1976 Triumph STAG

Our latest auction is something a little bit different - but one that’s all the better for being so. It’s an amalgam of two Triumph Stags, you see; the vendor bought a solid 1976 Stag with a seized engine with the intention of converting it to electric power.

Found to be prohibitively expensive, he switched plans and had his local garage – Upton Noble, the well-respected Rolls-Royce specialists – fit the engine and transmission from a 1972 example that had covered just 36,000 miles.

The two were combined in 2016 at a cost of around £5,500 and the quality of the work can be gauged by the fact that Upton Noble also moved the pedals about two inches across from their original position to address one of the original car’s few ergonomic flaws.

The astute among you will also have noticed the car’s flared wheelarches and wider sills; it’s very subtle and appears well done. There are chrome sills on there too plus a new Double Duck hood.

In need of some light cosmetic fettling, the vendor drove it here from Somerset without problem. Offered with no reserve, this lovely old Stag would make the perfect rolling restoration for anyone looking for a minor project.

The orange bodywork is very of-the-period and all the better for being so; after all, if you’re going to buy a mid-seventies sportscar then you might as well go all in, hadn’t you?

The panels themselves are pretty good, with no more than the usual minor dents and marks. The paintwork looks good as you walk up to it too but closer inspection shows some micro-blistering to the finish plus the odd rust bubble.

The chromework is average; while some looks good still, other bits will need polishing to remove the rust spots and patina, while a few bits will need re-chroming or replacing.

It has been fitted with a new Double Duck hood only recently. It fits as well as you’d expect, and looks terrific. The hood frame, which has just been professionally repaired, allows the hood to rise and fall as it should.

Fitted with the correct Triumph Stag alloy wheels, the wheels seem to be straight and free of kerbing marks and other damage but could do with refurbishing as the paint is peeling and the alloy finish shows a small amount of corrosion. The tyres are matching and all have good tread.

As we will never tire of explaining, our experience shows that matching tyres like this are an infallible sign of a caring and mechanically sympathetic owner who is prepared to spend the appropriate amount in maintaining their car properly. Their presence does not, of course, preclude the need for a thorough inspection - something the vendor would welcome, by the way – but it does perhaps give you an insight into their attitude towards maintenance.

The eagle-eyed among you will have spotted that the underside of the bonnet is red. The vendor thinks that the orange colour may well be the original and the disparity is due to the bonnet coming from a different car.

The underside may well need some attention in the near future. The last MOT was carried out in February 2018 and while it passed, the MOT tester identified some corrosion on the nearside sill and the rear exhaust mounting. These will have inevitably deteriorated since then, so we can see there may be the need for some welding in the car’s near future.

The Stag’s interior is nicely patinated, and if your tastes run to authenticity and faded elegance then you won’t find much to worry about here; the seats are in good shape with only a minor tear to the fabric of the driver’s seat. More importantly, they’re firm and supportive and very comfortable with only gentle softening to the foam on the outer edge of the driver’s seat backrest.

The wooden veneer is in an okay condition; solid and free of damage, we can see that re-varnishing it might feature on the new owner’s To Do list.

The carpets are in a decent condition, with new ones having been fitted to the boot.

A modern Pioneer headunit has been fitted

Faults? Well, the temperature gauge doesn’t look great and the central air vents look like they could do with some TLC. Or you could just put it all down to honest patina.

A new fuel tank has just been fitted along with the offside front exhaust pipe and a steering gaiter. We’ve driven the car and can confirm that the engine feels very strong, and the car drives well.

Quirks we found include the need to hold the gearlever firmly in place when reversing. The owner also helpfully mentioned that the car needs little to no choke in the summer, half-choke in the spring and autumn, and full choke in the winter.

The engine bay itself is more workmanlike than pretty, but detailing like this is one of life’s little pleasures and a great way to while away the coming winter evenings.

Full-blown faults, on the other hand, are few: the overdrive isn’t working and well, that’s it.

The Triumph doesn’t have a current MOT certificate, and while it is exempt by virtue of its age, we would strongly encourage the new owner to have the car re-MOT’d at the earliest. The cost of an MOT is a small investment when offset against the purchase and upkeep of any classic car, and it gives an independent, third-party assessment of the car’s condition, which not only provides reassurance to the owner (and any subsequent purchasers) but might also be invaluable in the event of a bump when negotiating with the police and any interested insurance companies…  

It has a few old invoices to confirm the work that has been done to it since the vendor bought it.

Please visit the documents section of the gallery of this listing where you will find photos of this and other paperwork to support our claim that this car has been converted and maintained to a good standard.

If you’d like to inspect the car prior to placing a bid – something we would encourage – then please use the Contact Seller button to arrange an appointment.

With a guide price of just £5,000 to £8,000 this Triumph Stag is going to offer someone an awful lot of fun for not a lot of money.

And there really is an awful lot to like from the vivid orange paintwork through to the low-mileage engine and manual gearbox, this one ticks an awful lot of the right boxes for us.

Plus, the need for some (largely cosmetic) fettling means that the new owner can add value with every job they complete – and classic car motoring really doesn’t get any better than driving a V8-powered manual convertible that’s not depreciating, does it?

Finally, it’s being offered with no reserve, so it’s going to sell from the very first bid. Honestly; what else do you want from us?

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.