N435 DDY - 1995 Mallard
Discussion
Found this shot of my first one @ Rheims, in August 07, whilst en route to the Black Forest.
I stupidly sold it in April 08, to a lovely German guy called Dennis, who worked for Porsche @ Stuttgart, in quality control, but who lived in north Germany near Munster.
Has it survived ?
Edited by neutral 3 on Thursday 11th April 00:22
Edited by neutral 3 on Tuesday 7th May 19:00
Hey guys,
the good news is: the car has survived and it's still mine. Unfortunately I wouldn't call it a success story though...
I've had to do some minor work to make it TÜV worthy, like headlamp conversion, reinstalling a cat in the exhaust and so on. Even with these changes it's still not easy to have it road registered in Germany, so I decided to go to a TÜV guy who is known for his "heart fot TVRs". This is where the s**** hits the fan.
On the way to said guy the entire rear left brake caliper came off on the autobahn! Luckily nothing major happened an I could limp to the nearest exit, where I parked the car to trailer it home later. Two or three days go by and there we are back again with a towing vehicle, a rented trailer and the Griff nicely secured on top. Of course it was pouring to make matters a little more uncomfortable than they already are. The drive home was uneventful, but when we came to a halt to get the car off the trailer I could hear the magnet switch of the starter motor click all the time. Thaught it was weird, but so is the entire car, right? Drove it in the garage to deal with it later.
When this "later" became a "now", the car suddenly wouldn't start anymore. I investigated the issue starting at the battery where, to my surprise, I found the main battery cables completely naked with the remains of their insulation hanging down like molten cheese!
Long story short: the 2 hour ride in the spray of the towing vehicle has completely f****d up the electronics. I couldn't repair it myself, so over the years I payed a guy to make it run again and so he did. Other projects like new jobs, marrying, having kids, a house and so on made the car always priority two and so for at least 8 years I tell myself that THIS is the year I bring the Griff back on the road...
I often thought about selling it, but the Griff has everything I love in cars. It's ligh weight, has a great engine, a beautiful body... I also thought about completely restoring it, but if I'm honest to myself, I'm not on a point in my life where I have the time to do it soon.
So, this is what happened to your/my Griff in the last 10 or so years.
the good news is: the car has survived and it's still mine. Unfortunately I wouldn't call it a success story though...
I've had to do some minor work to make it TÜV worthy, like headlamp conversion, reinstalling a cat in the exhaust and so on. Even with these changes it's still not easy to have it road registered in Germany, so I decided to go to a TÜV guy who is known for his "heart fot TVRs". This is where the s**** hits the fan.
On the way to said guy the entire rear left brake caliper came off on the autobahn! Luckily nothing major happened an I could limp to the nearest exit, where I parked the car to trailer it home later. Two or three days go by and there we are back again with a towing vehicle, a rented trailer and the Griff nicely secured on top. Of course it was pouring to make matters a little more uncomfortable than they already are. The drive home was uneventful, but when we came to a halt to get the car off the trailer I could hear the magnet switch of the starter motor click all the time. Thaught it was weird, but so is the entire car, right? Drove it in the garage to deal with it later.
When this "later" became a "now", the car suddenly wouldn't start anymore. I investigated the issue starting at the battery where, to my surprise, I found the main battery cables completely naked with the remains of their insulation hanging down like molten cheese!
Long story short: the 2 hour ride in the spray of the towing vehicle has completely f****d up the electronics. I couldn't repair it myself, so over the years I payed a guy to make it run again and so he did. Other projects like new jobs, marrying, having kids, a house and so on made the car always priority two and so for at least 8 years I tell myself that THIS is the year I bring the Griff back on the road...
I often thought about selling it, but the Griff has everything I love in cars. It's ligh weight, has a great engine, a beautiful body... I also thought about completely restoring it, but if I'm honest to myself, I'm not on a point in my life where I have the time to do it soon.
So, this is what happened to your/my Griff in the last 10 or so years.
Hello Dennis, great to hear that my old Griff has survived, but sorry to hear that you have hardly used it!
But if it's any consolation, I became very seriously ill a few months after you drove away in it, I was ill for about 18 months and am very lucky to be here now ( you met the person concerned, she was with me when you bought the Griff )
and then in October 10, I was involved in a serious accident and once again, am very lucky to be here now.
I can still hear you saying to me " I want to own one of these before we are not allowed to drive cars like this" !
I had some great drives in that Griff and should have told you that it was already sold, when you first contacted me!
But if it's any consolation, I became very seriously ill a few months after you drove away in it, I was ill for about 18 months and am very lucky to be here now ( you met the person concerned, she was with me when you bought the Griff )
and then in October 10, I was involved in a serious accident and once again, am very lucky to be here now.
I can still hear you saying to me " I want to own one of these before we are not allowed to drive cars like this" !
I had some great drives in that Griff and should have told you that it was already sold, when you first contacted me!
I have to admit that loosing a brake caliper on the autobahn and having the electronics ruined by water have cured me from the TVR feever for some time.
I currently have a modified MX-5 for fun in the twisties but I find myself time and again thinking how great it would be to have twice the power and 100 times the sound...
I currently have a modified MX-5 for fun in the twisties but I find myself time and again thinking how great it would be to have twice the power and 100 times the sound...
Sorry to hear that you had some bad luck with the car Dennis.
I spent ££ and a lot of time on that car.
I had the PAS rack properly rebuilt, new front tyres, new front discs and pads, new steering u / Js, Ball Joints, Track rods, wishbones, new Bilsteins and Lots more.
I had only owned it a week, when I drove it across France and down to the Black Forest, for two weeks, it never missed a beat apart from the drivers window sticking half way down in Rheims ( you can see it in the photo ) it stuck down for one day and then worked fine.
In late September 07, i then drove it on my own to Arnhem and into Nth Germany, to Reklinghousen for a week and it ran perfectly all the way there and back again.
The Cerb seats were uncomfortable for me and did not suit my shape though.
I spent ££ and a lot of time on that car.
I had the PAS rack properly rebuilt, new front tyres, new front discs and pads, new steering u / Js, Ball Joints, Track rods, wishbones, new Bilsteins and Lots more.
I had only owned it a week, when I drove it across France and down to the Black Forest, for two weeks, it never missed a beat apart from the drivers window sticking half way down in Rheims ( you can see it in the photo ) it stuck down for one day and then worked fine.
In late September 07, i then drove it on my own to Arnhem and into Nth Germany, to Reklinghousen for a week and it ran perfectly all the way there and back again.
The Cerb seats were uncomfortable for me and did not suit my shape though.
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