Ten facts you need to know about...
The Triumph Stag – we bust a few misinformed tales and old fables.
The poor old Triumph Stag was probably the ultimate display of how our beleaguered car industry could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. When a MGB cost £1300 and a Mercedes SL over £5000, the idea of a lovely looking V8 powered two-plus-two roadster for just over £2000 would have been irresistible.
Sadly, the wrong people were in charge and thus the poor Stag never stood a chance. Triumph were a company that could come up with some outstanding ideas but could rarely put them into production without a catalogue of woe. Sure, the Herald and 2000 were good solid designs and the 1300 was a clever little car but when they tried their hand at making the Stag and Dolomite, it all started to fall apart as the manufacturing side of things couldn’t cope. The Dolomite Sprint is another example of a car that could have hammered Ford and BMW but poor build quality just ruined its chances.
The Stag has its detractors – I’m very critical of some of the utterly absurd engineering that went into it (what were
they thinking?) but you see one rumbling along on a nice day and you can’t help but think ‘ I’d love one of those’. It’s car steeped in romance – it’s such a lovely thing to see, hear and own – why else would owners have put up with it for so long?
1
Why did BL not fit the Rover V8 engine to the Stag?
A common one this and there are two reasons. Firstly, Triumph designed and approved the 3.0 V8 before the BL merger and engineered the Stag to take this engine. Secondly, Rover would not have been able to make enough engines for their own cars (P6B and Range Rover) as well as the Stag, whose projected sales figures were well into six figures.
2
Is the engine reliable now?
It can be made much better than the originals but it’s still a flawed design – small big ends, the daft angled head studs and the cooling system with the high mounted water pump. The timing chains were originally made by Reynolds and perfectly okay (they were very good quality) but the chains are just too long, with one driving the auxiliary shaft. Even now it’s a good plan to replace the current IWIS chain every 30,000 miles.
3
How would you make the engine reliable?
BL pretty much threw these together and so careful assembly using selected parts is the way forward. A proper radiator with a sensibly mounted expansion tank and a correctly fitted water pump to ensure a proper coolant flow is a good start and don’t automatically assume original BL parts are junk – they aren’t. Good oil in the sump is also essential.
4
How many Stags did Triumph sell?
BL sold 25,000 Stags in seven years, which sadly made it a sales disaster. By comparison, 91,000 TR6’s were sold in eight years with over 83,000 going to America, a market that should have embraced the Stag. Triumph also sold 115,000 TR7’s in seven years, including 28,000 convertibles that showed just how wrong Triumph got the Stag. The TR8 was its intended replacement along with the Lynx, a sensible model that never happened.
5
So why did the Stag tank so badly?
The early reliability problems killed it here and really, they never really improved with even late ones having huge warranty claim numbers. It failed in the US because of similar reasons but also because of the Mercedes 350SL R107. It may have been twice as expensive but it was far better built and more reliable. The Stag was a cut-price competitor but the wealthy USA wanted the Merc.
6
Was it a good car to drive?
When it was running properly the Stag was a good car. The Stag was softly sprung and this made it more of a boulevard cruiser
rather than a sports car. It also had quite strong ‘on the limit’ understeer coupled with very light power steering and was in no way comparable with cars such as the Scimitar and Datsun 240Z – they can be improved though. Many disliked the Stag’s driving position with the offset pedals and felt the V8 Triumph was better as an automatic.
7
Was it expensive?
Well, they weren’t cheap but the Stag undercut the opposition quite a lot. In 1971 a Stag cost nearly £2200 compared with the £1500 TR6 and the much slower £2300 Porsche 914. The 350SL was an astonishing £5300 and the Alfa Romeo 2000 Spider cost £2400. But at £3100, the V12 E Type Roadster made everything look expensive. Had the Stag been reliable from day one, we’re sure it would have been a huge hit.
8
Why does the Stag sound so nice?
The Stag has many redeeming features and the engine note is just one. The Stag’s engine doesn’t have a conventional V8 firing order. It runs with 1-2-7- 8- 4-5- 6-3, a firing order shared with the Holden V8. By comparison, the Rover V8 runs with
1- 8- 4-3- 6-5-7-2. The Stag’s exhaust was also tuned to enhance the throbby, offbeat burble of Triumph’s V8. This is why you just can’t fit a Rover V8 into a Stag and expect the result to sound the same.
9
Why did Triumph use the V8 in the Stag and nothing else?
It was intended to use the V8 in the 2000/ 2500 saloons as well but increasing financial troubles at BL meant this never happened. On reflection, this is probably just as well, as the 2000 and 2500 cars were easily the most robust and reliable cars Triumph built and the V8 would have ruined these fine cars’ reputation. The Rover SD1 was in development from around 1970 anyway and would replace the 2000/ 2500.
10
How many Stags are left? Hard to say but around 9000 is the accepted figure with the number of cars being taxed, sorned and MOT’d varying. Out of the 19,000 cars sold in the UK, that’s an astonishing survival rate but the Stag was never a car to just throw away – it also shows how well loved it is and how much better it could have sold. A large owners’ club was formed in 1979 and should be the first port of call for anyone considering buying a Stag.