Stag restoration

[Luigi]

Hi,
my first post on the forum, I have just purchased my first triumph stag, 1972 which requires full restoration, I have a plan to remove the engine and gearbox, then build a small dolly to sit the car on to remove all running gear, and just leave me the shell to work on. The question I have is, will the dolly be big enough if I make it between front and back wheel arches, and side chassis to side chassis, and how do I raise the car to get it on there?? I will have to get a roll over frame to work on the bottom of the car,but I will have to raise it to that height as well, all info would be great fully received
luigi

[MikeParker]

Hi Luigi,

Firstly, welcome to the forum. Many, I know, many leave the suspension and wheels on (some old steel wheels typically) and prefer to handle a rolling chassis. Others buy or make a "rotisserie" stand which bolts on where the bumpers go I believe. Hopefully someone will be along who can answer your exact question and has more experience than me in this area..

Good luck in any case!

Mike

[trunt]

If you check my website blog you will see the dolly I made from wood and the rotisserie from a couple of engine stands (plus other bits) it may give you some ideas. I used an engine hoist and 2 stools to get it up on to the rotisserie from the axle stands and then down to the dolly once the body was ready for painting.

https://www.terryhunt.co.uk/stag/body.html

[flying farmer]

When i did mine i didn't bother making a wheeled dolly, I just jacked up the shell complete with suspension to the height required to fix it to my home made rotisserie then finished stripping it to a bare shell.

I used a trolley jack and lots of bits of wood to gradually raise it to the height required. I find it easier to start with the wheels still on and the car up on 4 ramps (have to jack it onto the ramps) as it only needs lifting half the amount than if you were starting on the floor.
Likewise, on reassembly I refiited the suspension to the shell before dropping it back on the floor.

Neil

[Luigi]

Thanks to all for your helpful advice, I have a very good starting point now, the next thing is how to go about taking the engine and gearbox out? Do you take them out together? And is this an easy process?

many thanks
luigi

[Luigi]

Hi trunt

looked at your website blog, looks like a nice dolly, can you tell me, did you strip off all the suspension before putting it on your dolly? Looks from the picture that the dolly legs go up to where the suspension comes from.... could you talk me the the process you used, and have you any pictures with the car side on showing the dolly’s resting position?

luigi

[Luigi]

Hi mike, thanks for your welcome
how did you get on with your restoration? And what colour did you do your stag?
luigi

[trunt]

Hi trunt

looked at your website blog, looks like a nice dolly, can you tell me, did you strip off all the suspension before putting it on your dolly? Looks from the picture that the dolly legs go up to where the suspension comes from.... could you talk me the the process you used, and have you any pictures with the car side on showing the dolly’s resting position?

luigi

I initially had the rolling car media blasted, stripped all off the body shell and then removed the suspension with the car up on jack stands. From there it was hoisted up to the rotisserie and the bodywork was repaired. Whilst on the rotisserie the boot, engine bay and underside were painted then it was taken off the rotisserie to the dolly for prep and painting.

The dolly was made to bear on the crossmember at the rear where the diff sits, oversized holes for the two diff mounts and at the front it was simply across the front members but kept away from the front crossmember area so I could install it on the dolly. It went back onto axle stands for the rear suspension to be re- installed. I do remember spending some time working out the heights and distances so that the dolly held the body relatively level.


I will look for pictures but not sure if any will show much more detail. (I still have odd bits of it hanging around!!)

Terry

[MikeParker]

Hi mike, thanks for your welcome
how did you get on with your restoration? And what colour did you do your stag?
luigi

Hi Luigi,
I have owned my Stag for over 40 years and rebuilt many mechanical parts of the car myself over the years. Engine, gearbox, diff, brakes, drive shafts etc. I have done minor welding repairs and resprayed the car myself also. It was my daily driver for 5 years and used in all weathers then. It was stored in a car port for many years which is not ideal. That all took its toll, and eventually I realised, a couple of years back, that the car needed some serious work to the front wings and front valence. I thought changing the front wings was beyond me, so I took it to E J Wards for just the wings to be changed. Once the wings were off I was shown the sills which needed major repair. Then, with the sills off it made sense to put repair panels into the rear wings. There were also outriggers replaced, and then front floor pans. So, the job grew. About £14K in all which was way more that I had thought from the start. So if you have the time to do it yourself, you can see what you can save. If I had the time and space, I would certainly do it myself second time round.

One thing I did learn was the importance of removing the front wings and sills. It is only with these off can you see and repair much of the internal rust damage. That is inner sills, inner wings, the base of the windscreen surround and other ribs and webs that conduct water from the the top of the wings to the bottom of the sills. Also, with the front wings off, the inside of these box sections can be rust treated and repainted.

The car has always been Mallard Green. In my view, respraying to the original colour is the way to go if you are not going to completely strip the shell down (which I never have). Otherwise you will get corners of the car which don't match the main colour, which I think looks bad.

Mike



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[Luigi]

i would like to thank you both for your interesting and informative posts,
I am beginning to think that I have a huge job in front of me, just started the restoration today after noticing a load of fibreglass in the boot area, after 2 hours of pulling and cutting, grinding, swearing!! I managed to remove it, only to find that I was looking at the garage floor, if either of you have any pictures of what the boot should look like before the boot floor goes in, I would be very great full, the inner rear valance edge is missing, the rear wheel arch bottoms are missing, and the inner sides are both missing, at the moment I have no idea of what it should look like before the repairs begin, and do the bottom of the two sides have hollows in them that go out to the rear wings??

thanks for any help
luigi

[MikeParker]

i would like to thank you both for your interesting and informative posts,
I am beginning to think that I have a huge job in front of me, just started the restoration today after noticing a load of fibreglass in the boot area, after 2 hours of pulling and cutting, grinding, swearing!! I managed to remove it, only to find that I was looking at the garage floor, if either of you have any pictures of what the boot should look like before the boot floor goes in, I would be very great full, the inner rear valance edge is missing, the rear wheel arch bottoms are missing, and the inner sides are both missing, at the moment I have no idea of what it should look like before the repairs begin, and do the bottom of the two sides have hollows in them that go out to the rear wings??

thanks for any help
luigi

My car above looked pretty much perfect before Wards started taking it apart. A very small hole in the drivers floor pan and the sills from the outside were solid. There was slight bubbling over the front wheel arches and some rust holes in the front valence. Apart from that the car looked great. My boot area is fine, but from the sound of yours you need a new boot floor. There are loads of photos on this site and the web in general of how good Stags should look from every angle. You then have to look at the various panel suppliers to see what repair panels you can buy. I would get someone who knows about Stags to look yours over. I don't want to be pessimistic, but it could be a very large job and require some special skills. Have you done panel replacement and welding before? If, like me, you have not, you may want to seek some help, at least for some of the more major repairs.

[Luigi]

Hi mike,
had the car looked over and as you say, new panels are needed, so buying them up ready for the rebuild, what I need to know now is where can I get the two bolts needed to replace the soft top hardware? Apparently you need two jig bolts?? Have you heard of this?

luigi

[paul jorgensen]

Hi Luigi,

I made this when I stripped my car to a bare bodyshell.

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It bolts to the front cross member boles and the diff mounting points. It can then be easily moved and transported on a trailer.

I also used my rotisserie

Paul

[trunt]

Sorry to hear about the boot floor, it seems to me that laying glass fibre over a panel is the worst thing for rust, same thing on my otherwise rust free car.. it just retains water and the panel below rusts even worse..

[MikeParker]

Hi mike,
had the car looked over and as you say, new panels are needed, so buying them up ready for the rebuild, what I need to know now is where can I get the two bolts needed to replace the soft top hardware? Apparently you need two jig bolts?? Have you heard of this?

luigi

Hi Luigi,
Not sure what you mean about bolts to replace the soft-top hardware? The soft-top just unbolts from the body for restoration work. I foolishly left mine on before it went off to Wards, meaning that much of the body prep was done with the soft on and up! Not good for a brand new soft top. So I would always recommend removing the soft top (and any other precious trim) before the body goes off for stripping/welding etc.

Sorry, I feel sure that doesn't answer your question!

Mike