Refurbishing my TVR Griffith Pre-cat
Discussion
I have a 1992 Pre-cat Griff in need of some TLC and finally have some money to put into it.
The car needs:
Some respray work (paint delaminating on pax door, probably the rear quarter on the drivers side and the nose respraying)
The Walnut Dash is peeling away from its steel backing plate - probably new dash required
Drivers seat leather badly cracked and rotting due to a water leak that nobody (Fernhurst plus one or two other garages) has been unable to trace. If left out in the rain water is getting into carpet behind drivers seat and soaking it plus evidently a bit is dropping on drivers seat itself. I'm toying with just having the drivers seat recovered, perhaps doing the pax seat too or maybe going the whole hog and replacing all my magnolia trim with parchment grey. Need to cure water leak before re-trimming.
New carpet required behind drivers seat (rotten from water leak)
One OZ multispoke slit rim is badly corroded, rest are OK
I want to now invest some money in bringing the Griff back to her former glory. She's not been used for quite a while due to having a very annoying electrical gremlin which caused her to conk out randomly - now sorted. She's also just had a brand new custom built stainless exhaust manifold fitted. Last time (couple of years ago) the outriggers were checked they were pronounced sound but I want those re-checked too.
Now the question is where to take the car. I'm located South of Guildford. I've had a preliminary chat with D&C Trimming and Surface and Design and am about to chat to 'The Trim Technician' too.
Anybody else worth talking to? Finances as ever are an issue - especially as it's a second car, but I do want a quality job too.
Would appreciate any advice or price guidelines.
Saxon
The car needs:
Some respray work (paint delaminating on pax door, probably the rear quarter on the drivers side and the nose respraying)
The Walnut Dash is peeling away from its steel backing plate - probably new dash required
Drivers seat leather badly cracked and rotting due to a water leak that nobody (Fernhurst plus one or two other garages) has been unable to trace. If left out in the rain water is getting into carpet behind drivers seat and soaking it plus evidently a bit is dropping on drivers seat itself. I'm toying with just having the drivers seat recovered, perhaps doing the pax seat too or maybe going the whole hog and replacing all my magnolia trim with parchment grey. Need to cure water leak before re-trimming.
New carpet required behind drivers seat (rotten from water leak)
One OZ multispoke slit rim is badly corroded, rest are OK
I want to now invest some money in bringing the Griff back to her former glory. She's not been used for quite a while due to having a very annoying electrical gremlin which caused her to conk out randomly - now sorted. She's also just had a brand new custom built stainless exhaust manifold fitted. Last time (couple of years ago) the outriggers were checked they were pronounced sound but I want those re-checked too.
Now the question is where to take the car. I'm located South of Guildford. I've had a preliminary chat with D&C Trimming and Surface and Design and am about to chat to 'The Trim Technician' too.
Anybody else worth talking to? Finances as ever are an issue - especially as it's a second car, but I do want a quality job too.
Would appreciate any advice or price guidelines.
Saxon
[/URL]Couple of threads with Surrey based craftsmen to consider.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
My honest humble opinion is to make sure your chassis is in good nick aswell as all the running gear, bearings, bushes, diff and engine. I dont know the mileage or where its been stored over its 25 year lifespan, seeing as yours is a 92 its fair to say the chassis will need looking at once on a lift and properly inspected. Start with the mechanicals first handling, dampners, etc, then if your happy your griff drives the best it can, then start looking at paint and a re trim. If your car has been leaking from the inside and water gets everywhere, its a good chance its been getting to the transmission tunnel and along chassis rails etc? Good luck with your refurb 
Edited by portzi on Wednesday 20th May 22:02
Edited by portzi on Wednesday 20th May 22:09
Just had mine done inside and out at D&C Trim and Surface and Design, no brainer use both these companies as they go hand in hand and can easily work together. Remember these are ex factory folk who know the short cuts and how to finish the car first class, have a look at my recent posting of : New Look Griffith - in the Griffith section. Had my hood done locally in Wiltshire a few years ago, as I didn't want the fuss of driving up north to Blackpool. Cost me dear, crap job, resulting in the end to use the Blackpool boys who produced a stunning job. End of!
Call me if you want any further info. My car will be on show for S&D and D&C Trim at the Neil Garner Open Day at SN16 9SH - Sept 26th.
Over to you...........
Call me if you want any further info. My car will be on show for S&D and D&C Trim at the Neil Garner Open Day at SN16 9SH - Sept 26th.
Over to you...........
saxon said:
I have a 1992 Pre-cat Griff in need of some TLC and finally have some money to put into it.
The car needs:
Some respray work (paint delaminating on pax door, probably the rear quarter on the drivers side and the nose respraying)
The Walnut Dash is peeling away from its steel backing plate - probably new dash required
Drivers seat leather badly cracked and rotting due to a water leak that nobody (Fernhurst plus one or two other garages) has been unable to trace. If left out in the rain water is getting into carpet behind drivers seat and soaking it plus evidently a bit is dropping on drivers seat itself. I'm toying with just having the drivers seat recovered, perhaps doing the pax seat too or maybe going the whole hog and replacing all my magnolia trim with parchment grey. Need to cure water leak before re-trimming.
New carpet required behind drivers seat (rotten from water leak)
One OZ multispoke slit rim is badly corroded, rest are OK
I want to now invest some money in bringing the Griff back to her former glory. She's not been used for quite a while due to having a very annoying electrical gremlin which caused her to conk out randomly - now sorted. She's also just had a brand new custom built stainless exhaust manifold fitted. Last time (couple of years ago) the outriggers were checked they were pronounced sound but I want those re-checked too.
Now the question is where to take the car. I'm located South of Guildford. I've had a preliminary chat with D&C Trimming and Surface and Design and am about to chat to 'The Trim Technician' too.
Anybody else worth talking to? Finances as ever are an issue - especially as it's a second car, but I do want a quality job too.
Would appreciate any advice or price guidelines.
Saxon
The car needs:
Some respray work (paint delaminating on pax door, probably the rear quarter on the drivers side and the nose respraying)
The Walnut Dash is peeling away from its steel backing plate - probably new dash required
Drivers seat leather badly cracked and rotting due to a water leak that nobody (Fernhurst plus one or two other garages) has been unable to trace. If left out in the rain water is getting into carpet behind drivers seat and soaking it plus evidently a bit is dropping on drivers seat itself. I'm toying with just having the drivers seat recovered, perhaps doing the pax seat too or maybe going the whole hog and replacing all my magnolia trim with parchment grey. Need to cure water leak before re-trimming.
New carpet required behind drivers seat (rotten from water leak)
One OZ multispoke slit rim is badly corroded, rest are OK
I want to now invest some money in bringing the Griff back to her former glory. She's not been used for quite a while due to having a very annoying electrical gremlin which caused her to conk out randomly - now sorted. She's also just had a brand new custom built stainless exhaust manifold fitted. Last time (couple of years ago) the outriggers were checked they were pronounced sound but I want those re-checked too.
Now the question is where to take the car. I'm located South of Guildford. I've had a preliminary chat with D&C Trimming and Surface and Design and am about to chat to 'The Trim Technician' too.
Anybody else worth talking to? Finances as ever are an issue - especially as it's a second car, but I do want a quality job too.
Would appreciate any advice or price guidelines.
Saxon
Replaced the seals on the targa section of mine with the 'mk2' seals. The rubber strip sits in a steel channel, rather than just being glued on as per the original precat design. Not cheap but simple to fit.
Dodgy targa seals could explain your problem but unlikely Fernhurst will have overlooked this though?
For the retrim I took mine to the Trim Technician - well chuffed, pics on my profile page
Dodgy targa seals could explain your problem but unlikely Fernhurst will have overlooked this though?
For the retrim I took mine to the Trim Technician - well chuffed, pics on my profile page
Great tips guys and appreciate the leads. The Mk2 seals sound interesting too so I will investigate these in case they provide a solution to the leaks - the last thing I want to do is have the interior refurbished only to find water getting in again...
As for the mechanicals I agree I do want to make sure the whole car is running and handling well as part of the refurb. I was actually thinking of selling and going for something like a GT86 and having it supercharged if I want more power. That way I would have bomb proof reliability and a commuting car but I can't bring myself to sell the Griff! I don't like the lack of airbags/crash protection in them though - maybe I'm just getting older but I think a side impact is likely lethal in a Griff whereas in a Gt86 or similar you'd be protected to some degree.
Saxon
As for the mechanicals I agree I do want to make sure the whole car is running and handling well as part of the refurb. I was actually thinking of selling and going for something like a GT86 and having it supercharged if I want more power. That way I would have bomb proof reliability and a commuting car but I can't bring myself to sell the Griff! I don't like the lack of airbags/crash protection in them though - maybe I'm just getting older but I think a side impact is likely lethal in a Griff whereas in a Gt86 or similar you'd be protected to some degree.
Saxon
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