Cool for Cats - Mike's Stag Aircon Unit Overhaul 

Great video. Mike is a friend and is definitely a good bloke. Can’t wait to see him in the bobble hat.

My cousin in Liverpool built the bodies of the Stags. He was a ships engineer working on ship's engines - from those you walk inside the crankcases to _small_ engines that powered powerful tugs. Once went to sea but was on the port side maintenance. They would fix anything in a ship's engine room: steam, diesel engine's, electric prop drives, the lot. If a 1950s Japanese ship needed a part that was not readily available in the UK, they would make it in the workshops using lathes, etc. Ships became bigger with fewer ships around with the south end docks closing as they were too small. He was out of a job. He took the undignified job of working at _"Standards",_ on a car production line. Many other highly skilled men in other fields were also working on these disliked _moronic_ car production lines the government had encouraged to be built in the area. Ford and GM were big payers setting up in the i960s. But the Stag body production was not as automated as the rest so a degree of skill could be applied by men who took pride in their work. He said the design of all cars was appalling with rust traps all over - that would never be tolerated in the marine world. Welcome to the rip-off auto industry - _"all fur coat and no knickers,"_ as he would say. So they were contemptuous of the management, and all this poor quality attitude. To these skilled men it should last forever, not a 10 year design life. They would also get annoyed when management were pushing them compromising quality. But they did the best they could in a bad situation. If any Stag bodies lasted longer than other marques, it may have been because of these redundant marine men working on them - and maybe the higher quality steel coming from Shotton in nearby Deeside, who did provide some steel to Standards but clearly not all of it. The management liked to hire unskilled men then train them in the way they thought, into their slap it out culture - which was not how the highly skilled men from other disciplines thought. The Stag body was made and fitted out, even the dash, etc, in Liverpool, then taken 120 miles to Coventry to have the flawed drive-train fitted. Production stopped at Liverpool in 1975 with all Stag production taken to Coventry, as the plant was to be turned over to 100% production of the TR7. The last two years of production were in Coventry, with sales falling off dramatically by then. Most Stag bodies were made in Liverpool. The TR7 was a car he disliked, although liking the design of the slant-4 engine, except the water pump design. When first seeing it he could see the glaring problems, but was annoyed the management never rectified them - that was a no, no, in the marine world were ship's engines had to *work,* not failing in mid-Atlantic, because someone in the buying dept was saving a few pennies on a part. He eventually left Standards having enough of them.

excellent stuff

Loved the chat and the enthusiasm, Mike was great to listen to and the rear wing badge on his grill actually looked quite good! He must like video's to cross reference whilst building his own cars, essential as there aren't many in the USA that you can just pop round to a mates house, 2 miles down the road to see how something fits on a complete car. We are lucky that there are thousands here. Great video Tony, thanks.

I can’t find any info from mikes LFS stag conversion. I’d love to see how it worked out.

Great stuff Tony , very interesting to see Mike and his cars in the US , I popped in to see Alan the welder a couple of weeks ago, nice to see UNY49M in the flesh , the Inca yellow looks great , keep up the good work , and thanks to Mike in the US 👍

Great video Tony - have always been curious about a/c for my Stag. Couple of the issues I came across with the original unit in my reasearches was that it was not rated for modern use (old coolant full of CFCs and not safe owing to highly pressurized system) - has Mike repressurized his and if so what was his solution? The other fact I picked up was they cause significant power drain - both on the stags weedy electrical system and driving performance...would be interested to see if that is the case

Hi arry, I ment to say , I’m interested in mikes LS engine and gearbox conversion?

Hi Harry I’m looking at taking my stag to Cyprus long term and would like to add A/C could you recommend anyone that could install a unit? Regards kenny

Hi guys I have a complete a/c unit it’s fully reconditioned and I have lots of air con parts I had three units made I good one out the three if any body needs any help With a/c unit I am in Birmingham thanks 😊

Steve Coogan [comedian, Actor] has just put his 1961 E-Type into an auction and it's estimate is £350,000...ouch! It is undrivable as it has been restored to better than showroom condition. Waste of money just to buy and put under a cover in a heated garage. The new generation will not be interested in a 60's old car and it's value will fall rapidly.