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In the Beginning |
Book References |
Well I always hankered after a stag. Partly because my brother was a Triumph mechanic and the family had a Triumph 2000 MK1 saloon. But also because of a British TV series called Hazel (i think) , about a private detective and he happened to have a stag.
Previously owned a GT6 and at the time had a Spitfire. My girlfriend at the time (now my wife) had two pre-teen children, so if I was to have any chance of keeping a sports car, it had to fit four. Well no true sports car seats four, or has a fixed roof (IMHO) so a convertible touring car it was. Mercs were too dear and what else was there?
Having expressed my desire to purchase a Stag, my mechanic brother declined the opportunity to work on it (to put it nicely :-) ) having far too recent experience with stags at work.
Car History Since Being In My Hands
Registration details say I registered the car in my name on the 10th of January 1989, but I am pretty sure I actually bought it in early December 1988, because I remember having trouble with the carbs over Christmas, one of the linkages had broken and I had a hell of a time finding a replacement (at that time, New Zealand really did shut down over Christmas). Managed to find one at a diesel injection service outfit.
I all gets a bit vague after that, I ran it for a few years and found the rust was going faster than I anticipated.
Why Did I Bother to Restore It?
Pig headedness I suppose. It started off as a rebuild by replacing the rear half, but the more we got into it the more there was. the engine had to be rebuilt anyhow, the softop was torn as was some of the upholstery.
It was no where near a basket case like the TR2,3,4 and 5s my panel beater works on.
At the end of the day I look at it this way. Where else are you going to find a 2+2 V8 convertible in as new condition for under US$30,000. I know no corners were cut, I know it was built from ground up and anything that needed replacing, was replaced.