A hopefull return.. a question..

[Edt]

If things pan out as hoped (crossing fingers) I may have a bit of toy money later this year. Wont be a huge fund.. so no nice nearly 500 for me this time around.. but wondering.. having had a 500, would a 400/430 be a disappointment? Used to give it full bananas quite often....

Might all end up being academic anyhow if plans fail .. but value the groups view none the less... !

Ed

[mongoose]

Edt said:

If things pan out as hoped (crossing fingers) I may have a bit of toy money later this year. Wont be a huge fund.. so no nice nearly 500 for me this time around.. but wondering.. having had a 500, would a 400/430 be a disappointment? Used to give it full bananas quite often.... Might all end up being academic anyhow if plans fail .. but value the groups view none the less... ! Ed

Must surely depend on how you view the positives of griff ownership.From a personal point of view,i always regret not having owned a pre-cat griff.The performance would never match up,but that would harly be the point for me really.I would take a lot more pleasure in knowing i owned such a rare,cult car- it's the TVR to many.I thinks it's realistic not to lose sight of the fact that all griffs are bloody quick for sure!Not all about performance is it?

[Edt]

Agree not all about performance. Sometimes, after a few beers, used to just go & sit in it in the garage! The missus though I was mad, but expect you lot understand, right?!

Just worried that with a 400 I'd always want a bit more having had it. Suppose it's really a question about ME, not the engine !

Ed

[llanelli-rob]

Have driven a 350i tasmin,4ltr Chim which was quick,never been in or driven a Griff 500 and having just bought a precat 4.3 Griff which to me seems bloody rapid! I would not worry about it

[Edt]

llanelli-rob said:

Have driven a 350i tasmin,4ltr Chim which was quick,never been in or driven a Griff 500 and having just bought a precat 4.3 Griff which to me seems bloody rapid! I would not worry about it

spotted that one on ebay. Mind if I ask what you got it for (PM if you prefer)? Happy with it? Looks great

Ed

[llanelli-rob]

I would prefer not to say the exact amount I paid,however it was at or near market value(read that whichever way you see fit)but there are a few up for grabs on various sites at present!

Currently its at a local independant specialist having a host of niggles sorted and incl a full chassis waxoyl and front end respray(stonechips!)

One thing I am delighted about though is the chassis condition its one of the best I have ever seen!

Theres a nice red 400 on Autotrader at the moment in Bristol (gas flowed version)with plenty of leven bits,the garage will negotiate on price I know as I nearly bought it!(was on my way to pay a deposit when I had a phone call from the seller of the one I bought)
and they will throw in a 3 mnth warranty.

Cheers
Rob

[laz11]

well i have a 4.3 which i love and when i was in the market for one i drove a number of 500s as well. My view is that they are both quick in different ways, 4/4.3 has a more usable power band and loves revs. both tourque and power compliment each other well so very usable, which means you can really appreciate the noise at higher revs too. The 500 has an excess of tourque which really means you find you dont use high revs as much if you are having fun in the twisties, however certainly on the straights and at higher speeds will outrun a pre cat though. having had my 4.3 tuned on the rolling road to extract max torque and power and ensure an even delivery it drives even better so i'm very happy, plus I have uprated suspension which has improved handling hugely as the pre cats have a softer set up to the later 500's. also having been on a police instructor led driving day/course a year ago(in the wet)I drive it in all weathers and joyously push it to the limits frequently now! best bet is to drive as many as possible and promise yourself you wont get the first one you see! Pre cats are a lot harder to find advertised now. another option is to use rob ingleby or james agger who specialise in finding/sourcing cars.

[Edt]

laz11 said:

and promise yourself you wont get the first one you see!

When I got my S2 it was the 1st (and only) one I saw! However, Griffith hunting around 1999, spent about 9 months iirc

Ed

[Paul V]

Hi Ed, found a picture of your old Griff parked next to mine at castle combe the other day.





I’d say buy the best car your budget will get you, looking at prices of 4.3’s they seem to fairly strong now anyway so you might pick up a much newer 500 for a similar price, seeing as you’ve had one before you’ll know what to look out for.

[Edt]

happy couple ! tkaes me back. Really wish I could have kept that car.. it got better & better

[bjwoods]

Hi ed

Good news that you might be back in the fold.....

I had a 4.3 for 6 years, and my 500 for nearly 8 years now.. !

Performance wise as standard, unless you drove back to back, i doubt you'd really notice any difference between a 4.3 and 5.0 in straight line terms. In fact when new my 500 felt slower until i'd put a few k miles on it...

All the stuff about a 500 being a bit more rough in traffic , is b****S mine is so much better than my 4.3, (which was very good) cabin noise is better, etc, etc, drivetraing shunt vs 4.3, I never noticed ANY difference, cf my 4.3, 500, the 500 was used to commute and sit in traffic more with no problems at all - Could be the diff between early 500's tuned to '340bhp' vs '320bhp' for later ones, for this reason.
plus, imho a 500, has the MOST useable power band (should say torque), it will pull smoothly from 1000 revs in 2nd, 3rd, 4th AND 5th should you want it to.... Agin that could just be mine.

Again , IF standard, a later 500 ie R reg ish onwards may handle a bit better, built a bit better, cooling system a bit better, etc,etc,etc (but obly marginally - a very good 4.3, updated dampers, bit's and piecees, may be a very much better car than an unloved 500)

500's can have power steering, and whatever people say about not needing it, true sports cars don't have pas, etc, etc(usually this means they are trying to flog one without PAS)
imho, IT is much better with pas, quicker rack, AND it is a lot easier to catch the back end, if things get a bit out of hand with a PAS car (ASK andy about that!!!) low speeds, ie parking, its really good, above a few miles an hour, you won't notice you have it. doesn't cost any much more 2nd hand either, does make it 'quicker' to sell though.

BUT many aren't standard any more , my 500 has got ohlins on it, and it handles like it is on rails, absolutely unbelievably good now, big front brake upgarde later in the year...

If perfromance bothers you you WILL definetly notice a difference between a 4.o lite griff, and 500...
But if just sitting in it admiring it, a 4.0 is a very nice car to have, and you might get it a bit cheaper, as most people seem to want the extra performance..

Drop me an email, if you want a spin in mine to remind you what you've been missing , (still need to a website for my wife's bus, as some point)

B


>> Edited by bjwoods on Monday 27th February 10:02

[Edt]

bjwoods said:

Drop me an email, if you want a spin in mine to remind you what you've been missing , (still need to a website for my wife's bus, as some point) B >> Edited by bjwoods on Monday 27th February 10:02

when the weather cheers will take you up on that, erm well on both hopefully
Ed

[richb]

Ed, great to hear you are considering coming back to the fold! I had a 4.0 Chimaera as a courtesy car for a couple of weeks and yes, it was less powerful but certainly not slow! I would say that (depending on budget) you should get a 500 these days as some of the better 4.3's are creeping up in value. Anyway I'm sure you'll know the right car when the time comes! Rich...

[paulmurray]

Hi

I had a 4.0l Griff a few years back and thought it was brill - the noise was superb. However like you are thinking now I always hankered after more power. I felt the 5.0 was the one to have - the final incarnation of the ultimate drive - so upgraded.

Initially was disappointed in the aural department but with removal of pre-cats and debaffling more than enough noise now!

Don't miss the 4.0l now but a 4.3BV (or even 4.5BV) would be a different kettle of fish. I seem to remember Adian Blyth having a 4.5BV through his doors some years ago - anybody got that on here?

I say go for the 5.0

[bjwoods]

hawthorns had a 4.5bv a while back, awesome car, sold for mega money, BUT not really an every day car, cf 4.3/500