Stag Coachline

[Mike Wattam <MikeWattam@domain.elided>]

Hi all

I've got a disappointing answer for you as to which side-stripes go with
navy.  I sought this inforamtion for a dealer when the car was still in
production, and was told by the engineering department that Black goes with
light colours, silver with dark colours, and gold stripes were only fitted
to Stags with a shade of brown bodywork.

However, I passed a Stag waiting to be delivered which was brown with a
silver stripe!  So I went to the production line and they agreed with what
the engineering department had said, but added that when either 'gold' or
'silver' stripes were not available, they would actually use the other
where the body colour could match it.  On light green (Java) cars you could
have black, silver or gold although the 'official' colour was silver.

Add to this that most Stags have been resprayed since being sent off the
production line in Coventry and owners do often choose not to fit the
standard part, and the whole thing falls apart completely.

The bottom line is, don't let some bumptious know-it-all concours judge try
to tell you black is white (or gold is silver in this case).  Concours is a
heartbreaking business without judges behaving like that.  I gave up in
1981 when someone who is very highly respected indeed, told me my exhuast
tailpipes were small bore and these were never fitted until later in
production.  I went to great lengths to try to persuade him he was wrong,
showing him that my tailpipe was still the one fitted on OE at the factory,
and even an illustration in a 1973 brochure showing the new small-bore
tailpipes.  He wouldn't accept this despite the supporting evidence.

Consequently, concours is one of the things we definitely don't do in the
Triumph Stag Register because it is elitist, driving acrimonious wedges
betweening the judges, professional concours winners and people who just
like to enjoy their cars and the social side.

Concours, narrrrgh.

Mike Wattam
Chairman - Triumph Stag Register