The Triumph Stag took a long time to rid itself of the snag tag, but now it’s one of the best affordable 2+2 GTs on the block

Few cars are truly in a class of their own, but the Triumph Stag is one of that elite; without rivals. Here’s a fourseater convertible with a V8 in the nose, and while other such cars are available, they’re rather bigger and substantially more costly thanks to the fact that they sport upper crust badges such as Mercedes or Rolls-Royce. If you’re on a relative budget and you want to transport up to four people al fresco in a hurry, with a wonderful V8 soundtrack, the Stag is your only option.

That’s how it is now, and it’s also how it was when the Stag was introduced 42 years ago. How could Triumph fail? Sharp Michelotti lines, a soundtrack to die for and a unique 3-litre V8 all gave buyers ample reasons to put a Stag at the top of their shortlist. Triumph confi dently predicted that it would shift 12,000 of them each year, but in a seven-year production run, sales totalled just 25,939. Talk about a missed opportunity.

History

The Stag arrived in 1970, having fi rst been dreamt up in the mid-1960s as a roofl ess GT based upon the 2000 saloon to complement the Vitesse. This was a time of great turmoil for Britain’s motor industry, with mergers and acquisitions taking place every other week. As a result, the planned specifi cation for the Stag changed constantly; fi rst it was to have the 2.0-litre straight-six from the 2000 saloon. Then the 2.5PI unit was to be fi tted and there was even talk of using the 3.5-litre Rover V8, and development mules in all confi gurations were tested.

The sensible step would have been to ape Mercedes and offer a range of engines but BL rarely knew the meaning of it. The Triumph V8 project was already well underway, plus Triumph and Rover had only just become stablemates in the BL empire and consequently, their respective engineers felt the companies were still rivals. So given that the Stag was aimed at the lucrative US market where only a V8 will do, it was decided that Canley’s own 3.0-litre V8 would power Triumph’s new budget grand tourer. Further logic dictated that it should also found a home in the PI saloon but internal politics the way only BL could conjure up decreed otherwise… And did you know that while the Stag looked similar to the 2000/2.5 in fact it shared only 23 common panels?

When the Stag hit the UK market in June 1970, it featured its own 145bhp 2997cc V8 engine (with single c.b points, but this changed in 1971) and a choice of manual or automatic transmissions. A year later the car had reached US showrooms too, then from early ’72 the cooling system was revised with an expansion tank and a special U tube connecting the water pump to the thermostat housing. That October the highly desirable overdrive became standard on all cars with a manual gearbox.

In February 1973 Triumph revealed a MkII Stag. Changes were generally minor and they included the fi tment of a matt black tail panel and sills, plus new instruments. The wheel trims were also now completely silver, a hard top became standard issue and the rear quarter windows were deleted from the hood.

But there’s a fair few other differences to note. The engine featured a higher compression ratio with domed pistons, the side windows were removed from the soft top to reduce creasing, a laminated windscreen was fi tted and cheaper pile carpets were substituted. A slightly smaller (Dolomite Sprint) steering wheel (14.5in from 16in) was fitted and – although this is questionable – MKIIs used slightly inferior steel as BL cut its budgets.

From this point on the changes became increasingly minor. In April 1973 alloy wheels replaced wire wheels on the options list, then three months later the Stag was withdrawn from the North American market. Hazard and seat belt warning lights were fitted from January 1974 then from March air-conditioning was cut from the options list. Alloy wheels, tinted glass and laminated windscreen became standard in October 1975, a year before the stronger Borg-Warner Type 65 automatic gearbox replaced the previously fitted Type 35 unit. Then, in June 1977, the final Stag was built after practically 26,000 were made.

Driving

It’s time to dispel a myth. It’s often reported that the Stag sold badly because it wasn’t well received by the affl uent market. Not so – it was the reliability rather than desirability which blunted sales. As long as it is set up properly and maintain studiously, that 3-litre V8 is a fabulous unit; smooth, torquey, muscular and with a deep, bassy burble that’s worth the money alone – especially as you rev towards the red line. While it lacks the guts of the Rover V8, the Triumph one is the nicer unit which is why many alien-engine Stags are being reverted back to factory spec.

As many as 70 per cent of Stags suffered a typically 1960s ineffi cient three-speed automatic gearbox, so ratio swaps can be on the slow if smooth side. That said, the V8’s the available torque goes some way to compensating for it and we wouldn’t turn down self-shifting Stag. More sought after however is the manual/overdrive transmission which at least allows you to have more control over which gear you’re in (six in total), but it doesn’t have the most precise of gear changes, so whichever gearbox you choose it’ll be less than ideal.

The same goes for the steering, which has power assistance – and a little too much of it. As a result there’s very little feel through the wheel so you’re never really sure what the road wheels are doing; not nice in the wet. It’s possible to re-valve the set-up to increase feel, and if you’re aiming to buy a Stag for the long term it’s very much worth doing. Leave it ex-factory and you’ll never enjoy driving the car all that much – the steering just feels too remote in standard form.

However, even in standard form there’s much to love about the Stag; it makes the perfect affordable cruiser for the summer. Just buy an auto, stick it in Drive and cruise, lapping up that smooth woofl e from the twin pipes. And all the time you can enjoy the view from the dash; classic seventies Triumph with the real wood veneer, Lucas dials and a commanding driving position that offers an excellent view all round of what’s going on. Even better, the fi tment of four proper seats means you can take the whole family along for the ride. Four-up, you’ll all be able to sample the Stag’s best qualities; the soundtrack and the agreeable ride, although if you corner too enthusiastically there’s a touch too much body roll so your passengers might just lose their lunch.

As we said earlier, the press raved about the Stag even though Autocar warned owners not to expect a taut sports car like the TR6 but concluded that “The Stag is one of those cars that you appreciate the more you drive it…”

The more critical Car reckoned that the Triumph was a bit “wishy-washy” and neither a true GT or sports car but admitted it was an excellent tourer all the same.

Fast forward almost two decades and a more appropriate appraisal was conducted by the late lamented Supercar Classics where the Stag was deemed the perfect antidote for stressful modern motoring. And a further two decades on, it still is…

Prices

The best Stags command £15,000-£18,000, although such cars come onto the market relatively rarely. These are the cars that have either been cherished from new and have few owners plus have covered a low mileage, or they’ve been well restored with photographic evidence. More common are the merely very good Stags, which fetch more like £8000-£12,000, while a reasonable example that needs some work is £6000- £8000; restoration projects start at £2000.

Manuals are more sought after than autos, but there isn’t a huge price difference; they’re just easier to sell. What can be a real pain to sell on is a car without the Triumph V8; Rover 3.5 V8s, Triumph straight-sixes and Ford V6s have all been fi tted over the years, but nowadays, Stag buyers increasingly want the original powerplant and you can expect a price difference by as much as 25 per cent for non-standard models, although it depends on how well the conversion has been done.

Improvements

To get the most out of the Stag it needs some sympathetic upgrades; potentially quite a few. While a raft of improvements can be made to the engine when rebuilding it, the key ones are to fl ush the water jackets through so coolant can fl ow properly. An electric fan is worthwhile too, but only if the rest of the cooling system is in good order. Also think about carb upgrades (US Holley works well) and electronic ignition, which combined can release up to a reliable 175bhp.

A really stiff clutch can be caused by the engine and gearbox running out of line with each other. The easiest fi x is to use a modifi ed clutch plate, from James Paddock for £210. This is more tolerant to running slightly out of true and also gives a much lighter pedal. Modern fi ve-speed gearboxes from Ford and Toyota can be made to fit but you prefer an auto albeit with a smoother, sportier attitude, a modern Jaguar XJ40 fourspeeder conversion is available, but you’ll need around £4000 to fit it.

Other worthwhile improvements include re-valving the steering for more feel, ventilated discs up front to increase stopping power plus the fitment of Datsun driveshafts in place of the splined items usually fi tted. The originals can stick, leading to snatching in corners, so the Datsun parts can really improve the Triumph’s already pleasing driving experience.

There’s still many Rover V8 Stags around and they are as good as their conversion. If the ride height issue is settled (the Rover is some 140lb lighter) then they make great, reliable drivers. Another swap is to install a Triumph straight six although this isn’t as easy as you’d credit. Apart from a simpler, easy to run engine, the unit weighs much the same as the Stag’s V8.

However the Stag is some 50kg heavier so unless the engines are tuned, performance won’t be spectacular. But for gentle cruising – and let’s face it that’s what many of us do – it’s fi ne.