RE: TVR Griffith: PH Used Buying Guide

[samoht]

Lovely looking car, great proportions with smooth lines and that rounded tail. Shows what's wrong with the new 'TVR'.

crankedup said:

Fantastic fun with the propensity to throw you into a hedge at any given moment ... I would love another and work on the chassis set up to cure the handling, which I am sure must now have well established fixes.

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=11... linking to
https://youtu.be/lqTbdmbL7mU?t=300

According to Harry M, Gordon Murray had some McLaren engineers look into the Griffith, eventual diagnosis was that the chassis isn't stiff enough. So I guess either accept the car as it is, as a fairly softly set-up cruiser, or go down the route of rebuilding the whole car onto an upgraded chassis.

[AndrewD]

Loved mine, 36000 miles from new in 2 1/2 years I owned it. The car now features on TVR's web site under the Griff 500 page, with several photos from its current long time owner.

Coincidentally, my wife is now looking for a Griff so if anybody has a decent one they are thinking of selling please let me know!

[The Green Triangle]

Always loved a Griff. Have had a hard think recently about one of these Vs 997 911s. They're going to be completely different experiences I get that... But which would be the overall best driving / owning experience?? Thoughts?

[Wolvesboy]

You need to drive both but drive the TVR second!
I was immediately hooked by the TVR noise, shoe glove fit inside the cabin and the drama! Plenty of fixes around now for any problems and the forums on here are marvellous sources of info. Also helps if you are any good with basic mechanics as you can sort out the niggles yourself. Check if there is a good indie or TVR specialist near you to use if there are any problems, the same applies to the Porsche I suppose.
Ive never driven a Griffith (Cerbera owner) but you will certainly be stared at wherever you go in a TVR - not for shy people!

[trickywoo]

crankedup said:

work on the chassis set up to cure the handling, which I am sure must now have well established fixes.

It’s the flex that’s the issue. You could bolt the best dampers and springs to it but you are still limited by a lack of torsional rigidity.

[V8RX7]

trickywoo said:

crankedup said:

work on the chassis set up to cure the handling, which I am sure must now have well established fixes.

It’s the flex that’s the issue. You could bolt the best dampers and springs to it but you are still limited by a lack of torsional rigidity.

Mine handled well enough, it's not a race car and was very predictable at it's limit.

[DeejRC]

So close to greatness it hurts.

It's been 26? Years since I read that by Sutters.

Still the only test report I can remember any actual words from.

As far as I have been concerned, am concerned and always will be concerned, The Griff stands comparison and alongside an E-Type and 275GTB as best of breed.

[Ayahuasca]

How does the chassis differ from the one in the Tuscan race car?

[james_gt3rs]

V8RX7 said:

Mine was very reliable - you could rely on it to break down every month

Reminds me of a track day briefing joke "If you do break down on track... any TVRs here today...? No.... didn't make it...."

[Equus]

Ayahuasca said:

How does the chassis differ from the one in the Tuscan race car?

It hasn't got a fking great roll cage to quadruple the stiffness, for a start...

[Equus]

V8RX7 said:

Mine handled well enough, it's not a race car and was very predictable at it's limit.

james_gt3rs said:

Reminds me of a track day briefing joke "If you do break down on track... any TVRs here today...? No.... didn't make it...."

In the same vein, mine was very predictable at its limit, too: you could always rely on it to try to kill you in the most unexpected way possible.

Looked great, sounded great... but designed and built by Ned the Labrador and the Blackpool Donkeys, I reckon.

[Equus]

[redacted]

[Ayahuasca]

[redacted]

[LordGrover]

PGNSagaris said:

Such beautiful cars. And it was a yellow one parked near my house as a kid that started the TVR love

Will get one next year...but with the original lights rather than the run out special.

Yes, those upside-down cavalier lights were far better.

[Ayahuasca]

Only car I ever took the wheels off every time I cleaned it to polish the inside-facing bits.

[Ayahuasca]

Another good bit: that whine of the fuel pump before the engine fires up.

Starting the Griff was an 'event' every time.

[Equus]

Ayahuasca said:

Starting the Griff was an 'event' every time.

A minor cause for celebration, certainly.

As was any journey completed without an off-road excursion or recourse to the breakdown recovery services.

[V8RX7]

Equus said:

I can confirm that high speed bends at anywhere close to the limit can be fairly pants-wetting.

I did max out mine though, near enough (163mph on GPS vs. a claimed top speed of 167mph), and it was surprisingly stable - in a straight line, on a smooth dual carriageway.

Being TVR I suppose it's no surprise that they varied, I was regularly seeing 130+ without incident.

[DeejRC]

But exploring the upper ranges of the Griff was never it's forte or even the point. It's perfect sweet spot was loping along at 90leptons.

Absolutely heaven with the roof down.

[neutral 3]

Griff 500 Lurve. Had this 98 model ( my second 500 ) for almost ten years, I bought it in May 10. It was originally H R Owens demo car. Has the very Scarce air con option ( being removed soon) and the very essential power steering . I Used it a lot for the first two and a half years, but then a much missed, manual E46 M3 took over. It's " mildly tweaked " dynoed @ 299hp a few years back and @ just 1,060kgs, is shatteringly quick to 100.
I Fitted a Tuscan drivers seat to replace the dire OE seat about 3 years ago, it made a huge difference. It will be getting some tlc soon, inc new rear Bilstein sports, a new dash, a new hood and some cosmetic tlc.