Evora to Griff

Author
Discussion

CABC

Original Poster:

5,576 posts

101 months

Tuesday 10th May 2022
quotequote all
NicBowman said:
Quoting “ cars like old TVRs and Morgans meet this requirement as they're "charming" not envy-inducing like modern sports”.

I wouldn’t put Morgan and a Griffith in the same sentence, Morgan was designed about 100 years ago, TVR almost modern! If you haven’t driven a Morgan, don’t. Worst driving experience I have ever had. I like the look, but couldn’t own one.

TVR Griffith seems to be a car that doesn’t create envy, only interest. Plus no one expects you to go fast.. For me, a TVR that is happy going slow is the best choice, then cruise making a nice noise. Griff is the best looking and for me, rarity is a benefit compared to chimera. If you have the money, depreciation not an issue. They are indeed identical under the skin, my Griff rides just fine, smooth and comfy.

Other than that, do whatever makes you the happiest!
True, dynamically it’s a bedstead on wheels and you need to have proper sports cars alongside it in the garage to justify having it.
We drove the NC500 in the Mog, and given the state of the roads it was a good choice. I would choose other routes for spirited drives in a modern sports car. A Mog style car would be very appropriate for this garage slot if it had more luggage space and was a bit bigger all round.

I see the Griff as something between Lotus and Morgan and a great combination for touring on public roads. Actually it’s unique!

TrotCanterGallopCharge

423 posts

90 months

Tuesday 10th May 2022
quotequote all
My 2p

I went from 4.5ltr Chim to Evora S. You do feel the decades difference, but TVR rawness/sound was part of the appeal. Evora didn't give you the extra sensations when accelerating, you knew you were going faster, but the TVR communicated this more.

You will need to try various Tvrs out as they are all different, eg some clutches will be heavy, but mine was quite light. Owners by now may/will have upgraded various bits. I'd suggest as later a car as possible to try & have as many niggles as possible ironed out of the original design, especially cooling, later cars had better bonnet vents. My late Mk3/2001 Chim made it through a couple of French towns traffic then Le Mans rush hour traffic in July heat with no issues. Later seats better, & may have lumbar support.

Early 5 Ltr engine Griffs can have issues. Depending on the performance you require, a 4 Ltr may be fine, or it just has to be a 500. There are also rare 4.3 & 4.5 engines (& some BV types which are even rarer).

Buy on condition, not mileage. Chassis need to be reviewed, as they can rust from the top down, which wont be seen. Even if the outriggers have been done, other areas may still be affected. Full body off repair/replacement is better than just body lifted & outriggers replaced, & they may have sorted other issues found along the way.

Something niggly always needed doing (electrics or trim. I kept spare fuel relays in glove pocket just in case). Always started though and got me to and from where I wanted to go. Previous owner had put a different back exhaust on, which worked well, nice change of tone when accelerating, good noise on M-Way, but never too loud. Some owners have got upgraded manifolds & full system replaced.

First thing I did was have a Carl Barker alarm upgrade (others available), as original alarms old now, & can ruin the ownership experience by not/intermittent starting. When installing the alarm, electrical issues under the dash will also come to light. Check how old the alarm is. A modern alarm may help with insurance premiums or give a little extra peace of mind, another benefit it should have remote boot opening on key fob.

Check all windscreen & engine bay 'mastic' seals, even if they look ok, they may still let in water through scuttle, giving electrical issues, so check footwells for dampness. Hood seals may also get worn.

ECU upgrade good if you can get it, the originals are old now, & bad throttle response or over fuelling no fun.

Power steering is handy, although some aren't fussed. Driving various examples will show what suits you.

No side impact or rollover protection in these cars.

Evora steering was very immediate, cats eyes affected mine badly, whereas the Chim wouldn't be affected at all, just soaked them up. Again, original shocks/suspension will be old now, but some owners may have done all this work & upgraded.

Camshafts advised replaced I think every 50-60k miles.

They do get very warm inside, as no aircon, especially with roof on, winter, spring & autumn for me the best driving times.

Parts should be a lot cheaper than Evora. An Evora S 20" rear tyre was around £260 a few years ago. My Evora S gave me around 18/19mpg around town, & max 25mpg on a run, the Chim was slightly better. TVR have a lot lower PLG tax bracket. Possible classic insurance for TVR.

Best if you can store in a garage rather than outside. These cars benefit from being used as much as possible.

Happy hunting!




Belle427

8,954 posts

233 months

Tuesday 10th May 2022
quotequote all
Tvrs are an event for sure.
I've just finished a 1991 Mk1 1.6 Mx5 project I bought to keep me busy and to be honest I enjoy driving it more on tight twisty b roads than I did my Chim.
A very enjoyable car if you forget the image.
I'd pick the Tvr though for touring type journeys or long flowing roads so it depends on your usage.
I do fancy an Elise/Exige myself and may start looking end of year.

Edited by Belle427 on Tuesday 10th May 15:49

CABC

Original Poster:

5,576 posts

101 months

Tuesday 10th May 2022
quotequote all
TrotCanterGallopCharge said:
My 2p

I went from 4.5ltr Chim to Evora S. You do feel the decades difference, but TVR rawness/sound was part of the appeal. Evora didn't give you the extra sensations when accelerating, you knew you were going faster, but the TVR communicated this more.

You will need to try various Tvrs out as they are all different, eg some clutches will be heavy, but mine was quite light. Owners by now may/will have upgraded various bits. I'd suggest as later a car as possible to try & have as many niggles as possible ironed out of the original design, especially cooling, later cars had better bonnet vents. My late Mk3/2001 Chim made it through a couple of French towns traffic then Le Mans rush hour traffic in July heat with no issues. Later seats better, & may have lumbar support.

Early 5 Ltr engine Griffs can have issues. Depending on the performance you require, a 4 Ltr may be fine, or it just has to be a 500. There are also rare 4.3 & 4.5 engines (& some BV types which are even rarer).

Buy on condition, not mileage. Chassis need to be reviewed, as they can rust from the top down, which wont be seen. Even if the outriggers have been done, other areas may still be affected. Full body off repair/replacement is better than just body lifted & outriggers replaced, & they may have sorted other issues found along the way.

Something niggly always needed doing (electrics or trim. I kept spare fuel relays in glove pocket just in case). Always started though and got me to and from where I wanted to go. Previous owner had put a different back exhaust on, which worked well, nice change of tone when accelerating, good noise on M-Way, but never too loud. Some owners have got upgraded manifolds & full system replaced.

First thing I did was have a Carl Barker alarm upgrade (others available), as original alarms old now, & can ruin the ownership experience by not/intermittent starting. When installing the alarm, electrical issues under the dash will also come to light. Check how old the alarm is. A modern alarm may help with insurance premiums or give a little extra peace of mind, another benefit it should have remote boot opening on key fob.

Check all windscreen & engine bay 'mastic' seals, even if they look ok, they may still let in water through scuttle, giving electrical issues, so check footwells for dampness. Hood seals may also get worn.

ECU upgrade good if you can get it, the originals are old now, & bad throttle response or over fuelling no fun.

Power steering is handy, although some aren't fussed. Driving various examples will show what suits you.

No side impact or rollover protection in these cars.

Evora steering was very immediate, cats eyes affected mine badly, whereas the Chim wouldn't be affected at all, just soaked them up. Again, original shocks/suspension will be old now, but some owners may have done all this work & upgraded.

Camshafts advised replaced I think every 50-60k miles.

They do get very warm inside, as no aircon, especially with roof on, winter, spring & autumn for me the best driving times.

Parts should be a lot cheaper than Evora. An Evora S 20" rear tyre was around £260 a few years ago. My Evora S gave me around 18/19mpg around town, & max 25mpg on a run, the Chim was slightly better. TVR have a lot lower PLG tax bracket. Possible classic insurance for TVR.

Best if you can store in a garage rather than outside. These cars benefit from being used as much as possible.

Happy hunting!
All noted and refer back to this.
All things being equal I’m thinking of a late 500. But condition important of course. I’ll tap TVR club with ref numbers of target cars.
Thank you.

CABC

Original Poster:

5,576 posts

101 months

Tuesday 10th May 2022
quotequote all
Belle427 said:
Tvrs are an event for sure.
I've just finished a 1991 Mk1 1.6 Mx5 project I bought to keep me busy and to be honest I enjoy driving it more on tight twisty b roads than I did my Chim.
A very enjoyable car if you forget the image.
I'd pick the Tvr though for touring type journeys or long flowing roads so it depends on your usage.
I do fancy an Elise/Exige myself and may start looking end of year.

Edited by Belle427 on Tuesday 10th May 15:49
I’ve had a few 5s. Last project was a supercharged mk1 with 200hp and sorted chassis/suspension. Quite a track weapon. Should be on every young (middle aged) man’s list.

There used to be a PH journo with a TVR MX5 combo. Great pairing.

Gazzab

21,093 posts

282 months

Tuesday 10th May 2022
quotequote all
Go for the mini.

CABC

Original Poster:

5,576 posts

101 months

Tuesday 10th May 2022
quotequote all
Gazzab said:
Go for the mini.
I think you're right.
champagne pink with matching baseball caps.

citizen smith

745 posts

181 months

Wednesday 11th May 2022
quotequote all
Don't forget that the later cars are slightly detuned, for better manners whilst driving slowly!

brownspeed

735 posts

131 months

Wednesday 11th May 2022
quotequote all
NT car parks; be aware how little ground clearance the Tamora has, I don't know if your lotus is as low? Arriving at a badly potholed car park scares the crap out of me

QBee

20,980 posts

144 months

Wednesday 11th May 2022
quotequote all
On this very subject, a lot of TVR owners lower their cars too much because they think it looks better, resulting in grounding the exhaust on B roads when 2-up.

It's akin to the obsession with "filling the wheel arches" on other makes of car, for which I blame Top Gear.
A quick read of the Honda Civic Type R pages (Ok, I was bored one evening) and you find savvy buyers of second hand models quickly change from the factory fitted 20 inch wheels to 18 inch, to improve the ride and handling, extend tyre life beyond 7,000 miles, and reduce replacement tyre costs per wheel.

In my experience, both road and track, TVRs actually handle a lot better when set to the correct ride height as per the factory.
So I would recommend having the ride height checked after purchase.

Byker28i

59,816 posts

217 months

Wednesday 11th May 2022
quotequote all
TrotCanterGallopCharge said:
No side impact or rollover protection in these cars.
Get a Cerbera biggrin

Byker28i

59,816 posts

217 months

Wednesday 11th May 2022
quotequote all
QBee said:
On this very subject, a lot of TVR owners lower their cars too much because they think it looks better, resulting in grounding the exhaust on B roads when 2-up.

It's akin to the obsession with "filling the wheel arches" on other makes of car, for which I blame Top Gear.
A quick read of the Honda Civic Type R pages (Ok, I was bored one evening) and you find savvy buyers of second hand models quickly change from the factory fitted 20 inch wheels to 18 inch, to improve the ride and handling, extend tyre life beyond 7,000 miles, and reduce replacement tyre costs per wheel.

In my experience, both road and track, TVRs actually handle a lot better when set to the correct ride height as per the factory.
So I would recommend having the ride height checked after purchase.
This. I have mine set soft and high compared to other Cerberas but then mines set up as a grand tourer, because it's fast enough and then handles the appalling roads these days really well. You really don't need low profile tyres, low ride heights on the road.

Flatplane8

1,486 posts

262 months

Wednesday 11th May 2022
quotequote all
Byker28i said:
Get a Cerbera biggrin
This reply makes the most sense thus far :hehe

CABC

Original Poster:

5,576 posts

101 months

Monday 16th May 2022
quotequote all
UPDATE
it's now a Chimp. wife swayed by the cost saving!!! and larger boot...
I just want the most reliable and sorted car for hassle free fun

condition is everything I know, but aiming for 4.5, and registered before March 2001 (VED) yet built after 1997.

reading through all the TVR posts I've not resolved 2 points:
- "97 - 99 will have more rust". one owner asserted this, any other views?
- ECUs. this has been a constant theme from "absolutely necessary for throttle response" to "can be beneficial but a well tuned fuel/ignition system is fine"

sixor8

6,292 posts

268 months

Monday 16th May 2022
quotequote all
March 2001 isn't necessarily the VED cliff you may expect. Being a low volume manufacturer, many cars are registered with no emission data, i.e. 0g, as many small vans are. So the VED is as a 'LGV' vehicle which is, I think, £5 less than a pre-2001 large engined car. rolleyes

The only way to be sure is to enter the registration here:

https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/?_ga=2.10466...


TrotCanterGallopCharge

423 posts

90 months

Monday 16th May 2022
quotequote all
CABC said:
UPDATE
it's now a Chimp. wife swayed by the cost saving!!! and larger boot...
I just want the most reliable and sorted car for hassle free fun

condition is everything I know, but aiming for 4.5, and registered before March 2001 (VED) yet built after 1997.

reading through all the TVR posts I've not resolved 2 points:
- "97 - 99 will have more rust". one owner asserted this, any other views?
- ECUs. this has been a constant theme from "absolutely necessary for throttle response" to "can be beneficial but a well tuned fuel/ignition system is fine"
TVR should be PLG road tax whatever the year, as have 'low volume car maker' category, so 'good value' for engine size. March 2001 shouldn't be a date that affects their VED? Other cars (not TVR), get affected by March 2006 VED date for higher/lower VED.

Test those with power steering & those without, to see what suits you, as different drivers swear by each type (also get an idea of clutch differences).

By now, they can all have rust. Some garaged & never seen rain or winter, others used all year. 97-99 may be the years when TVR powder coating at it's worst. Particular chassis paint colours for these years (white?, grey?) This is why you will be checking for any chassis work & other work done, & you may find an earlier car with more upgrades/reliability than a standard untouched later car, altho 4.5ltr engine deemed a stronger type.

My 2001 ECU was original, but started rich, if I used any throttle, it could/would flood/stall. Rest of time it was fine, but now, they're even older & subjected to more heat cycles. If you can find a car with a new one installed by recognised source, then a good upgrade.


sixor8

6,292 posts

268 months

Monday 16th May 2022
quotequote all
VED prior to March 2001 is purely on engine size, 1549cc plus is £295 at the moment. The other 'cliff' is March 23rd 2006 (budget day that year I think). There are threads on here with owners of Tuscans and other T cars who unfortunately have been recorded with emissions data putting them in band M for VED. frown

Those who buy grey imports with no emission data also 'benefit' from this. You'll see many grey import cars made after 2006 recorded as 0g, so £290 per year instead of £630. It can work against you too, a chap who imported a Prius is having to pay £290 as a LGV instead of £0 having sub 100g / km emissions. The importer didn't record the data. rolleyes

Full rates here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/governmen...

QBee

20,980 posts

144 months

Monday 16th May 2022
quotequote all
The "rust" comment isn't the bodywork rotting..... whistle

It's the chassis outriggers, which are the tubular sections that come out from the central spine to the sides of the car and which support you, your passenger and your seat belt mounts. Look under the car by the doors and you will see them.

Around 1997 TVR changed the front grille to the split mouth, and the rear lights from upside down Fiesta lights (upside down lights, not the lights off an upside down Fiesta), and a boot that opens wide.

But at the same time they made the executive decision to being the chassis manufacture and painting in house. It had previously been done by excellent subcontractors. In house were not the best.

My car is a 1999 car - the outriggers needed replacing at 70,000 miles in 2013. Its a £2000 job you can avoid by making sure that your prospective later car has already had them replaced. Many early cars still have not needed this replacement.

QBee

20,980 posts

144 months

Monday 16th May 2022
quotequote all
On the subject of after market ECUs, I changed mine for an Emerald K6 ECU because I was turbocharging the car and wanted the additional flexibility the Emerald gives. It also gives a better regulated idle and swaps the coil and distributor for wasted spark ignition and coil packs.
It's a nicer drive, but probably not £2,500 worth of nicer drive.

The 14 CUX Lucas ECU is still fine for these cars. It used not to be mappable, but these days it can be re-mapped, the best known mapper being Jools at Kits and Classics (he's in Chesterfield).

On the clutch front, do test drive properly, and if Erin Dawes (to whom you are related by marriage) is going to drive it, make sure she test drives too. The clutches are all heavy and some can be heavier than others. My wife hates the clutch and refuses to drive the car. It is possible to lighten the clutch by nearly 50% by inserting an MGB brake servo into the system, but that may be £500=-£700 fitted that you don't want to spend. Mine is lightened, and for me with my dodgy left foot it makes the drive much nicer.

Byker28i

59,816 posts

217 months

Monday 16th May 2022
quotequote all
QBee said:
The "rust" comment isn't the bodywork rotting..... whistle

It's the chassis outriggers, which are the tubular sections that come out from the central spine to the sides of the car and which support you, your passenger and your seat belt mounts. Look under the car by the doors and you will see them.

Around 1997 TVR changed the front grille to the split mouth, and the rear lights from upside down Fiesta lights (upside down lights, not the lights off an upside down Fiesta), and a boot that opens wide.

But at the same time they made the executive decision to being the chassis manufacture and painting in house. It had previously been done by excellent subcontractors. In house were not the best.

My car is a 1999 car - the outriggers needed replacing at 70,000 miles in 2013. Its a £2000 job you can avoid by making sure that your prospective later car has already had them replaced. Many early cars still have not needed this replacement.
On the bright side, can't Chims be done without the body off? On the Cerbera you have to body off to do it properly