Oldest Stag

[jbuckl]

My L plate (Sept 72) has wire wheels, including the spare, would they have been an original fitment?

Afaiaa wires were only factory supplied for federal cars.
Stand corrected though.

[SteveD]

When I got the car the spare was a Michelin XAS which was very old. The Heritage Certificate specifies XASs but not wires.

[mole42]

The price lists that I have seen don't list a price for a wire wheel option in the UK. Alloys were offered as an optional extra (£55) from April 1973 and appear to be fitted as standard from October 1975.

[SteveD]

OK, so they must have been fitted later. Thanks.

[Magnum-88]

So my steel wheels probably are the originals then. Next question, where would be the best place to advertise my Stag No LD36 for sale? Would it be on this site or in something like Classic car magazine. I have owned it for 18 years and spent a lot of money on it but really needs to go to an enthusiast to make it like new.

[stagx790]

Re dating your wheels they have the month and year stamped on them eg 4/70. Also most electrics wiper motor starter motor etc have manufacture dates on and glass is dated with a dot under triplex and toughened. Dot under letter on triplex gives first number of year ie e dot =6. Toughened has nine letters that give second year letter, if dot at the end like a full stop that equates to a 0. So 69 glass which most early cars have is e and d dotted. Clear as mud.

[Registrar]

To answer the original question, the oldest Stag in the Club is X777 built March 1968 but I don't think that the owner does anything on the Forum. The next is X783 built .approx. November 1968 and the next is X790 built July 1969 - both these are owned by Club members who sometimes use the forum. LD1 (Nov 1969), LD2 (Feb 1970) and LD3 all predate the RVC series of cars but the owners do not contribute to the forum (LD1 is correctly identified earlier in the thread, LD2 is in the States and LD3 is in Switzerland)

Magnum - Yes, your steel wheels would be the originals - as Richard says, wires were not offered in the UK (but they could have been fitted if someone knew the right people to ask or bought from the parts catalogue, but I've never seen a Heritage Certificate saying that wires were supplied to a UK car) and alloys were not offered as an option until 1973.

The correct Stag wires are very rarely seen in the UK as they are worse than hen's teeth over here and not now available - most of the pictures I have seen are of retro wires and not the original Stag ones which have non-crossover outer spokes (look at the picture in the parts catalogue if you are interested in what this means).

How best to sell a Stag ?? Well there's a question. Despite what has been said, I really don't think that H-reg cars are commanding much of a premium - it is the condition that matters, although if an early car has all the correct original bits, then it may inspire someone to open their wallet a bit wider - the two RVC cars at Silverstone would command big money but they have been correctly and meticulously restored as far as is possible and both have interesting and provable history. You may do well in the Club magazine - I would give it a go and see what happens as it is the best place to find a discerning Stag enthusiast after an interesting project.

Peter

[Magnum-88]

Thank you very much for the feedback Peter. I do have two sets of wheel trims that came with the car. One set are just ordinary trims and the other set have Leyland across the middle part then surrounded by black paint and then chrome to the outer part. I think i will fit the Leyland ones.
Been mulling over the selling bit for a while now but just think the car is wasting in my hands and needs someone to really appreciate it.

[Registrar]

Be careful Magnum, there are plenty of not so deserving people out there just straining to get at your car so that they can pop it in their showroom and sell it for £5k more than they paid you - using whatever hype they can in order to suck in those who don't know any better and will sit it in their garage as a 'trophy' and actually use it oless than you do.

Jaundiced view ?? Well, yes actually. The current classic car market is based on investment value and commercial profit and not on the enthusiasts who have kept it going for forty years. It sucks !

Peter