Diversity is a good thing. Right?

K

KiwiRover

Active Member
I have just spent the day collecting my newest acquisition and it's not a Rover. (Sort of second cousin perhaps?) An early morning 1 hour flight down to Napier, followed by a 7 hour road trip home again. I'm a bit knackered now but i'll post some details and piccies tomorrow.
Clues: It's definitely a classic, it still falls under the BL banner and it had a mixed reputation for most of it's life. :wink:
 
My immediate thought was the same as Steve's, a Triumph Stag. Then again, it could be a rather rare and desirable P76 Targa Florio, in burnt Orange perhaps.. :?

Look forward to seeing the pics tomorrow KR :)

Ron.
 
Your P6 reputation is assured, Al! So we're just intrigued as to what has caught your eye (and wallet).

But please don't let it divert your attention from that fuel injection set up! I'm desperate to see the You Tube video of it running...

Chris
 
I live near Cowley works-and years ago my neighbours/friends parents worked at B.L-even they said the cars were rubbish-look at Marina/Ital, Allegro Ambassador,Princess. Maxi,--they were right :wink: Now owned by Germans-BMW making rubbish called MINI-not to be confused with Mini-as in real one 8)
 
Some good guesses there but the prize goes to JVY and Ron.




The sharp eyed out there might spot what drew me to this particular Stag... I do love somthing a bit quirky. :D
Of course it's not perfect (I can't afford that, and what am I going to do with a car that needs nothing doing to it? :LOL: )
So, the good points:
- The paint is really quite good, a deep lusterous metallic that glows in the sun. Just a few small blemishes.
- Interior is not too bad.
- Soft top is in good condition and works well.
- It's fully road legal.
- It was cheap (for a Stag)
The bad points:
- There are a few small spots of rust coming through, not holes yet, just bubbles. Nothing serious.
- Someone has replaced the motor and g'box with a 1970s BMW 3 litre 6 and 4 spd. :shock:
- Same person removed the pas as part of the conversion.
- The diff whines a bit.
- The fuel gauge doesn't work, or the passenger window.
- There's no hardtop.

Of course I have a backup plan. I also managed to pick up a parts car:


This is the rustiest car I have seen in years but it is complete and original. While I won't be salvaging any panels off it it does have the proper V8, (needs a rebuild) auto trans, pas (maybe no use), a good black interior, the right alloys, diff, chrome, glass and all the little bits and pieces essential for having an old car.
So the plan is to polish up the alloys asap and strip down the V8 to see how bad it is. The we'll work on replacing the scratched windscreen and sorting the rusty bits. But today, I need to get the electrickery fixed and see if I can make the gearbox work properly.
 
If it was me-I would fix up the ratty one-but leave the body as it is-and drive it like that---but thats me---well done mate though the stag engine i/ was dire at best anyway-why as part of BL they never used the superior rover v8 beats me-just shows how screwed up the british car industry was at that time :cry: :cry:
 
Goodness Al! What is it with you and left hookers? Interior in particular looks in really nice condition.

As for that parts car... One of BL's nastiest cars in definitely its nastiest colour, with one of it's most temperamental engines...... I might be a bit biased of course. Not even the Spen King connection can rescue the Stag for me. I think it was something to do with the people that bought them in the UK when new - think low rent aspiring Alvis owner. And that engine just seals the deal for me.

Just stick to that BMW six! (we don't want anything tearing you away from that fuel injection) Then it might actually be quite an amusing car to own in NZ. I can seriously appreciate the attractions of saloon car comfort with the open top to admire the wonderful landscapes.

Chris
 
Goodness Al! What is it with you and left hookers?
Click to expand...

What was that about me and hookers? :mrgreen: I think it's a hangover from the American cars I had and lusted after in my youth, besides an American spec British car is always going to be a bit rarer.
From what I can gather, the Stag engine problems are pretty much understood now and if it's rebuilt properly then it won't be a problem. Plus they sound much nicer.
I was half prepared to give the six a chance but the drive home has made up my mind. It's supposed to have 180bhp but my ratty old TC would eat it for breakfast! It has a fair bit of oomph off the line but that all disappears by 2500rpm and you're searching for another gear... which brings us to the second problem. The gearbox is truly awful. It doesn't like changing gear at all. Every shift is a battle. And the six sounds dull. Plus I hate BMWs. No, that motor/box combo are going as soon as I can manage it.

Symes, that's a nice idea but they are quite strict on rust in NZ so you'd have replaced most of the car before it could be made road legal.

Just been out and sorted a few niggles. The fuel gauge is fixed. (Leaky float, same as a Rover one. Sorted!) The passenger electric window now works. I've replaced the fuel tank breather hose up to the cap and fitted the boot floor boards from the parts car to replace the home made ones in the good car. Had a bit of a look at the gear shift, it looks like the whole selector housing moves around so I'll have to get underneath and see what's what. Maybe tomorrow.
 
I prefer the yellow one the red one looks like a hairdresser pimped out car :LOL:
Were it me I would get the yellow one road legal, not do any cosmetic except where required for road legality and drive it a lot! A classic BL rat rod type look, I can imagine the outraged opinions of all the Stag Owners club members to be so affronted by seeing it's neglected condition.....well thats my sense of humour, but seriously it would be my pride and joy, such a memorable character car.

Graeme
 
Well done :D . I like both colours. Though I am glad that you plan to get rid of the BMW engine - it just doesn't seem right. Mind you, one of my favourite classics is the Bristol 401/403 and that had a BMW derived engine.

Over the years I have read plenty of articles saying that it is relatively easy and not too expensive to sort out the design problems in the Stag V8 and it always amazes me that so many owners of these cars opted to transplant it with an RV8 back in the 70s when (with hindsight I suppose) the original engine problems could have been addressed.
 
Thanks for the positivity Steve! :D If that engine had been smooth and strong and sounded nice I would have left it alone but it is an odd choice. If the car had had a Rover V8 I probably would have left it alone too. But, everything that concerned me about the car before I bought it turned out to be right. Basically everything that isn't original pisses me off!
I have sent an email to the Stag club, apparently the car was imported and restored/modified by an Aucklander in 2002 and i'm hoping someone in the club will know who. I have a couple of questions regarding it's history, mainly the fact that it has no chassis plate or body number. It has a NZ VIN number under the bonnet which is all it requires as far as the authorities are concerned but if I put the rego number into Carjam I get a Triumph chassis number that would suggest an automatic US market car from mid-late 1973.(one of the last probably) But it is registered here as a 1970. I'm fairly certain it was originally an auto, the brake pedal and centre console wood have been modified. But as for the year? It has mk1 hubcaps and inner and outer doorhandles, but the gauges, rear bumper, interior lights, top and several other bits are mk2. The chassis plate would have also told me the original colour too. Still, with a car this modified I guess I should just build it the way I want it.
 
Hi Al

Great choice of car. I think most of the negativity about the Triumph v8 is down to experiences had when they were run be people who weren`t enthusiasts and didn`t maintain the cooling systems. Almost every Stag on Trademe (and I had spotted the one with the 3L beemer engine in a month or so back) has a non-original engine. If you can reinstate the original lump that will be a nice car indeed.

I do know someone who is restoring a BMW 3.0CS down here in Welly(I bought my W123 Merc 230 CE project of him). If you do have a surplus 3 litre lump at some point I could drop you his details and see if he is keen?

Cheers
 
Hi James, that would be good. Not sure how long it will take me to get it all sorted but the plan is to sell the beemer lump when it's done, and it's basically a good motor.
I had a bit of a crawl under the car today, all is very nice and clean under there. The gear linkage has a nylon bush at the base of the gear lever that was flogged out so I made up one out of a bit of steel as a temporary fix which has made a massive improvment. The gear lever is more upright now and you don't have to heave it over into the woodwork to get reverse. It also seems to have stopped the rattle which is nice so I'll try and find a proper bush for it tomorrow. Unfortunately the gear lever extension housing has been cut and modified to set the lever in the right place and it's a bodge made out of bits of tin and scrap steel. It moves around a bit which can't help. I also took the air cleaners off and had a look while it was running. There is fuel dribbling out of the main jet of the rear carb at idle which is not right and probably accounts for the rough running. Luckily the car came with 1 carb rebuild kit so i'll see what can be acheived with that.
 
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