It has been a while since I last updated this and whilst there have been reasons for that (buying other Triumphs...) I decided that it was time that I went back to giving this car the attention it deserves.
The car went into a specialist in order to get the roof repainted. Suffice to say whilst the roof was not repainted the car also came back with a few deep scratches free of charge
. To add insult to injury the uber rare Rays Payton Place metal valve cap covers (unique to these rims) also went walkies! P1ssed off was not the word.
Many things went through my head at the time (main one being why did I bother with all this effort or getting a half decent looking Stag and even bothering with the rims when some scrote will scratch the thing up and pinch bits (Maybe this is why I never painted the MGB so as to avoid such scenarios....). Maybe this is why some many VeeDubbers go for the rat look so as to avoid this exact kind of dissapointment.
As a result, I got the car back and left the half finished hardtop at the specialist (complete with a very wet interior (I can only guess the car was left outside with the roof partially on... (I am glad I did not put the good dash into the car!). Upon taking the carpets out the floors were fine but it was clear that the carpets had been wet for a while. The water that ran out of them was not a pleasant colour in addition to the carpets wreaking of that horrific mould/dead rat smell. The specialist may enjoy Legionnaire's disease but I certainly do not!
With me losing a little faith in the car (I am still hoping that I got away lightly and that I have no more rot to contend with after getting the car to its very solid state!) I managed to sort a dryish garage out and put it in there for a month trying to forget about and thinking what I can do (break it (it won't sell for much with 3 deep scratches in it, and the paintwork was the best part of the car), burn it, who knows).
Then I figured it was time I quit my whining (thanks for putting up with that rant above!), go back to my ways of not really trusting garages again (I am sure it is easier to find a good woman than a good garage
), and renew my vigour and mojo in the car.
Upon firing the car up in its now dry (and not so bad smelling) state I realised why I wanted one of these Stags. The glitches soon became a distant memory as I went down to the road. Vaguely sticking with the RR philosophy of if you do something bad (or in this case your car seems to be going through a bout of iffy karma) put some joy back into things I believed it was time to sort out one or two minor glitches in addition to hitting the car with a stick
. So quite late this afternoon I began on the rear (ooh eerrrr!). I did have my reasons for starting on the rear too, which I shall cover later.
Changing the rear springs on a Stag is not all that different to the 6 pot saloons (2000/2.5/PI etc.). As a result it is a relatively straightforward affair assuming everything comes apart as it should (in this case I got lucky with only a few of the driveshaft bolts being initially stubborn but moving fine
. All one needs to do is to support the car, support the relevant trailing arm, undo the driveshaft to diff bolts, and finally remove the bottom damper nuts before gently releasing the jack supporting the trailing arm (the damper keeps the spring retained (although it is questionable as to whether it would pop out). Refitting as they say is the reversal of removal.
It was a case of out with the old and in with the new:
I also took the opportunity to change the bottom damper bushes for some Superflex items that I won on eBay from a forlorn project a short while ago. I have always recommended these bushes, although I was dubious about using them on the damper mounts since there have been one or two scare stories about some racing poly bushes snapping the bottom damper threaded section. But then again, the quality of some rubber components these days is shocking (no pun intended!) One of the ruber damper bushes had cracked badly (the one more vulnerable to the elements) yet the other damper bush looked like brand new!
I suspected the dampers were changed shortly before I bought the car. Testing them proved that they were still in perfect condition, although they have have a slightly harder time with the new springs (in addition to being underdamped!).
And as if by magic it was all fitted including some new spring insulators
:
Whilst doing this I noticed that the splines of the offside driveshaft had seen better days with quite an amount of play present. But who cares? I have some spare (and better) driveshaft and hubs to be fitted at the later date anyway, and well, lowering is more important (well, sort of).
Why have I not done the fronts I hear some of you ask? Well, the front of the car always seemed a little low to me when compared to other Stags (they are also red too!) Whether the car was lowered at one point or if they are simply very tired springs is unknown. I suspect the rear of the car was rebuilt with new bushes throughout (they do not look like old items) including the springs and dampers, hence why the back of the car was so high.
Before I started the rear of the car did look like it belonged more to a 4x4 than a convertible, with the car not really pulling off the dragster look either!
Whilst some may argue I would have killed kittens etc. I figured I would take the car out for a drive with the car looking quite level all round (the front of the car is higher by a 1/4", possibly confirming it has been lowered at the front, but the new progressive front springs will be fitted soon
. Despite the rear alone being lowered it drives much better. Much less roll in the corners, and the rear does strangely has more traction (it really does shift from standstill). Maybe now the camber of the rear wheels is correct it has aided matters in addition to the springs being slightly stiffer. The dampers are slightly underdamped I feel but they are fine (I have driven much cars with more wallow with larger drops
. So overall, I am pleased, and am looking forward to fitting the fronts (I really do enjoy driving this car down the B roads now).
My decision to drive the car was rewarded with some lovely colour in the somewhat cloudy sky with the sun being broken up quite nicely.
And just to tease you chaps here is a taster of how the car has settled after a drive
:
An improvement I think you will agree.
And now it is time to the beer
.