Discussion
I went back 25+ pages and couldn’t see another Griffith so thought I’d share my ownership experience so far. I traded in a 4.0lt Chimaera (which was fantastic and never let me down) after 12 months and bought a 5.0lt Griffith. The car is my only car and lives outside; it’s not a garage queen although it would make a great one given its rare spec, history (one lady owner from new) and relatively low mileage.
Purchased from a reputable dealer - Included in the sale was a warranty (which has been useful), full chassis prep (again, useful), and few improvements such as a battery kill switch, ceramic manifolds (inspired by Harry Metcalfes Griffith videos) and a couple of others for the interior.
History
The car had averaged around 2.3k miles/year and the car benefited from a full engine rebuild at around 26k miles.
Collection:
I was going to go for white manifolds like Harrys but glad I didn’t because I don't think they'd stay white for long and the colour I chose in the end matches the wedgewood interior so it turned out OK. The paint on this one is Halcyon Heather.
My Ownership
Since then I’ve covered 4.5k miles around the country for business and pleasure – Cornwall, Snowdonia, and Yorkshire with lots of places in between. When was the last time you saw three purple cars in a line?
I've attended a few regional meets over the summer:
Local with fellow TVR owners:
and a couple of PH Night runs (Headlights are useless):
Unsurprisingly, given the similarities between the Griffith and Chimaera, the performance of the 5.0lt engine took the most getting used to. Anything below 100mph and it's very quick and will keep pace with a lot of more modern sports cars. Most of the time I drive it more like a diesel but have the added benefit of a N/A V8 soundtrack. The 5.0lt sounds thunderous low down and in reality this is where I spend most of my time driving about. So for me, although the 4.0lt sounded incredible at the top end, I’m happier with the 5.0lt. It has its own interior quirks like the Chimaera - passengers can spend upwards of 1 minute exiting the vehicle. I get around 300mi to a tank on a long run which is pretty good imo and no worse then the Chimaera I ran.
My previous TVR was silver which attracted some attention but the Griffith is on another level. It's no Lamborghini but I’ve had nothing but positive remarks which is always a plus. I've not seen another Griffith while driving mine all over the place so they're rare cars. It’s not the resale combo of blue and magnolia which seems to be the equivalent of Ferrari’s rosso/creama but that’s why I bought it.
A fortnight ago I had my first breakdown which was a shame as the weather was particularly good. I think you're best off accepting it's going to happen and when it does, its fine. Gave the drivers on the M25 something nice to look at anyway.
I had a good run, 14,000mi in 2 TVR’s and 18 months so I can't complain. It went back to the dealer and was quickly diagnosed as an electrical fault. In the recovery truck I thought of a few odd jobs from a preventative maintenance perspective, which would be covered under warranty, plus a couple of modifications to improve the look of the engine bay:
Whether or not the smoother induction and ignition leads have had an effect on performance, I don’t know, not noticeably anyway. Certainly looks a lot better imo. You could spend a grand fitting new hoses, powder coating plenums and rocker covers, replacing any plastic reservoirs with metal and other ancillaries. I would love to but I can't justify that outlay.
Winter
The car gets used all year round and one of the lessons I learned from last year was to ensure I had good wipers. The wipers on my Griffith aren’t OEM, one encroaches onto the bonnet edge when resting (they're long), but they are very good and make driving in the rain a lot easier. I would recommend improving the wipers to any year round driver. The cold weather plays havoc with the battery so it's not a good idea to leave it standing for over a week. The battery was replaced when it was at the dealer last week so it should be fine (plus the use of a battery kill switch). I had a cover for my Chimaera but I found it more hassle then it’s worth and it just wasn’t feasible. It got to the stage where I was putting a wet cover on a wet car and it was pointless. Thankfully my Griffith is watertight, which I would suggest checking to anyone in a similar position looking to purchase, so no qualms about leaving it outside and uncovered.
I’m looking forward to some clear nights so I can get the roof off. A winter drive with the lid off is every bit as good as a summer drive and with the heat soak it’s not actually that cold. I really enjoy driving into London at night, in winter, as it’s a bit quieter, the pace is slow and, with the roof off, you can take in the sights, listen to the soundtrack, and contemplate whatever you have on your mind.
Future
I suspect it will have a 6k service prior to selling - I set aside £2k-£3k for servicing/maintenance which should be more than enough for this one. £1k-£2k is the usual advice. My last chimaera service was £1600. I suspect it will be half that.
I keep a car for 12 months or thereabouts. So come March/April time it’ll be time for a change. The hunt begins after Christmas with a shortlist including the Alfa Romeo SZ, an early 70’s Boss Mustang, and a ‘cheap’ useable E-Type. As a kid growing up in the late 90's the Griffith was, to my mind, the iconic TVR so I'm very happy I have experienced ownership and have a few more months to go. The list above reflects other cars which I consider iconic (within a specific price bracket) and hopefully I'll tick another ownership box next year.
Purchased from a reputable dealer - Included in the sale was a warranty (which has been useful), full chassis prep (again, useful), and few improvements such as a battery kill switch, ceramic manifolds (inspired by Harry Metcalfes Griffith videos) and a couple of others for the interior.
History
The car had averaged around 2.3k miles/year and the car benefited from a full engine rebuild at around 26k miles.
Collection:
I was going to go for white manifolds like Harrys but glad I didn’t because I don't think they'd stay white for long and the colour I chose in the end matches the wedgewood interior so it turned out OK. The paint on this one is Halcyon Heather.
My Ownership
Since then I’ve covered 4.5k miles around the country for business and pleasure – Cornwall, Snowdonia, and Yorkshire with lots of places in between. When was the last time you saw three purple cars in a line?
I've attended a few regional meets over the summer:
Local with fellow TVR owners:
and a couple of PH Night runs (Headlights are useless):
Unsurprisingly, given the similarities between the Griffith and Chimaera, the performance of the 5.0lt engine took the most getting used to. Anything below 100mph and it's very quick and will keep pace with a lot of more modern sports cars. Most of the time I drive it more like a diesel but have the added benefit of a N/A V8 soundtrack. The 5.0lt sounds thunderous low down and in reality this is where I spend most of my time driving about. So for me, although the 4.0lt sounded incredible at the top end, I’m happier with the 5.0lt. It has its own interior quirks like the Chimaera - passengers can spend upwards of 1 minute exiting the vehicle. I get around 300mi to a tank on a long run which is pretty good imo and no worse then the Chimaera I ran.
My previous TVR was silver which attracted some attention but the Griffith is on another level. It's no Lamborghini but I’ve had nothing but positive remarks which is always a plus. I've not seen another Griffith while driving mine all over the place so they're rare cars. It’s not the resale combo of blue and magnolia which seems to be the equivalent of Ferrari’s rosso/creama but that’s why I bought it.
A fortnight ago I had my first breakdown which was a shame as the weather was particularly good. I think you're best off accepting it's going to happen and when it does, its fine. Gave the drivers on the M25 something nice to look at anyway.
I had a good run, 14,000mi in 2 TVR’s and 18 months so I can't complain. It went back to the dealer and was quickly diagnosed as an electrical fault. In the recovery truck I thought of a few odd jobs from a preventative maintenance perspective, which would be covered under warranty, plus a couple of modifications to improve the look of the engine bay:
Whether or not the smoother induction and ignition leads have had an effect on performance, I don’t know, not noticeably anyway. Certainly looks a lot better imo. You could spend a grand fitting new hoses, powder coating plenums and rocker covers, replacing any plastic reservoirs with metal and other ancillaries. I would love to but I can't justify that outlay.
Winter
The car gets used all year round and one of the lessons I learned from last year was to ensure I had good wipers. The wipers on my Griffith aren’t OEM, one encroaches onto the bonnet edge when resting (they're long), but they are very good and make driving in the rain a lot easier. I would recommend improving the wipers to any year round driver. The cold weather plays havoc with the battery so it's not a good idea to leave it standing for over a week. The battery was replaced when it was at the dealer last week so it should be fine (plus the use of a battery kill switch). I had a cover for my Chimaera but I found it more hassle then it’s worth and it just wasn’t feasible. It got to the stage where I was putting a wet cover on a wet car and it was pointless. Thankfully my Griffith is watertight, which I would suggest checking to anyone in a similar position looking to purchase, so no qualms about leaving it outside and uncovered.
I’m looking forward to some clear nights so I can get the roof off. A winter drive with the lid off is every bit as good as a summer drive and with the heat soak it’s not actually that cold. I really enjoy driving into London at night, in winter, as it’s a bit quieter, the pace is slow and, with the roof off, you can take in the sights, listen to the soundtrack, and contemplate whatever you have on your mind.
Future
I suspect it will have a 6k service prior to selling - I set aside £2k-£3k for servicing/maintenance which should be more than enough for this one. £1k-£2k is the usual advice. My last chimaera service was £1600. I suspect it will be half that.
I keep a car for 12 months or thereabouts. So come March/April time it’ll be time for a change. The hunt begins after Christmas with a shortlist including the Alfa Romeo SZ, an early 70’s Boss Mustang, and a ‘cheap’ useable E-Type. As a kid growing up in the late 90's the Griffith was, to my mind, the iconic TVR so I'm very happy I have experienced ownership and have a few more months to go. The list above reflects other cars which I consider iconic (within a specific price bracket) and hopefully I'll tick another ownership box next year.
Edited by Frio3535 on Wednesday 8th October 14:34
Very nice but be careful over winter. Mine bit me on Monday for the first time (after 10 years of TVR ownership). Wet road, about 30 metres past a roundabout and the back end just let go with absolutely no warning. I was not pushing hard because I hardly ever drive it in the wet and was only using the TVR because all the other vehicles were elsewhere. Fortunately I was in the inside lane of a dual carriageway and there were no cars around me. Fishtailed left and right a few times but steadied eventually. Was probably over in a second but felt a lot longer and I tiptoed the rest of the way home.
I gather a lot of TVRs get stuffed about 50 metres or so past a roundabout.
I gather a lot of TVRs get stuffed about 50 metres or so past a roundabout.
crosseyedlion said:
Out of interest what was the electrical issue? Fuseable link?
The fuel pump relays failed. So I assume the engine was starved of fuel. Literally a 30 second fix which was a relief but also pretty galling as I spent 3hrs getting to the garage.Thanks for the comments.
Very nice, love the colour 
I agree about winter driving in a drop top, I remember when I bought my Eunos in September, it had been raining as we left Wales, but as we got back towards Suffolk the night sky was clear, so I pulled over, popped the roof down & turned the heaters up - bliss
In fact, in the Eunos I very rarely had the roof up, only if it was raining.
I bet she sounds lovely - any videos?
I agree about winter driving in a drop top, I remember when I bought my Eunos in September, it had been raining as we left Wales, but as we got back towards Suffolk the night sky was clear, so I pulled over, popped the roof down & turned the heaters up - bliss
In fact, in the Eunos I very rarely had the roof up, only if it was raining.
I bet she sounds lovely - any videos?
Hallsy01 said:
Very nice, love the colour
I agree about winter driving in a drop top, I remember when I bought my Eunos in September, it had been raining as we left Wales, but as we got back towards Suffolk the night sky was clear, so I pulled over, popped the roof down & turned the heaters up - bliss
In fact, in the Eunos I very rarely had the roof up, only if it was raining.
I bet she sounds lovely - any videos?
When myself and my girlfriend came off Mt Snowdon it was dry, so I took the roof off. We approached Betws-y-Coed and we had a torrential downpour. The sort that would have everyone slowing down to 50 on a motorway. There is plenty of parking in this town but I couldn't go anywhere quickly because I was stuck behind a bus. I looked at my girlfriend, she did the same, and we just burst out laughing because there was nothing we could do. People must've thought we were right tI agree about winter driving in a drop top, I remember when I bought my Eunos in September, it had been raining as we left Wales, but as we got back towards Suffolk the night sky was clear, so I pulled over, popped the roof down & turned the heaters up - bliss
In fact, in the Eunos I very rarely had the roof up, only if it was raining.
I bet she sounds lovely - any videos?
ts but it's a good memory I'll have when thinking about this car. I don't have any videos but I can't be alone in wondering how their own car sounds from the outside so I might see if I can do something over the weekend.
Back into the miles this weekend, circa 250. Attended two meets plus a business trip up in Bedfordshire. Car is running great. Lots of hot starts with no issues. All good. I think the new induction is doing some work beyond 5k rpm, tachometer looks quicker.
Topcats Saturday club:
Virginia Water meet this morning - a good selection of motors, my favourites:
An SZ is a potential next car for sure
![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/Tcvm8tDV.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/MlnJkCPZ" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/MlnJkCPZ.jpg)
^^ Yes the car lives in Uxbridge so you will be seeing it.
Topcats Saturday club:
Virginia Water meet this morning - a good selection of motors, my favourites:
An SZ is a potential next car for sure
^^ Yes the car lives in Uxbridge so you will be seeing it.
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