Worth saving my Griff?
Discussion
Matthew Poxon said:
Morning saxon,
I am very pleased to hear that you have managed to find a way to keep hold of your Griff and great news it will be on the road to enjoy this summer.
Regarding this point, I have used Magic Eraser on mine, looks like a crap shopping channel rip off product but after reading this thread I tried it for myself and it works like a dream:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
4. I need to clean up the rather grubby magnolia vinyl on the center tunnel and dash. Can anyone recommend the best product for getting the vinyl/ambla really clean??? I've tried Autoglym vinyl and rubber care but to be honest didn't think it was as good as CIF or barkeepers friend!
We used the magic eraser on a 2nd hand leather sofa we acquired which was filthy - came up a treat. Just need to treat the leather with liquid leather conditioner afterwards.I am very pleased to hear that you have managed to find a way to keep hold of your Griff and great news it will be on the road to enjoy this summer.
Regarding this point, I have used Magic Eraser on mine, looks like a crap shopping channel rip off product but after reading this thread I tried it for myself and it works like a dream:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
4. I need to clean up the rather grubby magnolia vinyl on the center tunnel and dash. Can anyone recommend the best product for getting the vinyl/ambla really clean??? I've tried Autoglym vinyl and rubber care but to be honest didn't think it was as good as CIF or barkeepers friend!
I use Thompsons water seal on the fabric on the roof - just paint it on with a cheap paintbrush and take your time not to get it on the paint or the vinyl.
FFG
|http://thumbsnap.com/DDQvW439[/url]Matthew Poxon said:
.........
4. I need to clean up the rather grubby magnolia vinyl on the center tunnel and dash. Can anyone recommend the best product for getting the vinyl/ambla really clean??? I've tried Autoglym vinyl and rubber care but to be honest didn't think it was as good as CIF or barkeepers friend!
When I bought my 500 14 years ago I had the same problem, the whale tail especially was very grubby.4. I need to clean up the rather grubby magnolia vinyl on the center tunnel and dash. Can anyone recommend the best product for getting the vinyl/ambla really clean??? I've tried Autoglym vinyl and rubber care but to be honest didn't think it was as good as CIF or barkeepers friend!
My local TVR agent advised using cellulose thinners! I was a bit shocked but tried a small sample and it worked a treat removing all the dirt. I would advise going very carefully as it is a powerful solvent but it certainly worked for me.
Thanks storm guy for the pics and also for the thinners suggestion!
Given that the servicing, parts replacement, new steering rack, electrical work, the chassis refurb and outriggers has cost me more than planned I need to salvage as much as poss of the interior and get competitive quotes for respray work to try and stay within my budget of £10k.
I had hoped that the 'putting her back on the road and servicing mechanicals' would run to say £2000 but sadly it was waaaay more than that due to amount of time spent fault finding electrical issues etc. Still it was a huge thrill to see her running well again thanks to Andy at APM automotive and I now have a car that 'goes like stink and looks like s
t...' LOL!
I have an old mate who owns a well known Aston Martin specialist who has offered me his trimmer and respray people at a discount which could be a great help.
Will keep you guys posted and thanks for all the help and encouragement so far.
saxon
Given that the servicing, parts replacement, new steering rack, electrical work, the chassis refurb and outriggers has cost me more than planned I need to salvage as much as poss of the interior and get competitive quotes for respray work to try and stay within my budget of £10k.
I had hoped that the 'putting her back on the road and servicing mechanicals' would run to say £2000 but sadly it was waaaay more than that due to amount of time spent fault finding electrical issues etc. Still it was a huge thrill to see her running well again thanks to Andy at APM automotive and I now have a car that 'goes like stink and looks like s
t...' LOL!I have an old mate who owns a well known Aston Martin specialist who has offered me his trimmer and respray people at a discount which could be a great help.
Will keep you guys posted and thanks for all the help and encouragement so far.
saxon
saxon said:
<snip>
3. Replace carpet behind rear drivers seat and make new floor mats. Question: If I cut a small sample of the original carpet off and hawk it around some carpet stores I reckon I should be able to get a very close match to the original green Wilton and can then get the trimmer to make some mats and cut the carpet to fit behind the driver's seat. Is there any reason why this won't work? What backing should I look for on the carpet as I imagine most good quality carpet will be on hessian and I'm unclear if that's suitable for automotive use?
The issue I have with my carpets (1999 vintage) is trying to work out what the original colour actually was. The are described in the handbook as 'Nimbus', but vary in hue from a dirty grey to a faded blue where they have been exposed to the sun..3. Replace carpet behind rear drivers seat and make new floor mats. Question: If I cut a small sample of the original carpet off and hawk it around some carpet stores I reckon I should be able to get a very close match to the original green Wilton and can then get the trimmer to make some mats and cut the carpet to fit behind the driver's seat. Is there any reason why this won't work? What backing should I look for on the carpet as I imagine most good quality carpet will be on hessian and I'm unclear if that's suitable for automotive use?
Like you my trim is a bit tatty in places, but it has scrubbed up reasonably well, so I'm confining the interior restoration to just having all the carpets replaced. There is no point in doing those piecemeal I think.
Thanks.
I had some 1mm sheets lying around, though dare say 0.5mmm may have been a little better.
Given the shape of the ears, they need to bend in two directions (see point of crack in old one in the first pic) a thinner sheet may have been more 'mouldable'. Having said that 1mm worked fine -was taped down to take form ahead of gluing down the new hoop fabric on the sides.
I had some 1mm sheets lying around, though dare say 0.5mmm may have been a little better.
Given the shape of the ears, they need to bend in two directions (see point of crack in old one in the first pic) a thinner sheet may have been more 'mouldable'. Having said that 1mm worked fine -was taped down to take form ahead of gluing down the new hoop fabric on the sides.
Just an update for you guys after all the help I had on the forum! Well I collected the Griff yesterday and we spent the morning today with the missus cleaning the insides and me cleaning the engine bay. I started using some Autoglym metal polish with rags on the header tank and it's starting to shine but I can see this will be a long job. Should I use something more abrasive than old T shirts? Is it worth using a dremel or something with polishing pads?
Anyway the best news is that Andy at APM has done a fab job. The car is running great and I so loved driving her around today (although sadly in the rain!!) The bill was more than I had hoped of course but I gather Andy had to do a lot of work - much of which is hidden and I now have rather fabulous vented discs all around, a new steering rack, some new suspension components and of course new outriggers and a chassis that has been sanded, painted with Hammerite type stuff and then treated with underseal/waxoil.
I'm actually quite amazed how tight and sorted she feels on the road - seemingly less crashing over potholes than I remember - indeed none at all. Not sure if that's the outriggers or the suspension droplinks etc that were replaced but it feels good. I haven't been able to use much of the performance as Andy has advised me to run it back in on mineral oil for a while as it's been out of commission for so long so I'm being gentle and anyway the roads around here were wet!
Next plans are to upgrade the speakers to some Audison 6.5 front and rear and fit an Aux in cable to my existing Alpine head unit - oh and probably a powered aerial in the boot. 10 days lead time on that with the installer.
I'm taking her into a local respray place for a quote on Monday that is the same one used by APM and Fernhurst and also hoping to whizz her over to a trimmer or two for some quotes this week as I have a week off work. Looks like there's about a 3 week wait for the respray and the car will be with them for 2 weeks which takes us to early Aug. Some of that will be hopefully paid by the insurer owing to the fact some scratches were caused by a bicycle scraping it in the garage.
The big lead time is the trimmers and some were quoting Nov!! As I'm quite keen to tart it up sooner than that and enjoy it in a tidy state over the Summer the resprayer suggested whipping the seats out while it's in for respray work and sending them off for recovering which I think is a good idea. I'm going to chat to Fernhurst about their trimmer doing the carpets and maybe the seats so would welcome any reports on who they use - is it in house? Also has anyone used Central TVR as I notice they offer a seat retrimming service for £890 a pair which doesn't seem too bad??
The OZ wheels will be refurbed while the car is in for respray and then the final bit of the jigsaw will be having the new dash fitted by APM which I've ordered from Peter Wiggins and which should be ready by end August.
I can't tell you how much delight I felt getting behind the wheel again for the first time in so many years. It's so lovely I've been able to save my Griff!!
Big thanks to Andy at APM Automotive for all his efforts and hard work...
saxon
Anyway the best news is that Andy at APM has done a fab job. The car is running great and I so loved driving her around today (although sadly in the rain!!) The bill was more than I had hoped of course but I gather Andy had to do a lot of work - much of which is hidden and I now have rather fabulous vented discs all around, a new steering rack, some new suspension components and of course new outriggers and a chassis that has been sanded, painted with Hammerite type stuff and then treated with underseal/waxoil.
I'm actually quite amazed how tight and sorted she feels on the road - seemingly less crashing over potholes than I remember - indeed none at all. Not sure if that's the outriggers or the suspension droplinks etc that were replaced but it feels good. I haven't been able to use much of the performance as Andy has advised me to run it back in on mineral oil for a while as it's been out of commission for so long so I'm being gentle and anyway the roads around here were wet!
Next plans are to upgrade the speakers to some Audison 6.5 front and rear and fit an Aux in cable to my existing Alpine head unit - oh and probably a powered aerial in the boot. 10 days lead time on that with the installer.
I'm taking her into a local respray place for a quote on Monday that is the same one used by APM and Fernhurst and also hoping to whizz her over to a trimmer or two for some quotes this week as I have a week off work. Looks like there's about a 3 week wait for the respray and the car will be with them for 2 weeks which takes us to early Aug. Some of that will be hopefully paid by the insurer owing to the fact some scratches were caused by a bicycle scraping it in the garage.
The big lead time is the trimmers and some were quoting Nov!! As I'm quite keen to tart it up sooner than that and enjoy it in a tidy state over the Summer the resprayer suggested whipping the seats out while it's in for respray work and sending them off for recovering which I think is a good idea. I'm going to chat to Fernhurst about their trimmer doing the carpets and maybe the seats so would welcome any reports on who they use - is it in house? Also has anyone used Central TVR as I notice they offer a seat retrimming service for £890 a pair which doesn't seem too bad??
The OZ wheels will be refurbed while the car is in for respray and then the final bit of the jigsaw will be having the new dash fitted by APM which I've ordered from Peter Wiggins and which should be ready by end August.
I can't tell you how much delight I felt getting behind the wheel again for the first time in so many years. It's so lovely I've been able to save my Griff!!
Big thanks to Andy at APM Automotive for all his efforts and hard work...
saxon
saxon said:
Just an update for you guys after all the help I had on the forum! Well I collected the Griff yesterday and we spent the morning today with the missus cleaning the insides and me cleaning the engine bay. I started using some Autoglym metal polish with rags on the header tank and it's starting to shine but I can see this will be a long job. Should I use something more abrasive than old T shirts? Is it worth using a dremel or something with polishing pads?
Sax, try starting with 600 grit wet and dry until you've removed all blemishes and then work up to say, 2000 grit and then start polishing. PeteNew radiator required???
Just looking for advice. Been running around in my Griff the past couple of days.
Temps are stable/nromal toodling around town but at motorway speeds of 70mph or so the fans are basically permanently on and the temp has briefly climbed above the white hot line but not made it into the red - and this even with heater on hot...
Wondering if my standard fit radiator has just furred up over the past decade or so despite Andy's best efforts to collant flush it.
The fact that the problem occurs at high speed when the engine is working hard makes me think the cooling ability of the rad isn't adequate - am I on the right lines here???? Presumably sitting in traffic the engine generates less heat and so the cooling fans and rad are up to the task.
A mechanically minded friend had a bash at getting a bit of trapped air out of the system which helped a bit but it's still running hotter than I remember (it never ran hot before).
I have a chance to get an Aaron alloy rad delivered tomorrow and am attracted to the idea because they're supposedly better at cooling anyway than copper. Need to decide overnight whether to spring for a new rad.
Any views/advice gratefully received as I'm not overly mechanical!!
Saxon
Just looking for advice. Been running around in my Griff the past couple of days.
Temps are stable/nromal toodling around town but at motorway speeds of 70mph or so the fans are basically permanently on and the temp has briefly climbed above the white hot line but not made it into the red - and this even with heater on hot...
Wondering if my standard fit radiator has just furred up over the past decade or so despite Andy's best efforts to collant flush it.
The fact that the problem occurs at high speed when the engine is working hard makes me think the cooling ability of the rad isn't adequate - am I on the right lines here???? Presumably sitting in traffic the engine generates less heat and so the cooling fans and rad are up to the task.
A mechanically minded friend had a bash at getting a bit of trapped air out of the system which helped a bit but it's still running hotter than I remember (it never ran hot before).
I have a chance to get an Aaron alloy rad delivered tomorrow and am attracted to the idea because they're supposedly better at cooling anyway than copper. Need to decide overnight whether to spring for a new rad.
Any views/advice gratefully received as I'm not overly mechanical!!
Saxon
Check your existing rad isn't clogged with dust etc. Also check for anything blocking airflow. Does the fan blow the right way? (don't assume, check!).
Also, a slightly leaking head gasket can cause mild overheating that becomes apparent at speed. Let's hope it's not that.
But you need a proper diagnosis before you spend money.
Also, a slightly leaking head gasket can cause mild overheating that becomes apparent at speed. Let's hope it's not that.
But you need a proper diagnosis before you spend money.
So radiator re-cored and car now running noticeably cooler. I think the years standing did the old rad no favours.
Car is now booked in for a full respray in the existing Cooper green colour and I'm toying with going the whole hog and having a full interior retrim done - Central TVR are looking like a good bet. If I do that I would be interested in a whole new colour scheme inside as my magnolia trim does seem a bit too yellow for my taste - maybe it's just aged and goes like that because in the catalogues of the period magnolia looks less yellow to me.
I'm definitely putting in green carpets. The question is whether to trim the seats and other bits in cream, portland grey, magnolia or parchment. Can anybody post some photos of their car with any of these interior colours to help me to decide!! Were there any other light colours other than those I've mentioned?
Grateful for any input!
Saxon
Car is now booked in for a full respray in the existing Cooper green colour and I'm toying with going the whole hog and having a full interior retrim done - Central TVR are looking like a good bet. If I do that I would be interested in a whole new colour scheme inside as my magnolia trim does seem a bit too yellow for my taste - maybe it's just aged and goes like that because in the catalogues of the period magnolia looks less yellow to me.
I'm definitely putting in green carpets. The question is whether to trim the seats and other bits in cream, portland grey, magnolia or parchment. Can anybody post some photos of their car with any of these interior colours to help me to decide!! Were there any other light colours other than those I've mentioned?
Grateful for any input!
Saxon
FlipFlopGriff said:
Mines ocean and fern green interior with an ocean haze exterior - looks good. Also green carpets.
FFG
Fern green or Sage green? my first Griff was Ocean haze but i thought the interior in mine was the same as yours? which i always thought was sage green.FFG
As a aside my current car, "mallas
te" green car (curiton green) has the same colour interior, but i'm getting it resprayed Reflex Charcoal in october
To the OP, this is sage green and cream with a charcoal grey carpet on a dark green car:
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