I love the way British roadsters handle, there is something about driving one that always puts a smile on your face. The one problem I’ve always had with them is the way they sound and accelerate. Now don’t get me wrong I’ve heard some great sounding British motors, but there is just something special about the sound of a V8. And well acceleration hasn’t ever been their strong point. While I would like to say that when Triumph developed their own V8 for the Stag that it solved both problems, but it didn’t really do much for the later. It did however give the car a great exhaust note and it did give it some pep. This listing that SSport70 found here on craigslist in Denison, Texas includes not one, but two Triumph Stags. These cars are getting quite difficult to find here in the States. Both look solid and the seller claims they are rust free, but admits one is missing its motor. If you could build one complete car without having to buy many additional parts, you could easily come out well on this deal!
If rust free not too bad a deal, but this could just double the headaches the new owner could have
I’ve always liked the design of the Stag. Good thing these are at the other end of the country though…this was when Triumph quality required owners to be good mechanics also…
I don’t know much about Stags, but I believe that I’m looking at almost $5000 in parts alone, what with wire wheels + hubs and the hard top. I’m not sure that I’d accept the seller’s claim of no rust – the 71 appears to have some on the rear body panel…
Great looking tail on this Michelotti design…
Good luck using a Stag V8, they were notoriously unreliable when new, a lot were replaced with Rover V8’s. I believe all the problems can be overcome, but you’ll need deep pockets.
I’d rather buy this one if it goes for anywhere near the current bid (no reserve):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251895348712
I’ll take a running Stag over a non-running one any day…I’ve had three and I doubt there will be a fourth (although a nice Stag is a thing of great driving!)
As the one-time buyer of a brand new Stag that made only 3,000 miles before the electrical system melted down, and with a blown engine at 5,000; I can assure you that two Stag bodies and one Stag engine are far from enough to get one running Stag. In 1970, I thought that V-8 would be cool and it did sound good. But it never looked good again. A small block Chevy conversion will work but you still have a Stag. Run away from every Stag you ever see!
The problems with the Stag were quite many – and I am a fan of the Triumph.
The first problem was that they were made by British Leyland. While the bodies were less prone to rust as they were fully dipped into tanks of paint to cover the entire body, the motors were next to impossible to get out without many scraped knuckles and heartache through the bonnet (hood) as they were installed from underneath.
The half-shafts in the rear are expensive to get but can be adapted from Datsun 180B or 200B models.
As for handling, the 2000 & 2500TC/PI/S models all handled better than the Stag but none had the looks.
When talking about the V8 motor – it was not a genuine V8 but, in reality, 2 four-cylinder blocks joined at the crank. They even had 2 different number of links in the timing chains. This is why you also find a number of Stags with the Triumph 6-cylinder motor put in for those who refused to drop the Rover V8 into it (which was really a 1961 Buick motor sold to Rover…)