Vent of frustration-Stag related

[Guest]

Hi all, just need to vent a little steam.

Our Stags are renowned for overheating, stripping water pump gears, snapping timing chains and just being generally a rubbish car!

I have had my car for 10 years this coming September, I hope I'm not going to tempt fate but it's not overheated or even close to it in those years, that's 20,000 miles now with 4 trips to Le Mans under its wheels, one trip to the south of France and into Italy in very high temperatures.

Yes it's maintained, by me, I'm not a mechanic.

I have now fitted an external water pump.

So why aren't our cars any good.

on my way back from Le Mans to the ferry port in Caen there was a series 3 E type broken down on the side of the road, then, a very nice series one roadster was towed into the ferry queue because it had OVERHEATED in traffic!! I offered him some of my glyco mix but the guy refused.

Several other Stags in the ferry port, all looking rather cool!

My point is why are cars of the E type calibrate so revered? This one was probably valued at 3 x my Stag, I know which I prefer and it's not the leaping cat! I was a passenger in my mates series 3 one time, no where near as nice a place to be as a Stag.

TR4s, 5s and 6s are all deemed better than the Stag, am I missing something?

Anyway, rant over, just needed to get this off me chest

[Motorsport Micky]

Because people are judging them on the perception of how they used to be, and they used to be bad.
Because we've had another 40 years of development on the car and devised ways of improving them such as to now being able to drive them well and hard and they'll stand amongst the other classics is known to ...us, and hardly anybody else. Enjoy it, the secret of affordable classic motoring is choosing the car other people DON'T want and knowing you've made the correct decision, especially when you look at the lines of the Stag, pretty car.

"TR4s, 5s and 6s are all deemed better than the Stag, am I missing something? " yes...a TR.


Micky

[Jeff]

You are so right Jason.

I've owned my Stag for over 20 years and only once it has let me down due to head gasket failure (recently re built at the time I bought it) Had it re built by a specialist, got the electrics sorted by Ian (Milo) and the car performs brilliantly even though, may I say, I still have a fear of it being unreliable, which is completely unfounded as my modern cars have let me down a damn sight more, yet this is how the Stag is perceived as Mickey says, the stigma will possibly/probably never go away which is a real shame.

Hopefully time will tell even if 20 years is not enough.

Time for another beer!

Jeff.

[flying farmer]

Look on the bright side- it keeps the values down so we can actually afford to do them up and enjoy them.

If they were worth three times the amount the cost of the bits would rise too.

I paid £1300 for my TR250 back in 1992, you would have to add a zero to that figure today before you even started doing it up!

Neil

[davidf]

One head gasket failure in 32 years and that was my own fault (personal circumstances distracted from proper maintenance; it was blowing from No 8 to the water passage. When I stripped it I found the head bolts and studs at the rear of the head were barely hand tight).

But the original monicker of 'Triumph Snag' was initially well-deserved for the classic failures of head gasket, timing chains and crankshafts. Probably no other car had such a poor reputation in its first few years and was, at the same time, the 'flagship' car of its marque.

[mike@thenook]

One head gasket failure in 32 years and that was my own fault (personal circumstances distracted from proper maintenance; it was blowing from No 8 to the water passage. When I stripped it I found the head bolts and studs at the rear of the head were barely hand tight).

But the original monicker of 'Triumph Snag' was initially well-deserved for the classic failures of head gasket, timing chains and crankshafts. Probably no other car had such a poor reputation in its first few years and was, at the same time, the 'flagship' car of its marque.

+1 on that David -
ive had mine 23 years and only once has the hg gone and purely to my own complacency and not checking the stud bolts in all this years.
It has never let me down, yes it's had annoying vibrations and so on but the last ones were it transpire all my own fault by not paying attention to my engine building and my last visit to a specialist has thrown up some short comings which only reinforce my reasons for never visiting one in 23 years!
I wont go into it on here but suffice to say I was left very unimpressed!

Long live the Stag and self maintenance

[Tdm]

I was going to make a comment on this thread, but decided against it as I have an article coming up in the Club mag soon (I think as I sent it to Carl in May), which summarises the history of my Stag and 2 other Triumphs that I have owned.
I thought I had had my Stag a long time (over 22 years) but it seems there are others who have been enjoying their cars longer.