Allen, I've been driving my Stag since the beginning of last summer, and
just got back on the road last week after having some minor mechanical
problems.
My Stag has the original drivetrain, with some modifications to the
cooling system. I've put 11,000 miles on the car since the beginning of
last summer, and was driving 100 miles a day, 50 to work and 50 back. I
did have, and continue to have some minor problems, some my fault, some
the previous owners' faults, and some due to the car's design or age.
By far the weakest link on this car is the cooling system. It's just a
bad design from top to bottom. The radiator is a bad design, there's no
cowl for the cooling fan, and the water pump is the worst thing I've
ever seen.
I added a new higher mounted coolant recovery tank the feeds water in
and out from the bottom, rather than the top the way the old lower
mounted tank did. I added a 16" electric cooling fan, the biggest that
can be fit, in from of the A/C condenser, replacing the old A/C
condenser fans. and added a thermostat so it backs up the engine fan.
That works wonders on days like the last few around here, where it was
above 90 degrees. The water pump however, is still a problem. It tends
to leak oil, or water, or both. It's mounted in the top of the block, so
if the water level in the radiator is just a little low, it doesn't get
any water to pump. I'm going to replace mine this weekend, and if it
still leaks, I plan to install a low mounted electric water pump and
seal off the old pump.
Wheels: the old wire wheels are not suitable for a daily driver. Get the
original alloys or some modern alloys. I put on Minilite replicas.
They're great, and don't need maintenance.
Transmission: the auto box is convenient, but gives poor performance,
poor gas mileage, and even when new didn't seems to shift really well.
I'd go for a 4 speed and O/D if you can get it.
Engine: I've had a couple of mishaps with my engine, but they were due
to my actions, and I got off lightly. I'd have to say that if you give
the car proper attention, and change the timing chains every 20-30K
miles, you're unlikely to have problems.
I own a TR3, and the reason I got mine was that my kids were fighting
over who got to ride with me. No problems now. And although it's not as
much fun, or as big an attention getter as a TR3, it's still a
distinctive and fun car to drive.
--
George Richardson
Wyvern - '57 Triumph TR3, TS15559LT
Griffin - '71 Triumph Stag, LE8176LBW - Daily Driver
Pikachu - '75 Triumph TR6 - undergoing repair
Kitty - '83 Jaguar XJ6 Vanden Plas - temporarily retired
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