Hi all,
I thought I'd start a thread on the recommissioning of my Stag as I hope to do this on a (very) tight budget and it will hopefully provide some inspiration for others contemplating the same. I'm planning a rolling restoration with work being done as and when finances become available. The first stage will be to get the car roadworthy, hopefully in time for the good weather, if we get any this year
I acquired my Mk1 Stag, DRS145L in November 2010, it had belonged to a friend of mine who died suddenly a few years ago and had been stored in his lock up. Unfortunately the garage roof had started to leak at some point in the last 5 years and a porous soft top meant that the car was sodden through. It was in good condition when it was laid up in 2003 due to a brake master cylinder failure and despite the damp storage, I'd say it's faired reasonably well.
I moved it to my dry lock up where it has sat drying out for the last year, minus the rotten remains of the carpets, while I finished the restoration of my much loved Singer Chamois coupe. The Stag was moved down to the garage next to my flat in November 2011 so that recommissioning work could start in earnest! The first challenge was to get the engine running for the first time in 8 years. Plenty of oil down the bores revealed that it hadn't seized and a quick look with an Aldi's inspection camera showed the bores to be corrosion free. The oil & antifreeze were drained and the cooling system flushed fully before replenishing, along with fresh filters, spark plugs, diaphragms in the carbs and a solid state conversion kit for the rotted points in the fuel pump. I also had to strip & clean the ignition switch & with a new battery fitted it was eventually coaxed into life, smoky at first but soon settling down to that glorious V8 burble that I remember from driving the car almost a decade earlier! The icing on the cake was discovering that the clutch hadn't even seized on & it drove back into the garage under it's own power, brilliant. Here's a few pictures of my Stag as bought.
In it's damp garage.jpgOn the way home.jpgfront floors.jpgEngine.jpgHood past it's best.jpg
With stage one completed successfully, I turned my attention to the brakes & welding requirements. Seal kits were fitted to the brake master cylinder (I'll see how these do as the bores looked in excellent condition) rebuild kits to both front calipers and Goodrich flexi hoses bought for all four corners. I've cleaned up the front discs but these are quite pitted on the inner face so will be replaced in due course.I also replaced the seals on the clutch slave & master cylinders while I was at it. I managed to poke a hole next to the rear subframe mount so the rear brakes will be rebuilt once this has been repaired.
Regards, Jim
I thought I'd start a thread on the recommissioning of my Stag as I hope to do this on a (very) tight budget and it will hopefully provide some inspiration for others contemplating the same. I'm planning a rolling restoration with work being done as and when finances become available. The first stage will be to get the car roadworthy, hopefully in time for the good weather, if we get any this year
I acquired my Mk1 Stag, DRS145L in November 2010, it had belonged to a friend of mine who died suddenly a few years ago and had been stored in his lock up. Unfortunately the garage roof had started to leak at some point in the last 5 years and a porous soft top meant that the car was sodden through. It was in good condition when it was laid up in 2003 due to a brake master cylinder failure and despite the damp storage, I'd say it's faired reasonably well.
I moved it to my dry lock up where it has sat drying out for the last year, minus the rotten remains of the carpets, while I finished the restoration of my much loved Singer Chamois coupe. The Stag was moved down to the garage next to my flat in November 2011 so that recommissioning work could start in earnest! The first challenge was to get the engine running for the first time in 8 years. Plenty of oil down the bores revealed that it hadn't seized and a quick look with an Aldi's inspection camera showed the bores to be corrosion free. The oil & antifreeze were drained and the cooling system flushed fully before replenishing, along with fresh filters, spark plugs, diaphragms in the carbs and a solid state conversion kit for the rotted points in the fuel pump. I also had to strip & clean the ignition switch & with a new battery fitted it was eventually coaxed into life, smoky at first but soon settling down to that glorious V8 burble that I remember from driving the car almost a decade earlier! The icing on the cake was discovering that the clutch hadn't even seized on & it drove back into the garage under it's own power, brilliant. Here's a few pictures of my Stag as bought.
In it's damp garage.jpgOn the way home.jpgfront floors.jpgEngine.jpgHood past it's best.jpg
With stage one completed successfully, I turned my attention to the brakes & welding requirements. Seal kits were fitted to the brake master cylinder (I'll see how these do as the bores looked in excellent condition) rebuild kits to both front calipers and Goodrich flexi hoses bought for all four corners. I've cleaned up the front discs but these are quite pitted on the inner face so will be replaced in due course.I also replaced the seals on the clutch slave & master cylinders while I was at it. I managed to poke a hole next to the rear subframe mount so the rear brakes will be rebuilt once this has been repaired.
Regards, Jim
) and this revealed evidence of previous repairs & a few holes which weren't totally unexpected to be honest as this was where most of the water had been running out of the car. Here's what I uncovered.
I thought it would get a lot worse in this area due to the water running out of this corner. 
I'm expecting a similar job on the other side as there are a few plates present there too.
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