Thinking of buying a G33
Discussion
Ian Lewis said:
A friend of mine has offered me his G33.
Without going into too much depth the car is rather special as the engine has been 'blueprinted' and is dry sumped.It also comes with a factory hardtop.
Anything I should be looking out for?
Many thanks in advance
Ian
I've had mine for 8 months now, absolutely loved every minute of it! I haven't found any problems apart from that it leaks like a sieve but that can be solved by judicious use of sealant
I have been trying to track down a hardtop for mine since I bought it, there isn't really anyone who'll make it for less than a kings ransom and even then there's no guarantee of quality
I have been advised that there never was a factory hardtop so I'd look in to that carefully - if it's genuine then piccies please! I'd love to have a hardtop...
handling wise it's set up like a race car so it will p1ss all over the equivalent griffith/chimaera and it can be drifted beautifully
as for reliability I've done 11,000 miles so far, 8,000 of them within 3 months and nothing has ever buggered up at all :toucheswood:
From what I understand my mate (Dave) bought the hardtop moulds from Mr Ginetta himself and funded the development himself. He tried to sell the hardtops through the GOC but there were no takers.
Dave says the Griff handles better and is more refined and I think you will find TVRs from about 1992 do not leak.
Ian
Dave says the Griff handles better and is more refined and I think you will find TVRs from about 1992 do not leak.
Ian
Ian Lewis said:
From what I understand my mate (Dave) bought the hardtop moulds from Mr Ginetta himself and funded the development himself. He tried to sell the hardtops through the GOC but there were no takers.
Dave says the Griff handles better and is more refined and I think you will find TVRs from about 1992 do not leak.
Ian
from my experience of driving a griff 500 on track compared to my g33 I much prefer the handling of the g33. also, when chasing the griffs/chimaeras I can catch them on the bends, chuck it around for fun, drift, catch it again and have higher exit speeds (not while drifting obviously) than them. this I assume has something to do with the tighter handling setup (i.e not grand tourer ish) and approx 300kg less weight (mine weighs 795kg with 270lb/ft and 197hp, RR verified)
having said that, they will leak very badly unless you fix them, and the griff cabin is generally a far nicer place to be
>> Edited by minimax on Tuesday 22 February 17:08
Get it!
Seriously though, they're excellent cars, almost bought one myself, but didn't have a garage for it, as they really need a bit of care and attention. The only thing to check is the chassis, as long as that's been cared for the rest shouldn't be too difficult to fix. It's nice to have the original Fondmetal alloys and hopefully the interior is in good nick. If they get 'sorted' - there were some mods that were done to improve the handling of the '33 worth checking out. Anyone who thinks a Griff sounds good should hear a '33, even better (imho)
Phil
Seriously though, they're excellent cars, almost bought one myself, but didn't have a garage for it, as they really need a bit of care and attention. The only thing to check is the chassis, as long as that's been cared for the rest shouldn't be too difficult to fix. It's nice to have the original Fondmetal alloys and hopefully the interior is in good nick. If they get 'sorted' - there were some mods that were done to improve the handling of the '33 worth checking out. Anyone who thinks a Griff sounds good should hear a '33, even better
(imho) Phil
I've had a 33 from new, still road legal but heavily modified now for hillclimbs/sprints - Dave's is the only other one I've heard of that's been dry-sumped! I also had a Griff 500. Both great in their own ways, and similar in many. Agree with most of earlier opinions - 33 is a quicker track car to an equivalent-standard Griff, due mainly to lower weight as Minimax has found.
You were mainly asking for weaknesses - not really. Thankfully the simple engineering with strong chassis & drivetrain means that any wear & tear items are easily spotted/fixed by any good 'spannerman'. Replacement parts are mostly Ford - but does have Fiat Uno door mirrors! Leaks & poor demisting are usual, but can be fixed. A sports car with a big heart!
You were mainly asking for weaknesses - not really. Thankfully the simple engineering with strong chassis & drivetrain means that any wear & tear items are easily spotted/fixed by any good 'spannerman'. Replacement parts are mostly Ford - but does have Fiat Uno door mirrors! Leaks & poor demisting are usual, but can be fixed. A sports car with a big heart!
if anyone wants to hear my G33 going through the manchester airport tunnels at 150 (that's kph, honest ), check page 6 of the romper meet thread on the north west forum
the TVR drivers were...well, shocked at the noise would be a good phrase even if I do say so myself!
the car is completely standard, exactly as it came from the factory
there's also a rather good sound recording of me starting my Ginetta in the car park
>> Edited by minimax on Tuesday 1st March 09:52
), check page 6 of the romper meet thread on the north west forum the TVR drivers were...well, shocked at the noise would be a good phrase even if I do say so myself!
the car is completely standard, exactly as it came from the factory
there's also a rather good sound recording of me starting my Ginetta in the car park
>> Edited by minimax on Tuesday 1st March 09:52
In fact, here we go (for all the lazybones )
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audio%20files/ginetta%20tunnel%201.mp3
and here http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audio%20files/ginetta%20tunnel%202.mp3
and this is me starting it up - it went off the scale on the noise meter!
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audio%20files/ginetta%20revving.mp3[/quote]
) http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audio%20files/ginetta%20tunnel%201.mp3
and here http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audio%20files/ginetta%20tunnel%202.mp3
and this is me starting it up - it went off the scale on the noise meter!
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audio%20files/ginetta%20revving.mp3[/quote]
minimax said:
In fact, here we go (for all the lazybones
<a href="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audio%20files/ginetta%20tunnel%201.mp3">http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audio%20files/ginetta%20tunnel%201.mp3</a>
and here <a href="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audio%20files/ginetta%20tunnel%202.mp3">http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audio%20files/ginetta%20tunnel%202.mp3</a>
and this is me starting it up - it went off the scale on the noise meter!
<a href="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audio%20files/ginetta%20revving.mp3">http://homepage.ntlworld.com/tom.jeffs4/Audio%20files/ginetta%20revving.mp3</a>
[/quote]
Yep that sounds like the G33!!
I remember the tunnel under the M1 coming out of Sheffield, that was just
OMG!!! i know people have said they sound better than griffs but i didnt believe it 
if u ever want to sell that car (which you won't) just play that revving clip down the phone to prospective buyers!
i've got to get one of these i did a prospective insurance quote for me when im 21 (2 yrs time) and it was £800 with 2yrs ncb
if u ever want to sell that car (which you won't) just play that revving clip down the phone to prospective buyers! i've got to get one of these i did a prospective insurance quote for me when im 21 (2 yrs time) and it was £800 with 2yrs ncb
There are a couple of '33s on the owners club site for sale at the present moment....
www.ginettaownersclub.org/
Although leave one for me, once I've persuaded the mrs... 
www.ginettaownersclub.org/
Although leave one for me, once I've persuaded the mrs...
ginettag27 said:
There are a couple of '33s on the owners club site for sale at the present moment....
www.ginettaownersclub.org/
Although leave one for me, once I've persuaded the mrs...
are you going to LeMans this year? I'm taking my G33 so let me know and you can have a blast in it if you want!
Gassing Station | Ginetta | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff