Discussion
I’m now the proud UK owner of a Japanese market 1998 Griffith 4.0.
My new car is a ’98 Griffith B275, which I have never heard of. Turns out TVR Japan had their own models made – the B340 and the B275, as well as the 500 we know in the UK. Because of the language barrier finding this out has taken me hours. The cars were exported to Japan between ’94 and 2000 – have a look here for a very rough google translation.
The B340 is the Griff 500 as seen in Gran Turismo etc. B for Blackpool, 340 for 340 bhp (Blackpool marketing dept figures….).
The B275 – this is where it gets strange, because it has a 275 bhp Chimaera 4.0 HC serp engine from the factory, built on a 500 chassis with T5 box, rear ARB as on the 500, and also has aircon.
Apparently some 4 litre engines refused point blank to go in a Chimnea, preferring instead the svelte lines of a Griffith
The major downside of the Jap cars is the rear numberplate recess – it is huge and absolutely bloody hideous.
The plus sides of imports are no or little road salt in Japan, an incredibly tough and costly MOT-type bi-annual ‘shaken’ test and the fact this car has only done 20,000 miles.
More googling has thrown up another B275 that came over as a write off last year, and ended up being put back on the road by TVRGlen. Whether it’s now a 500 with the UK rear end glued on I don’t know, but the guy who imported it said it definitely wasn’t broken for spares.
So there ya go. A very odd Griffith
My new car is a ’98 Griffith B275, which I have never heard of. Turns out TVR Japan had their own models made – the B340 and the B275, as well as the 500 we know in the UK. Because of the language barrier finding this out has taken me hours. The cars were exported to Japan between ’94 and 2000 – have a look here for a very rough google translation.
The B340 is the Griff 500 as seen in Gran Turismo etc. B for Blackpool, 340 for 340 bhp (Blackpool marketing dept figures….).
The B275 – this is where it gets strange, because it has a 275 bhp Chimaera 4.0 HC serp engine from the factory, built on a 500 chassis with T5 box, rear ARB as on the 500, and also has aircon.
Apparently some 4 litre engines refused point blank to go in a Chimnea, preferring instead the svelte lines of a Griffith
The major downside of the Jap cars is the rear numberplate recess – it is huge and absolutely bloody hideous.
The plus sides of imports are no or little road salt in Japan, an incredibly tough and costly MOT-type bi-annual ‘shaken’ test and the fact this car has only done 20,000 miles.
More googling has thrown up another B275 that came over as a write off last year, and ended up being put back on the road by TVRGlen. Whether it’s now a 500 with the UK rear end glued on I don’t know, but the guy who imported it said it definitely wasn’t broken for spares.
So there ya go. A very odd Griffith
Yep, a 500 but with a wimps engine 
I haven't had a chance to explore the power yet - weather is awful, plus it's only just running right as it's needed stepper, plugs, timing - but it should do for me and my semiskilled driving abilities. My old 430 (I broke it - but it's now in the Netherlands) was a bit quicker than a 450 Chimaera and wasn't far off the 500, and I'm guessing this 4.0 won't be breaking any records as it's standard and still catted.
No idea why they did them like this - you could well be right about tax implications.
The Jap prices look mega expensive when new - the B275 was 7 million Yen which is over 40 grand at current exchange rates, the B340 another 6 grand on top, so maybe the tax was a factor in creating a 4 litre.
I haven't decided about the rear plate - it would easily be four figures to let in a proper UK rear section, so I'm kind of thinking about a UK shaped backlit plate with an ally plate sprayed green above/below it to cover the exposed bits of the Jap recess. Keep it tight to the edges of the recess, get a curve on it to match the body, and a neat bead of TVR silicone to seal it and it might not look too bad.
Or I might learn to live with it
I haven't had a chance to explore the power yet - weather is awful, plus it's only just running right as it's needed stepper, plugs, timing - but it should do for me and my semiskilled driving abilities. My old 430 (I broke it - but it's now in the Netherlands) was a bit quicker than a 450 Chimaera and wasn't far off the 500, and I'm guessing this 4.0 won't be breaking any records as it's standard and still catted.
No idea why they did them like this - you could well be right about tax implications.
The Jap prices look mega expensive when new - the B275 was 7 million Yen which is over 40 grand at current exchange rates, the B340 another 6 grand on top, so maybe the tax was a factor in creating a 4 litre.
I haven't decided about the rear plate - it would easily be four figures to let in a proper UK rear section, so I'm kind of thinking about a UK shaped backlit plate with an ally plate sprayed green above/below it to cover the exposed bits of the Jap recess. Keep it tight to the edges of the recess, get a curve on it to match the body, and a neat bead of TVR silicone to seal it and it might not look too bad.
Or I might learn to live with it
Looks like the consensus is to keep the rear as it is. It's kind of growing on me.
I think moving the plate forward and getting it backlit like the UK cars could be worth a try.
C15 - interesting stuff thankyou - there's so much third hand info about the Japanese market because of the distance and the language barrier it's good to get some correct info about what it actually involves.
I spoke to a campervan importer this week and he waffled on about how tough and expensive it is to get a car through the test - I suppose it would be if it includes the road tax. Interesting that it could be based on the TUV.
Don't suppose you could translate all the paperwork I have here then
The only stuff I can read is the chassis number and mileage. I reckon it's a service history rather than test certificates as it shows little pics of a spark plug, engine pulleys etc.
But also has length, width and weight of car, along with emissions.
Weird
Another thing - what looks like dates - I have paperwork 'dated' 19/5/1, 21/5/26, 23/5/26, and 25/5/30 for example - do they have their own calender?
I think moving the plate forward and getting it backlit like the UK cars could be worth a try.
C15 - interesting stuff thankyou - there's so much third hand info about the Japanese market because of the distance and the language barrier it's good to get some correct info about what it actually involves.
I spoke to a campervan importer this week and he waffled on about how tough and expensive it is to get a car through the test - I suppose it would be if it includes the road tax. Interesting that it could be based on the TUV.
Don't suppose you could translate all the paperwork I have here then
The only stuff I can read is the chassis number and mileage. I reckon it's a service history rather than test certificates as it shows little pics of a spark plug, engine pulleys etc.
But also has length, width and weight of car, along with emissions.
Weird
Another thing - what looks like dates - I have paperwork 'dated' 19/5/1, 21/5/26, 23/5/26, and 25/5/30 for example - do they have their own calender?
C15 - I was kidding about a translation service but it would be very much appreciated even if it just gives me the basics of what history paperwork I have - YHM.
If current year 2014 is their Heisei year 26, then that gives me biannual documents from year 13 to year 25 ie 2001 to 2013. Good news
If current year 2014 is their Heisei year 26, then that gives me biannual documents from year 13 to year 25 ie 2001 to 2013. Good news
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