Triumph Stag

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A week later, all hell broke loose and Europe sank under the weight of horrendous snowfalls. Not to be put off, I set off back up to Essen with a trailer hitched up. The temperature dropped to -18°C sometime during the journey and motorways were being closed one-by-one.

Anyway, I made it there, loaded up the car being supplied with hot coffee by the exraordinarily decent and friendly owner.

The love affair started when I was at university in 1975. We ended up at a friend's house in Birmingham and, at some stage, we were to be driven by his parents to the concert which we were going to.

His parents had a Stag, and I simply revelled in the opulence of ELECTRIC WINDOWS and all!

Tastes change and I drifted off in the direction of Mk2 Escort RS2000's, but the Stag hankering never left me

Times change, I decided to go and work in Germany for a year or two. Bought my dream car (a Mk2 Escort RS2000), set about learning the language, and became more integrated into the Munich way of life

A bit of motorsport followed, then more years in Germany, and finally it became clear that I wouldn't be returning to UK any time soon

Ended up getting married to a Fräulein from my department who, of course, wanted to get straight into housebuilding.

My RS2000 was already undergoing a freshening up of the engine bay and had to be hurriedly put together for moving into the new home

As is the case, houses aren't built in a day, and the RS2000 sat out rusting in all weathers whilst bricks were laid. The idea of a Stag drifted ever further away and was limited to reading different articles in the classic car magazines.

SWMBO also had a say in the matter and, in all fairness, it was a sensible decree to "First finish the house, then finish or sell the Escort, and only then think about another old car"

Then, all of a sudden, the peaceful life started to fall apart at the seams. Got posted by the company to UK for two years, and all car restoration work stopped. Following my return to Germany, I had to then move houses due to a new job, so again the car restoration was halted. After having finally picked up the threads of the restoration again, I opted for a posting to the South of France and separated from SWMBO.

At last, the Escort had a chance of getting finished and paving the way for a Stag!

Following another 5 years of chipping away at the Escort and the return to Germany and luxury (a DOUBLE GARAGE!) the last chapters in the Escort restoration book could be written, and the hunt was on for a Stag

There having only been about 150 Stags imported into Germany, the chances of finding one were rare. Rather doubtful examples for €18000 turned up and were uncovered to be ex US imports with accessory alloy wheels etc. Occasionally a pristine retored example of a LHD Stag would turn up for €30000!

Thoughts started to turn to the possibility of a RHD UK Stag, then the exchange rate went berserk. All of a sudden, a superb RHD Stag was becoming downright cheap for a Euro wage earner.

To cover all options, I started searching German and French websites and then two white Stags popped up at very reasonable prices - one in the South of France and one in Central Germany.

I got straight in touch with the German Stag owner and discovered that I was third in line to view it!

Hurriedly packed my bags and drove up to Essen, where the first potential buyer had already seen it and decided that the water emulsion in the oil meant a costly repair. He walked away from it and the owner was shattered as he hadn't noticed this.

When I arrived, the owner said straight away that he would be willing to accept an offer due to the unforseen engine damage. Having already planned to do a bare metal restoration I wasn't daunted by this condition. Made an offer, it was accepted, and I drove back home to organise a trailer and cash to pick it up the following weekend.

Rather amusingly, it turned out that this car had originally been delivered in France - not too far away from the French Stag which was 2nd on my watch list!

12 hours later I arrived back home at midnight - having seen the hubcaps of the trailer once or twice in the wing mirrors as it threatened to overtake me on snow-packed roads! The next day I had to visit the local jet wash to try and uncover a car with restraining straps under an ice sculpture.

With the help of a few neighbours, the car was pushed into the garage, gas bottles for the Calor stove were bought, and Christmas could really begin!