Blair's '74

This car was bought at auction by my father for his wife in 1981. It was her daily driver until some time in the mid 1990s, when parts in Australia became too hard to find, and I'm sure the creature comforts of a new SUV became too hard to resist later in life. The Stag sat gathering dust for most of the '90s, only venturing out for the occasional short trip.

In about 2005, with eBay and other online marketplaces taking off, I started buying the bits and pieces it needed. Many times I tried to buy the car from Dad, to no avail. In 2015, after ten years of pestering and using it as our wedding car, he finally caved. It was mine.

From 2017 to 2020 it was my daily driver, and I made a few upgrades to suit daily use and give it a slightly more aggressive look: remote keyless entry and alarm, a Bluetooth stereo and better speakers, 14x7.5 Globe Bathurst wheels on 225/60 R14 BFGoodrich T/As, LED interior and dash lighting, a TR6 front spoiler and tinted windows. Dad had already fitted HID high beams, a 12-vane water pump and a Volvo header tank, and I believe the towbar came with the car. It's still matching numbers, with the 3.0 V8 and automatic it left the factory with. I've kept all the original parts, so it can go back to factory spec with little effort.

In 2018 my wife and I won the Moama Historic Vehicle Club car rally in it. It overheated in the border queue during COVID and has been off the road since, waiting on a head gasket job. Its original 1974 plates now live on my wife's FX50.