Stag awakes from winter slumber with a cough and splutter!

[flying farmer]

Summer is here and I prodded the Stag into life for the first time in several months.

It was not a happy car, after leaving it running until warm I set off down the road with a massive misfire every time I touched the throttle.

A rapid about turn in the layby a couple of hundred yards away from home, and back to the garage.

Off with the distributor cap, well and truly full of condensation! Much swearing later I had the cap back on (the injection system and water plumbing make the rear clip very difficult to get at), and order was restored.

Having changed back to the standard cams over the Winter (fast road ones now in project stags engine), I was expecting no end of trouble recalibrating the injection system, but a quick tweak of the spring tension on the air measuring flap was all it took.

I was also expecting a major pinking episode using regular unleaded with the compression being over 10:1. I had tweaked the distributor for use with the fast road cams, with weaker advance springs in the distributor to give more low rev advance, but it hasn't protested so far, even when flooring it at 900rpm (something I never normally do). This may change with fresh petrol, but I hope not.

It will be interesting to get it on a rolling road at sometime to see how the power and torque compare with the previously fitted fast road cams, but at the moment it still seems fairly rapid, and I am hoping for a few more MPG too! (but not if I drive it like I did tonight!)

Neil

[therat04]

Summer is here and I prodded the Stag into life for the first time in several months.

It was not a happy car, after leaving it running until warm I set off down the road with a massive misfire every time I touched the throttle.

A rapid about turn in the layby a couple of hundred yards away from home, and back to the garage.

Off with the distributor cap, well and truly full of condensation! Much swearing later I had the cap back on (the injection system and water plumbing make the rear clip very difficult to get at), and order was restored.

Having changed back to the standard cams over the Winter (fast road ones now in project stags engine), I was expecting no end of trouble recalibrating the injection system, but a quick tweak of the spring tension on the air measuring flap was all it took.

I was also expecting a major pinking episode using regular unleaded with the compression being over 10:1. I had tweaked the distributor for use with the fast road cams, with weaker advance springs in the distributor to give more low rev advance, but it hasn't protested so far, even when flooring it at 900rpm (something I never normally do). This may change with fresh petrol, but I hope not.

It will be interesting to get it on a rolling road at sometime to see how the power and torque compare with the previously fitted fast road cams, but at the moment it still seems fairly rapid, and I am hoping for a few more MPG too! (but not if I drive it like I did tonight!)

Neil

Hello Neil you lost me just after the distributor cap!! much respect mate you make it sound so easy, im cacking myself about starting my timing chains i keep putting it off...yes i know£££££..i will do it soon but the weather keeps making me drive the stag.
How many stags have you got now Neil? and what is the reason that you carry out all these alterations?...Steve

[Another Peter]

what is the reason that you carry out all these alterations?...Steve

Too much time and money on his hands

[therat04]

Too much time and money on his hands

Hello Peter i suppose thats the trouble with these poor old farmers..i wonder what government grant stag repair and alteration comes under?...Steve

[StokeyStag]

Hello Peter i suppose thats the trouble with these poor old farmers..i wonder what government grant stag repair and alteration comes under?...Steve

Wildlife preservation

[MLCstag]

Hello Neil you lost me just after the distributor cap!! much respect mate you make it sound so easy, im cacking myself about starting my timing chains i keep putting it off...yes i know£££££..i will do it soon but the weather keeps making me drive the stag.
How many stags have you got now Neil? and what is the reason that you carry out all these alterations?...Steve

Just done my chains, it wasn't too bad. Mind you I rebuilt the carbs and refurbished the distributor as well. Also swapped the pump for a daddy external one and moved the alternator over. Now need to tune it up as it's running but not as I'd like it. Inlet manifold still leaks though. Oh the joys of Stag ownership.

[flying farmer]

Too much time and money on his hands

Not enough time sadly, SWMBO would kill me if I spent any more time on my cars, and all my money seems to be tied up in neglected Triumphs (anyone want to volunteer with a bucket of water and a hoover?)

Only two stags, one is the project I have been working on for two years, but also the Stag engine Estate plus the Stag engine TR, and an RV8 engine Toledo,

23 years worth of Triumph collecting so far, and the real problem is that I hate them all as standard vehicles, mostly due to the over soft suspension. That is easily sorted out, but then with a decent set of wheels and tyres I find they are all lacking in power, hence the tuning begins!

I did once buy another 2 door Toledo so I could have the V8 one and the standard one to drive and compare, but I had forgotten how dangerous the standard ones were and ended up spinning it within a couple of months fortunately without hitting anything. That scared me so much I fitted Sprint alloys and new tyres, but it still wobbled like a jelly so I fitted lowered uprated springs and shocks, harder bushes etc etc. See a pattern emerging here?
When I sold it, it was fitted with a fast road cammed fuel injected Sprint engine, very nice car and the £2600 I sold it for paid for the project Stag and a good pile of parts.

Happy days!!!

[therat04]

Not enough time sadly, SWMBO would kill me if I spent any more time on my cars, and all my money seems to be tied up in neglected Triumphs (anyone want to volunteer with a bucket of water and a hoover?)

Only two stags, one is the project I have been working on for two years, but also the Stag engine Estate plus the Stag engine TR, and an RV8 engine Toledo,

23 years worth of Triumph collecting so far, and the real problem is that I hate them all as standard vehicles, mostly due to the over soft suspension. That is easily sorted out, but then with a decent set of wheels and tyres I find they are all lacking in power, hence the tuning begins!

I did once buy another 2 door Toledo so I could have the V8 one and the standard one to drive and compare, but I had forgotten how dangerous the standard ones were and ended up spinning it within a couple of months fortunately without hitting anything. That scared me so much I fitted Sprint alloys and new tyres, but it still wobbled like a jelly so I fitted lowered uprated springs and shocks, harder bushes etc etc. See a pattern emerging here?
When I sold it, it was fitted with a fast road cammed fuel injected Sprint engine, very nice car and the £2600 I sold it for paid for the project Stag and a good pile of parts.

Happy days!!!

Fantastic stuff Neil a true bloke dedicated to his hobby, i would love to do some of that stuff, but im afraid there would be to much opening the bonnet followed by a stupid puzzled look.... followed by much tea and banter with neighbours.... followed by bonnet down..i will polish it instead and do it later.
I think my main problem is lack of space, my stag sits in a block of concrete garages where if you swung the cat you would take its head off.
Cooped up in this small space i have things hanging from the ceiling including the hard top, wooden shelves and cupboards hanging from the walls ..all these are full of stag bits,all the bits i buy just in case!.... getting the stag into such a small space obviously built for a 1970's mini is a feat of driving in itself.
I have carpets on the walls to protect the doors and plywood at the end in case of any overshoot, this was a good idea, the bad idea was storing my old riley 6'x3' slate bed snooker table behind these ply boards.... now this is the only time i have ever done the following.. I carried out the perfect parking in miniature garage manouver...mobile rings.. trout is on the other end.. blah blah blah ..she said.. i said ... blah blah blah... i am sitting there in gear ( you all know whats coming ) forgot i was in gear as i was listening to the trouts problems.. yawn.. took my foot off the clutch.. stag lurched forward hit the plyboards and snapped my beloved slate bed in half (just the slate)... Fxxx IT....no damage to the stag luckily it didnt hit that hard but hard enough as slate is not that strong.
I am luckier than some who have nowhere under cover to keep their stag.
Well done Neil keep up the good work, i suppose your doing your bit for stag preservation albeit disguised as other vehicles!...Steve

[therat04]

Just done my chains, it wasn't too bad. Mind you I rebuilt the carbs and refurbished the distributor as well. Also swapped the pump for a daddy external one and moved the alternator over. Now need to tune it up as it's running but not as I'd like it. Inlet manifold still leaks though. Oh the joys of Stag ownership.

I was planning my own double job brake master cylinder then timing chains, but i have done the master cylinder, the timing chains are soon, they are not to bad they only clink now and again at tick over, its when they clunk and clink when its running i will have over cooked it.
The only extra jobs now that i plan to do at the same time as the chains is new plugs and leads,new distributor cap and rotor arm then re timing, and if shes lucky flush the coolant, but its worth it, I am in my 4th year now and as you say "oh the joys of stag ownership" and yes it is a joy to drive...Steve

[flying farmer]

And the even better news is the Stag passed its MOT this morning!

Neil