STAG ROARS AGAIN

In 1964, Michelotti asked Triumph for a pre-production Mk2 2000 sedan that he could use as a basis for a styling special for the 1966 Turin Motor Show. His effort never made the show because Triumph’s director of engineering and development, Harry Webster, was so pleased with the eye-catching design that he took the prototype straight home, keen to evaluate it for production. Buoyed by the sales success of its sports cars in the US market, Triumph expected a warm welcome for a new upmarket design. It saw the Stag as a potential competitor for the top convertible models from Mercedes-Benz and Alfa Romeo. The Stag — at least early on, before it got other nicknames — was sometimes referred to as ‘The Midlands Mercedes’.

Not helping its protracted development was the transfer of Webster to Austin-Morris, with Rover’s Spen King coming on board to manage the project. Early prototypes used Triumph’s 2.5-litre saloon’s driveline then later a new fuel-injected V8 engine intended for a new range of Triumph 3000 saloons. The new motor, designed by Lewis Dawtrey, had a capacity of 2.5 litres and was fuel injected. Leyland opposed the new V8 and pushed for Rover’s new alloy Buick-sourced 3.5-litre V8 to be used.

Leyland actually had an excess of V8 engines. Following the merger with Jaguar in 1966, it acquired Daimler’s 2.5- and 4.5-litre Turner V8s and various experimental Jaguar military V8s from the 1950s, alongside Rover’s all-alloy V8. It didn’t need another. However, Triumph questioned Rover’s capacity to supply its own needs and Stag production. It also knew Rover was tinkering with a new mid-engine two-door design that would use the V8. Meanwhile Leyland boss Lord Stokes had cancelled the Daimler engines, citing excessive production costs.

So the Stag engine went ahead and developed a woeful reputation because of a couple of faults that could have been easily rectified with proper development. These were an oil gallery prone to blocking, which caused wear in the single-row timing chain, and some poorquality alloy cylinder-head casting, even though the engine was basically two Dolomite engines wedged together and they had proved robust enough.

The Stag engine went ahead and developed a woeful reputation because of a couple of faults that could have been easily rectified with proper development

Further problems included inadequately sized main bearings and drive gears