Im very interested in this car and would like to know some facts. Thanks
Watch this Brit TV show on resurrecting a Stag… with a replacement Rover (formerly the Buick/Olds 215 V8) engine
They came from British Leyland, owned and horribly mismanaged by the Brit government. Cars from this ill-fated period are of VERY poor quality. Ironically, from an island nation, the tops leak, the cars leak oil from every component that holds oil and they rarely run in damp conditions due to electrics from the Prince of Darkness, Lucas. Restoring one would be very time consuming requiring the welding to fix rust, re-wiring with expensive parts shipped from England. The restoration will probably return 10 cents on the dollar unless you do all the work yourself, then it will return 50 cents on the dollar.
On the other hand, it is very cool, unique ride that is quite the conversation piece.
How familiar are you with British cars? This one is fairly rare so parts could be an issue. Are you a member a of a Brit car club?
This car is on the list of the “all time worst cars”. As others comment, nearly everything on this car will give trouble, expensive trouble.
For a brief period these cars were given to the British Highway patrol police, when German Police had Porsches, and it did not last long.
When it was running, it was fast; that’s about all you can say for it.
It was also the show car for Patrick McGoogan, in a British TV series where he plays a secret agent.
okay thanks everyone for the info, the car is truly beautiful but not worth it. Thanks
McGoohan drove a Lotus 7 in “The Prisoner”. What show did he drive the Stag in?
^
Perhaps he drove a Stag in his Secret Agent series, although I am a bit foggy regarding this choice of car for that series.
@Jtsanders I think it was called “Secret Agent”. The show had a different name in the US, I think it was “Danger Man”. In any case, it was in black & white and had 2 names, depending where you watched it.
The US show was Danger Man in 1960 and Secret Agent from 1964-1967 or so. Neither show could have used a Stag. It was produced from 1970-1977.
I stand corrected; having a memory that’s good but sometimes “short”.
I have heard about the Stag a few times. It was never in a positive light.
The big problem with the Stag was that it’s engine wasn’t exactly a clean slate design, it was basically two 1.5 liter I4’s stuck together, and there were major problems with it, the timing chains were notorious failure points, and there were chronic overheating problems This is of course in addition to the standard British car problems… Even by the standards of British cars of the day, these things were unreliable.
Pretty car and the right color though… 
I had a Sunbeam Alpine in that color and it was a blast to drive. Who would have thought that the front wheels of that little 4-banger could be yanked off the pavement an inch or two when banging second gear hard.
FoDaddy is correct.
The engine of that car was cobbled together from two cast-iron 1.5 liter 4-cylinder engines, and then topped off with aluminum alloy cylinder heads. The end result was a reaction between the two dissimilar metals, along with blown head gaskets and warped cylinder heads. By 50k miles, these engines were essentially ready for the scrap heap from overheating damage.
This was just one more example of bizarre planning on the part of British Leyland, because their existing 3.5 liter V-8 was actually a very sturdy engine. By cobbling together a 3 liter V-8 from two existing 4-cylinder engines, they wound up with less power and far more mechanical problems than if they had just used their existing 3.5 liter engine.
Owners who wanted to keep these cars for the long term soon learned that the way to do it was to drop one of those 3.5 liter engines into their Stag. Of course, that did not help with the ever-present electrical problems, but at least it gave them a very good engine.
“Owners who wanted to keep these cars for the long term soon learned that the way to do it was to drop one of those 3.5 liter engines into their Stag. Of course, that did not help with the ever-present electrical problems, but at least it gave them a very good engine.”
As a former owner of an Austin America from the same era, I am skeptical that any BL engine could be called reliable. Relatively reliable, yes, but still way below average I imagine.
" I am skeptical that any BL engine could be called reliable. Relatively reliable, yes, but still way below average I imagine."
You imagine incorrectly…
;-))
I think that you are probably forgetting the origin of the Rover 3.5 liter aluminum V-8, which began its life as the Buick 215 c.i. aluminum V-8. (215 c.i. = 3.5 liters)
This was always considered to be a very well-designed, sturdy engine, and after GM (inexplicably) decided to stop using it in 1963, the rights to this engine were sold to BL, which began using it a few years later, following some modifications.
BL actually strengthened the block to some extent, and these engines had a long, reliable history in Rovers and Range Rovers–unlike the rest of those vehicles.
There were a number of good British engines, like the 3.5l V8 and the Jaguar I6. Often people swap in a Chevy V8 for the Jaguar I6 - they get rid of the best part of the car, and leave all the bad (electrical) parts in it.
Today is a good day - I learned something.
^
We definitely have something in common, JT.
My goal is to learn at least one new thing every day, and I am happy if I accomplish that goal.
If I manage to learn more than one new fact, then it is a very good day.
Those who don’t strive to continue to learn, and/or those who are resistant to new information, are only cheating themselves in the long run!
Edited to add:
Isn’t it nice that long-time veterans of this board (like us) can exchange information in a civil manner, unlike a couple of the newer members who view this board as being an adversarial free-for-all?