arguably the best video about the gorgeous Staaaaaag by far - loved it. love the factual unbiased appraisal, good side, bad side. Indeed a good stag is one of the best british cars out there
@@Everyday2Exotic great video thanks! for 22 yrs now I've been totally in ❤ with my '72 MGB GT (motor highly tweaked), but now I really want a Stag, grrr! 😂
Love your review< I would go higher on reliability as the Stag was the only car that did not have any major issues on the final episode of the Grand Tour when they took one to Zimbabwe and Botswana. Also it is one of the top classic cars that has the best survivor rate in that out of the 26000 produced more than 10000 are still on the road with a great support network. Also i have a 71 MK1
We watched that, but filmed this long before the Grand Tour video came out! The support network is pretty good, though almost entirely UK based, and a lot of the major problems that were there when the cars were new have been addressed in the aftermarket. That said, some of the initial issues with the design of the engine are insurmountable making it always a little risky should problems start to develop. There are still quite a few of the small number of cars sold into the US on the road, but many have had the Rover V8 or a Chevrolet V6 engine swapped in.
Please keep the videos coming! I really enjoy the format and today I learned a lot of the Stag a car I have always admired and never noticed the fine details exposed in the video. Thank You
First car out of college was a brand new 1973 TR6 that I dreamed of for years. Finally got it and all my car dreams were realized and then came along the Stag. More upscale, bigger and for a bit more mature person (with a bit more money) but boy did I love it. Then came the problems but it never diminished my love for the design. To this day it's on my list of wish I'd have had one. Enjoy that beautiful, sorted out car. I'm jealous.
As a long-time owner of a Stag and admirer of the car when it was first introduced, i agree with many of your comments and feelings on the Stag. A properly sorted and maintained Stag is a joy to drive. I never tire of it. It actually lives up to its original remit as a sophisticated, comfortable touring car pretty well. The power steering effort can be reduced to improve the steering feel. One other small thing I would like to correct you on is that the front suspension is not double wishbone, but Macpherson strut. More in line with the 2000, 2500 range, not the Tr6. Anyway, I enjoyed your take on the car.
Great video; lots of interesting information on a car most people aren't familiar with. Love the commentary, drive and, especially, the production. I've always loved this car and have almost purchased one on several occasions. But I was too scared. Looked at several with other motors installed. I've always thought the perfect engine would have been the Rover/Buick 215 V8. Thanks for bringing this great car to the collection and for sharing it with us.
The Rover V8 is a common swap for the Stag due to engine failure and would have been a much better motor as far as reliability, along with probably being more attractive to a US market due to its Buick origins. At the time, Rover claimed they couldn't produce the engines fast enough to meet demand for other parts of British Leyland to be allowed to use it. In many ways, I suspect that it was more about interdepartmental competition, however. That said, it did find its way into some MGB-GTs in the 1970s exclusively for the UK market and we have a genuine MGB-GT V8 in the collection we will do an episode on at some point. Most of the companies that made up British Leyland had historically been competitors and were suddenly forced to work together, but the management had never truly been merged so the rivalries continued. This lead to a lot of duplication of efforts, with internally competing dealers networks, and designs continuing to be produced that competed within British Leyland rather than competing effectively with the rest of the world.
Possibly, though the original water pump works OK as long as there's no loss of coolant. An expansion tank definitely helps and the Mark 2 variant has one fitted as standard.
Greetings from the UK. Oregon is a beautiful state, though I haven't been there since 1979 ! I'd love to bring my '73 Stag on a visit. This a great review, it left me wondering whether your knitting was finished before the end of your trip.
With Amy, the knitting is never finished! So glad you liked our showcase, Oregon is such a beautiful place, we are lucky to be able to live here. That's amazing that you've been, and you have a Stag! What's the story behind yours? Have you run into any major issues with yours?
@@Everyday2Exotic OurStag has recently returned to the road for the forst time in almost 40 years, after a very long on-and-off restoration. Running well, but we have a list of minor fixes and adjustments to work through. Nothing major though!
This is the first video of yours that I have watched. Great job. Very impressed. A few nitpicky comments for you: first up, the Stag front suspension is nothing at all like a TR6. MacPherson struts. Lower control arm (singular) drag link. Also, you mentioned some differences between your car and earlier cars, some of the others might be of interest too. For instance… you pointed out that the name Triumph was only found on the rear bumper. But earlier cars had plate lights there with no Triumph nameplate. You mention the over boosted steering (true) and the small steering wheel. Did you know early cars had a bigger steering wheel? It’s annoying. Like driving a bus. 😂 All in all though, I’m really impressed with you video. Can’t wait to start watching more of them.
You are right. The front suspension is different but the rear is functionally the same as the TR6. I didn't know about the difference of the steering wheel or the plate lights. Admittedly I haven't had the opportunity to drive and have rarely seen any earlier Stags... There are a few others I know of in my state but other than the occasional British car show, I never see them. No problem about the nitpicky comments! They're definitely welcome and the comments help round out what we either missed or got wrong in the video! The goal for us is to share the cars and help inform people about them, their history, and what it is actually like to own and drive them. The more information we share the better!
Absolutely first class review and quality, this is the first I’ve seen of your work but, as Arnie would say, “I’ll be back”. I don’t know if you’re aware but overdrive is available to you in 3rd and 4th gear, so the order would be 1. 2. 3. 3OD, 4, 4OD. In essence giving you a six speed box. I have a ‘76 Stag in British Racing Green with automatic gearbox. I love driving mine too, and that V8 burble………..
Yes, it does have overdrive in both 3rd and 4th. I tend to not use it in third, however, largely because I am rarely cruising in 3rd in such a way that it makes sense to switch the overdrive on. Some of this may be habit from my other British cars that, if they have overdrive, generally have it in fourth only. If I'm in overdrive in third, it generally comes form me leaving the overdrive on when I downshift.
We had these back in the garages I used to work, driven just about everything, but the stag was different , best car to drive by far ,, good to work on , and we didn't have any problems because they were in for regular service, there are very easy mods that can be done and can be as reliable as any classic , lovely car and underestimated ,
They really are such great cars! Especially ones that have been maintained and had some of the V8 issues fixed. The ones that are seen out on the road are truly legendary for both surviving and for being maintained! Thanks so much for watching and sharing
Wow was checking a few TR6 videos and this popped up. I saw a few of these around SoCal over a long period, always a mystery. Great design review and the roof and chrome and the convertible top, that looked nice. Too bad the engine problem and marketing changing to match the Benz 7k checkup - ouch. Great car and love that sapphire!
The design is truly amazing and that V8 (when maintained or fixed) is truly in a class of its own. It's great that they are so many passionate owners keeping these amazing cars alive. We are lucky to have one here in the US!
Well done video. Not quite sure about the comment on the front suspension being the same as a TR6. Not a complaint just not sure it is the same. I think it’s better. It was a very modern car for its day.
Looks like your Stag is suffering from something that many of our Stag's do - incorrect front ride height due to the quality of the available parts. Chris Witor has the correct parts for you. Beautiful Stag.
Are you sure? It didn’t look that out of whack to me. What’s the right spec? Some distance from center of the wheel to the lower edge of the wheel arch?
Oh … one other thing … your hardtop does not have the center spring pin in the center of the back edge. It’s a good thing to delete if you ask me. But mentioning differences from stock configuration is a good idea IMO. Great video!
This car sounds like a driver's dream and a mechanic's nightmare. The story behind this car and the history of its design was really intriguing. Now I kind of want to do a bit more research into what was going on with car manufacture at that time.
*Great vid.* Better than Jay Leno's vids for sure. He would have been making snide comments about Lucas electrics, with the comments full of Anglo-phobe jibes. BTW, SAAB used Lucas and Girling brakes, a car brand Jay lauds. I have had countless cars using Lucas electrics and not one gave problems - it must be the air in the USA. Although car manufacturers like MG skimped in their electrical systems by not having alternators, batteries just big enough to cope so when the battery deteriorated over time you were in the problem area, not using relays for high amperage components and not using weather-proof connectors - all not the fault of Lucas. All this was easy to do in the factory and after market fixes.
Triumph one of the British car industries great what if's. I suppose the biggest what if would be ....... what if Triumph had been a German company and not British, BMW anyone? Again I have to say first class production value from the shoot to the edit.
Triumph's main buyer for sporty cars was the USA. V-8s sold at the time which are now out of fashion. Triumph could have fitted a tuned up straight six. The Stag's engine was effectively two Triumph slant-4 45 degree engines bolted together, but V-8s sold. SAAB needed a new engine for their 99 being put onto Triumph and their new design by Ricardo. The 45 degree slant-4 gave lower hood lines giving better aerodynamics. The Triumph slant-4 was used by SAAB in their 99 and 900 cars from 1969. SAAB were the first to use the engine three years before Triumph. SAAB started the turbo craze in 1978 fitting a turbo on the slant-4, using British engineers, getting far more horsepower out of the engine. It was still being made in China a few years ago, may still be manufactured. The high-mounted water pump was insisted upon by SAAB on the slant-4 for maintenance access, as were the angled head bolts. Because they had the engine backwards with the clutch at the front with the engine over the gearbox. So when the two slant-4 engines were made into a V-8 the water pump was also high. Not a problem if the top up water coolant bottle was located high, which in the Stag it foolishly was not - this is basic stuff a simple mechanic studies at tech' college. There is a U tube vid by the Stag Owners Club that runs for about 25 mins. On it are some of the designers of the car and engine, who highlight the easily preventable faults. The prototype engines never had cooling problems after many miles of harsh testing as they got a German company to make special cylinder head gaskets for them. The buying dept penny pinched buying cheaper gaskets from other manufacturers which never had the compression of the German company - oops. The head manufacturing was subbed out to two companies. One company changed the water gallery sizes without telling Triumph, starving the head of cooling water. So if you had an engine with two bad heads you had a disaster awaiting. One with two good heads then you have a star. Some engines from 1970 went like dreams, so now we know why. The Rover V-8 engine was considered with the designers saying they would have to lengthen the engine bay by four inches. Not a problem to do at the design stage. But Rover said they could not supply the V-8 engines as they never had enough manufacturing capacity, needing capacity for the upcoming Rover SD-1. All the problems of the Stag engine were rectified by simple after market solutions. Mainly the many cooling system fixes available inc' electric cooling fans, superior head gaskets, high quality timing chains, electronic ignition and high quality synthetic oils. Simple fixes in themselves which should have been in the original 1970 cars making the car a well sold gem as the problems were primarily with only the engine, the rest of it was superb. The simple after market fixes make the Stag one of the most reliable classic cars today. The best bodies were made at Liverpool by a lot of ex marine industry aritsans made redundant as ships were becoming massive so few of them around, meaning they were not needed. These men hated car manufacturing lowering themselves to wok in such a low skill industry which was not a part of the city's mainly marine based manufacturing culture. When they did things it was done right paying attention to water ingress as stopping water getting in was second nature to men who worked on ships. They did all, including the interior and electrics, then the body was trucked 100 miles to Coventry where the two suspension/engine sub-frames were bolted on underneath. The smaller sub-frames could have been shipped up to Liverpool having many in one truck, but never mind. When the Stag's body manufacturing moved to inland Coventry, as space was needed in Liverpool to built the TR7, the quality went down.
I really like the cars you have, please find either a citroen DS or better CX and give yourhonest opinion, amazing cars but hard to own, but REALLY amazing, especially the CX series2 with turbo. Betrer ride you only find in a bentley or Rolls
We have two Citroens in the collection but neither of them is a DS or CX, so filming one would require either buying one or borrowing one from another owner who is amenable, which is something we haven't done yet but have discussed doing some time in the future. The two Citroens we have are a Traction Avant and a 2CV, both of which are significant cars in the history of the automobile and would be worth doing an episode on. I'm hoping to get to one of them this season!
What a great video, your stag looks just like the one that i own. Have been a owner for 34 years, even took it with me to Australia from the UK. It was a shame that BL did not put the Rover V8 in the Stag. I think if they had done that the Stag would have been a success. The Stag V8 engine killed the car. Silly thing is BL had the Rover V8 which they used in the Rover 3500 and later in the SD1.
Sorry … I keep hogging your comments. I haven’t owned my Stag for a full year yet. And the only time I took off the hard top … I left the doors closed. Those dang window frames got in the way and made it super awkward. Feel kinda stupid now after watching you remove it with the doors open. Duh. 😂
Three litre V8...Ferrari had one also. Too bad the Ferrari engine could not have been adapted/adopted. Somewhat like the Merlin engine being adapted to the P51 Mustang to make it the legend it became.
They are pretty different designs... The Ferrari 308 GTB we did an episode on earlier is the more or less contemporary Ferrari 3.0L V8. It's much more reliable but fairly complex compared to the Triumph engine. A big part of why Triumph went this way. which I think we ended up cutting from the final video due to length, is due to Triumph trying to standardize their engine platforms, having developed the engine family that ended up being in the Stag as a modular system, where it could be a V8 or a 4 cylinder as used in the Triumph TR7, Dolomite, and others in the 1970s, including in a Saab, which is where some of the design issues also came from. The V8 variant was only used in the Stag, but the problems weren't necessarily unique to the V8 and some of them were also shared with the 4 cylinder cars.
Would have been a real winner if there had not been so much BL inter-divisional politics and obstinacy that prevented the Rover 3.5 V8 from being fitted. Or if not, fitting a high mount radiator header tank with a low coolant warning lamp to prevent overheating. And it would have helped to get ALL the casting sand out of the block coolant passages.
It would have been nice to actually hear the engine without all the ridiculous cartoon sound effects and constant “music”. Who did the editing on this, very annoying to watch.
Just a great video. Watched it a while ago. Just watched it again.
Nice job guys.
Thank you.
I’ve owned a late 1977 Stag…. To this day, it’s still the most beautiful car I’ve driven
An exceptionally good video of the essence of what a Stag really is. And what a lovely example your car is too.
Thank you so much! It really is a pretty car!
What a good review. I've had a '73 Stag for 30 years and i think you've assessed it very well. Well done.
Thank you! Glad you feel we did it justice!
arguably the best video about the gorgeous Staaaaaag by far - loved it. love the factual unbiased appraisal, good side, bad side. Indeed a good stag is one of the best british cars out there
Thanks! We love our Staaaaaaag, flaws and all.
Wow, a fabulous advert for the Stag, I have owned mine since 1994 and your video made me want to drive it right now. Good work folks, subscribed
Oh thanks! It’s a beautiful car. Go drive yours now!
My very amateur attempt from 4 years ago ua-cam.com/video/jF-C2Z-84Vg/v-deo.htmlfeature=shared
@@Everyday2Exotic great video thanks! for 22 yrs now I've been totally in ❤ with my '72 MGB GT (motor highly tweaked), but now I really want a Stag, grrr! 😂
Love your review< I would go higher on reliability as the Stag was the only car that did not have any major issues on the final episode of the Grand Tour when they took one to Zimbabwe and Botswana. Also it is one of the top classic cars that has the best survivor rate in that out of the 26000 produced more than 10000 are still on the road with a great support network. Also i have a 71 MK1
We watched that, but filmed this long before the Grand Tour video came out! The support network is pretty good, though almost entirely UK based, and a lot of the major problems that were there when the cars were new have been addressed in the aftermarket. That said, some of the initial issues with the design of the engine are insurmountable making it always a little risky should problems start to develop. There are still quite a few of the small number of cars sold into the US on the road, but many have had the Rover V8 or a Chevrolet V6 engine swapped in.
Please keep the videos coming!
I really enjoy the format and today I learned a lot of the Stag a car I have always admired and never noticed the fine details exposed in the video.
Thank You
Beautiful car , a car I always wanted but could never afford one at the time , very envious, great video.
First car out of college was a brand new 1973 TR6 that I dreamed of for years. Finally got it and all my car dreams were realized and then came along the Stag. More upscale, bigger and for a bit more mature person (with a bit more money) but boy did I love it. Then came the problems but it never diminished my love for the design. To this day it's on my list of wish I'd have had one. Enjoy that beautiful, sorted out car. I'm jealous.
The TR6 is a beautiful car too! We do enjoy the Stag quite a lot!
am I correct in thinking that the overdrive works on 3rd and 4th? So you have 3rd-and-a-half gear
You are correct! The overdrive does work on 3rd and 4th.
As a long-time owner of a Stag and admirer of the car when it was first introduced, i agree with many of your comments and feelings on the Stag. A properly sorted and maintained Stag is a joy to drive. I never tire of it. It actually lives up to its original remit as a sophisticated, comfortable touring car pretty well.
The power steering effort can be reduced to improve the steering feel.
One other small thing I would like to correct you on is that the front suspension is not double wishbone, but Macpherson strut. More in line with the 2000, 2500 range, not the Tr6.
Anyway, I enjoyed your take on the car.
Glad you enjoyed! The car is a real treat to drive!
Great review. I'm a big Triumph fan.
Wow, what a picturesque drive! Keep making videos… we’ll keep watching
Thanks! Would be hard to find a prettier state to drive in.
Great video; lots of interesting information on a car most people aren't familiar with. Love the commentary, drive and, especially, the production. I've always loved this car and have almost purchased one on several occasions. But I was too scared. Looked at several with other motors installed. I've always thought the perfect engine would have been the Rover/Buick 215 V8. Thanks for bringing this great car to the collection and for sharing it with us.
Thanks for watching. It’s a beautiful car… but that reliability is not ideal!
The Rover V8 is a common swap for the Stag due to engine failure and would have been a much better motor as far as reliability, along with probably being more attractive to a US market due to its Buick origins. At the time, Rover claimed they couldn't produce the engines fast enough to meet demand for other parts of British Leyland to be allowed to use it. In many ways, I suspect that it was more about interdepartmental competition, however. That said, it did find its way into some MGB-GTs in the 1970s exclusively for the UK market and we have a genuine MGB-GT V8 in the collection we will do an episode on at some point. Most of the companies that made up British Leyland had historically been competitors and were suddenly forced to work together, but the management had never truly been merged so the rivalries continued. This lead to a lot of duplication of efforts, with internally competing dealers networks, and designs continuing to be produced that competed within British Leyland rather than competing effectively with the rest of the world.
would a Davies Craig electric water pump mounted lower down help?
Possibly, though the original water pump works OK as long as there's no loss of coolant. An expansion tank definitely helps and the Mark 2 variant has one fitted as standard.
Greetings from the UK. Oregon is a beautiful state, though I haven't been there since 1979 ! I'd love to bring my '73 Stag on a visit. This a great review, it left me wondering whether your knitting was finished before the end of your trip.
With Amy, the knitting is never finished! So glad you liked our showcase, Oregon is such a beautiful place, we are lucky to be able to live here. That's amazing that you've been, and you have a Stag! What's the story behind yours? Have you run into any major issues with yours?
@@Everyday2Exotic OurStag has recently returned to the road for the forst time in almost 40 years, after a very long on-and-off restoration. Running well, but we have a list of minor fixes and adjustments to work through. Nothing major though!
This is the first video of yours that I have watched. Great job. Very impressed.
A few nitpicky comments for you:
first up, the Stag front suspension is nothing at all like a TR6. MacPherson struts. Lower control arm (singular) drag link.
Also, you mentioned some differences between your car and earlier cars, some of the others might be of interest too. For instance… you pointed out that the name Triumph was only found on the rear bumper. But earlier cars had plate lights there with no Triumph nameplate. You mention the over boosted steering (true) and the small steering wheel. Did you know early cars had a bigger steering wheel? It’s annoying. Like driving a bus. 😂
All in all though, I’m really impressed with you video. Can’t wait to start watching more of them.
You are right. The front suspension is different but the rear is functionally the same as the TR6. I didn't know about the difference of the steering wheel or the plate lights. Admittedly I haven't had the opportunity to drive and have rarely seen any earlier Stags... There are a few others I know of in my state but other than the occasional British car show, I never see them. No problem about the nitpicky comments! They're definitely welcome and the comments help round out what we either missed or got wrong in the video! The goal for us is to share the cars and help inform people about them, their history, and what it is actually like to own and drive them. The more information we share the better!
Absolutely first class review and quality, this is the first I’ve seen of your work but, as Arnie would say, “I’ll be back”.
I don’t know if you’re aware but overdrive is available to you in 3rd and 4th gear, so the order would be 1. 2. 3. 3OD, 4, 4OD. In essence giving you a six speed box.
I have a ‘76 Stag in British Racing Green with automatic gearbox. I love driving mine too, and that V8 burble………..
Thanks! We’ve got some fun cars coming up! British Racing Green is gorgeous. I bet the ‘76 looks beautiful!
Yes, it does have overdrive in both 3rd and 4th. I tend to not use it in third, however, largely because I am rarely cruising in 3rd in such a way that it makes sense to switch the overdrive on. Some of this may be habit from my other British cars that, if they have overdrive, generally have it in fourth only. If I'm in overdrive in third, it generally comes form me leaving the overdrive on when I downshift.
Good show guys!
The look of the Stag is cool and elegant.
It really is a classy car!
great work , interesting about the head bolts ,hmmm
That V8 definitely sounds great. Stoked for season 2.
It’s such an iconic sound! Glad you are enjoying, we’ll keep making episodes!
We had these back in the garages I used to work, driven just about everything, but the stag was different , best car to drive by far ,, good to work on , and we didn't have any problems because they were in for regular service, there are very easy mods that can be done and can be as reliable as any classic , lovely car and underestimated ,
They really are such great cars! Especially ones that have been maintained and had some of the V8 issues fixed. The ones that are seen out on the road are truly legendary for both surviving and for being maintained! Thanks so much for watching and sharing
Wow was checking a few TR6 videos and this popped up. I saw a few of these around SoCal over a long period, always a mystery. Great design review and the roof and chrome and the convertible top, that looked nice.
Too bad the engine problem and marketing changing to match the Benz 7k checkup - ouch.
Great car and love that sapphire!
Always loved the Stag, had not seen how the convertible top worked before pretty slick.
Isn’t it slick! Love that there are options to have the soft top for our ever changing Oregon weather too.
These cars are well loved in its native UK today and many still survive love the design and that V8 burble
The design is truly amazing and that V8 (when maintained or fixed) is truly in a class of its own. It's great that they are so many passionate owners keeping these amazing cars alive. We are lucky to have one here in the US!
There are many in Australia too
In the UK in the late 80s early 90s you could pick up a Stag for less than £1000, GT 6s for the same price
Well done video. Not quite sure about the comment on the front suspension being the same as a TR6. Not a complaint just not sure it is the same. I think it’s better. It was a very modern car for its day.
Beautiful example of Triumph Stag.
Looks like your Stag is suffering from something that many of our Stag's do - incorrect front ride height due to the quality of the available parts. Chris Witor has the correct parts for you. Beautiful Stag.
Are you sure? It didn’t look that out of whack to me. What’s the right spec? Some distance from center of the wheel to the lower edge of the wheel arch?
@@speedybuggy65 , it looks just a smidge high on the front. Consensus at SOC seems to be 14-14.5" from the wheel centerline to the wheel arch.
This is a very late reply, but thanks for commenting! We love our Stag!
Oh … one other thing … your hardtop does not have the center spring pin in the center of the back edge. It’s a good thing to delete if you ask me. But mentioning differences from stock configuration is a good idea IMO.
Great video!
Actually, it does have it. we didn't call it out in the removal process, but perhaps should have.
This car sounds like a driver's dream and a mechanic's nightmare. The story behind this car and the history of its design was really intriguing. Now I kind of want to do a bit more research into what was going on with car manufacture at that time.
@Rugbyman269 I feel like Alex's 4 in the score, is a revenge score for how the car acted on its ride to Oregon.
Nice wheels, BL must have had some left over for the last of the MGB special editions.
*Great vid.* Better than Jay Leno's vids for sure. He would have been making snide comments about Lucas electrics, with the comments full of Anglo-phobe jibes. BTW, SAAB used Lucas and Girling brakes, a car brand Jay lauds. I have had countless cars using Lucas electrics and not one gave problems - it must be the air in the USA.
Although car manufacturers like MG skimped in their electrical systems by not having alternators, batteries just big enough to cope so when the battery deteriorated over time you were in the problem area, not using relays for high amperage components and not using weather-proof connectors - all not the fault of Lucas. All this was easy to do in the factory and after market fixes.
Can’t be many in the US haha
Triumph one of the British car industries great what if's. I suppose the biggest what if would be ....... what if Triumph had been a German company and not British, BMW anyone? Again I have to say first class production value from the shoot to the edit.
Episode 2, in Season 2 will be E2ES2E2
It sounds like a protocol droid in Star Wars, too!
@@Everyday2Exotic Nice drone shots of the winery! Now you can name your droid. :)
nice video if you need a song pleace Grant greetings Tony drummer Grant
Triumph's main buyer for sporty cars was the USA. V-8s sold at the time which are now out of fashion. Triumph could have fitted a tuned up straight six. The Stag's engine was effectively two Triumph slant-4 45 degree engines bolted together, but V-8s sold.
SAAB needed a new engine for their 99 being put onto Triumph and their new design by Ricardo. The 45 degree slant-4 gave lower hood lines giving better aerodynamics. The Triumph slant-4 was used by SAAB in their 99 and 900 cars from 1969. SAAB were the first to use the engine three years before Triumph. SAAB started the turbo craze in 1978 fitting a turbo on the slant-4, using British engineers, getting far more horsepower out of the engine. It was still being made in China a few years ago, may still be manufactured.
The high-mounted water pump was insisted upon by SAAB on the slant-4 for maintenance access, as were the angled head bolts. Because they had the engine backwards with the clutch at the front with the engine over the gearbox. So when the two slant-4 engines were made into a V-8 the water pump was also high. Not a problem if the top up water coolant bottle was located high, which in the Stag it foolishly was not - this is basic stuff a simple mechanic studies at tech' college.
There is a U tube vid by the Stag Owners Club that runs for about 25 mins. On it are some of the designers of the car and engine, who highlight the easily preventable faults. The prototype engines never had cooling problems after many miles of harsh testing as they got a German company to make special cylinder head gaskets for them. The buying dept penny pinched buying cheaper gaskets from other manufacturers which never had the compression of the German company - oops. The head manufacturing was subbed out to two companies. One company changed the water gallery sizes without telling Triumph, starving the head of cooling water. So if you had an engine with two bad heads you had a disaster awaiting. One with two good heads then you have a star. Some engines from 1970 went like dreams, so now we know why.
The Rover V-8 engine was considered with the designers saying they would have to lengthen the engine bay by four inches. Not a problem to do at the design stage. But Rover said they could not supply the V-8 engines as they never had enough manufacturing capacity, needing capacity for the upcoming Rover SD-1.
All the problems of the Stag engine were rectified by simple after market solutions. Mainly the many cooling system fixes available inc' electric cooling fans, superior head gaskets, high quality timing chains, electronic ignition and high quality synthetic oils. Simple fixes in themselves which should have been in the original 1970 cars making the car a well sold gem as the problems were primarily with only the engine, the rest of it was superb. The simple after market fixes make the Stag one of the most reliable classic cars today.
The best bodies were made at Liverpool by a lot of ex marine industry aritsans made redundant as ships were becoming massive so few of them around, meaning they were not needed. These men hated car manufacturing lowering themselves to wok in such a low skill industry which was not a part of the city's mainly marine based manufacturing culture. When they did things it was done right paying attention to water ingress as stopping water getting in was second nature to men who worked on ships. They did all, including the interior and electrics, then the body was trucked 100 miles to Coventry where the two suspension/engine sub-frames were bolted on underneath. The smaller sub-frames could have been shipped up to Liverpool having many in one truck, but never mind. When the Stag's body manufacturing moved to inland Coventry, as space was needed in Liverpool to built the TR7, the quality went down.
I really like the cars you have, please find either a citroen DS or better CX and give yourhonest opinion, amazing cars but hard to own, but REALLY amazing, especially the CX series2 with turbo. Betrer ride you only find in a bentley or Rolls
There is definitely a Citroen in the collection. And someday we will make a video about it!
We have two Citroens in the collection but neither of them is a DS or CX, so filming one would require either buying one or borrowing one from another owner who is amenable, which is something we haven't done yet but have discussed doing some time in the future. The two Citroens we have are a Traction Avant and a 2CV, both of which are significant cars in the history of the automobile and would be worth doing an episode on. I'm hoping to get to one of them this season!
What a great video, your stag looks just like the one that i own. Have been a owner for 34 years, even took it with me to Australia from the UK. It was a shame that BL did not put the Rover V8 in the Stag. I think if they had done that the Stag would have been a success. The Stag V8 engine killed the car. Silly thing is BL had the Rover V8 which they used in the Rover 3500 and later in the SD1.
Sorry … I keep hogging your comments. I haven’t owned my Stag for a full year yet. And the only time I took off the hard top … I left the doors closed. Those dang window frames got in the way and made it super awkward.
Feel kinda stupid now after watching you remove it with the doors open.
Duh. 😂
Three litre V8...Ferrari had one also. Too bad the Ferrari engine could not have been adapted/adopted. Somewhat like the Merlin engine being adapted to the P51 Mustang to make it the legend it became.
They are pretty different designs... The Ferrari 308 GTB we did an episode on earlier is the more or less contemporary Ferrari 3.0L V8. It's much more reliable but fairly complex compared to the Triumph engine. A big part of why Triumph went this way. which I think we ended up cutting from the final video due to length, is due to Triumph trying to standardize their engine platforms, having developed the engine family that ended up being in the Stag as a modular system, where it could be a V8 or a 4 cylinder as used in the Triumph TR7, Dolomite, and others in the 1970s, including in a Saab, which is where some of the design issues also came from. The V8 variant was only used in the Stag, but the problems weren't necessarily unique to the V8 and some of them were also shared with the 4 cylinder cars.
If the roof is up, you can get quite a lot of wine in the hood well!
True, we could kick out all passengers if we need to fit more wine as well. 🤣
I hadn't thought of that, but that would absolutely be true!
Would have been a real winner if there had not been so much BL inter-divisional politics and obstinacy that prevented the Rover 3.5 V8 from being fitted. Or if not, fitting a high mount radiator header tank with a low coolant warning lamp to prevent overheating. And it would have helped to get ALL the casting sand out of the block coolant passages.
It would have been nice to actually hear the engine without all the ridiculous cartoon sound effects and constant “music”. Who did the editing on this, very annoying to watch.
Thanks for your input! And thanks for watching. Music is part of our storytelling. We understand it’s not for everyone.
pisses all over merc sl in looks twigy v angela mercel