Looking at this stunning 1977 Triumph Stag 3-litre V8, it’s hard to imagine that just seven years ago, it was in dire need of a complete restoration.
Over the course of three and a half years, Tony Davies, with the help of Danny Taylor at Victoria Garage, Maud, breathed new life into the car, which Tony had owned for more than 25 years.
He already had one Triumph Stag, a 1975 model in java green, but because it had a high mileage and he fancied a different colour, he decided to look for another.
The 62-year-old from Hazlehead, Aberdeen, said: “I saw a yellow one in a garage in Forfar one time and I thought ‘That’s a nice colour’.
“I used to work out at Dyce at the time so I used to drive along Great Northern Road past Chequered Flag and I actually saw it there as well.
“I liked the car at the time. It had everything, it had a soft top, it had electric windows, V8 engine so it was a young man’s dream at the time.
“I always liked the colour. I liked the green ones and the yellow ones were the best, they did other colours like blue, red and white but in the 1970s, green and yellow was a nice colour to have. In fact the car that I drive at the moment is green.
“I got a Cherokee now and it’s viper green, illuminous green. I can’t understand why people buy black or silver cars.”
Over the next eight years, the yellow Triumph would become Tony’s daily car; taking him to work, on holidays and on regular trips to England to visit family.
It was the car’s “distinctive exhaust note” that became one of his favourite aspects.
“When you are driving along, you can see people turning their heads because that engine only went into the Triumph Stag so you can hear them like a mile away and they have that particular note. It’s good to drive it with the roof off,” he said.
“It’s one of the last grand tourers if you like because it’s got four seats, so of course having children at the time, they could sit in the back of it, unlike a modern sports car where you’ve just got the two seats.
“It really has all the features that you want. Can be a coupe, can be convertible, can be a soft top and it’s got the V8 engine. It’s an all-round fun car.”
But being in the oil industry, commissioning new platforms, Tony began to spend more and more time away from home, leaving the car all alone.
Finally home in 2006, Tony took the Triumph out for its first drive, only for it to end in disaster.
He said: “It was just having a first drive out of the year, sunny Sunday in January. One of the original problems with the Stags was that if they overheat, they blow a head gasket and that’s fairly serious. And that’s exactly what it did.
“That’s what kicked off the restoration because as I started taking it to bits I was finding more and more things that needed replacing.
“And because it was that old at the time – it was 25 years old at the time – obviously things go into a state of disrepair so the more you get into it, the more you find out. So it ended up as a full restoration.”
Before going ahead though, Tony did toy with the idea of selling the Triumph. But a plea from a family member meant it has remained with the Davies.
Tony said: “My daughter Nicole is 42 now and she grew up with it. She always said to me that I couldn’t sell it.
“She’s got a son, Daniel, who’s four years old, so he’s got his eye on it now. It’ll be almost an heirloom by the time he is old enough to drive it.”
Considering the amount of work to be done, Tony decided to hand the project over to Danny Taylor, who specialised in Stags. But he was still very much involved in the restoration, helping Danny with anything he could.
“The amount of work meant I had to get someone else in. I could have done it myself but it would have taken me an awful lot longer because I was working more or less full time,” he said.
“Once I took the commitment to have it restored, I took a great interest in it. I’d be up at Maud every other week looking to see what problems Danny was having with it and if he needed any particular bits and I’d help source them.
“It was a kind of contribution to it even though I didn’t actually do the work myself. I would get the parts for him.
“It was very interesting as things get taken apart you see what needs to be done.”
The restoration took three and a half years – but Tony was pleased with the result.
That was back in 2011 and since then, the car has become a weekend runabout and taken to shows.
Tony said he liked the shows as they were a good family day out. The car also gets some attention at the shows.
He said: “When people see the engine their eyes pop out their head. It looks good on the outside, and so do a lot of other cars, but then when you open them up it lets a lot of them down.
“Having gone to the extent that I did with it, it has to look good everywhere for me, I guess I am a bit of a perfectionist.”
So what does the future have in store for Tony’s beloved Triumph?
“I’ve actually got Danny doing a bit more work on part of it, it’s an ongoing project,” he said.
“My garage is full now so I’ve been told I’m not allowed anymore Triumphs – unless I get a bigger garage then this will be it.”