From: Kevin Burtch <kburtch@pts.mot.com>
(if they could have fixed the Stag's problems: cooling?)
There was an article in the now-dead "Sport and GT Market" magazine
some time ago about one Guy Bretzman, who owned a Stag done right.
Among other things, he redesigned the cooling system; analyzing the
water flow in the block/heads and adding some new passages, building a
new radiator, adding an air dam to increase radiator airflow, and
adding an auxiliary radiator. The claimed result was that he could
tootle around in traffic during the Florida summer, or drive at speed
for long distances, with no trouble.
The article goes on to describe how Mr. Bretzman improved the
oil-driven timing chain tensioners (Stag nightmare #238: poorly
manufactured crankshaft leads to worn bearings leads to low oil
pressure leads to low timing chain tension leads to jumped chain leads
to bent valves and damaged pistons..), redesigned the ignition system,
replaced the induction system and added Webers, and a couple of other
things, like a full body restoration.
I have kept this article for a long time. I have always wanted to meet
Mr. Bretzman, and keep hoping that I will run into him at a car show
somewhere. It gives me great comfort to know that there are people in
the world who have my disease even worse than I do.
-john
|