Christmas Day two years ago, I wrote a post about a 1971 Chevrolet-powered Triumph Stag. I thought wow, what a unicorn! Well, sometimes lightning strikes twice because today, for your reviewing enjoyment, I have another, similarly outfitted example, to cover. Hailing from Pequannock, New Jersey, this hubba-hubba Stag is available, here on eBay for an opening bid of $4,950.

Today’s find looks more stock, and less zoomy than the 2022 Christmas edition. Other than the twin tailpipes, there’s not much of an exterior clue as to what resides within. The seller has been in possession of this hardtop-equipped hotrod for two years and has had it refinished, “because the paint was cracked and faded on one side.”  Most importantly, the seller claims, ” There is no rust.” The included listing images show this Stag in hardtop mode but there is a folding top and the seller tells us, “I had the vinyl top up once when I first bought the car, it was pretty still but useable, I have not tried it since.”

The current seller’s time of possession has only been two years and that brief time has seen this Triumph accumulate only twenty miles. The shoe-horned V8 engine is a Chevrolet 350 CI of unknown provenance – the seller refers to it as a crate engine and it appears to be outfitted in mild form. It’s wearing an Edelbrock/Carter four-barrel carburetor but that’s all that’s visible from the go-fast department. There is a brief embedded video and the small block certainly sounds strong. The seller adds, “It starts, runs, and drives, sounds great with a twin exhaust, and it is QUITE fast and will burn rubber with little encouragement, it is at least double the horses of the stock motor. It’s an automatic, I do not know what transmission it is.” Regarding the transmission, a Turbo-Hydramatic 350 would be a likely suspect but I must admit, it’s just a WAG on my part.

The interior shows like a 54-year-old British sports car interior. It’s worn with torn upholstery, delaminated wood trim, and a split dashpad. The seller adds, “I also have a replacement dashboard overlay that needs to be installed.” The gear selector is unobtrusive and I was hoping that it would provide a clue as to what it’s connected to but it’s not giving up much. The seller further suggests, “Car can probably use some attention, I think some of the instruments are not hooked up, not sure if all the lights work…”

In existence for eight years, Triumph produced about 25K Stags and I’d posit that they are one of Triumph’s bigger hits. Of course, they don’t surface that often today so it’s nice to find one in what seems to be a sound condition – regardless of its powerplant. And that’s the topic I’d like to know more about – you know, items like underside/engine compartment modifications, suspension alterations, and the rear axle. The seller didn’t perform the swap, the previous owner took on that heavy lifting, so a thorough top-to-bottom review would be my suggestion for prospective bidders.