Discussion
It means high cam lift. It denotes the engines that were claimed to be 340bhp. They were later detuned to 320bhp.
joospeed in a previous thread said:
the engines were detuned because of complaints about town manners .. the change is a cam change. HC cars were rated at 340, non HC at 320. To put another spanner in the 500 works, early 500 chims were rated at 290bhp.
Thanks rude girl.
So that means that all pre-serp 500s are HC's?
If this is the case then why do I see post '95 cars advertised as HC?
Could it also be the case that all HCs have the old rover gearbox?
Im not being anorak Im just trying to understand if people are advertising cars wrong or not.
So that means that all pre-serp 500s are HC's?
If this is the case then why do I see post '95 cars advertised as HC?
Could it also be the case that all HCs have the old rover gearbox?
Im not being anorak Im just trying to understand if people are advertising cars wrong or not.
Shamelessly copied from RichB:
HC indicates a High-lift Cam and all 5Ltrs. are HC regardless of whether or not is says HC on the rocker covers. The serpentine engine is spotted by the alternator & water-pump drive-belts which take a rather tortuous route around the front of the engine, hence "serpentine". The significance is that this engine was introduced around (but not exactly at) the time of the Borg Warner T5 box, which is regarded as better and can be spotted by the fact that reverse is to the right and back i.e. under 5th. There were many incremental improvements to the Griffith over the years and apart from the noise (which can be addressed with an exhaust conversion) these came together in the 500's. I strongly recommend you get a copy of Steve Heath's book "The TVR Griffith and Chimaera" commonly known as the Bible! Available from the tvrcc and Steve's web site. http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/shpub/ and www.tvrcc.com/
The entire thread can be found here:
[url]www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?p=1&f=9&t=73526&h=0&hw=HC[/url]
HC indicates a High-lift Cam and all 5Ltrs. are HC regardless of whether or not is says HC on the rocker covers. The serpentine engine is spotted by the alternator & water-pump drive-belts which take a rather tortuous route around the front of the engine, hence "serpentine". The significance is that this engine was introduced around (but not exactly at) the time of the Borg Warner T5 box, which is regarded as better and can be spotted by the fact that reverse is to the right and back i.e. under 5th. There were many incremental improvements to the Griffith over the years and apart from the noise (which can be addressed with an exhaust conversion) these came together in the 500's. I strongly recommend you get a copy of Steve Heath's book "The TVR Griffith and Chimaera" commonly known as the Bible! Available from the tvrcc and Steve's web site. http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/shpub/ and www.tvrcc.com/
The entire thread can be found here:
[url]www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?p=1&f=9&t=73526&h=0&hw=HC[/url]
rude girl said:
[quote=joospeed in a previous thread] To put another spanner in the 500 works, early 500 chims were rated at 290bhp.
thats got me curious
my old chim was a '95 500hc rated at 340bhp.just how early did they make 500 chims then?,i was told mine was one of the first.would like to add that the hc's are definately harder to drive around town(until you remove the pre-cats!)as has allready been said,but the trade off is that theyre a bit zippier going up through the gears than a non hc,not much in it though and i wouldnt let it influence my choice when buying.
TVR :dribble: 
290 BHP was the original spec for the proposed Griff 500. It appears in the Griff 500 handbook addendum that went out with the first cars but when the car hit the streets, it had suddenly gained 340 bhp??? Went through a lot of road tests and stuff to check this.
There have been a few cam chnages as well.
The 340 to 320 was a tweak primarily to the ECU. Some 320 produce more gee gees than the older 340s.
In summary. 340 and 320 cars are HC. Early cars were HC when delivered but were often described as non-HC.
Best advice is just get in drive the the thing.
There have been a few cam chnages as well.
The 340 to 320 was a tweak primarily to the ECU. Some 320 produce more gee gees than the older 340s.
In summary. 340 and 320 cars are HC. Early cars were HC when delivered but were often described as non-HC.
Best advice is just get in drive the the thing.
shpub said:
Best advice is just get in drive the the thing.
I realise that and Im not losing any sleep over it having 20(TVR)BHP less. Just never understood why people bother to put it in the adverts if they are all HC.
I guess ther emust be a few people that bought a car advertised as HC thinking it was a good thing and so are selling it in the same light.
Come on, who started it?!
DustyC said:
Just never understood why people bother to put it in the adverts if they are all HC.
I guess ther emust be a few people that bought a car advertised as HC thinking it was a good thing and so are selling it in the same light.
Either that or they just add it to look better. We are pretty well informed on TVRs and still need to get our brains round it, so a lesser-informed punter might just think 'Wow, HC, I'll get that one' etc. Bit like putting 'Anthony Worral Thompson' on a can-opener.
You might not have 20 bhp less... you might have more than someone else.
The reasons is mainly due to the 400 and 400HC Chimaera model difference and the need to try and get a selling edge by saying this car has a 500HC engine where an unsuspecting buyer might say WOW. Gotta have it here's £3k more cos it has to be better.
There is a difference between the 400 and 400HC Chimparis though. But we won't talk about them as this is a Griff forum.
The reasons is mainly due to the 400 and 400HC Chimaera model difference and the need to try and get a selling edge by saying this car has a 500HC engine where an unsuspecting buyer might say WOW. Gotta have it here's £3k more cos it has to be better.
There is a difference between the 400 and 400HC Chimparis though. But we won't talk about them as this is a Griff forum.
Holy Cow!
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