His name is Bob.

I bought one ticket on 16 August. Number 4012. Seven pounds. Then I forgot all about the draw.

I was on holiday in Menorca when it went live on Facebook at 9pm on 24 August. Tim called. The prize was a restored 1975 Triumph Stag Mk2, and it was mine.

I did not have a name for him yet. That came later. The registration is OEL 949P.

Nine days later he arrived on the back of a transporter, in the rain.

The clock read 95,720.

Triumph White, black hood, black Ambla vinyl. A 3.0-litre V8, automatic, Michelotti's gorgeous styling, with that iconic T-bar. Faversham Classics had prepared him for the draw: a full repaint, a refreshed engine and gearbox, refurbished wheels, new stainless-steel bumpers, new carpets, and a full MOT.

I have named him Bob.

The day Bob arrived, I became a member of the Stag Owners Club.

Support, advice, and people who already know what a Stag gets up to.

Three days after the transporter left, this was the first real outing. Not a mile or two to get used to him. A 32-mile round trip, a full stomach, and a beaming smile at the end of it.

I parked him outside the Huntsman Inn. White paint against the stone, black hood up, and a car park that made him look as if he had always parked there.

After Bob arrived, one indicator turned out not to be wired correctly.

I fixed the wiring. He indicates the way he means to go now.

On 7 September I bought a Lanoguard underbody kit, the regular injector one, and a driveway protection sheet, 365cm by 270cm.

It has not been applied yet.

On 11 September I bought a few things from Halfords, to help keep Bob shiny.

A Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic waterless wash and wax, a Hybrid Ceramic detailer, and a bottle of Perfect Clarity glass cleaner.

There was no garage at the house. On 2 September, the day Bob arrived, I bought a Moltex outdoor cover from Hamilton Classic. Breathable, and meant to live outside.

I tried it on him on 12 September. A pale sheet in the yard, the shape of a Stag underneath, and one tyre still showing.

It is a very high quality cover. He stayed dry, until there was a proper roof.

On 20 September Bob started a new trick. Occasionally, in a left turn, the gear seemed to let go. He had not done it when he first arrived.

The box is a Borg-Warner 35. Having done some research, I found that the pump pickup sits on the left-hand side. Turn left and whatever fluid is in there sloshes the other way. If the level is low, or the filter is blocked, the pump drinks air instead of ATF, and the drive goes soft for a moment.

Fingers crossed it is low on fluid, and not the filter. Dropping the pan is a much bigger, messier job than a simple top-up.

The identification plate on the car says it should have been a Borg-Warner 65. The plate on the gearbox says BW35. The paperwork that came with him includes a gearbox recondition by VMTP Midlands Limited in November 2018, at 94,666 miles, costing £1,530.50. Whether they swapped the box, or it had always been a BW35 and the vehicle plate was wrong, who knows.

On 23 September I bought two 1-litre bottles of Comma AQF. It is an automatic transmission fluid, and it is approved for Borg-Warner boxes.

I put 500ml into the gearbox. The left-turn slip has gone.

There is an ATF leak somewhere. That still needs finding.

On 23 September I took the dashboard apart. On a Mk2 the round cluster sits on the left. It is a Lucas 6WL, an eight-segment warning-light cluster. Owners call it the pizza, because it is cut into slices.

Several of the LEDs were the wrong way round, so they never lit. I got those working, including the right-hand indicator and the main beam.

On 14 September I had bought ten Lucas GLB280 bulbs. They are 12V, 1.5W, the small clear E5 ones. I only used two. One for the handbrake, and one in place of the ignition LED.

The ignition warning had been swapped for an LED, and no resistor had been added. That lamp is what lets the alternator charge the battery. I put an original lamp back in, and the charging came back.

On 25 September I bought the Triumph Stag (1970-1978) Haynes Repair Manual from Haynes Direct, on eBay. Number 441. All models, the 2997cc V8.

I expect it will come in useful.

On 26 September I leased a garage. It is a four-minute walk from the house. I could not be more lucky. Garages around here are like gold dust.

Bob can stay dry and locked now, off the cover and out of the rain.

I plan to add some solar-powered lights, so I can shut the door. It has to be closed to open that huge bonnet.

On 26 September it was the first nice day for a while. It had been raining for days.

The first proper day of driving around in the sunshine, with the top down. Bob got naked.

Summer 2026 was the hottest on record. Dry as well, though the late rain kept it off the driest-summer list. A shame he turned up right at the end of the good weather. Fingers crossed for 2027.

On 30 September I laid rubber matting on the garage floor.

The floor had been painted. Bob is rear-wheel drive, the garage sits on a slight incline, and there is a lip at the front. Getting him in and out had been interesting.

The matting gave the tyres something to hold.

That is the story so far. The next drive, and the next job, get written down here.