OK, OK, before I go any further, yes, I've heard all the horror stories
about the Triumph Stag. That said, let's also say that I've loved the look
and aura of the Stag since I first wandered around one in a dealer's
showroom in 1973. That look that suggests what a Spitfire might look like
when it grows up. Those beautiful factory aluminum wheels. That nicely
integrated roll-bar. And, important for those of us with pre-schoolers, it
has a workable "utility" back seat. A convertible Triumph with looks, a
V-8, and a back seat!
I have come upon a 1974 version that was originally sold in Singapore (so
it's RHD), imported into Houston in the early 80's (all duties and fees
have been paid), and in storage in San Antonio for about 10 years. The
requisite engine rebuild has already been done, and the (auto) tranny has
been reworked. The body is in great shape (no rust or dings), but the
paint is essentially GONE. It needs a lot of fiddly bits to be a nice car,
but overall it's solid. Oh, and it has the factory hardtop, too.
The owner, still in Singapore, hasn't seen it in years. He was originally
asking over $8K for it, but no way is it worth near that much. At last
weekend's VTR regional (in San Antonio) I asked a couple of Stag owners
what it might be worth, and they could only say things like "not much".
One of them had recently purchased a Stag in reasonably good condition for
only $1900.
So, any ideas about what I might offer for this thing? It's currently
collecting dust in the corner of a repair shop--- the owner has been
extremely benevolent by allowing it to stay in there rather than outside,
but it's not going anywhere until someone pays for the work they've done.
(New starter, minor tuning, etc.)
Do I have a place for something like this? No. But my wife has also been
a Stag fan, and *she* would like to try it out. And she's not particularly
fond of automotive activities in general! This rare bubble of support for
an LBC would be a shame to waste.
Any suggestions would be welcome. In reality, there's little hope that
I'll actually buy it. So if anyone else is interested, let me know and
I'll give more details.
Lee M. Daniels Laboratory for Molecular Structure and Bonding Texas A&M
daniels@lmsbvx.tamu.edu (409) 845-3726 Fax (409) 845-9351
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