Ownership / Suspension & Steering

Suspension & Steering

The Stag rides and handles well when its suspension is in good order — and vaguely when it is not. The single most important item is a set of rear bushes that almost every Stag needs at some stage.

The layout

At the front the Stag uses MacPherson struts with coil springs, lower wishbones and an anti-roll bar. At the rear the suspension is independent, by semi-trailing arms with coil springs and telescopic dampers. Steering is rack-and-pinion, power-assisted on most cars. It is a thoroughly modern arrangement for 1970, and it is a large part of why a healthy Stag feels like a proper grand tourer rather than a period sports car — supple over distance, composed through a fast bend.

The bushes that matter

Worn rear semi-trailing-arm bushes are the classic Stag fault. As the rubber softens and breaks down, the arms are no longer located precisely, and the rear wheels effectively steer themselves under load — the result is vague, wandering handling, a car that will not settle on a motorway, and uneven tyre wear to confirm the diagnosis. Renewing them, often in polyurethane, transforms the car; owners routinely describe it as the single most worthwhile chassis job on a Stag. Front strut top mounts and the wishbone and anti-roll-bar bushes also perish with age, so it is worth looking at the whole car rather than the rear alone.

Steering

The power steering is generally reliable and rarely the source of trouble in itself. What it does need is inspection: check the rack gaiters, the hoses and the pump for leaks, and the track-rod ends and column joints for play. Split gaiters and weeping hoses are cheap to put right early and expensive to ignore, and play in the joints will make a well-bushed car feel loose all over again.

Keeping it sweet

Renew perished bushes, fit sound dampers, and check the geometry after any work — a Stag with new bushes and untouched alignment can still wear its tyres out and feel wrong. Confirm settings against the Stag workshop manual.