RE: Superb, one-owner Griffith 500 for sale

[Megaflow]

cerb4.5lee said:

T1berious said:

Money shot

Just a gorgeous, simple design (OK, safety regs would mean this couldn't be built today... ). Just delicious

Agree. You'd definitely have a massive smile on your face when you open the garage door and see that looking back at you for sure!

There is that thread for pictures you can smell, maybe we should have one for pictures you can hear, that would be a fine starting picture.

[plfrench]

Perfect car combo for me Chimaera / Griff as a toy, EV for other stuff. Two opposite ends of the spectrum in every way imaginable. More modern ICE cars just fall between the two camps in my simple mind

The only slight snag is that my 500 doesn't feel that fast these days - I think a decat and refresh a Powers is due in the short term and I've got half a mind longer term to look at the feasibility of a Ford Coyote engine swap

https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-6007-A52X...

Dimensionally it looks like it'll fit - I quite like the idea of a bit (ok, a fair bit), more top end

[Zumbruk]

plfrench said:

Perfect car combo for me Chimaera / Griff as a toy, EV for other stuff. Two opposite ends of the spectrum in every way imaginable. More modern ICE cars just fall between the two camps in my simple mind

The only slight snag is that my 500 doesn't feel that fast these days - I think a decat and refresh a Powers is due in the short term and I've got half a mind longer term to look at the feasibility of a Ford Coyote engine swap

https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-6007-A52X...

Dimensionally it looks like it'll fit - I quite like the idea of a bit (ok, a fair bit), more top end

LS's are *way* cheaper;

https://www.partsworldperformance.com/chevrolet-ls...

Installation is pricey, too.

[Griffith4ever]

Gecko1978 said:

Griffith4ever said:

GreatScott2016 said:

Chubbyross said:

That is lovely! And a one owner car too. I can’t fault that at all.

Does seem remarkable value for money in these crazy times.

then you'd have fallen head over heels for my 28k miler I sold two years back for £21k :-) They can be had for sensible money as they are quite a hard sell as it's a very specific market. I've sold a lot of cars and my Griff took more time and haggling down than any other. SHe was my most favourite car ever until I replaced her with something with ten cylinders.

Question to owners how quick are they, I recall at the time 0 to 60 4.7 seconds (that seemed super car fast at the time) and 167 so faster than any BMW or Mercedes at the time

The performance is all in the torque with the 500s. They "shove" you into the back of the chair and will snake all the way up the road given a push of the pedal. They are not about outright performance any more. Not by today's standards. Make no mistake, they are bloody fast. Most passengers will go very quiet when you make a fast departure, or, as they are superb at, pull out of a junction sideways, then keep that doing and smoothly straighten the back out once lined up with where you are going :-)

They are a joy to learn how to handle an unchained V8 in. No traction control or ABS. It's just you and the chassis and engine. I once had to do a U turn from one side of a DC to the other - stand still traffic. Any other car would have been a 3 point turn - with teh 500 I just squirted it round, and kept going, again, smoothing the 180 out into a nice gentle slide, straigtening up and carrying on.

I could never do that in my R8.

Obviously the limitation is the Griff chassis and suspension is very dated and it felt fairly dangerous at speed. I never caned it round fast corners. Just enjoyed the slower lairy stuff. I'm not suprised many ended up in hedges.

Mine. I miss her :-)

[Griffith4ever]

Planman said:

Much want for that. I had a 4 litre 350i wedge and still miss the sound. This will sound fantastic and has far better looks.

Your 4l wedge would have actually sounded nicer, unless the 500 has had a naughty de-cat. My griff 500 sounded lovely, but never as good as my 400SE. My mate had a 350i with , a 350i engine! and it sounded bloody lovely too.

Agree abotu the looks. The 350i dated fairly badly. The 400SE less so, but still going that way. The Griffith is timeless.

[Darnoc95]

The one that passed me byFifteen years ago for over a year i was desperately looking for a Griff & the right one just never turned up. Settled for a Chimp which i ran for 5 years. I know they arnt as achingly pretty as the Griff & as i said the Griff is a much rarer beast. Roughly 600 Griffs in total manufactured againt over 6000 Chimps. However i reckon the Chimp is probably 8/10ths a Griff. I know id run out of talent long before i could make the most out of the extra power to weight advantage of the Griff. They are both even more cooler cars now than they were back in the day. One of the saddest days when i had to sell mine due to a house purchase. However spotted my old one & its alive & well on the Vintro's You tube channel so i can watch & at least listen to it still.
Would of loved to be able to say i once owned a Griff however the Chimp aint a bad substitute.

[Darnoc95]

The one that passed me byFifteen years ago for over a year i was desperately looking for a Griff & the right one just never turned up. Settled for a Chimp which i ran for 5 years. I know they arnt as achingly pretty as the Griff & as i said the Griff is a much rarer beast. Roughly 600 Griffs in total manufactured againt over 6000 Chimps. However i reckon the Chimp is probably 8/10ths a Griff. I know id run out of talent long before i could make the most out of the extra power to weight advantage of the Griff. They are both even more cooler cars now than they were back in the day. One of the saddest days when i had to sell mine due to a house purchase. However spotted my old one & its alive & well on the Vintro's You tube channel so i can watch & at least listen to it still.
Would of loved to be able to say i once owned a Griff however the Chimp aint a bad substitute.

[Robertb]

Red6 said:

Lovely but would change those awful wing mirrors. Never liked them on the XJ220 and 90s Astons

I'd say ripe for a bit of restomodding... different mirrors, LED lights, improve some elements of the interior trim, plus electric aircon, PAS etc.

[SS427 Camaro]

plfrench said:

Perfect car combo for me Chimaera / Griff as a toy, EV for other stuff. Two opposite ends of the spectrum in every way imaginable. More modern ICE cars just fall between the two camps in my simple mind

The only slight snag is that my 500 doesn't feel that fast these days - I think a decat and refresh a Powers is due in the short term and I've got half a mind longer term to look at the feasibility of a Ford Coyote engine swap

https://performanceparts.ford.com/part/M-6007-A52X...

Dimensionally it looks like it'll fit - I quite like the idea of a bit (ok, a fair bit), more top end

I found that the ( front mounted sponge air cleaner ) clogs up very quickly. Cleaning and re oiling can liberate a lot of power - but it’s a pig of a job to get the thing out ! )
Also, check that the inlet hose from the air box to the AFM isn’t collapsing, this causes considerable loss of power. Camshaft wear also causes a loss of power.

[plfrench]

Zumbruk said:

LS's are *way* cheaper;

https://www.partsworldperformance.com/chevrolet-ls...

Installation is pricey, too.

Yeah - that's the more normal route to go for TVR engine swaps, but I quite fancy the idea of a higher revving V8 and the tone in the Mustangs sounds pretty similar to the RV8 at lower revs - just seemed a good match to me. It'll absolutely be a financially daft idea, but one that appeals none the less - just don't tell my wife

[plfrench]

SS427 Camaro said:

I found that the ( front mounted sponge air cleaner ) clogs up very quickly. Cleaning and re oiling can liberate a lot of power - but it’s a pig of a job to get the thing out ! )
Also, check that the inlet hose from the air box to the AFM isn’t collapsing, this causes considerable loss of power. Camshaft wear also causes a loss of power.

Dom @ Powers did mention last year that the cam was probably getting towards the end of its life, so I think you're right - I'll give it a little spruce up to see it ok for the next few years and then see what happens - it's not going anywhere, so no rush!

[R8FUN]

Bought one brand new in 98 & it was a nightmare, all sorts of problems & it drank Mobil 1 @ a Litre every 600 miles. People in the know always said the 4.5L was the best TVR Rover engine. Sold it after 2 years & lost a packet.
The itch returned a couple of years ago & I bought another very similar to this but I couldn't stop spending on it & it never really got used (3rd car) so it went after a year.
Regardless of the mileage & only one owner Buyers will expect the Outriggers to have been replaced & new Tyres etc. No power steering is not a good selling point either, oh & the seats are rubbish, I replaced mine with MK1 Cerbera ones, so much better.

[ColdoRS]

So, so undervalued.

I challenge any petrol head to get out of a TVR and not have a smile on their face!

[biggbn]

Not my cup of tea but not expensive for what it is. I really should like these, the concept is right up my street but I never really got the styling. I do love the more outlandish and dramatic TVRs though!!

[Venisonpie]

I think Drew Wheeler who's selling this used to work at Fernhurst who were a TVR dealer back in the day. I tested a couple of used Tuscan's, he was a gent and knows his TVR's.

[w824gb3]

I had a tour around the TVR factory in 1998. Decided there and then I’d never buy one! Why use a fastener when tie wraps and spray glue will do.

[MikeE]

DeejRC said:

So close to greatness it hurts.

Remains as true now as it was when Sutters wrote it.

Written about this car

[gruffgriff]

You absolute barstewards, the lot of yer. I'm still mourning having to be sensible and sell mine 15 years later!
Met a hero, adored the thing in 3 years of every day use, have no aspirations higher than getting another. LeMans trip, Celtic Gathering on the west coast of Ireland, track day at Brands, Dales tour, v-max and of course those tunnel runs....but just going to work in it was as exciting.

I found the seats fine on long runs and there was, thanks to soft rear and decent sidewalls, a lift-press sequence that got it beautifully dug-in and off the line without wheelspin, fastest thing to 30 ever!

I see the space in the garage it took up, the carpet I stuck on the wall to protect it's door edge.....

[robsco]

Utterly tremendous cars, but advice to those considering their first, make sure you go in with the right mindset. Those on here who bemoan the lack of finesse when pushing on are missing the point totally. If you want to drive it like you would a Lotus, forget it - buy a Lotus.

You need to treat it like a classic rather than a modern performance car; enjoy the looks, the smells, the sound and the tactility. They were antiquated when they were brand new, not to mention that vehicle progress has been breakneck over the last 30 years, with huge performance now accessible to most rather than the few.

With regards to the performance, all the hoo-ha that surrounded the launch of the Cerbera etc, and the crazy 0-60 times the Tuscan S press cars used to set (not to mention TVR’s outlandish claims!) has caused people to look back on the cars as crazy, wild animals. Time and progress has softened their shock value - they are still quick cars, but it’s really not about that anymore. A Golf R would run rings around even the best set up TVR, on almost any road.

[lord trumpton]

jl34 said:

Wonderful thing. Cant understand why these aren't big money. Cant think of a better modern classic to put a grin on your face.

They are big money - it's just the whole financial bunden is spread across the entire ownership period

Every single one is a complete wallet hoover