1971 Triumph Stag

1971 Triumph Stag

A Stag from the BL press fleet was used in the filming of the James Bond film, Diamonds are Forever, in 1971. The film sees Sean Connery as James Bond taking the Stag across to the continent on the hovercraft The Princess Margaret, en route to Amsterdam for a meeting with Tiffany Case played by actress Jill St John. When she opens the door, rather scantily clad, Bond says: 'That's quite a nice little nothing you're almost wearing. I approve.' As poor as the dialogue might sound today, it wasn't the movie's only assault on the audience's aural sensibilities - the sound effects team didn't make too much effort with the soundtrack and gave the Stag a four-cylinder exhaust note!

For consignment, a 2-owner car owned by our consigner since 1973. 33,104 miles are on, and this car presents in very nice condition. The car is all original save for a new gas tank and radiator. It is a convertible with a T style roll bar, and this car comes with a hardtop. A Spitfire on steroids, with more luxury all around. I say!

Exterior
A double edged pointed spear like styled grille trimmed in chrome and supporting dual headlights and a triangular orange signal light in either corner. A nice shiny bumper with vertical push bars is on the bottom and all this adds up to give the car a unique look. Steel is very straight, gaps are nicely managed, and a stainless steel rocker is on the bottom of either side. All steel is bathed in maroon paint which shows nicely and is believed to be factory with no rust or inclusions. A black hardtop with a nicely curved triangular rear window is available to pop on when you need to also wear your Wellies. On back the Spitfire-esque styling continues with another double pointed edge spear, edged in chrome complete with matching spear shaped taillights that slightly wrap around to the rear quarters. Another shiny bumper with vertical push bars is nice and sleek and wraps around the quarters as well and a marker light floats just above. 14 inch wire wheels with octagonal knobbed hubs are on all 4 corners.

Interior
Sleekly styled black vinyl door panels sporting sloping downward long armrests and a shiny actuator along with a front mounted pouch greet us upon entry. Nice high and wide bucket seats with some tuck and roll inserts and smooth bolsters all in black vinyl make up the front passenger's chairs. For the back a curved and undulating seat rear bench is in and offers up room for two more, albeit tight on the legroom front. Black carping floods the floors. Upfront a wood dash front houses the quintessential Smiths gauges. In the center is a BL AM/FM radio, temp sliders with an ash receptacle and this seamlessly meets up with a console that has the T shift lever and power window toggles. A wood insert is surrounded by padded black vinyl on the sides. In front of the passenger is a glovebox and an eyeball vent in the corner.

Drivetrain
Looking quite industrial and very clean and cast metallic we see the 2997cc V8. It is fed from the top with dual 1-barrel 175CD carbs that are tilted on an angle with wide cast intake tubes snaking their way into the mill. TRIUMPH badged valve covers and a silver cast air intake covering are also seen. On the back is a Borg Warner 3-speed automatic transmission.

Undercarriage
The ribbed floor pans and framing is solid. Tubular exhaust is showing some invasive rust near the tail pipes. Independent suspension is all around and power front disc brakes are upfront and power drums on back. Dual cherry bomb exhaust is in the center flanking an H pipe setup which works its way around the driveshaft.

Drive-Ability
A quick starter, smooth idle and taking off is no problem as is running at cruising speed. Good handling and braking were experienced. Note the turn signals are in-op, as is the heater blower.

A very nicely preserved original version of the Stag owned since almost new from our consigner who cared for the car, and always had it inspected. 5 years ago, a new convertible top was put on, and routine maintenance was all that needed to be done. Snap it up! And despite its name for women too!