Looking for a Griff

[RobXjcoupe]

black_potato said:

Any views on this one ?

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

I guess the colour is quite marmite, I think I like it but Im not sure....
According to the dealer the history is extensive. I may go and have a look at the weekend but on the off chance anybody knows the dealer or has looked at the car any intel would be appreciated.

Interior doesn’t match the new white body colour and cream dials on patterned stainless looks a bit naff
It’s a compromise I think. Good exterior but Interior needs a colour to match.
I still like the look of that L reg mid blue car.

[FlipFlopGriff]

Light exterior needs a darker interior imho.
Our flip flop yellow 500 has a fern green interior. Each to their own.
FFG

[TJC46]

black_potato said:

Any views on this one ?

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

I guess the colour is quite marmite, I think I like it but Im not sure....
According to the dealer the history is extensive. I may go and have a look at the weekend but on the off chance anybody knows the dealer or has looked at the car any intel would be appreciated.

Dont mind the white but not with that interior.

26K and the engine bay looks sht !



Is it just me but for 26 grand the engine bay and chassis should look more like this [photo found on the net]



The outside of the car looks very nice, but looking at the engine bay pics .....it makes me think about the condition of all the bits you cannot see !

Just my opinion.....but leave well alone.......unless you can get it about 10k cheaper.

Edited by TJC46 on Wednesday 6th December 20:14

[black_potato]

What is becoming apparent and probably isnt a surprise to many here is that a decent car is 25-30k its just a question of how you get there. Buying from a dealer could push that up another 10-20%.

The other challenge I have is getting time to see cars as they are scattered around the country or people are busy when I have time.

Anyway.. 2 more this weekend both of which will likely be project cars to some degree, both ~20k so have room for some work if most bits are good.

1st one... very local, just been in for MOT, service, condition report..
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

The other is a very similar spec and colour near northhampton, He had just taken it off the market for xmas when I asked. If I can find it online somewhere I'll post a link.

The white one I did want to look at but the dealer only opens a few hours sat which isnt going to work for me so maybe another time.

[RichB]

black_potato said:

... very local, just been in for MOT, service, condition report..
https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

Looks like half leather rather than full, that or the dashboard top has been polished to within an inch of its life. I dislike shiny leather (or plastic for that matter) .

[RobXjcoupe]

TJC46 said:

black_potato said:

Any views on this one ?

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/...

I guess the colour is quite marmite, I think I like it but Im not sure....
According to the dealer the history is extensive. I may go and have a look at the weekend but on the off chance anybody knows the dealer or has looked at the car any intel would be appreciated.

Dont mind the white but not with that interior.

26K and the engine bay looks sht !



Is it just me but for 26 grand the engine bay and chassis should look more like this [photo found on the net]



The outside of the car looks very nice, but looking at the engine bay pics .....it makes me think about the condition of all the bits you cannot see !

Just my opinion.....but leave well alone.......unless you can get it about 10k cheaper.

Edited by TJC46 on Wednesday 6th December 20:14

That’s the under bonnet pic of my Griff with 85k miles

[citizen smith]

There's always 2 things to check when viewing a TVR, 1) Chassis condition, 2) Engine Bay condition - the White car is a typical example of an unloved car (NEGLECTED), that could have covered quite a few miles to say the least!

I personally prefer to wait and source a car Privately. At least then you would know where and how the car has been kept, plus you can appreciate how the car has been driven from cold.

What would the Dealer have paid for the White Car - £13 - 14k and it shows.

I am afraid to say that it looks like you are going to have a long slog on your hands to find the right car, since I can't see many cars up for sale until Next Spring - not forgetting rising prices.

Good Luck in your search.

[FlipFlopGriff]

Not everyone is into bling. Andreas 500 engine bay isn't dissimilar to the white one and it would take a few hundred quid and some time to change the intake and polish up the ss items. Its well used but gets looked after, money is no object and it pulls like a train - just spent nearly £5k on it. Don't be put off by the engine bay - does it drive well with no hesitation and good power and has paperwork to back up its been looked after. The bling for me is a put off - could the car be made to look good covering up other areas of neglect? I'd go for a good base car which you can make better over time. A poorly engine could run into thousands - changing a few hoses/ pipes and a bit of polishing much less.
FFG

[SMB]

I think the quality of a standard engine bay is an indication of how the car has been kept in itself. If prior owners didnt fix oil leaks or just review the underbonnet and keep it reasonably clean, there is little chance they spent time cleaning and painting the chassis.

Corroded alloy castings on the engine, alternator, plenum etc give an indication the car has lived outside at some time. My Chimaera is standard, not polished but is still showing minimal alloy corrosion after 22 years. Top price for cars in my view should be reserved for cars with a proven body off restoration now, as cosmetically cars can look great externally.

[black_potato]

I'm in the middle ground on these things. If somebody is selling a car and cant be bothered to clean it up a bit then that tells you something. That said under bonnet bling isnt really my thing either. My approach is that the mechanical aspects need to be good and that if I drive the car in all weathers it will get dirty and need more maintenance. As I already have a car that I can only use in the summer this wont be a summer only car.
To maintain the car I'm already thinking that each year I will probably lift the body 6 inches to inspect and maintain the chassis. I will also do any bushes etc at the same time.

[SMB]

black_potato said:

I'm in the middle ground on these things. If somebody is selling a car and cant be bothered to clean it up a bit then that tells you something. That said under bonnet bling isnt really my thing either. My approach is that the mechanical aspects need to be good and that if I drive the car in all weathers it will get dirty and need more maintenance. As I already have a car that I can only use in the summer this wont be a summer only car.
To maintain the car I'm already thinking that each year I will probably lift the body 6 inches to inspect and maintain the chassis. I will also do any bushes etc at the same time.

to raise the body 6 inches requires 98% of the work required to remove it completely. as the saying goes. if a job's worth doing it's worth doing right.

[andy43]

White one needs turning blue to match the interior door cards. Wheels look like Lensos like wot I have. I'd rather have a pile of bills than a pile of polishing to keep on top of, but the white one does look unloved underbonnet and there's a LOT of waxoyl.
It's interesting looking at what's out there - not much below 25k now - 21k purple one looks decent and the ad neatly avoids the engine bay question by not showing any pictures of it. SHistory since 2015 doesn't make sense either.
At a budget of 25k I'd find the extra from somewhere and go for this 30k 4.3 rebuild - if the pics show the standard to which it'll be built, it'd be my choice.
Might even be able to pick the colour scheme

[citizen smith]

andy43 said:

White one needs turning blue to match the interior door cards. Wheels look like Lensos like wot I have. I'd rather have a pile of bills than a pile of polishing to keep on top of, but the white one does look unloved underbonnet and there's a LOT of waxoyl.
It's interesting looking at what's out there - not much below 25k now - 21k purple one looks decent and the ad neatly avoids the engine bay question by not showing any pictures of it. SHistory since 2015 doesn't make sense either.
At a budget of 25k I'd find the extra from somewhere and go for this 30k 4.3 rebuild - if the pics show the standard to which it'll be built, it'd be my choice.
Might even be able to pick the colour scheme

I totally agree, the £30k rebuild looks a bargain and long term wise could possibly work out a lot cheaper. I have seen this car in the Garage and it looked like decent car prior to the rebuild!

Get the dealer to do the Mod's for a 500 and what a gem it could be.

£5k can quickly be spent on Maintenance etc.

[RichB]

citizen smith said:

I totally agree, the £30k rebuild looks a bargain and long term wise could possibly work out a lot cheaper. I have seen this car in the Garage and it looked like decent car prior to the rebuild!

Get the dealer to do the Mod's for a 500 and what a gem it could be.

I know original Griff noses are unobtainable now but this 4.3 already has a 500 nose so I wonder, did it have a smack?

I guess the 500 mod you're referring to is to whack in a 5.0 litre engine

[citizen smith]

RichB said:

I know original Griff noses are unobtainable now but this 4.3 already has a 500 nose so I wonder, did it have a smack?

I guess the 500 mod you're referring to is to whack in a 5.0 litre engine

According to one of the sales team, the 4.3 was a special order by the customer. Did seem odd to me as well, but in the early days the 4.3 was the sweeter engine of the 2.

[RobXjcoupe]

So that low mileage 4.3 with its complete restoration does that include strip down of engine, gearbox and diff as well as a clean chassis?

[citizen smith]

RobXjcoupe said:

So that low mileage 4.3 with its complete restoration does that include strip down of engine, gearbox and diff as well as a clean chassis?

You would have thought that a Complete Restoration means exactly THAT, but in todays car buying market when your looking to purchase a car, the owners/dealers advertise the car's as MINT, but exactly what does that mean - requires some remedial work perhaps!

My suggestion would be to contact the dealer, regarding those issues. The car was supposed to be ready for this July, but it now appears to be next Summer - who know's when.

[black_potato]

Sigh...

Weekend plans thrown in the bin.
1st seller not sure if he wants to sell but happy for me to drive 2 hours to have a look at his car and then he may or may not want to sell it.
2nd seller just deemed to tell me he has received the deposit from another buyer he had already agreed to sell the car to but was happy to keep me tagging along on the off chance it fell through.

I have however put a cheeky offer in for another Griff that would be more of a restoration project, but I'm not holding out too much hope on that but you never know.

Anyway.. as I have some time away from the trouble and strife I'm going to go back to Kerridges and drive a Chim, T350 and a Nobel partly out of curiosity but mainly out of spite against all Griffith owners.

If you dont hear from me again you know what happened

[ray von]

If you drive a good T350 you'll not bother looking at any more Griffs

[RobXjcoupe]

citizen smith said:

RobXjcoupe said:

So that low mileage 4.3 with its complete restoration does that include strip down of engine, gearbox and diff as well as a clean chassis?

You would have thought that a Complete Restoration means exactly THAT, but in todays car buying market when your looking to purchase a car, the owners/dealers advertise the car's as MINT, but exactly what does that mean - requires some remedial work perhaps!

My suggestion would be to contact the dealer, regarding those issues. The car was supposed to be ready for this July, but it now appears to be next Summer - who know's when.

That was the point I was highlighting. A fully restored car in my eyes includes taking apart and checking the engine and gearbox even if it’s low mileage otherwise it’s basically a body off clean chassis, body back, new paint and new interior.
For these prices personally I think a privately bought car with a few mods done and compromise on the exterior colour with one that matches/compliments it’s interior. The money saved could be used on specific upgrades the new owner wants.
My own car I bought was complete with stone chipped front. I was young and wanted to use it rather than buy a show car. No regrets. It has some very nice chassis and engine mods and I’m still proud to own it.