Famous in both Triumph and rallying circles between the 1970s and 1990s, Ian Lines, known to many as ‘Del’, sadly passed away on September 25 at the age of 81.
Born in Mansfield in 1942, Del got into rallying and bought his first Triumph, a 1967 Mk1 2000, in the 1970s, which was soon followed by his first 2.5 PI. Modifying his cars for competition with some success, Del went on to fit a Stag engine into his Triumph 2000 Mk1 Estate, later creating the Stag Estate using a new BL shell and an engine built by Richard Longman. The Stag Estate was road tested by Motor magazine in 1973, and he subsequently began selling converted cars for £3000. In total 25 cars were made, 22 estates and three saloons.…