The recipe for the traditional British sports car is incredibly simple but also extremely effective: for decades the notion of a honking great V8, rear-wheel drive and a pretty convertible body served the market very well indeed. From Cobra to F-Type, there really isn’t much to match the raucous charm of big engine and small sports car. Everyone will have their favourites, too, from Daimler Dart to Marcos Mantaray, TVR Griffith to Morgan Plus 8. Lots of British-based companies have made lots of very likeable roadsters over the years, so it’s a shame that the genre has sort of died with the demise of the F-Type. But their enduring popularity means there are plenty of classics to discover in the classifieds…
Thanks to both the nature of old British cars and our pioneering spirit, plenty of engine swaps have happened over the years. If an unreliable motor lets go or just isn’t punchy enough, it only makes sense to replace it with something more potent. Bigger and bigger engines go in ever smaller and less suitable sports cars, because that’s just the kind of thing we enjoy. It felt like they might all have happened by 2024: we’ve seen plenty of LS-swapped TVRs, Honda units in Elises and Duratecs rejuvenating MG Bs. But a small-block engined Triumph Stag? That really is something different. And brilliant.
Once over the idea of a 5.4-litre engine where just 3.0-litres used to live - and seeing ‘Chevrolet Power’ under the bonnet - the transplant makes a fair bit of sense. Rover V8s have been going into Stags for decades, plagued as the original Triumph engine was by woeful reliability. Like the Rover engine, a Chevy small block will offer affordable, dependable power in a fairly compact package, while retaining the sort of soundtrack that made these cars so popular in the first place. Even in its most modest state of tune, the 5.4-litre V8 will offer a useful power gain over the 145hp original - it’s rated from 225hp. This one, with a four-barrel Edelbrock carb and bespoke stainless steel exhaust, will surely suit all but the most power-hungry buyer.
This is no mere engine swap, either, an owner or two somewhere along the line - apparently there have been 14 in the past half a century and a bit - really striving to get the best from the Stag. So it’s got a Toyota five-speed ‘box and a limited-slip diff, better suspension all-round with polybushes, not to mention vented discs with upgraded calipers. All probably very handy with such a power boost, and with the Stag’s rep as a somewhat soft four-seat sports car.
There’s more, too, with a refreshed interior including new dash veneer, redone seats and even a Bluetooth stereo. Restomod is probably a step too far (and it would be twice the price then), but it would seem that a chunk of time, effort and money has been spent on improving lots of the car. It’d be nice to go without the bonnet scoop if possible, and there will probably be a better-suited wheel option out there, but this is PH - if a 5.4-litre Triumph Stag isn’t of just some interest, this isn’t the right place.
Given the work that must have gone in, it doesn’t look like mad money either. You’ll pay £20k for a standard manual with nearly 100,000 miles, so this with fewer miles for another £2,000 is certainly intriguing. There will always be those that favour originality, of course, and it’s to the credit of Stag folk across the country that so many have survived this long. A few will always covet a more evocative name or look, too. But for rollicking V8 muscle and (some) space in the back, it’s easy to see why the Stag with a story to tell could well appeal. Long live the classic British sports car, right?
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