Re: Stag Questions (long)

[LorenzoDun@domain.elided]

My experience with a Stag as a daily driver is fairly recent.  I've been 
driving a Mik II as a daily driver for about a year and half after a 
fairly comprehensive mechanical rebuild (engine, transmission, 
suspension, radiator, rear end, drive shaft, exhaust system and lots of 
little things). 

>My biggest question is about winter-time.
>How does the stag handle in the snow?

 I don't know about the Stag in snow.  I live near Portland, Oregon and 
snow days are fairly scarce.  During the few days it did snow I drove my 
Mini and relied on FWD to help out.  However, given the Stag's handling 
in the rain (we do get a lot of that)  on slick surfaces I'd suggest real 
snow tires - it is pretty easy to get the rear end to lose traction 
accelerating out of a slow curve.   There's a painted crosswalk marking 
where I turn onto a main road and every rainy morning I have to be 
careful to keep from breaking traction when the car crosses the "slick" 
painted surface.  

The heating and defrosting aren't bad but are not up to the standards of 
more modern cars or similar vintage American cars.  Some of the blame for 
that is probably on old seals in the heating system that don't seal as 
well as they did when new.

>I've read thru the VTR site about the stag and it's nearly enough to scare
>one away from owning a stag.   Is stag ownership as messy as it sounds? 

 In a bit over 12,000 miles nothing big has gone wrong (after all that 
work nothing had better go wrong....or at least it better be something 
new).  Problems have included an alternator that went bad and some pesky 
oil leaks from the valve cover gaskets and somewhere else I have yet to 
really track down (but it looks like the line to the oil pressure gauge I 
added is a likely suspect...that'll teach me!)  Despite the rebuilt 
engine the car uses some oil and puffs out blue smoke every now and then. 
 

This would seem to bear out the conventional wisdom from the car 
magazines and books that a Stag can be pretty reliable transportation if 
well taken care of.  It's never left me stranded and there have only been 
a couple of times when it has been even hard to start. 

Having said that, the Stag isn't ideal as an all weather car.  At least 
mine isn't.  With the top down it is a pleasure.  With the top up it is a 
bit like riding around inside a drum set.  There's a lot of noise  from 
the soft top and even with the hard top the engine and road vibrations 
seem to set up resonances that can make driving tiring.  At least that's 
my experience  -  when I redid the suspension I used harder bushings in 
the rear and perhaps that's why my car seems fairly noisy and full of 
vibration.  Any comments from more experienced Stag owners?

>I would prefer a car with the original Triumph V8, not a transplant. 

Good idea. I would be very wary of transplants.  I owned a Stag with a 
Ford 289 V8 in it and that experience convinced me to get one with the 
original engine.  The concept wasn't bad but the execution was awful in 
the details.   There was always the odd part to adapt the non-standard 
engine to the chassis that gave me problems.  For example,  when the 
power steering rack went out I ordered a new one.  Simple, except that 
the Stag uses two different racks.  The custom made header pipes had been 
carefully sculpted around one type....and my replacement was the other.  
Off for a set of custom pipes again.  There are probably well engineered 
conversions out there but I don't think they are common.

As for how much they cost, the good news is that Stags are cheap compared 
to other cars with the same or lesser capabilities.  It's not the best 
idea to do what I did and buy a non-runner and get it fixed up.  This can 
be rewarding (one less Stag saved from the scrap heap, you know what's 
been done and where, etc.) but it definitely isn't financially rewarding. 
 I can go out and buy a car in as good condition as mine for about half 
of what I spent on fixing mine up.  This is true with most cars but it is 
really true with Stags because some parts are expensive and there isn't 
as much demand for them as for better known Triumphs.  Though it pains me 
to say it, you could probably find a REALLY nice Stag for between $5,000 
and $8,000.  It will need some work and some finishing touches but that 
will always be true!

Good luck with the search!  If you have small children there really isn't 
much out there that combines the classic look and feel with room for 4 as 
well as the Stag.  

Lorenzo Dunn