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Triumph Stag

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AndyD:
Hi,
Having the garage over-filled with bikes and projects, obvious thing is to consider buying an equally unreliable old car for a laugh.
No real reason as I have never really been very interested in cars but am considering a Triumph Stag for a bit of summer bimbling.
Anyone have any words of wisdom or warning before I begin my novice journey as a salesman's dream buyer.
Cheers,
Andy

Johnwebley:
Always prone to cooling issues,

A lot converted with Rover V8 motors,



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McCabe-Thiele (Ted):
My only word of warning is try before you buy the driving position is really odd with your feet straight out so your heels are on the floor with a high centre transmission tunnel- they were not well loved when they were new due to overheating / headgasket problems plus the bodywork has the dreaded standard period rot of the era. There are a lot out there with well hidden serious structual rust.

If you want  V8 grunt I would go for an MGB or even a SL depends on your budget. Many Stags had the Triumph V8 engine replaced with the Rover V8 a much stronger engine but not for the purists.

If it's hood down summer thrills the Mazda MX 5 is a great starting point. Sorry if it's a bit negative but I was in the trade when they were new & a hard to shift used vehicle - they look great and folk bought them on looks only to be disappointed during ownership.

K2-K6:
I quite like them, but appreciate the reputation they carry for engine cooling.

Actually a good design of engine needlessly compromised by owners running them with no antifreeze or coolant system corrosion inhibiting content.
They use a fine core radiator that easily clogs with silt from galvanic corrosion which then compromised the cooling capacity. It's very simple really and should never have happened if looked after properly.
Differential uses a crushable "fibre" spacer to set tolerance and can be vulnerable if not correctly assembled. Throttle on to throttle off on overrun gives a noisy diff during overun if not built correctly. Ok if set properly, but something to check for.

If test driven, get the owner to boot it about a bit, then stand it running and stationery after the run for a time to assess if coolant is at least capable.  Talk to them about how the cooling system has been maintained to see if they know anything realistic about it.

Nice car to rumble about in though, and should hold value for you if decent condition. 

Orcade-Ian:
As Ted says, definitely try before you commit - I've only driven one with the correct engine and two with Rover V8s - an impressive package but nothing like a modern car and you have to keep on top of maintenance - 50 year old technology.  There is a good owners club and you might be better off attending a show or two and talking to them - they might even know of a good one or accompany you to a viewing.
We had an MG RV8 for a while which was best described as a parts bin 'agricultural' muscle car - you needed muscle with no power steering!  At a show with the RV8 we were introduced to MX-5s - how did I ignore those cars until I was 70?  For top down fun, they take some beating and our NB Icon was bought for just over a tenth of the value of the MG.  Yes, they too rust for fun but there are still some fine examples to be had.

Ian

Some bits of info on my web site if you get bored.

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