect the front cross member and steering rack to get the sump off.) It has been suggested to me that the way to un seize an engine is to leave diesel in the bores for a week or so?

I remember my father in law who worked for a BL garage saying that the Stag engine was more trouble than it was worth and that a Rover V8 would be the best bet. That was over 20 years ago. I understand that the problems are now better understood and the favourite option is to retain the original unit if possible.

There was a "wheeler Dealers" programme which tackled a Stag and a "Supergil" radiator from Tony Hart was fitted. These have four cores in line with zig zag fins. The original has three cores in a staggered configuration. When you remove the hoses, don't be surprised if no water come out - the passages get blocked completely sometimes!

[Rdover]

Long overdue update:

The engine was rusted to f**k, as were the sills, the rest of the car was very very tired and far from the 'original matching numbers' car I thought it was.

I sold it on, made a very small amount for my trouble and took the SO out for a curry and weekend away with the profit.
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Richard

[Rick]

Ah righty, perhaps a lucky escape ... did you read the memories of working at Triumph in the 1970s that I added in recently? ie http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/lifeattriumph.htm

RJ
_________________
Rick - Admin
Home:https://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk
Videos:https://www.youtube.com/user/oldclassiccarRJ/videos
OCC & classic car merchandise (Austin, Ford ++):
https://www.redbubble.com/people/OldClassicCar/shop

[Bitumen Boy]

[Peter_L]