identifiedGriffith 390SE??

[my250gt]

was there ever a 1992 Griffith model 390SE or would it just be a 4.0L pre-cat wrongly identified?

[Mr MoJo]

Never a 390 Griff. No such car.

Why ?

[pwd95]

390SE is a model name for the old TVR Wedges..........

[spend]

Don't knock it though, a 390SE engine is likely to be much tastier than a 400? I'm sure I've heard that various costly wedge engines found their way into some early Greffs?

[my250gt]

Just checking really because when i got it, the advert i bought it from referred to it being a 1992 Griffith 390SE ? I had assumed it would be a standard rover 3.9L used in the griff 4.0?

[JR]

spend said:

Don't knock it though, a 390SE engine is likely to be much tastier than a 400? I'm sure I've heard that various costly wedge engines found their way into some early Greffs?

News to me but I can see the general line of thinking however the 390SE engine had been out of production for four years or so when the Griff was launched. Whether the Griff used the engine from the 430SE or v v is perhaps debatable.

[JR]

my250gt said:

Just checking really because when i got it, the advert i bought it from referred to it being a 1992 Griffith 390SE ? I had assumed it would be a standard rover 3.9L used in the griff 4.0?

See my post above.

The Griff engine was not a standard Rover 4.0.

I cannot see why anyone would choose to pay for the old 390SE engine when the new 430 was available at what would have been a lower price.

Your add was almost certainly someone who does not know TVRs although there are exceptions...

[spend]

JR said:

News to me but I can see the general line of thinking however the 390SE engine had been out of production for four years or so when the Griff was launched. Whether the Griff used the engine from the 430SE or v v is perhaps debatable.

I didn't even whisper a hint that Blackpool did it, even though I think a couple of owners in the past have thought their engines might be original (& I'm referring to the folks that have discovered cosworth pistons + those oddly square rather than tall heads that seem a feature of the wedge era...). Personally I suspect its the same as finding better/worse replacement parts/lumps on any of the cars ~ folks just fit what they fancy not necessarily the original bit?

[my250gt]

so i guess i need to first establish if it is the original engine, check the engine number, if it matches the V5C and whats printed on the car id plate.

Is there a list of engine numbers that would confirm what the engine spec is, I am really just trying to confirm the spec of the engine, is there any give away external items or features to confirm its a tvr engine and what cc?

Sorry, im new to tvr ownership and still on my learning curve.....