Worth saving my Griff?

Worth saving my Griff?

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Discussion

V8Bart

788 posts

189 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
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Having been in very similar situation I'd 2nd the "small steps" approach.
Get it Safe and on the road, use it and enjoy it. wink

Bluebottle

3,498 posts

239 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
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I was in the same position 2011, car sat SORN for 3yrs before i was in a position to do anything, but like you was adamant i was not going to lose it/sell it otherwise what was the point in keeping it through the hard times?.
put it right in stages as new work/income allowed. i got the chassis restored as phase one(needed to for MOT), then mechanicals so i could drive it, then the interior and the hood, and next step is the respray. which i have spread over 3 yrs.

shop around on every aspect of the restoration, i had hugely varying quotes for every element of it, from plane daylight robbery from the usual suspects to jaw droppingly good price from others. it will pay to shop around and use more than one provider.

Drop me a pm if you want some names that i found to be good.


Edited by Bluebottle on Wednesday 18th May 08:18

Bobhon

1,057 posts

178 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
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Central TVR has had mixed reviews in the past. You might want to get in touch with Chris Watton who posts in the Tamora section. He had a whole batch of work done there. No personal experience either way, but you should know how others felt about their work.

Probably also close to you would be David Gerald in Redditch. RT Racing are famed for their chassis work and have done the complete job on a V8S which wins best S at every S club meet. Simon Spencer (SJS357) on here is the owner if you want to get in touch.

I guess that 3 quotes are the way to go. If you aren't in a rush then get them to treat it as a 'fill in job'. So they work on it when they are slack of other work. Generally you would get better rates and a bigger bang for the buck.

I would pitch up at DG, tell them your budget and negotiate a fixed price for getting your shopping list done. Might take 12 months but you would have a great car back on the road for next Summer.

If I had that double garage that I've always promised myself then it would make a great long term resto project...

Hope it all comes together for you.

HTH

Bob



Edited by Bobhon on Tuesday 17th May 13:00

Pete Mac

755 posts

136 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
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Just Trouble said:
Saxon excellent advice from fellow PH members. I too have a pre cat and have owned for a long time. I had exactly the same issues as you discribed and I completed the works as and when I could afford to do so, outriggers, clutch, shocks, brakes hoses and discs, new hood, carpets, walnut dash. Still have the interior to renew and finally a respray. Taken me years but couldn't sell the Griff. Go the same route and keep your Griff it will be worth it. Regular updates on here are always welcome by other PH' ers. Cheers

JT
I agree 100%. Start with the outriggers and get the MOT and then work through the list. If you've kept it so long then hang in there. To be honest, apart from the chassis work, none of the other issues seem that major.

How hands on are you? I reckon a lot of those costs will be labour so in the best Wheeler Dealer's way, take off the labout costs for those jobs you can do yourself and the costs come down.

You are in Surrey, I am in Berkshire. If you want to stick it up on my 2 post lift sometime, you are very welcome, although I am out of the UK for the next 6 weeks or so.

Good luck.

Pete

DaveWesty

75 posts

206 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
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I've just finished restoring a '94 Griffith 500 that was in a similar, possibly worse condition. Paint blistered, engine knackered, interior rotten, chassis rusty, etc etc

I would echo what's been said above, you have 2 choices,
1. Sell it to someone who will restore it and put the cash from the sale with your £15K and buy another one
2. Carry out a rolling restoration (doing the essentials first) as and when you can afford it.

The most costly part of any restoration is the labour, I spent about £18K on my car and that's not counting my labour. The big expenses were paint and trim, the bit's I can't do myself. The more you can do yourself the better.

The advantages of buying another are
1. You can have a sorted Griff sooner
2. Potentially cheaper - the restoration could run to more than £15K

The advantages of getting yours done are that
1. You can drip feed it cash as and when convenient
2. You can build it as you want - colour, trim, engine etc - all your choice

So, I guess the question you have to ask yourself is, "Are you emotionally attached to that particular Griffith?"

I'm in Hampshire so not too far away and happy to help if I can..

Dave

battered

4,088 posts

146 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
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What's the going rate for a scabby one, no MoT, project? £4-5k?

mk1fan

10,507 posts

224 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
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SMB

1,513 posts

265 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
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battered said:
What's the going rate for a scabby one, no MoT, project? £4-5k?
I think you could easily double that assuming it's complete

Jhonno

5,762 posts

140 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
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portzi said:
saxon said:
Thanks guys,

Just spoken to Central TVR and thinking this might be the way to go - seemed very helpful and familiar with the issues as well as having the manpower and resources to do it all as a one stop shop...

To be honest I knew I was in for say £10k and can afford that but it was a bit of a shock to hear I might have to write it off as beyond economic repair.

I really appreciate your supportive posts and I think you're right - this is a car and a relationship worth saving! I never planned to sell the car as it makes me feel alive and excited even when I just look at it never mind driving it!

Any experiences with Central TVR would be welcome either on here or via PM.

Thanks again,

Saxon
My only concern would be is that if one company can do the full refurb for about 15k, how can another company do it for nearly a third less of the price? How is this achievable?
Sounds like it may have been priced high, as APM are too busy, so to be worth more to them to make it worth doing? Maybe..

battered

4,088 posts

146 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
quotequote all
SMB said:
battered said:
What's the going rate for a scabby one, no MoT, project? £4-5k?
I think you could easily double that assuming it's complete
In the OP he reports a "good one being worth £15k" which seems reasonable, so you'd want one needing a large amount of work to be well under 10k, wouldn't you? I know that classic cars are going through the roof right now but there's a lot of choice for a buyer with 8-10k, especially for recent stuff like this.

SMB

1,513 posts

265 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
quotequote all
battered said:
SMB said:
battered said:
What's the going rate for a scabby one, no MoT, project? £4-5k?
I think you could easily double that assuming it's complete
In the OP he reports a "good one being worth £15k" which seems reasonable, so you'd want one needing a large amount of work to be well under 10k, wouldn't you? I know that classic cars are going through the roof right now but there's a lot of choice for a buyer with 8-10k, especially for recent stuff like this.
I bet if you list it at 8-10k you will be swamped with interest, a precat 4 litre went to a restorer and it's having a full rebuild now, price was iirc around 11k. He posts on here I think.

Also remember 15k is likely to be a good original car, not one with a refurbed chassis etc. if you do the work yourself the refurb can be less than the 15 quoted

Edited by SMB on Tuesday 17th May 15:50

WinstonWolf

72,857 posts

238 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
quotequote all
battered said:
SMB said:
battered said:
What's the going rate for a scabby one, no MoT, project? £4-5k?
I think you could easily double that assuming it's complete
In the OP he reports a "good one being worth £15k" which seems reasonable, so you'd want one needing a large amount of work to be well under 10k, wouldn't you? I know that classic cars are going through the roof right now but there's a lot of choice for a buyer with 8-10k, especially for recent stuff like this.
You best snap one up if you can find one at that price then hehe

AlanW

290 posts

237 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
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Paul

How are you? Has it really been three years? Still got the blue one?

Narrow boat................ Hmmmmmmmm... I'm better with cars I think, the boat idea never did come to fruition.....

Hope all well up north

robc83

12 posts

168 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
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In a not dis-similar boat to the OP but would never part with my rather world weary Griff....it's a 93 pre-cat with pink, chipped/scratched paint (originally Rosso pearl), shabby seats, shot carpet and is currently off the road with an over-fueling problem. Have had it for 15 months (previously owned a 400HC Chimera) and love it to bits - masses of character, quick with being scary and sounds epic. Have invested in getting it to run right (notwithstanding current fault) making sure chassis is sound, new dash (couldn't stand looking at the previous stainless one), upgraded to elec power steering (106 pump, Impreza rack) and various other bits and bobs with plenty still do I view it as part of the family and not going anywhere. Values are on the up (quite rightly so) and the grin factor is priceless. Hang onto it, especially in that colour with the original wheels!

Edited by robc83 on Tuesday 17th May 21:13

battered

4,088 posts

146 months

Tuesday 17th May 2016
quotequote all
WinstonWolf said:
battered said:
SMB said:
battered said:
What's the going rate for a scabby one, no MoT, project? £4-5k?
I think you could easily double that assuming it's complete
In the OP he reports a "good one being worth £15k" which seems reasonable, so you'd want one needing a large amount of work to be well under 10k, wouldn't you? I know that classic cars are going through the roof right now but there's a lot of choice for a buyer with 8-10k, especially for recent stuff like this.
You best snap one up if you can find one at that price then hehe
If I wanted one, I'd be shopping for a good one at 15 as per the op rather than a rough one at 10+ and another 10 in bills. Different if you already own the car, of course.

ray von

2,913 posts

251 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
quotequote all
battered said:
WinstonWolf said:
battered said:
SMB said:
battered said:
What's the going rate for a scabby one, no MoT, project? £4-5k?
I think you could easily double that assuming it's complete
In the OP he reports a "good one being worth £15k" which seems reasonable, so you'd want one needing a large amount of work to be well under 10k, wouldn't you? I know that classic cars are going through the roof right now but there's a lot of choice for a buyer with 8-10k, especially for recent stuff like this.
You best snap one up if you can find one at that price then hehe
If I wanted one, I'd be shopping for a good one at 15 as per the op rather than a rough one at 10+ and another 10 in bills. Different if you already own the car, of course.
I've never been a happy clapper when it comes to prices but you're really not going to get a good Griff for £15k. I would suspect a £10k one, if one even existed, would be a shed.
Some quite good advice on here but I think some peoples estimation of costs are on the low side. Central TVR quote £14k (is that plus VAT??) for what they call a full refurb but does that include bushes, wishbones, ball joints etc. I've seen 2 receipts for body offs from someone mentioned here and have both come in at £7.5k, that's just for chassis, no paint, interior, hood or engine work.

brownspeed

730 posts

130 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
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AlanW said:
Paul

How are you? Has it really been three years? Still got the blue one?

Narrow boat................ Hmmmmmmmm... I'm better with cars I think, the boat idea never did come to fruition.....

Hope all well up north
Yeah Al, good thanks, blue one is still making me smile every time we go out! How does the griff compare to it? (a Griff was my original choice before I bought yours! stil love their shape, but Being a shortarse, the view from the Tam was better for me) Glad you didn't resort to a boat; way too tame!
PS-let me know when your selling this one too!!! LOL

saxon

Original Poster:

420 posts

249 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
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Many many thanks to all of you for your very kind replies on here - they are truly appreciated as it's been a traumatic week!

I really do want to go the route of getting the Griff sorted rather than selling it even if that will be costly. The main issue I have is finding people to do the work who won't rip me off so with that in mind the best help you can offer is recommendations of where to go for:

1. Economic transporters to move it to a location who can get it running/road legal
2. Sensibly priced but decent chassis restoration/outrigger replacement
3. Sensibly priced service/MOT/engine/battery work
4. Sensibly priced trim work

CentralTVR are a hugely attractive proposition because on the face of it their £14000 one stop shop option for complete new chassis, full retrim and full respray looks very attractive and they will even collect the car for free if they're fixing it but given they have had some mixed reviews I would really welcome some recommendations.

I need the car to be moved because I can't leave it stuck where it is.

Many thanks in anticipation,

Saxon

pjac67

2,040 posts

251 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
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Hi Jonathan

I think you are making the right decision.

I can recommend a lovely garage I and many local TVR owners use for engine, servicing and chassis work near Bristol called AFS Motor Engineers at Elberton:

http://www.afsmotorengineers.co.uk/

They are a family run business (Alan and Lisa) and Alan has a Chim as a daily and is doing body off restos on his Cerb and S.
He is a welder by trade (can do body lift outrigger replacements if you want to keep the cost down) and a whizz at problem solving/engine work at very reasonable prices....

Good luck in your journey and hope you have her back on the road to enjoy very soon !!

ATB, Paul.




ray von

2,913 posts

251 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
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The comprehensive option on here always looks good value. It would then leave £8k to sort everything else to get to Central's price.
http://www.southwaysautomotive.co.uk/griffith/

Willow sports cars/ STR8six North have a good reputation. I've seen there work first hand it looks excellent, I've also seen a one they did about 4 years ago and it was still as good as new.
I've seen cars with outriggers done and full body offs that after a year or so look poor.
Good luck with your project.