Which Griffith to buy?
Discussion
) and bought another Griff, I would buy an original 4.3BV. May not be as powerful as the 500 but sounds much nicer and is rarer 
A lot of cars out there will now have had a body off chassis resto,or the outriggers replaced/properly repaired,so if it worries you then it would be worth looking for one of these.Imho any car that can be proved to have had the outriggers properly sorted and subsequently looked after with regular waxoyl etc is worth a premium over those that havent,as it's not the best of jobs to be faced with during ownership.Look for photographic proof of the work carried out,as theres bound to be some that have been bodged,and also some just plastered with paint/underseal/waxoyl to hide the worst.
Your budget should easily get you something nice and fully sorted.As to which model to choose,you really have to try them and see what you think-it's the only way
Your budget should easily get you something nice and fully sorted.As to which model to choose,you really have to try them and see what you think-it's the only way
Edited by The AJP Griff on Tuesday 2nd September 16:08
Personally - I think you should go to a local owners meeting .. and talk with owners and see the condition of several cars before starting to look for your car.
That way - you know when you ar3e looking at a good example.
Most owners are honest about their favourite subject - the Griff.. so are a good source of information. If you are not an expert on cars then why not let one of the car finding experts assist you..
That way - you know when you ar3e looking at a good example.
Most owners are honest about their favourite subject - the Griff.. so are a good source of information. If you are not an expert on cars then why not let one of the car finding experts assist you..
The AJP Griff said:
A lot of cars out there will now have had a body off chassis resto,or the outriggers replaced/properly repaired,so if it worries you then it would be worth looking for one of these.Imho any car that can be proved to have had the outriggers properly sorted and subsequently looked after with regular waxoyl etc is worth a premium over those that havent,as it's not the best of jobs to be faced with during ownership.Look for photographic proof of the work carried out,as theres bound to be some that have been bodged,and also some just plastered with paint/underseal/waxoyl to hide the worst.
Your budget should easily get you something nice and fully sorted.As to which model to choose,you really have to try them and see what you think-it's the only way
You need to be very careful when inspecting any purchase. There are some cars out there that have been bodged to get through tests. Others have been restored with non std AJP engines Your budget should easily get you something nice and fully sorted.As to which model to choose,you really have to try them and see what you think-it's the only way
Edited by The AJP Griff on Tuesday 2nd September 16:08
Ageed though 15k should get you a proper car.
N.
Edited by heightswitch on Tuesday 2nd September 16:52
heightswitch said:
The AJP Griff said:
A lot of cars out there will now have had a body off chassis resto,or the outriggers replaced/properly repaired,so if it worries you then it would be worth looking for one of these.Imho any car that can be proved to have had the outriggers properly sorted and subsequently looked after with regular waxoyl etc is worth a premium over those that havent,as it's not the best of jobs to be faced with during ownership.Look for photographic proof of the work carried out,as theres bound to be some that have been bodged,and also some just plastered with paint/underseal/waxoyl to hide the worst.
Your budget should easily get you something nice and fully sorted.As to which model to choose,you really have to try them and see what you think-it's the only way
You need to be very careful when inspecting any purchase. There are some cars out there that have been bodged to get through tests. Others have been restored with non std AJP engines Your budget should easily get you something nice and fully sorted.As to which model to choose,you really have to try them and see what you think-it's the only way
Edited by The AJP Griff on Tuesday 2nd September 16:08
Ageed though 15k should get you a proper car.
N.
Edited by heightswitch on Tuesday 2nd September 16:52
Hi Neil
Hopefully not long now before i can make that trip up to Blackpool
It's been an 'eventful' shakedown so far,but things are finally looking upThe AJP Griff said:
Hi NeilHopefully not long now before i can make that trip up to Blackpool It's been an 'eventful' shakedown so far,but things are finally looking up
Hey Mike, when you do get up to Blackpool make sure you give me a call and we can meet up and do some stuff for the article we discussed.Hopefully not long now before i can make that trip up to Blackpool It's been an 'eventful' shakedown so far,but things are finally looking updeerhound said:
With help of forum I reckon the Griffith is the car I want to own, I note the different engine HP sizes, Which is the better one? Is it likley that a car of this era will have chassis rot, as I remember the frame on my 3000M was bad in places? thank you again, JBD
That sound deadening insulation stuff they put on the rear rail between body and chassis doesn't help!FFG
Edited by FlipFlopGriff on Tuesday 2nd September 17:30
V8 GRF said:
The AJP Griff said:
Hi NeilHopefully not long now before i can make that trip up to Blackpool It's been an 'eventful' shakedown so far,but things are finally looking up
Hey Mike, when you do get up to Blackpool make sure you give me a call and we can meet up and do some stuff for the article we discussed.Hopefully not long now before i can make that trip up to Blackpool It's been an 'eventful' shakedown so far,but things are finally looking upThe 500 is the better developed car than the precats, in terms of ventilation , instruments, gearbox and few other little things but the 500 engine itself has a few weakness's such as early ones / (pre serp) snap cranks and later ones (serp) can run big-ends & drop liners.
For 15K you should be able to find an excellent 4.3 precat or a good 500 but with these cars its really down toe the condition more than anything else.
For my money I'd go for a 4.3 with engine tweaks, aftermarket shocks,and a chassis in 1st class condition, upgraded headlamps are also useful and any mods to ventilation are also a bonus
Get along to a local car club meeting ( see TVR car club website for details) and ask a few questions and you may even get a ride in a few if you ask nicely
Matt
For 15K you should be able to find an excellent 4.3 precat or a good 500 but with these cars its really down toe the condition more than anything else.
For my money I'd go for a 4.3 with engine tweaks, aftermarket shocks,and a chassis in 1st class condition, upgraded headlamps are also useful and any mods to ventilation are also a bonus
Get along to a local car club meeting ( see TVR car club website for details) and ask a few questions and you may even get a ride in a few if you ask nicely
Matt
350Matt said:
.....but the 500 engine itself has a few weakness's such as early ones / (pre serp) snap cranks and later ones (serp) can run big-ends & drop liners.....
Thats news to me
How many have you owned that suffered these poblems?I've heard of liner issues on anything bigger than 3,5 litre,due to the larger bore,i've never heard of big end issues any more than i have on our vauxhall vectra!and i've only ever heard of the very occasional crank failure,which seems to be a very rare occurance,given how many were made.You make the 500 sound like a S6 in terms of reliability,yet i've now owned a few,and have even modified one to over 350bhp,and never had any issues with reliability,nor heard of any more problems than any other variant of the RV8.
It's worth taking note of all the good advice so far, I already own a S3 2.9 and had hankered after a Griff for ages. I read all the threads went to see and try a few, found a lot that were variously mis-described until I found my 1996 500 HC looked absolutely stunning in Rosso Pearl Metallic drove really well, had it for 3 weeks and the camshaft failed.....big time, nothing either the seller or I could have anticipated. So, engine out - new stealth cam, then..... new pistons, replace the existing straight cylinder liners, (which are prone to drop) with top hat liners, cross bolted bottom end, dynamically balanced, inlet porting, steel rocker gear, 45mm inlet trumpet plate and that little bit of V8 Dev magic
Most of it is me making sure I have a cracking engine for the next 50,000 miles but it is an awful lot of money and thankfully a very understanding wife but I am lucky that I could afford to do it, as I consider it an investment.
The point of all of this diatribe is that with the best advice in the world be aware that RV8s can be prone to cam failure and a few, mainly 500s have liner problems but...............Griffs are the dogs b-ll-cks, I am literally aching to get mine back just to hear that V8 and feel the power.
DO NOT LET THIS PUT YOU OFF, BUY, BUY, BUY you will not be disappointed, that's a promise.
YB
Most of it is me making sure I have a cracking engine for the next 50,000 miles but it is an awful lot of money and thankfully a very understanding wife but I am lucky that I could afford to do it, as I consider it an investment.
The point of all of this diatribe is that with the best advice in the world be aware that RV8s can be prone to cam failure and a few, mainly 500s have liner problems but...............Griffs are the dogs b-ll-cks, I am literally aching to get mine back just to hear that V8 and feel the power.
DO NOT LET THIS PUT YOU OFF, BUY, BUY, BUY you will not be disappointed, that's a promise.
YB
The AJP Griff said:
heightswitch said:
The AJP Griff said:
A lot of cars out there will now have had a body off chassis resto,or the outriggers replaced/properly repaired,so if it worries you then it would be worth looking for one of these.Imho any car that can be proved to have had the outriggers properly sorted and subsequently looked after with regular waxoyl etc is worth a premium over those that havent,as it's not the best of jobs to be faced with during ownership.Look for photographic proof of the work carried out,as theres bound to be some that have been bodged,and also some just plastered with paint/underseal/waxoyl to hide the worst.
Your budget should easily get you something nice and fully sorted.As to which model to choose,you really have to try them and see what you think-it's the only way
You need to be very careful when inspecting any purchase. There are some cars out there that have been bodged to get through tests. Others have been restored with non std AJP engines Your budget should easily get you something nice and fully sorted.As to which model to choose,you really have to try them and see what you think-it's the only way
Edited by The AJP Griff on Tuesday 2nd September 16:08
Ageed though 15k should get you a proper car.
N.
Edited by heightswitch on Tuesday 2nd September 16:52
Hi Neil
Hopefully not long now before i can make that trip up to Blackpool It's been an 'eventful' shakedown so far,but things are finally looking upI wish i'd bought it.
N.
Edited by heightswitch on Tuesday 2nd September 22:14
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