AUSTRALIAN STAGS

[Peter Champion <AlexanderandLloyd@domain.elided>]

Hello to all fellow Staggers from a first time digest correspondent from
Australia.  I've been reading the mostly very useful info on the digest for
about six months so far and to date, haven't had any useful information or
comment to make.
I read Mike Wattam's notes about Stags in Australia with interest, I'm glad
his colleague enjoyed his time down under and yes, there are a lot of
mobile Stags here, particularly in the eastern States, and most are in
reasonably good condition.  Very few engine swaps were done here, as there
weren't very many alternative engines available, although some did try BL's
P76 V8, a 4.7 litre version of the Rover donk.  These seem to be the cars
now that are virtually unsaleable second hand, good thing too!.
Our climate means that we can use our cars pretty well all year round, as
long as your soft top is better than mine in the rain, and rust is not the
big problem that you would have in the snow areas.  We seem to have a
reasonable supply of new and used parts and UK is not far away by mail, and
this together with a number of specialist Triumph repair shops, enables us
to keep the beasts in reasonable running condition.
Second hand prices are not as good as the UK, ranging from about $A9500 for
a heap to maybe $A20,000 for a very good car, with the average around
$A12-14,000.  The Stag still seems to be regarded as a 'hairdressers' car
by the general public but most seem to change their mind when they hear a
good one run.
The Sydney TSOA is very active and has a large number of Stag members. 
Each year for the last 5 years, we have supplied between 14-20 Stags as
parade cars for the Bathurst 1000k V8 touring car race in October, getting
very good TV coverage.  It has often been lightly suggested that TSOA
should stand for 'The Stag Owners Association', but not too often as the TR
owners are very quick to take umbrage!
On the lead free petrol subject, all Stags here still run on leaded as it
is readily available and as the lead free fuel available is of very low
octane and needs a tank full of booster additive to be useful, so we can't
add anything to your experiences overseas.
In passing, somebody mentioned that there were Aussie spec Stags, can
anyone tell us what this might have meant, we thought that we mainly got UK
specs.
Also, a while back somebody asked about tonneaus for a Stag.  One of our
keen TSOA club members, John Stokes has developed a cover which covers the
rear of the car while driving and can be pulled up over the rollbar and the
windscreen, covering the cars internals when stopped.  It can also be
locked in by the doors to make it very secure.  He is doing a roaring trade
in the club at , I think, about $A160 each.  You can reach him on
john@domain.elided for details.
That'll do me for starters I think.  Tell me, do any of you regular
contributors ever sleep?

Peter Champion
'73 Stag Mk11