Hammond drives UK C8 Z06

[antijam]

.....Originally that was going to be a Stag as I really liked them. But then I found the C3 Corvette and the rest is history.......

When I was looking for a 'soft' project car to keep idle hands occupied, I spent a lot of times looking at Stags. As Nassau says, they do have a distinctive V8 sound. However, they could rust for Britain and I decided that my chances of finding a decent one at a reasonable price were slimmer than a supermodel's thigh. They had very attractive lines but that V8, while sounding nice, was a problematic and not very powerful engine. Like you CaptainK, I found a C3 instead......

 

[Nassau65]

Totally agree with the rust issues on stags, well, it was British Leyland in the seventies wasn’t it.

 

[Roscobbc]

Rover V8 conversion was perhaps not such a wise choice.....it had its own issues - often valve and lifters - people skimped on oil and filter changes. Rev ranges of both engines differed too.

 

[Nassau65]

The rover v8 conversion was quite popular with the stag guys at one time, then attitudes changed and it became a no no.
People wanted the triumph 3 litre .

 

[antijam]

The decision by Triumph to design their own V8 was subsequently proved unwise when they lacked the time and funding to develop it properly. At the time the Stag was in design Triumph and Rover were separate companies and Company rivalry made the adoption of the proven Rover 3.5 L V8 impossible. Ironic since so many have been subsequently converted to the larger unit.
One option Triumph considered in the early design stages was the adoption of the Daimler V8 in either 2.5 L or 4.5 L forms. This was a relatively simple and very reliable push rod 'Hemi' with exceptionally smooth power delivery.

Triumph however were intent on proving their own technical expertise and had visions of developing a modular family of engines based on the slant four SOHC layout and the smaller Daimler unit, although as powerful as than the proposed Stag V8, was both heavier and wider.
There are Stags running around today with Rover V8's ,Ford Essex 3.0 L V6's, LS1 sbc's and Lexus 4.0 L quad-cam V8's and others in place of their original motors. I'm not aware of a Stag with the Daimler engine but as the owner of a car with such an engine I'd expect it to be a sublime drive.

 

[Nassau65]

Never cared for the Ford 3:0 litre conversion as it just didn’t have the “sound”
Saying that, a few early stags had the triumph 2.5 litre 6 cylinder engine in them.
As per the stag used in the James Bond film diamonds are forever.

 

[Roscobbc]

The decision by Triumph to design their own V8 was subsequently proved unwise when they lacked the time and funding to develop it properly. At the time the Stag was in design Triumph and Rover were separate companies and Company rivalry made the adoption of the proven Rover 3.5 L V8 impossible. Ironic since so many have been subsequently converted to the larger unit.
One option Triumph considered in the early design stages was the adoption of the Daimler V8 in either 2.5 L or 4.5 L forms. This was a relatively simple and very reliable push rod 'Hemi' with exceptionally smooth power delivery.
View attachment 34236
Triumph however were intent on proving their own technical expertise and had visions of developing a modular family of engines based on the slant four SOHC layout and the smaller Daimler unit, although as powerful as than the proposed Stag V8, was both heavier and wider.
There are Stags running around today with Rover V8's ,Ford Essex 3.0 L V6's, LS1 sbc's and Lexus 4.0 L quad-cam V8's and others in place of their original motors. I'm not aware of a Stag with the Daimler engine but as the owner of a car with such an engine I'd expect it to be a sublime drive.

The Daimler 2.5 litre mini-hemi whilst notably smooth had its own issues - inherent low oil pressure seemed to be an issue on higher mileage engines - it caused mine to throw a rod and wreck the engine. The engine was at it best in a light vehicle (like the Dart) or skimpy hot rod/Ford Pop. Supercharging worked really well. A local guy to us ran a Sierra estate with a blown Daimler hemi, that was a giant killer as of course was drag racer Russ Carpenter alky burning rails.