1995 Griffith 500 restoration
Discussion
RobXjcoupe said:
The finished door trim back panel. Just propped up in the picture but it gives an idea how it looks. The panel is classic tuck and roll using two layers of 6mm scrim the same as the seats so gives a lovely soft feel using perforated leather. This design will also appear at the rear of the interior which is usually covered in carpet. Will give a bit of continuity I think.
RichB said:
It looks very good, has a kind of speedboat feel to it! I see you have lost the cigarette lighter have you relocated it? I find mine very useful as it's here I plug in the Accumate.
The cigar lighter position has currently been deleted from the door trim for the heated seat switch. I’ve been wondering whether to fit dedicated usb inputs instead within the glove box as all electrics are there now. The space above the battery is also free to make a bracket/shelf to fit additional electric sockets or a version of the accumate. The one I had was wired directly to the battery with the mains plugs to power it in the boot. I need to have a look for a suitable exterior space for a mains connection so I can properly lock the car whilst it’s battery is trickle charged in the garage.8Speed said:
RobXjcoupe said:
The finished door trim back panel. Just propped up in the picture but it gives an idea how it looks. The panel is classic tuck and roll using two layers of 6mm scrim the same as the seats so gives a lovely soft feel using perforated leather. This design will also appear at the rear of the interior which is usually covered in carpet. Will give a bit of continuity I think.
New dash arrived. A couple of pictures showing with the dials fitted. Just wanted to see how it looked with the subtle mod. I’m liking it. As there is no flex in this I need to make sure I trial fit this within the surround before it’s all bolted to the car. I’m assured it fits but it doesn’t flex into place like the original.
The dials all need a clean, so will dismantle again, get the dial faces polished up then back together for final fit.
Dials have had a polish, the temp gauge with the new body also fitted and blends in with the rest of the dials. You can’t tell it’s been repaired looking at the front.
The four auxiliary gauges I’ve used a rubberised gasket sealer to hold in place rather than tighten the clamps on the rear. Reason being is due to the plastic bodies getting old now. I don’t want to pull the fronts off the gauges and have to make another 3 new bodies. The metal clamps are just tweaked rather than over tightened.
Below is the sealant I use. Very messy stuff but does the job. Stuff from my Ford employment days “,)
Whilst I’m showing the dash and dials I thought I’d show you the picture below.
The back of 2 electronic speedometers, one is TVR the other Jaguar. The wired connection plug is exactly the same with wires in exactly the same position within the plug. There was a high amount of TVR versions that seemed to stop working when the cars weren’t that old. Looking at the older jag unit, the motor that moves the speedo needle is exactly the same as the TVR version.
So trying to say, don’t buy a replacement TVR speedo if you can repair it with parts from the older Jaguar version.
Caerbont doesn’t make the analogue version anymore so more reason to repair if possible.
TVR version is on the right hand side
The back of 2 electronic speedometers, one is TVR the other Jaguar. The wired connection plug is exactly the same with wires in exactly the same position within the plug. There was a high amount of TVR versions that seemed to stop working when the cars weren’t that old. Looking at the older jag unit, the motor that moves the speedo needle is exactly the same as the TVR version.
So trying to say, don’t buy a replacement TVR speedo if you can repair it with parts from the older Jaguar version.
Caerbont doesn’t make the analogue version anymore so more reason to repair if possible.
TVR version is on the right hand side
That is interesting. If an analogue dial TVR Chimaera / Griff speedo fails now, only JDO instruments are willing to repair them (AFAIK), 'speedy' cables decline them. If you need a new speedo, you have to buy one with LCD display from Caerbont which means also having to replace the Tacho with a later one to house the battery and oil pressure warning lamps. 
The loom connections won't be the same either presumably.
Keeping them going with spares from a Jaguar speedo would be a plus.
The loom connections won't be the same either presumably.Keeping them going with spares from a Jaguar speedo would be a plus.
Polly Grigora said:
I apologise for the earlier post of mine while under the influence of much booze, post has now been deleted
This journey of yours that you share with the world here at PH is a cracker
Well impressed with your findings regarding possible speedo fixes
Sorry
No need to apologise, we all have our moments. Just glad you like the read, that’s the main thing. The possible speedo fix I thought more people knew about tbh. I’ve had Jag parts laying around just as long as the TVR bits so took it for granted the speedometers looking virtually identical.This journey of yours that you share with the world here at PH is a cracker
Well impressed with your findings regarding possible speedo fixes
Sorry
Said Jag is pictured below. I’ve got a fairly long read on that also. In the readers cars though. Straight 6, manual gearbox, triple carbs. Lots of modified bits. Jaguar XJC 4.2 if interested.
Jaguar XJC 4.2 if interested
Yes I'm more than interested and thank you for giving some space, please post a Link
I was there when the chaps in the know were questioning why should Jaguar be building Fords
I was broken after several months when hearing the news that the veneer shop was about to close
To think that all those people that had a skill like no others all of a sudden got a goodbye and forgotten
Yes I'm more than interested and thank you for giving some space, please post a Link
I was there when the chaps in the know were questioning why should Jaguar be building Fords
I was broken after several months when hearing the news that the veneer shop was about to close
To think that all those people that had a skill like no others all of a sudden got a goodbye and forgotten
Polly Grigora said:
Jaguar XJC 4.2 if interested
Yes I'm more than interested and thank you for giving some space, please post a Link
I was there when the chaps in the know were questioning why should Jaguar be building Fords
I was broken after several months when hearing the news that the veneer shop was about to close
To think that all those people that had a skill like no others all of a sudden got a goodbye and forgotten
I was on the Ford side regarding the tooling. Our engineers had watched the Jaguar process’s and did thorough strip downs of the new cars current at the time which if I remember were xjs and xj40. Panel fit was out of spec, finished panel thickness tolerance were all out of spec. Jaguar panel finishing was spot on. Ford not wanting to waste money on refinishing had the tooling shipped to Dagenham tooling operations to bring back to spec, so all new cars could be built with minimal finishing. I remember it well. The tooling was simply bodged rather than repaired properly, everything literally was worn out. We had Jaguar stamped XJS panels that we could pierce with a biro they were that much out of spec. That began the Ford era of Jaguar to bring them bang up to date with production processes in an effort to eventually make a profit. I’ve got plenty of experience working on and with Jaguar tooling as a Ford employee, also with Land Rover who were in a similar position to Jaguar profit wise although there tooling was better being from BMW. One particular shift in Solihull getting ready for job 1 on the new Range Rover sport, the engineers were saying they had broken a build record for a days production with the new production line process......50 cars in an 8 hour shift! I stood there and just raised my eyebrows with another Ford toolmaker and said Dagenham were building 40 cars an hour on a slow line and up to 60 cars an hour on a fast line with 20 year old production equipment.Yes I'm more than interested and thank you for giving some space, please post a Link
I was there when the chaps in the know were questioning why should Jaguar be building Fords
I was broken after several months when hearing the news that the veneer shop was about to close
To think that all those people that had a skill like no others all of a sudden got a goodbye and forgotten
Don’t forget all those jag and Land Rover supercharged v8’s built in Ford Bridgend South Wales. That’s were I honed my machining skills getting many a breakdown repaired to carry on production
Polly Grigora said:
Enjoyed reading the above, an eye opener to say the least
You have to understand, to produce cheap reliable cars the tolerances are finer than low volume hand built vehicles because every part produced must fit straight off the tools. There isn’t time to faff or adjust. It has to fit perfectly straight away then it’s off to the next process. If a part needs fettling before fitting its simply scrap so the process to make and check it had to be improved.Then you have service intervals. A part could prematurely wear out from designated design. Cost then enters the process. How much to improve the part or change the service interval so less time is given for its useable life. That obviously is to do with moving components and not the body.
Just the tip of the iceberg of what’s involved in high volume production vehicles.
Ford looked at Jaguars production capabilities and could see it could be vastly improved which it did. Jaguars highest volume vehicle to date was the X type and it wasn’t a Mondeo it was its own body design. The floor pan wasn’t mondeo as the design was different, the tooling was different as I remember it being built. The S type floorpan was used from a Lincoln but modified to suit a Jaguar. When the supercharged version was developed the rear diff wasn’t strong enough to cope with the max power and torque of the engine. So the cost effective way to engineer the issue was put a lower Rev limiter on the engine. So no standard s type r engine actually produces the 400bhp it’s capable of. It was deemed performance was good enough with a lower rev limit. I still find it all interesting.
Lastly, Ford Bridgend engine plant would do hot engine tests on production samples, all manufacturers do this. So the dyno’s would be fitted up with said engines and put through there paces. There would be a 24hr flat out run followed by a complete strip down measuring components for wear. A single Jag v8 supercharged engine would use a tanker of fuel in 24hrs. I always thought that wow until my latest work colleague told me how many tons of fuel an aircraft jet engine went through on similar tests.
I enjoy engineering can you tell
RobXjcoupe said:
....Just wanted to see how it looked with the subtle mod. I’m liking it. ...
Possibly being a bit dense...but is the "subtle mod" the dials being slightly more recessed than standard?One of a few things that I think could be better on the Griffith are those bezels...they look like cheap plastic to my eyes. Recessing them (assuming they are!) does help. But what I think they really need is to be half the width.
Very much admiring your skills on this stuff.
Murph7355 said:
RobXjcoupe said:
....Just wanted to see how it looked with the subtle mod. I’m liking it. ...
Possibly being a bit dense...but is the "subtle mod" the dials being slightly more recessed than standard?One of a few things that I think could be better on the Griffith are those bezels...they look like cheap plastic to my eyes. Recessing them (assuming they are!) does help. But what I think they really need is to be half the width.
Very much admiring your skills on this stuff.
Chatting with Mr Wiggins (who made the new dash) I went through a few different ideas. I believe it’s the first Griff 500 dash he has made with recessed dials. As you say not the best looking bezels but they are all crimped on and rather expensive to replace hence I went with a recessed look so the dials are sitting in the veneer and not on it. The switch panel has also been replaced with a new veneer panel but I haven’t got round to that yet. Little issues I would have changed if I’d looked at it in more detail but it’s done now.
I’ve also ordered a set of green led backlighting bulbs for all the dials. This will then match the alpine headunit illumination and the new heated seat button illumination. Just ties everything together in that respect
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