Triumph Stag Buying Checklist
One A4 page to take to a viewing, made from the checks in the buying guide, where each check is explained in full with what a bad answer looks like.
Triumph Stag buying checklist
Car: ______________________ Date: ____________
Cold start test
- Engine stone cold on arrival: manifolds and top hose cold
- Oil pressure light on with ignition, out within a second or two of starting
- No timing chain rattle that persists once warm
- Idles 15 minutes or more; gauge climbs, settles and holds
Engine and cooling
- Radiator hot top and bottom once warm (never open a hot cap)
- No steady bubbling in the expansion tank
- No creamy residue under the filler cap or on the dipstick
- Thermostat fitted: proper warm up, gauge holds steady
- No persistent tapping from the top of either head
Rust points
- Front valance and behind the headlights
- Inner and outer wings, arch lips, inner wing top seam
- Scuttle below the windscreen
- A-posts, base and join to the sill
- Inner and outer sills: tap test, look for fresh underseal
- Floors under the carpets, front and rear
- Boot floor, spare wheel well, rear valance seams
- Battery tray
- T-bar and hoop base
- Hard-top off: rear screen aperture and rear deck
Identity and paperwork
- V5C, commission plate and engine number agree
- Service history, invoices and any SOC history
- Original Triumph 3.0 V8, or conversion described and documented
- If converted: cooling, mounts, driveshafts and wiring done properly
Test drive
- Manual: overdrive engages in 3rd and 4th
- Manual: no whine that quietens with the clutch down; synchromesh
- Automatic: clean shifts up and down, kicks down
- No pronounced rear twitch on and off the power
- Every light, wiper, horn and heater blower works
- Both electric windows, full travel
- Soft-top present; raises and lowers
Questions to ask the seller
- Has the car been run today before I arrived?
- Is the thermostat fitted?
- Is this the original engine? If not, what was fitted, and is it documented?
- What history, invoices and SOC history come with the car?
- Can the hard-top be removed so I can see under it?
Notes
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Last updated . First published .