For the love of cars

[comeinhandy]

I really enjoyed that (and learned new facts too).

Forgive me saying though, but I wish you had supported the car on axle stands rather than relying just on the trolley jack...

Thanks.
Yes good point, tried not to put too much of me under the car, just in case. I was being a little bit risky, maybe lazy.

[Stagsongas]

Anyone can do it now, and publish on youtube. I have done a couple:

http://youtu.be/bWkhZuAjv7U

http://youtu.be/rr0goqxs8hs

Not the highest quality I know, but it gets the ideas across.
Jon

Jon,

Certainly a positive step (no time to look now, and no YouTube at work) but do you think this reaches the same audience?

I just thought a programme on the googlebox might have a little more chance of redressing the balance, although we can't get it on a Sunday night primetime slot.

Regards

Steve

[Stagsongas]

If you want to know what price the cars from the series made at auction, its on page 184 of May (last months) classic and sports car.

As all of that info. is conspicuously left out at the end (so as to appear different to Wheeler's) I'm assuming there will be a summary programme after all the car eposides have been aired? Nice way to spin a series out I suppose, but they could have done that by including more of the footage, perhaps by using two-parters.

Ah, but we're back to Wheeler's again then....

Regards

Steve

[Stag therapy]

As with many aspects of life, initial impressions mean so much and once a bad reputation has been gained, it is so difficult to overcome.
I am sure there are many mini owners who considered their cars to be rust buckets, with sub frames of doubtful integrity and leaky windows, but I bet next week's program references Monte Carlo, The Italian Job and women in short skirts.

[Registrar]

I haven't watched it yet but I feel that I know all about it from your comments. Should I bother after all ?

Would it have been a believable programme if it had not pointed out the early Stag problems ?

In the circumstances, good job I refused their request to come and film in my garage - I have never looked at the Stag as a rustbucket but I have the biggest rustbuckets of all in my garage in the shape of LD7 and LD9, but what do you expect if you leave things in a hedge/orchard for ten years (No. I didn't do that, it was earlier owners). They could have had a field day with those.

I did, however, spend quite a bit of time on the telephone with them - and they seemed to ignore most of what I told them although I see that they included the bit about up to 5,000 out there awaiting restoration. By the way, I was told by a friend in the Land Rover Club that they had to source a new block for the sweries 1 as the other one was cracked - this wasn't mentioned in the show and, in fact, Ant raved over the simplicity of the engine.

I understand that the car sold for £15k at auction - less sellers commission - so they must have made a resounding loss on the car (whereas they made a sound profit on the series 1). Moral: Buy a Stag because yopu want a Stag, never buy a Stag for investment or potential profit. Perhaps that's why the Club is so good, we all love Stag, not the money that it could represent.

Best wishes

Peter

[Andrew S]

Thats the word Peter "Love".

[comeinhandy]

Jon,

Certainly a positive step (no time to look now, and no YouTube at work) but do you think this reaches the same audience?

I just thought a programme on the googlebox might have a little more chance of redressing the balance, although we can't get it on a Sunday night primetime slot.

Regards

Steve

Well, true, but then the emphasis has to be entertainment more than informative for a mass audience, just like that program.

[wilf]

The Series One Landy sold for £41k at the action, and is currently up with Kahn Design at £59k! I also believe there is a commercial tie-up between Kahn and Ant.

These are seriously overhyped prices.

If anyone wants to see the actual Auction prices, look here. If not, don't!

http://www.coys.co.uk/past-auctions.php?auctionID=41

[Stagless Steve]

I have no problem with a TV show being honest about a car's history. What got me was the fact that the professional restorer was so vocal about what he thought of Stags. The fact that he changed his mind (somewhat grudgingly) towards the end perhaps show that his thoughts were inaccurate. In my profession, doing something like when you don't know all the facts would get labelled unprofessional. As for the rust bucket label, show me any BL car of that era that wasn't! And any car can breakdown if it has a flat battery!

Someone has already made the point about what will stick in the memory from this programme well, I was outside servicing my Stag yesterday and some boys walked past. One asked me if it was a Stag to which I replied yes. As he walked off he said to his mates, "I saw a programme about those last night, they keep breaking down"! I hadn't watched it at that point but I had a bad feeling that I knew what was coming. Ho hum.

[Staggard]

For me it wasn't so much what was said, although it would have been nice had it have been factually correct (the cylinder head welds its self to the block ) It was the way (quote "one of the best mechanics in the country") preformed (reminiscent of Laural and Hardy) Throwing seats,spanners, and then grinding down a spanner with a hand held angle grinder. ( where is elf and safety when you need them) And for a professional restorer to rip into any classic and saying "I wish they had chosen something else" was like a petulant child not getting his own way. My personal conclusion was, More of a comedy show than a Factual account of a Classic restoration.

[badenstag]

Hi,

reading the above feedback it seems that it was an interesting telecast. So I'd checked if it's also available online. But unfortunately the channel4-website tells me, that it is not available in my country.

Does anyone know of another online source?

Regards

Gerd

[jakesmig]

I watched the programme from start to finish, and in general thought it was what was to be expected. Most cars back then were rubbish, a lot of which didn't last long before being condemed to the scrap yard. At least we aren't a Lancia club.
Ultimately they finished the programme with a very positive view of the car and an impressive parade (thankfully with few jaundiced examples), so from a viewers point probably a success.

Regarding the heating issue and the following .....

Someone on this thread mentioned the Bumper blocking the lower front air aperture and I'm with him on that, along with the numberplate location which is worse. Getting more air in through any type of Rad. is pointless if that heat has nowhere to go. This final part of the jigsaw is the one that needs delaing with the most, but hasn't been - a means of escape for the trapped heat under the Bonnet. This is important whether we are driving along uising the Ram Air effect (not the fan) or sitting with the engine idling and relying on the fan to move the air. Neither of these can work well if the air cannot pick up heat and then escape.

.....my daily drivers over the last 15 / 20 years have all been in the 200BHP bracket and all have had extensive undertrays extending back from the front bumper, generally there to improve airflow leading to better economy. Looking at the underside of my Stag I am of the opinion that it has far more free area for the heat to escape from than any of my recent moderns. Of more concern to me is the relatively small area of the radiator. With the copied front end from the 2.5PI I suppose they couldn't make a much larger opening but IMO that is the root of the issue, not the depth or number of cores.

John

[malc4d]

You need to find a 'VPN" software. something like hidemyass.com. It makes your computer look like its in another country......or try youtube

[Bassy]

I have thus far very limited experience working on a Stag. However when he got stuck removing the heads I thought I may actually learn something really important, see how a pro tackles the problem. What I actually learned was that a "pro" throws spanners everywhere whilst the heads stay stuck, then after some adverts the engine is miraculously rebuilt. I want(ed) to know how he got the heads off, and how he used his ace mechanics nouse to solve the issue.

Oh well.

On the plus side it looked gorgeous finished.

[Another Peter]

I think that we would do well to remember that these programmes (and the likes of Wheeler Dealers, Classic Car SOS and the like) are produced for entertainment.

They are not made to document the definitive history of the marque or to be a blow-by-blow account of the restoration.

Their target market is the average man in the street who has to decide whether to watch some hospital drama on one channel or a talent show on the other. The producers want/need controversy to make the programmes more interesting (and attract more viewers and therefore more advertising revenue). That is why I'm sure that Peter and Julian's positive comments about Stags were left on the cutting room floor - they just don't make good entertainment.

Each one of these programmes always has some supposed catastrophe during the restoration. If there isn't one, they make one up. They need interest or viewers would be nodding off after ten minutes. Note how Classic Car SOS now states at the beginning that some of the scenes are made up for entertainment purposes, they are being honest, others aren't.

See these programmes as entertainment, that's all they are.

Once the fuss has died down, I doubt that anyone who really wants a Stag would be put off by the programme. In six months time, apart from those who had some interest in the programme, everyone else will have forgotten all about it.

..and we'll be carrying on enjoying our Stags