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**CJG** · 26 March 2020, 20:48

It's been rebuilt at some time in the past with a new short engine (new block) that's what the ESS signifies i believe.

**M.hunter** · 26 March 2020, 21:31

cheers for that, I suppose that is a good thing

?
i haven t touched the bottem because it really did look fine - know why now👍

**Seaking** · 27 March 2020, 00:07

This might be a a quick search found this. Glenn Engine number

11th June 2013, 11:54
Hi all, I have a 73 mk 2 which I have had for 31 years, The engine number is LF/2553 ESS, looking through technical specifications etc, I don't see an engine number ending with ESS they are either HE or UE. Has anyone come across this before or have a similar number themselves??

Paul
jleyton
Senior Member
#2
11th June 2013, 11:59
Hi Paul.

Engines with an ESS suffix are ones that were reconditioned by Triumph themselves.

Cheers

Julian
- Join Date: Apr 2009
- Posts: 9862
paul jorgensen
Senior Member
#3
11th June 2013, 13:31
Thanks Julian, A reconditioned engine did cross my mind but I dismissed that thought.. Would Be nice to know when it was done because I rebuilt it 10 thousand miles ago at around 65k.

Thanks again Paul
- Join Date: Mar 2013
- Posts: 287
jleyton
Senior Member
#4
11th June 2013, 14:12
I certainly remember sending back quite a few engines to Triumph at Canley during the warranty period and bearing in mind that the company had virtually died out (Acclaim excluded) by the 80's I would have thought the factory recon units would all have been done in the 70s - willing to be proven wrong though !

Cheers
paul jorgensen
Senior Member
#7
11th June 2013, 17:26
Hi Guys, Sorry Julian think I might have confused you, I bought my Stag in 1982 and rebuilt the engine a year or so later. That engine is the same one which is LD 2553ESS. So it was probably reconditioned in the 70s...
I had to rebuild it because, when I did my first oil change along with new timing chains, the crank started knocking when I first started it up and on idle when it was hot!!! It was probably full of gearbox oil or some other additive. My car has been asleep for the last 23 + years...
Johny I think that is a good idea as there is no info on these engines that I could find . Julian you must have worked in the motor industry, because your knowledge on the Stag is VERY good?!!!

Paul
- Join Date: Mar 2013
- Posts: 287
4x4
4x4 Manual O/D
#8
11th June 2013, 17:40
If it helps put everything in perspective - I had to rebuild my engine with a "new" block as 4 of the 5 main bearing caps had fractured (can anyone beat that then?).
Chassis number of the car is 12559 - but I'm told the new block was numbered somewhere in the 40,000's. That a lot more engines made than cars!
4x4 Manual OD Stag
- Join Date: Jun 2011
- Posts: 570
flying farmer
SOC Member
#9
11th June 2013, 18:14
The engine number on my project stag is LF8ESS, now that is early!
Neil
Neil
TV8, efi, fast road cams and home built manifolds. 246bhp 220lbft torque
- Join Date: Sep 2009
- Posts: 3565
jleyton
Senior Member
#10
11th June 2013, 19:50
Originally posted by paul jorgensen View Post
Julian you must have worked in the motor industry, because your knowledge on the Stag is VERY good?!!!

Paul
Hi Paul,

That's very kind of you to say so. I did spend about ten years working with Triumph and BL and the whole of my career was spent in the car industry , but a big, big chunk of what I know about Stags has been learnt from this excellent forum

Cheers

Julian

Btw being a service receptionist in a Triumph dealer when Stags were on sale wasn't an easy job
- Join Date: Apr 2009
- Posts: 9862
davidf
SOC Member
#11
11th June 2013, 23:10
I understood these were new engines built as spares rather than for new car build. That's what I was told when I bought mine from Steve Barrat in 1984, and confirmed in Canley when I took it back a month later to be exchanged (for another ESS). In fact, if I understood the guy at Canley properly, they were built after the last Stags.
'72 Manual O/d Saffron Yellow
- Join Date: Oct 2009
- Posts: 1151
jleyton
Senior Member
#12
12th June 2013, 06:22
Originally posted by davidf View Post
I understood these were new engines built as spares rather than for new car build. That's what I was told when I bought mine from Steve Barrat in 1984, and confirmed in Canley when I took it back a month later to be exchanged (for another ESS). In fact, if I understood the guy at Canley properly, they were built after the last Stags.
Correct. As I said above, they were reconditioned and Triumph would never fit a reconditioned engine to a new car. They were rebuilt to be fitted when we fitted a replacement engine under warranty, or if a customer bought a replacement and so they would continue being produced after the Stag ceased production.

Many manufacturers had an exchange engine programme. Austin/Morris offered 'Gold Seal' reconditioned engines - it's just that not so many were fitted under warranty

Cheers

Julian
- Join Date: Apr 2009
- Post
- Join Date: Mar 2013
- Posts: 287
davidf
SOC Member
#14
12th June 2013, 14:26
Julian
I'm not clear. You said "Correct. As I said above, they were reconditioned"
As far as I know, as I said above, they were not reconditioned; they were brand new.
In my case, I bought a "Kit" from Steve Barrat in early 1984; new short engine, 2 new heads, new oil and water pumps, chain sets and all gaskets. I don't want to make you too green (you already are - no - that's your car), but the price for the "kit" was �650. I can't actually find the number of the first short engine I had (it was an LFxxxxESS), but I rejected it for casting sand in the water and oil passages, and eventually had it replaced at Canley (then Unipart major assemblies store) with LF3569ESS. The guy at Canley had been there when it was the Triumph factory, and told me that these ESS engines were new-build for spares after the final production of Stags.
I'm not an expert at identifying signs of re-work, but I would be fairly certain it was a brand new block. For example, the bores were completely unmarked, and standard size.
'72 Manual O/d Saffron Yellow
jleyton
Senior Member
#15
12th June 2013, 14:40
Hi Paul,

Not only did I work on them but I was 'promoted' to service receptionist which was certainly not an easy job, but I'm glad I did it As far as many owners were concerned, WE were Triumph and they would often vent their understandable anger at us

Because a lot of customers were very unhappy to pay pretty large sums when their cars weren't that long out of warranty, we did have a lot of hassle and I remember one service manager instructing us that if any customer left a Stag with any indication of overheating we had to warn them that they could possibly be facing a bill of over �1,000 - bear in mind that when the Stag was launched, it cost just under �2,000 (That would be a bit like a �25k bill on a �50k Beemer when it's just out of warranty !)

I was talking about the warranty period to someone the other day and I don't remember exactly how long it was back then. It was certainly no longer than one year and I have a vague memory of it being just six months. It was called 'BL Supercover' and their was very little in the way of 'goodwill assistancer' from BL back then.

Ah well, happy days

Cheer

**M.hunter** · 27 March 2020, 09:41

Cheers Paul, always nice to read a bit of stag History!
I will have to practice the Forum search features a bit more......

**Seaking** · 27 March 2020, 19:34

No Christmas to help

cheers Glenn

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