Once in a while we get a Classic Car Owner who is keen to share the story of their car and what it means to them. 'Arry The Staaaag! www.arrythestag.com/saturday-sockets www.arrythestag.com/badge-of-honour
That's a great story from Peter and a very nice Stag. This is why we want these car and in your own words, "it gets into your DNA" Well said TR T. Have a great week Bob
I have covered this before, but Stag cooling is a succession of "5% ers". Everything you do adds and helps, 5% isn't much, but all the 5% ers add up. I drove mine to see a friend the other day, 5 pm. There was an accident on the highway, and we moved a km in 30 minutes. Now, it was 38 degrees C outside. Initially the car did what it always does. Elec fan switch is set to come on at 92 degrees, goes off at 87. Car cycles between 92 and 87 constantly. That is the perfect "cycle" to work with an 82 degree thermostat. Anyway, after doing this for 25 minutes of crawling/stopping/crawling, temp went to 92....... stayed there........ then started crawling up higher. I KNEW I had enough water (rad pressure normal); but my ammeter was darting toward -30 Amps; so I KNEW alternator was intermittently cutting out. This is MY CAR - this DOES NOT HAPPEN = not acceptable. I pulled over, turned off engine. Waited ten minutes. Traffic started moving, started car, all ok. My alternator had been overheating and cutting out. After waiting ten minutes, and then 5 minutes in traffic, then moving = cooled a bit = ok. Now, my car doesn't use the orig alternator. They just DO NOT WORK with the 20 amp 16 inch fan that is ESSENTIAL here. And a larger alternator won't fit where the orig does. Even at 43 amps - the orig alternator diodes are useless here. I have NEVER had Bosch alternator diodes fry, have been through oodles of Lucas diode packs. So, what was the problem? I have used a 60 amp Bosch alternator since shortly after I first got the car (1993). I mount it where the aircon compressor normally goes. The reason for the Bosch - bulletproof; and ANY wrecker here has them, so I can get one anywhere. Recently, everyone on Ebay is selling an 80 amp Bosch lookalike. They looked ok, So I fitted that. NEVER had a problem with the Bosch in 330,000 kms in extreme heat (up to 48 deg ambient all day); but the extra 20 amps was tempting. Live and learn, The Bosch is back on my car = perfect. As far as I am concerned, get the biggest radiator that will fit. I originally had a 4 core cellular tubular (what we call them here, fluted wafer zig zags between tubes, not just "fins". Different names in different countries.) That did the job on hot cross Australia trips. I DIDN'T want ally back then; as cross Oz trips I wanted to be able to solder any radiator split. I stopped driving coast to coast about ten years ago, so went to an Ally rad. It is great, it has two rows of tubes, but tubes are twice what the copper/brass core tubes are, so same cross section. I have the 20 amp 16 inch elec fan. That is ESSENTIAL here. I also used to have the engine fan for all interstate trips, but removed it about 5 years ago, as had a succession of viscous hubs fail, so lost confidence. I prefer to have the engine fan as well for cross Oz, but around here is ok with just elec fan. The Stag suffers from air flow. The underbody acts as a "wedge" that compresses air under the car, and this obstructs the air exit downwards from the engine bay. Look at any new car (me at the time looked at early 90's Holdens/Falcons) and they had 2 or 3 vertical air dams under the car to STOP that compression. I tried that, and it worked well, but in the end, a TR6 spoiler fitted, scooped air UP into the radiator, and also stopped some under body compression. My car has baffles at the side of the lead in to the radiator so that the air coming through grille and under grille mouth can ONLY go into the radiator, not sideways into the guards/create turbulence. I am not a fan of "funnel" shrouds. I am a fan of "tube" shrouds. A "tube" shroud ensures all the air inside the tube is sucked by the fan. At idle, the 60% of the radiator the fan sucks through is usually enough. At high speed (constant 80 MPH all day dawn til dusk), all air inside the tube may impede slightly....... but other 40% is free - so almost 100% flow. A "funnel" shroud funnels all the air into the one small aperture, which is THEN restricted by the 2,000 rpm max fan. No good at 130 kmh in over 40 degrees. I never made a tube shroud; by then I had the elec fan. But first trip home and back (3500 kms across desert one way, 7,000 kms return) I just had standard viscous fan, no shroud. But with 4 core rad, fan very close to rad, so was ok............. every trip after that, had elec fan AND engine fan. Most won't run their car at that in that heat all day. My car ran at 95 degrees (hottest it got) and EVERYTHING was HOT. Hand brake too hot to touch, had to pull it on with a t shirt under my hand. As soon as I slowed in town, car would drop to 87, fan off, cycle between 92 and 87 while sitting idling. Finally, I don't get people's troubles with thermostats. I have found the Stags system of bypass thermostat to be perfect. There is no need to drill holes in them, as there is a bypass. If they run at the wrong temp, it is the wrong temp thermostat, or there is something else wrong. They work perfectly, and the bypass system is well designed, and the passages are perfectly adequate. The tridon thermostats here have 12 degrees between start and fully open, so fully open at 94 degrees for an 82 deg thermostat. You CAN get a "high flow" thermostat from Tridon, they have a bigger valve (opening). I have tried them and noticed no difference. I have also driven in the hottest conditions most will ever drive in; and have tried a 74 deg thermostat. Makes little difference, except when cold, heater isn't as good. Went back to 82. And, again, the dynamics of the 82 deg stat working in with a fan temp of 92 on........ fan comes on when thermostat is about to "lose control" (fully open at 94); so stat does it's almost full opening....... almost full flow..... THEN fan kicks in. I find that works well. One last thing. I now have an elec water pump. The LAST thing I wanted was an elec pump. Part of my trade (amongst other things) is electrics/electronics; so to me the less electrics to play up the better. I mean, decent alternator and elec fan are essential here, but I was forced to go to an elec pump due to problems with the amount of not hardened properly water pump gears; and I just got sick of it. I even experimented with my own home made belt water pumps (Triumph 6 and a Hyundai Sonata); I got it working..... but the pulley was a bit close to the PS belt, so I wasn't happy with it. But Triumph could have made it SO MUCH simpler with a front belt driven pump like EVERYONE else. (Thank you Saab!!!!!!!!!) People rave on about "anti freeze." I find that is a compromise term. Here, it NEVER EVER freezes. I need a corrosion inhibitor, hence I maximise my "chosen additive" for that. People also want to argue all day about cap pressure. I have never run anything higherthan 13 lb cap on my car. I bought a 20 when I bought it; used it for testing, but then never again once I got better test gear. A Stag doesn't need the 20 lb cap, that was BL clutching at straws and putting stress on other things. I have a radiator pressure gauge (I have 4 under dash gauges) and ran 13 lb caps forever, but last few years I have a ten pound cap to "give the elec WP a break" as I find their fittings a bit "light spec". The thing is; I would NEVER go over 13 lb. 13 lb gives you a supposed boiling temp of 117 deg C WITHOUT any additives. My car NEVER EVER get above 92 (95 running flat out all day); so if you get to 100, you don't need a higher pressure cap, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM. 13 and 117 is perfectly adequate, and as I say, ATM I am running 10. I mean, BL designed all their stuff around 13 lb caps, but all of a sudden "just stick a 20 lb cap on, she'll be right." No, not at all. Anyway, they are my thoughts. I know many may not agree. But I get sick of the old "all Stags overheat/can't drive them for longer than an hour when over 24 degrees." I can made my Stag drive 3500 kms leaving 1300 Friday, arriving 1500 Sunday, dawn til dusk, cruising between 110 and 130 kmh (not a hoon; but NO ONE ELSE out there, and car is happier at 130) in temps averaging 40 degrees, but for 4 or 5 hours at up to 48 degrees. I did that 7 times return between 93 and 2001. The above is how I did it, so it is possible. If that can help anyone, so be it. If not, scroll by, and have a good day!!!!! These are only the ramblings of a man who decided to drive home on leave 7 years running in a car that EVERYONE said "couldn't do it/wasn't suitable." I'm either a trendsetter, or an idiot. Your choice. 🙂 :-) :-) 🙂
Great car worth mentioning though as you brought it up, that Triumph white and Rover white are different shades even though they share paint code 19. Many people have been caught out like this 👍
Seeing this makes me feel so much better. (It's not just me). Chasing cooling gremlins can be challenging. It's not just Triumphs that tease us with this. Even though my 2500S had me running around the houses looking for where the green tears were coming from, my 18yo BMW has a distaste for keeping her coolant in too. Good video. Thanks to you and to Peter.
A later 70s Dolomite or 2500 steering wheel is the ideal replacement for the earlier bigger steering wheels.... as you say they are a more comfortable sensible size at 14" or so....
Tony I love all your videos but every time you refer to Triumph White as "Old English White" I scream Arry the Staaag!! So just for info I don't believe Triumph ever used the OEW name but more the preserve of Jags, MGs and Austin Healeys, and the colour was definitely more an ivory shade. Peter's is definitely a true Triumph White (paint code 19) and a lovely example to boot!
@@KJs581 Sebring was an early 60s colour, so not a Stag option. Honeysuckle was indeed a contemporary triumph paint choice (more pale yellow than white) but I believe never offered as an option for the Stag, which would mean all white Stags were paint code 19 from the factory.
@@laurelgreentriumph Fair enough. I just went off the colour chart in the workshop manual. But checking the James Taylor book, he mentions two white codes; the initial 19, and then it says that in 77 they changed the code from 19 (numbers) to a three letter code (for SOME paints; weird, why only SOME) - "NAF" - and called it "Leyland White". For example, my car is "Carmine" which WAS 82 - later changed to CAA and called "Carmine red". That would make you think it is same colour (white) with a different code and name. But he then lists "paint manufacturer" for "white" as "Pinchin Johnson" and "Leyland White" as "unknown." But I think you are correct - the manual just lists "random Triumph colours of the time" and Stag colours were chosen within those colours, hence "only white." But good info, thanks.
