Acquisition:
Purchased sight unseen off ebay (knowing the body needed tidying up and that the motor was blown) from Adam Aitken in Blackheath NSW in late Dec 2007 with Original Hardtop, Automatic, Blue interior (Sapphire Blue paint code 76) and grey carpet. Adam had owned it for approx 10 years.
Plate says 6-74 so it’s a middle of the year model. After digging around it seems the mkII as it’s known came in 1973 so despite the lack of alloy sill covers (which seem to have come a year or so later) this is a MKII based on all gauges and engine updates. Also according to Rimmer Bros the ‘A’ in my commission plate means it’s got a Borg Warner 65 Gearbox as BW would have meant 35 BUT after removing the gearbox I’ve found that it was a 35. I’ve since sourced a Manual O/D gearbox from a newer stag and converted the car to Manual.
According to the passport of sale that goes with the car this is still on its original motor which makes her rather special in that she’s pretty original throughout.
I used VIP Automotive Solutions to ship it from Blackheath NSW to Tassie for $2325 (Ouch!) but I highly recommend this company – they got it on a Monday afternoon and I had it by lunch Thursday same week – after 1,500-odd Km and a ferry crossing with a blown motor!
Ownership History:
- Sold by Reg Smith Motors P/L, Artarmon, NSW on November 5th 1974
- First purchased by Mrs P. M. Naher, Castlecrag, NSW as Registration #PN 232
- Second Owner Horst Schuerger, Chester Hill, NSW, as Registration #IS137
- Changed hands somewhere early in 1997 to Third Owner Adam Aitken, Blackheath NSW as Registration and changed to #AWA074 later on.
I’ve carefully modified it a little as follows:
- Davies Craig EWP kit 150 Alloy Electric water pump and controller with blanked off water pump impeller shaft hole
- Davies Craig Thermo Fan run by the controller
- Wooden steering wheel
- Tinted windows
- Lowered quite a lot!
- Lumenition Electronic Ignition
- Engine Guard temperature monitor with alert and display.
- Sony Head Unit
- Lower profile tyres on Stag/2500S alloys (better than the horrible steel originals it had)
- Custom stained and resprayed wood veneer panels
- Smiths Oil pressure guage in place of clock
- Electronic anti-rust protection kit with 2 sacrificial anodes
- Powder coated sump, cam covers, and air box.
- Custom rear adjustable camber brackets.
- Manual Gearbox with Overdrive.
- Rear battery conversion (in hood stowage space)
- Custom made extractors and custom tail pipe (left and right outputs)
Things that need attention:
- Paintwork showing its age – some crazing
Photo Galleries
Wheel trim paint
(07/09/2021)Apparently these are meant to be all silver but I think they look dumb like that. I've masked and painted mine while my alloys are off and fitted to my 2500.
A pretty typical inlet manifold leak + a replacement of the waterpump
(14/07/2017)Lots of oil around there too. I had this out when my waterpump failed. You can see how I placed a blanking plug deep in the head. Later I added another one up top too. Then I converted over to Davies Craig EWP.
New rubber part that lasted about 3-4 years before disintegrating
(02/09/2021)How can this shoddy stuff be allowed on the market?
Securon seatbelt broke within a couple of years of install
(14/07/2017)Terrible that something so crucial could be made of such fragile plastic. Seatbelt is usable but really dangerous as it doesn't always click in place.
Rust stop kit
(14/07/2017)I added this control box near the brake booster. Then an anode in the gutter near the bonnet hinge (front) and another in the back.
Compression Test, Leakdown test and plug checks
(04/07/2017)No 5 not looking too good (but it was a cold test). I did the test cold due to waterpump being out of the car at the time. I also used my digital boroscope to check the cylinders and noted a few whiter cylinders but nothing overly concerning. I had suspected I might find one that was steam cleaned and bright.
Fourth time round rebuilding the rack in 8 years!
(21/02/2017)First time I did it myself and it leaked fluid and I didn't change the roll pins in the pinion so it was sloppy.rnrnSecond time I had someone else (an engineer do it) and it didn't leak but it had lots of slop. Presumably he just did the seals only.rnrnThird time I took it out and swapped the pinion assembly. It too had slop. And it also had issues with often being without power assistance on start-up.rnrnFourth time I've fully rebuilt a spare rack. Replaced the two roll pins with solid pins. They're 5/32" and I used cut shot stubs from drill bits. I smashed them in place with a big mallet. No movement anymore in the pinion other than the flex it's meant to impart such that power assistance comes in.
Fitting pin stripe
(21/11/2016)I ran masking tape along and sighted it numerous times to make sure I wasn't wonky. Love the look without the bumpers...
Special Interest Projects
Removing stuck Triumph STAG cylinder heads
My engine rebuild had ground to a halt. The heads wouldn't come off.rnrnThere are 5 bolts that are close to the exhaust manifold side of each head. These go down perpendicular to the block face. There are also 5 studs that go through the centre of the head at an angle and into the inlet side of the block face. Traditionally you're meant to remove the bolts and unscrew the studs and then pull the head off. Commonly the heads corrode and then coolant gets around the head studs in the chambers that aren't meant to be wet - and then the studs corrode to the head - i.e. they stick together. This leaves you with studs that are impossible or very difficult to remove.rnrnIn my case all but the centre bolt on each head came out. The centre one on each side snapped under load about halfway down into the head so we have no way at all of getting at them. We can't weld on a nut or anything to get load on it. We could try and drill it but you need a super hard drill (diamond tipped) in order to try and drill out the bolt remains.rnrnAlso I'm unfortunate enough to have every single stud stuck in the head. This isn't uncommon and there are special stud removing tools but frequently they just can't come out due to the corrosion. It may well be possible in my case to weld on some nuts and get a better grip on them and the heat may also help brake the corrosion. I'm yet to try this.rnrnI've been getting advice from a few people. Dave Lawrence has been helpful and sent me some pics of his hydraulic ram design that pushes the heads off over the studs but this still relies on you getting the head bolts out. Hmmmmm.. Not sure if we can do this with mine.rnrnI've posted some pics of Dave Lawrence's jig for you here - and hopefully will post more as I go...
Hi Glen, looks like you had your work cut out.
I have a black Stag which will need some TLC when I return to Hobart; I will no doubt be knocking on your door for assistance.
Congratulations on a job well done,
Mal
Thanks. Is that the black one that used to be brown (still brown in some areas)? Used to be down on Kingston beach? Happy to chat and help if I can. Even if just to provide some inspiration.