1995 Giallo Fly Griffith 500
Discussion
Bought this in June as I was keen to try a more “classic” feeling car (more on this below). It’s a 1995 Griffith 500 (N reg) in the following spec:
Giallo Fly
Navy interior and roof
White stitching on the seats
Yellow trim on the carpets
Yellow dials
Original Pioneer head unit!
A few pictures including petrol station and stationary on the M25 shots.
It’s a non-PAS and non-aircon car. Badge on the plenum is 500 HC but my understanding is that this was either whatever badge TVR had lying around or a truism/marketing on TVR’s part as all 5.0s were “highlift cam” cars! HC in TVR world, as far as I can work out, stands for highlift cam, not “high compression” as it normally would – classic TVR.
I did originally want PAS, but clearly going to view a car James Agger had for sale “on the off chance” and to see if I liked it was only really going to end one way!
James was really good to deal with, resolved a minor issue very well and the car was well-prepped – all fluids, discs and pads replaced, couple of the wheels refurbed, few bits of bling/tidy ups in the engine bay, front wishbones etc. I was also able to look at the car on a ramp and to my (untrained) eye it looked good in the right areas. It’s a silver chassis car which as I understand it resists rust a bit better than the (1996-on?) white chassis cars. Front wishbones are white but they are newly refurbed! It’s also standard engine and exhaust-wise, which is what I wanted.
This is my third TVR, with the other two also being yellow - a Chimaera 400 (also in Giallo) and a Cerbera 4.5 in Halycon Midas. I really enjoyed them both, but sold my Cerbera in (I think) 2008, so it’s been a while since I’ve had a TVR.
My motivation for buying the Griffith was that my S2 Exige, also in yellow, was amazing, but (whisper it) not that great as a road car. I loved the occasion of it, and it was phenomenal on track, but on the road I found it crashy, stiff and that it only came into its own at higher speeds on smooth roads. I’m too old for that kind of thing. I was after the opposite, something that was involving at 7/10ths, something I’d always wanted but not a real 60s or 70s classic where I’d be greasing up trunions and setting up carbs, something that fitted in my single garage. The older car may come in due course but let’s see how the TVR goes!
How does it drive? Exactly as I wanted really – it isn’t a spiky, savage beast (at least in the dry). It sounds great and is properly, make you laugh quick, but it’s also soft, comfy and involving at slow speeds. Doesn’t encourage chucking it about, high revs or throwing gears at it – just a bit of rev-matching, odd rip in a straight line, feed the power on through corners and feel what the cars doing kind of stuff. It’s also a very warm place to be with the roof on, but is surprisingly practical – boot is massive (without the roof panel in it).
I read this article https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/business/tvr-gr... before buying and they are bang right about the feel of the car - “Truth is, the Griffith is no longer a snarling, edgy sports car with quasi-supercar performance. Now it’s just a nice old thing, a favourite uncle who’ll sit you down by the fire, hand you a glass of scotch and tell you how it used to be”.
Anyway thanks for reading and I’ll keep the thread updated. Next thing is a check over on a rolling road, where I’m hoping for/expecting 260-270 bhp and about 300 lb/ft. Fingers crossed!
Giallo Fly
Navy interior and roof
White stitching on the seats
Yellow trim on the carpets
Yellow dials
Original Pioneer head unit!
A few pictures including petrol station and stationary on the M25 shots.
It’s a non-PAS and non-aircon car. Badge on the plenum is 500 HC but my understanding is that this was either whatever badge TVR had lying around or a truism/marketing on TVR’s part as all 5.0s were “highlift cam” cars! HC in TVR world, as far as I can work out, stands for highlift cam, not “high compression” as it normally would – classic TVR.
I did originally want PAS, but clearly going to view a car James Agger had for sale “on the off chance” and to see if I liked it was only really going to end one way!
James was really good to deal with, resolved a minor issue very well and the car was well-prepped – all fluids, discs and pads replaced, couple of the wheels refurbed, few bits of bling/tidy ups in the engine bay, front wishbones etc. I was also able to look at the car on a ramp and to my (untrained) eye it looked good in the right areas. It’s a silver chassis car which as I understand it resists rust a bit better than the (1996-on?) white chassis cars. Front wishbones are white but they are newly refurbed! It’s also standard engine and exhaust-wise, which is what I wanted.
This is my third TVR, with the other two also being yellow - a Chimaera 400 (also in Giallo) and a Cerbera 4.5 in Halycon Midas. I really enjoyed them both, but sold my Cerbera in (I think) 2008, so it’s been a while since I’ve had a TVR.
My motivation for buying the Griffith was that my S2 Exige, also in yellow, was amazing, but (whisper it) not that great as a road car. I loved the occasion of it, and it was phenomenal on track, but on the road I found it crashy, stiff and that it only came into its own at higher speeds on smooth roads. I’m too old for that kind of thing. I was after the opposite, something that was involving at 7/10ths, something I’d always wanted but not a real 60s or 70s classic where I’d be greasing up trunions and setting up carbs, something that fitted in my single garage. The older car may come in due course but let’s see how the TVR goes!
How does it drive? Exactly as I wanted really – it isn’t a spiky, savage beast (at least in the dry). It sounds great and is properly, make you laugh quick, but it’s also soft, comfy and involving at slow speeds. Doesn’t encourage chucking it about, high revs or throwing gears at it – just a bit of rev-matching, odd rip in a straight line, feed the power on through corners and feel what the cars doing kind of stuff. It’s also a very warm place to be with the roof on, but is surprisingly practical – boot is massive (without the roof panel in it).
I read this article https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/business/tvr-gr... before buying and they are bang right about the feel of the car - “Truth is, the Griffith is no longer a snarling, edgy sports car with quasi-supercar performance. Now it’s just a nice old thing, a favourite uncle who’ll sit you down by the fire, hand you a glass of scotch and tell you how it used to be”.
Anyway thanks for reading and I’ll keep the thread updated. Next thing is a check over on a rolling road, where I’m hoping for/expecting 260-270 bhp and about 300 lb/ft. Fingers crossed!
Thanks all! I think Griffiths are really decent value at the moment for something so interesting and fun. Wouldn't want to use it as a town centre runaround or for 300 miles on the motorway regularly but it'll do both at a pinch, and as a weekend car it's been superb so far.
I'm already looking at upgrades but want to keep the road softness to it, so looking at staying close to standard. Hopefully it's running well when it goes on the dyno, and I can then make sure suspension and other bits are in good shape - it's all very original which is great. Intake hose (filter to maf) looks a little elderly so that's probably job number one. The trick will be not to just buy a load of other shiny parts at the same time!
I'm already looking at upgrades but want to keep the road softness to it, so looking at staying close to standard. Hopefully it's running well when it goes on the dyno, and I can then make sure suspension and other bits are in good shape - it's all very original which is great. Intake hose (filter to maf) looks a little elderly so that's probably job number one. The trick will be not to just buy a load of other shiny parts at the same time!
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