TVR Griffith 500 HC -Back From The Dead…
Discussion
The story of this 1996 model Griffith 500 HC starts way back in February 1996. It was specced with what appears to be every option available, inc Pearlescent paint in Ford Mallard green ( actually a blue colour ) full doeskin leather, wool carpets, heated Cerb seats ( a Vast improvement on the dire Griff seats ) and the ultra essential PAS.
It is believed to have been supplied new directly by the Factory in Blackpool, to its first owners, a car hire company in Sussex, who appear to have registered it themselves in Sussex. I drew a blank trying to trace them and they are long defunct. Whether it was a directors car or if it was ever hired out, I’ve no idea. However, its first service in the book was by the sadly long gone TVR Centre at Barnet.
Fast forward several owners and it’s August 2007.
Newly divorced, working my nuts off in a business that I loved, and with a new squeeze in my life, thoughts turn to treating myself to something Fast. Divorce had absolutely ££ rinsed me, but I had a £ budget of circa £10 grand, which back in 07, bought some pretty desirable cars. But I just could not decide on a car. A Fiat Coupe 20V was briefly considered when Bingo, thoughts turned to a Classic & Sportscar feature on the TVR Griffith ( a 400 model ) verses a Cobra. But it just Had to be a 500 !
Unlike today, back in 2007, I knew very little about these cars, the only TVR that I had previously owned, was a 61 Grantura which needed a total rebuild !
I knew to check for chassis rot, mainly in the outriggers though.
I spotted an N registered Cooper Green car in Northants and drove up there in my old TDi Discovery one Saturday morning. The car had received some average paintwork, but it drove ok. I didn’t really care for the colour, it was a non PAS car and I recall the steering being slow & heavy. I think this one was up for £10, I think I bid £9,400 which was accepted. I left a £100 quid deposit on it and left.
However, on the way back, my then G/F called me, saying she had spotted a Blue Griff and that I simply must go see it ! The car was in Sudbury in Suffolk. So I called Ian the seller and shot over to see it. “People buy from people they like “ and Ian was a total gent. He had bought it on a whim about a year before and had not done many miles in it. He preferred his tank of a RR Vogue. As he opened the door to his double garage I just knew that this was The Griff that i wanted as dark colours really show off the cars stunning shape. ! A closer look revealed a car that had covered just 46,000 miles but was in need of some tlc. A bit neglected, It had a lot of scratches & stone chips, its paint was faded in places but from 10 feet it looked great !
Its paperwork included its service book in its cool black leather Filofax type wallet, plus a few old invoices. A quick test drive revealed tired shocks and worn front wishbone bushes, but its engine was a peach, it pulled hard and felt Very quick ( it had been de catted which really wakes a Griff up as the cat is really restrictive ) I offered him £8,200 which back then was very cheap and he accepted.
I called the seller of the Cooper green car and apologised and said to keep the £100 quid.
Ian offered to deliver it, so on the following Monday eve, a balmy summers eve, the excitement was off of the scale. I heard him coming from about half a mile away and when I saw it coming up the road OMG ! I gave Ian a lift back home in the Discovery and when I got back I shot out in the Griff to meet my then g/f to show her.
The side shot of the car was taken at a stunning chateau near Rheims about 10 days later. More on this in the next instalment.
It is believed to have been supplied new directly by the Factory in Blackpool, to its first owners, a car hire company in Sussex, who appear to have registered it themselves in Sussex. I drew a blank trying to trace them and they are long defunct. Whether it was a directors car or if it was ever hired out, I’ve no idea. However, its first service in the book was by the sadly long gone TVR Centre at Barnet.
Fast forward several owners and it’s August 2007.
Newly divorced, working my nuts off in a business that I loved, and with a new squeeze in my life, thoughts turn to treating myself to something Fast. Divorce had absolutely ££ rinsed me, but I had a £ budget of circa £10 grand, which back in 07, bought some pretty desirable cars. But I just could not decide on a car. A Fiat Coupe 20V was briefly considered when Bingo, thoughts turned to a Classic & Sportscar feature on the TVR Griffith ( a 400 model ) verses a Cobra. But it just Had to be a 500 !
Unlike today, back in 2007, I knew very little about these cars, the only TVR that I had previously owned, was a 61 Grantura which needed a total rebuild !
I knew to check for chassis rot, mainly in the outriggers though.
I spotted an N registered Cooper Green car in Northants and drove up there in my old TDi Discovery one Saturday morning. The car had received some average paintwork, but it drove ok. I didn’t really care for the colour, it was a non PAS car and I recall the steering being slow & heavy. I think this one was up for £10, I think I bid £9,400 which was accepted. I left a £100 quid deposit on it and left.
However, on the way back, my then G/F called me, saying she had spotted a Blue Griff and that I simply must go see it ! The car was in Sudbury in Suffolk. So I called Ian the seller and shot over to see it. “People buy from people they like “ and Ian was a total gent. He had bought it on a whim about a year before and had not done many miles in it. He preferred his tank of a RR Vogue. As he opened the door to his double garage I just knew that this was The Griff that i wanted as dark colours really show off the cars stunning shape. ! A closer look revealed a car that had covered just 46,000 miles but was in need of some tlc. A bit neglected, It had a lot of scratches & stone chips, its paint was faded in places but from 10 feet it looked great !
Its paperwork included its service book in its cool black leather Filofax type wallet, plus a few old invoices. A quick test drive revealed tired shocks and worn front wishbone bushes, but its engine was a peach, it pulled hard and felt Very quick ( it had been de catted which really wakes a Griff up as the cat is really restrictive ) I offered him £8,200 which back then was very cheap and he accepted.
I called the seller of the Cooper green car and apologised and said to keep the £100 quid.
Ian offered to deliver it, so on the following Monday eve, a balmy summers eve, the excitement was off of the scale. I heard him coming from about half a mile away and when I saw it coming up the road OMG ! I gave Ian a lift back home in the Discovery and when I got back I shot out in the Griff to meet my then g/f to show her.
The side shot of the car was taken at a stunning chateau near Rheims about 10 days later. More on this in the next instalment.
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Sunday 14th April 08:34
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Sunday 14th April 08:46
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Sunday 14th April 09:10
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Sunday 14th April 09:12
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Sunday 14th April 12:07
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Sunday 14th April 12:13
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Tuesday 16th April 15:53
A Holliday had been talked about, so I said to my then g/f, how about a road trip to the Black Forest. A frantic 5 odd days followed prepping the car.
A thorough look at the cars underside, revealed a chassis ( the far better silver painted chassis rather than the 97 on and built in Malaysia ? Poor quality White powder coated chassis that peels & rots ) that was in really good condition, but with the expected surface rust to the outriggers, which I treated and painted. New parts included a new pair of front tires ( in the wrong non PAS size as I didn’t know back then they are different sizes ) new front AVO adjustable shocks which came complete with new springs, a pair of new green Bilsteins for the rear, these came from David Gerald’s and I had to re use my old springs, what a pig it was fitting them ! I also replaced a few of the front wishbones, plus fresh Mobil 1 oil and filter, a set of NGKs finest and a new passengers side seat belt.
The Griff had barely been used over the previous couple of years and people were saying to me “ Germany in that thing, you are mad “ …..
Well, that trip was the second best road trip that I have ever done ( the Best was in 93 in an R5 GT Turbo down the Route Napoleon ) the Griff never missed a beat apart from the drivers window refusing to go up when parking at the chateau in Rheims. That night the heavens opened and in the morning there was 2 inches of water in the drivers footwell !
It was a really hot day and the run into Germany was spoiled by the heat thrown back at my face from the non standard alloy dash that a previous owner had fitted, it was really unpleasant, burnt my face. The rest of the trip was fantastic, the Griff performed perfectly.
I always research any car / bikes history and the £5 quid to DVLA revealed its previous owner history, but sadly I was unable to locate any of its previous owners.
It was in the west London area for a time, owned by an Asian guy. ( The DVLA owner history has since been lost, which is a real shame….. )
Over the next few months, I fitted a new set of front discs and pads, a new Stepper motor, new throttle cable, plus had the leaking PAS rack re built. When they sent the rack back to me, one of the unions was wrong, so it had to go back to them. Back then Impretsas were seamingly everywhere and of course, they wouldn’t leave the Griff alone, but I never had trouble with any of them. Back in 07, there were some very quick cars about, but 17 years on and circa 300hp is nothing.
A thorough look at the cars underside, revealed a chassis ( the far better silver painted chassis rather than the 97 on and built in Malaysia ? Poor quality White powder coated chassis that peels & rots ) that was in really good condition, but with the expected surface rust to the outriggers, which I treated and painted. New parts included a new pair of front tires ( in the wrong non PAS size as I didn’t know back then they are different sizes ) new front AVO adjustable shocks which came complete with new springs, a pair of new green Bilsteins for the rear, these came from David Gerald’s and I had to re use my old springs, what a pig it was fitting them ! I also replaced a few of the front wishbones, plus fresh Mobil 1 oil and filter, a set of NGKs finest and a new passengers side seat belt.
The Griff had barely been used over the previous couple of years and people were saying to me “ Germany in that thing, you are mad “ …..
Well, that trip was the second best road trip that I have ever done ( the Best was in 93 in an R5 GT Turbo down the Route Napoleon ) the Griff never missed a beat apart from the drivers window refusing to go up when parking at the chateau in Rheims. That night the heavens opened and in the morning there was 2 inches of water in the drivers footwell !
It was a really hot day and the run into Germany was spoiled by the heat thrown back at my face from the non standard alloy dash that a previous owner had fitted, it was really unpleasant, burnt my face. The rest of the trip was fantastic, the Griff performed perfectly.
I always research any car / bikes history and the £5 quid to DVLA revealed its previous owner history, but sadly I was unable to locate any of its previous owners.
It was in the west London area for a time, owned by an Asian guy. ( The DVLA owner history has since been lost, which is a real shame….. )
Over the next few months, I fitted a new set of front discs and pads, a new Stepper motor, new throttle cable, plus had the leaking PAS rack re built. When they sent the rack back to me, one of the unions was wrong, so it had to go back to them. Back then Impretsas were seamingly everywhere and of course, they wouldn’t leave the Griff alone, but I never had trouble with any of them. Back in 07, there were some very quick cars about, but 17 years on and circa 300hp is nothing.
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Sunday 14th April 09:36
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Sunday 14th April 09:37
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Sunday 14th April 12:16
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Monday 15th April 12:03
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Tuesday 16th April 17:51
Unlike my second Griff ( more on this 98 model car later ) my 96 Griff did feel Very quick, it also for a Griff, handled really well, power slides were easy to control and the car felt very predictable. It was also stable @ high speeds ( ie 145 ) despite missing it front chin spoiler, which I didn’t realise it was missing !
andy43 said:
Now I know we’re definitely mid-2000’s - AVO shockers!
I’ve had two Griffs - first one died once with an earth fault, second one died once on its 20 year old original coil. Other than that, both never failed to proceed.
Ha yes, AVOs ! Had a pair fitted to the rear of my last R5 GT Turbo and they worked well.I’ve had two Griffs - first one died once with an earth fault, second one died once on its 20 year old original coil. Other than that, both never failed to proceed.
If I had known back in 07, then I would have fitted Yellow Bilstein Sports all round…..
I had been thinking about another road trip to Germany, as a dear Late friend called John, had talked often about a small town called Reklinghousen in nth Germany that he had been billeted at, in 1945 after landing on D Day plus 3 in June 44, with the Royal Engineers. And also the passionate affair that he had had, with the families daughter.
So early one morning I boarded the ferry at Harwich for Hook of Holland. I drove to Arnhem and spent the rest of day @ the Hartenstein Hotel, wondering in utter awe at the outstanding bravery of all of our Airborne troops who fought and who died there. The following day I arrived at a swanky hotel ( 100 Euros per night way back then ) ) which fortunately had covered parking just across the road, but which had to be paid for !
No sleep that night though due to my bloody room being right above the hotels night club, I should have complained !
The following day I drove around trying to find the house that John had been billeted in, which was located in the family firm of stonemasons. Very few people around and the only one who I could speak to, spoke little English, so sadly I was unable to get any info on the German family.
I stayed at another hotel that night and just after checking out, as I went past a run down row of lock up garages I was stunned to see a very sad lookin grey, late C3 Corvette seemingly abandoned in front of one of the garages. I pulled over to take a look. On leaving as I was reversing out, there was a sickening thump……I glanced out of the passenger window to see an elderly lady looking at the Griff whilst covering her eyes. I got out and couldn’t believe that I had reversed into a bloody lamp post ! The Griffs left rear 1/4 had a large crack in it above the wheel arch and the rear light unit was smashed and half hanging out. I just could not believe my stupidity…….
The drive back to the ferry terminal at Hook of Holland was however awesome, very little traffic and I was able to put my foot down. The Griff ran beautifully, it felt a very special place to be in.
I ran the Griff through the autumn & winter of 07 and into 08, inc driving it in light snow. The insurance paid out to repair the damage & the car got a full repaint, which even back then was just over £6 grand ! Then in early April 08, thoughts turned to buying another ( my third ) 911 3.2 Carrera, I recall thinking that it would be more practical and that my then small sons would be able to come out with me.
So I ( half heartedly ) listed the Griff on here. I really didn’t think I would get much interest. One suited buyer came and looked, but I think that I scared him s less on the road test as I held the car in a power slide around a roundabout.
A German buyer contacted me saying he would be over in a couple of days time. He arrived about 11 am after already viewing one Griff early that morning and turning it down. But as he got out of his friends car he said “ Il Have It “ and also said “ We won’t be allowed to own cars like this in the future “…….
I was stunned as I really didn’t want to sell it. We drove to town to the bank, with me thinking “ wtf am I doing, I am making a Massive Mistake letting it go ……“ An hour later and I watched my Griff disappear out of my life for Germany……..
So early one morning I boarded the ferry at Harwich for Hook of Holland. I drove to Arnhem and spent the rest of day @ the Hartenstein Hotel, wondering in utter awe at the outstanding bravery of all of our Airborne troops who fought and who died there. The following day I arrived at a swanky hotel ( 100 Euros per night way back then ) ) which fortunately had covered parking just across the road, but which had to be paid for !
No sleep that night though due to my bloody room being right above the hotels night club, I should have complained !
The following day I drove around trying to find the house that John had been billeted in, which was located in the family firm of stonemasons. Very few people around and the only one who I could speak to, spoke little English, so sadly I was unable to get any info on the German family.
I stayed at another hotel that night and just after checking out, as I went past a run down row of lock up garages I was stunned to see a very sad lookin grey, late C3 Corvette seemingly abandoned in front of one of the garages. I pulled over to take a look. On leaving as I was reversing out, there was a sickening thump……I glanced out of the passenger window to see an elderly lady looking at the Griff whilst covering her eyes. I got out and couldn’t believe that I had reversed into a bloody lamp post ! The Griffs left rear 1/4 had a large crack in it above the wheel arch and the rear light unit was smashed and half hanging out. I just could not believe my stupidity…….
The drive back to the ferry terminal at Hook of Holland was however awesome, very little traffic and I was able to put my foot down. The Griff ran beautifully, it felt a very special place to be in.
I ran the Griff through the autumn & winter of 07 and into 08, inc driving it in light snow. The insurance paid out to repair the damage & the car got a full repaint, which even back then was just over £6 grand ! Then in early April 08, thoughts turned to buying another ( my third ) 911 3.2 Carrera, I recall thinking that it would be more practical and that my then small sons would be able to come out with me.
So I ( half heartedly ) listed the Griff on here. I really didn’t think I would get much interest. One suited buyer came and looked, but I think that I scared him s less on the road test as I held the car in a power slide around a roundabout.
A German buyer contacted me saying he would be over in a couple of days time. He arrived about 11 am after already viewing one Griff early that morning and turning it down. But as he got out of his friends car he said “ Il Have It “ and also said “ We won’t be allowed to own cars like this in the future “…….
I was stunned as I really didn’t want to sell it. We drove to town to the bank, with me thinking “ wtf am I doing, I am making a Massive Mistake letting it go ……“ An hour later and I watched my Griff disappear out of my life for Germany……..
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Monday 15th April 08:50
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Thursday 18th April 09:33
What I also didn’t know when I bought the car, as I just hadn’t had enough time to due much research, was that the earlier 500 has the Rover derived gear box and not the circa late 94 on T5 gear box and also the “ Serpentine Engine “ My own thoughts on the circa 95/96 Griff 500 “ HC “ cars, are that they are quicker than the earlier and later non HC cars, as this one ( in what I assume to be in its factory engine spec ) was every bit as fast as the next Griff 500 that I bought, a 98 model, which had been “ tweaked “ with an uprated cam, ECU, air flow meter and other bits and had been dynoed at 299bhp, plus a lovely low miles black 97 Chimp 500 that I briefly had through my hands, but that’s just my opinion.
I’m also of the opinion that the pre 97 silver chassis cars have a stronger chassis and are a better screwed together car as well. The chassis of my 96 car felt much stiffer than the 98 white chassis car ( I was told that the white chassis were built for TVR in Malaysia ) that I bought in 2010 and which didn’t have the “ build quality “ of the 96 car.
But as I said, that’s my opinion, but if I were on the hunt for another Griff, to keep then for me it’s a 95 or 96 model Only.
I’m also of the opinion that the pre 97 silver chassis cars have a stronger chassis and are a better screwed together car as well. The chassis of my 96 car felt much stiffer than the 98 white chassis car ( I was told that the white chassis were built for TVR in Malaysia ) that I bought in 2010 and which didn’t have the “ build quality “ of the 96 car.
But as I said, that’s my opinion, but if I were on the hunt for another Griff, to keep then for me it’s a 95 or 96 model Only.
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Monday 15th April 12:09
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Monday 15th April 12:22
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Monday 15th April 12:29
With the money from the sale of the Griff burning an ever deeper hole in my pocket, the search was on for another 3.2 Carrera. So In 911 & Porsche world magazine, I spot a Baltic Blue F plate car, in Cambridge for circa £11,995. With the benefit of hindsight I now realise what a really straight, original car it was, in a really beautiful colour. It also had the superb Sports seats in full navy Leather. It had been supplied and registered to AFN Ltd, guessing it was their Demo 3.2 for a while. Its mileage was circa 95,000.
However, my personal life had since the previous November, been starting to “ Spiral out of Control “ and little did I know just what 2 major life events lay around the corner….
Due to my “ mental state “ I was in too much of a rush to secure another Fast car and the Carrera had been neglected ( as is very often the case with performance cars ) in certain areas. I could also Not secure the car for any £ lower price than £11,200, the seller just wouldn’t budge.
Its OE Sachs shocks were utter pants when new & the fronts were in dire need of replacing ( the rears had done circa 12,000 miles and were also shot. From previous 911 experience, the rear ride hight is critical on these cars and this one had the usual saggy ( with miles but “easily” sorted - if nothing has seized up - via adjusters ) rear end. It was also a G 50 gear box car, which is a heavier gear box and has more weight over the rear end, verses the 915 box car. As soon as I drove the car home, I really noticed it.
Once back, a closer look underneath the 911 revealed severely corroded oil pipes, which were an utter swine to replace and also bloody £ expensive for the pipes. The rear arms had also seized solid, so my local alignment specialist was limited in what he could do to raise the cars rear end ride hight.
This car didn’t feel quite as quick as my previous 86 Carrera had been either.
A brilliant road trip to Northumberland saw me visit a place that I had some wonderful childhood memories of with a Late pal of my Late Dads ( this cool photo was taken at Harbottle ) and the speedo tripped over 100,000 miles.
But, about 3 weeks later I noticed the smoky exhaust…….
The damn thing needed a top end over haul, which even back then was £4 grand Plus. I tried advertising the car but Zero interest, there was a full blown recession on from late 07 and prices were in free fall. Long story short, in September 08 a Porsche Trader came round, miraculously somehow didn’t see the smoke from the exhaust and bid me £10, my lowest was £10,400, it owed me probably £11,500 and I never lose money on cars or bikes, but I wanted it gone & so he drove it away.
I checked some years ago and the car was showing circa 150,000 miles, so someone must have been getting their moneys worth. Guessing it’s had a plate change, as no trace of it now on the system.
That 3.2 is now a circa £40 / £50k car, if Only I knew that then…..
However, my personal life had since the previous November, been starting to “ Spiral out of Control “ and little did I know just what 2 major life events lay around the corner….
Due to my “ mental state “ I was in too much of a rush to secure another Fast car and the Carrera had been neglected ( as is very often the case with performance cars ) in certain areas. I could also Not secure the car for any £ lower price than £11,200, the seller just wouldn’t budge.
Its OE Sachs shocks were utter pants when new & the fronts were in dire need of replacing ( the rears had done circa 12,000 miles and were also shot. From previous 911 experience, the rear ride hight is critical on these cars and this one had the usual saggy ( with miles but “easily” sorted - if nothing has seized up - via adjusters ) rear end. It was also a G 50 gear box car, which is a heavier gear box and has more weight over the rear end, verses the 915 box car. As soon as I drove the car home, I really noticed it.
Once back, a closer look underneath the 911 revealed severely corroded oil pipes, which were an utter swine to replace and also bloody £ expensive for the pipes. The rear arms had also seized solid, so my local alignment specialist was limited in what he could do to raise the cars rear end ride hight.
This car didn’t feel quite as quick as my previous 86 Carrera had been either.
A brilliant road trip to Northumberland saw me visit a place that I had some wonderful childhood memories of with a Late pal of my Late Dads ( this cool photo was taken at Harbottle ) and the speedo tripped over 100,000 miles.
But, about 3 weeks later I noticed the smoky exhaust…….
The damn thing needed a top end over haul, which even back then was £4 grand Plus. I tried advertising the car but Zero interest, there was a full blown recession on from late 07 and prices were in free fall. Long story short, in September 08 a Porsche Trader came round, miraculously somehow didn’t see the smoke from the exhaust and bid me £10, my lowest was £10,400, it owed me probably £11,500 and I never lose money on cars or bikes, but I wanted it gone & so he drove it away.
I checked some years ago and the car was showing circa 150,000 miles, so someone must have been getting their moneys worth. Guessing it’s had a plate change, as no trace of it now on the system.
That 3.2 is now a circa £40 / £50k car, if Only I knew that then…..
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Monday 15th April 15:48
Fast forward to April 2010, after the worst over 2 years of my life, my health had returned, thoughts turned to a new squeeze and to Fast cars. The first was rapidly sorted, but all I could recall about my first Griff was the buyers name and he was from somewhere in Germany. I put a post up on here saying “ Griffith Wanted “ and within 2 minutes I had a message ! Long story short, I drove up to Milton Keynes and bought a blue 98 car on the spot. Cutting a very long story short, I had many “
Adventures “ in that car.
It wouldn’t start one day, so I took it to the first so called “ TVR Specialist “ that I had then used. He diagnosed the Dizzy had broken ( common on these ) but dealing with him and his awful attitude & disgusting customer service rapidly turned into Agg.
The problem with these types of cars is that if you have to farm any work out, you are potentially in the hands of Thieves, Cowboys & Robbers “ these people Do Not like dealing with Anyone who has an ounce of mechanical knowledge, their prey is the type of punter who can’t even fill his 911s / TVRs / Ferraris screen washer bottle up….
I trailered the Griff down to Hants. We agreed on & I gave him strict instructions that I had a set £ budget, to literally just get the car running again. But, he tried it on, ££ up selling, adding more & more work to the list. Plus, his Dodgy “TVR Specialist Alarm fitter “ who looked like he had just been dug up from the ground, would not stop trying to get me to have “ A new alarm system installed “ to say I was p off was an understatement.
My step dad bless him, drove me down there to collect it.
I drove the car away and on joining the A3 and way before joining M25, it became very apparent that the temp gauge wasn’t working and I had a 100 mile journey to do in a car, where the temp gauge is as important as the ruddy fuel gauge. I called them and his reply was “ It didn’t work when you bought it here “ which was utter bull. Never again would use this lot.
Then in late 2019 thoughts again turned to my first Griff. I had in my mind over the years about what a great car it was and of the great memories I had made in the just 8 short months that I owned it for. A lovely bloke I know in the TVR world kindly put some feelers out and within a day he had located Dennis, the great guy I had sold it to, way back in April 08. I contacted Dennis and he said that the car had been sat covered in dust, in his dry damp free garage since 2009…..and that it was mine once again if I wanted it back…..we talked £ and tbh it was more than I was hoping…..
He sent me some photos of how the car looked sitting in his garage…..
Meanwhile in 2020, I noticed the second Griff was down on power, a compression test revealed several cylinders were well low. My back was bad at that time and I couldn’t face pulling the heads off myself, so reluctantly I gave the car to another “ TVR Specialist “ whom I had known of for some years and had also sold a car to, but let’s just call him a Bodger, with a Capital B. This particular one made the first “ TVR Specialist “ seem like an Angel.
They pulled the cylinder heads off and told me that “ the bloke he sent his cylinder heads to “ said “that it needed new valves, seats & guides “ - but he never could tell me Exactly what was done to my cars heads for the ££ I paid him.
Things went from bad to worse, he had originally told me that “ he would fit the car in around other work and that he had room to store it “
He then told me “ he had no where to store it and that he was bringing it back as is non running with no cylinder heads on it “
To say I was fuming is an understatement. I insisted that I wanted my car back up and running.
However, he simply threw my car back together. He delivered the car back on his low loader truck, with zero PAS fluid in it, so I had to wait by the roadside whilst he went into town to Halfords to get some. When I got it to my pals garage, we found that it was low on coolant, exhaust header bolts lose, lots of other stuff not tightened up correctly, spark plugs with closed up gaps, chips in the paint, he had zero idea which engine oil had been put in it, the front spoiler was ruined and it just wouldn’t run right and was Still down on power. I should have sued him, as there was a clear trail of me transferring him money……
That was the last straw, so I advertised it cheaply and off it went, after close on 12 years of owning it. I now had the funds to buy my first Griff back, so I immediately contacted Dennis and booked a trailer and the ferry and drove out to Germany.
Adventures “ in that car.
It wouldn’t start one day, so I took it to the first so called “ TVR Specialist “ that I had then used. He diagnosed the Dizzy had broken ( common on these ) but dealing with him and his awful attitude & disgusting customer service rapidly turned into Agg.
The problem with these types of cars is that if you have to farm any work out, you are potentially in the hands of Thieves, Cowboys & Robbers “ these people Do Not like dealing with Anyone who has an ounce of mechanical knowledge, their prey is the type of punter who can’t even fill his 911s / TVRs / Ferraris screen washer bottle up….
I trailered the Griff down to Hants. We agreed on & I gave him strict instructions that I had a set £ budget, to literally just get the car running again. But, he tried it on, ££ up selling, adding more & more work to the list. Plus, his Dodgy “TVR Specialist Alarm fitter “ who looked like he had just been dug up from the ground, would not stop trying to get me to have “ A new alarm system installed “ to say I was p off was an understatement.
My step dad bless him, drove me down there to collect it.
I drove the car away and on joining the A3 and way before joining M25, it became very apparent that the temp gauge wasn’t working and I had a 100 mile journey to do in a car, where the temp gauge is as important as the ruddy fuel gauge. I called them and his reply was “ It didn’t work when you bought it here “ which was utter bull. Never again would use this lot.
Then in late 2019 thoughts again turned to my first Griff. I had in my mind over the years about what a great car it was and of the great memories I had made in the just 8 short months that I owned it for. A lovely bloke I know in the TVR world kindly put some feelers out and within a day he had located Dennis, the great guy I had sold it to, way back in April 08. I contacted Dennis and he said that the car had been sat covered in dust, in his dry damp free garage since 2009…..and that it was mine once again if I wanted it back…..we talked £ and tbh it was more than I was hoping…..
He sent me some photos of how the car looked sitting in his garage…..
Meanwhile in 2020, I noticed the second Griff was down on power, a compression test revealed several cylinders were well low. My back was bad at that time and I couldn’t face pulling the heads off myself, so reluctantly I gave the car to another “ TVR Specialist “ whom I had known of for some years and had also sold a car to, but let’s just call him a Bodger, with a Capital B. This particular one made the first “ TVR Specialist “ seem like an Angel.
They pulled the cylinder heads off and told me that “ the bloke he sent his cylinder heads to “ said “that it needed new valves, seats & guides “ - but he never could tell me Exactly what was done to my cars heads for the ££ I paid him.
Things went from bad to worse, he had originally told me that “ he would fit the car in around other work and that he had room to store it “
He then told me “ he had no where to store it and that he was bringing it back as is non running with no cylinder heads on it “
To say I was fuming is an understatement. I insisted that I wanted my car back up and running.
However, he simply threw my car back together. He delivered the car back on his low loader truck, with zero PAS fluid in it, so I had to wait by the roadside whilst he went into town to Halfords to get some. When I got it to my pals garage, we found that it was low on coolant, exhaust header bolts lose, lots of other stuff not tightened up correctly, spark plugs with closed up gaps, chips in the paint, he had zero idea which engine oil had been put in it, the front spoiler was ruined and it just wouldn’t run right and was Still down on power. I should have sued him, as there was a clear trail of me transferring him money……
That was the last straw, so I advertised it cheaply and off it went, after close on 12 years of owning it. I now had the funds to buy my first Griff back, so I immediately contacted Dennis and booked a trailer and the ferry and drove out to Germany.
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Monday 15th April 20:41
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Tuesday 16th April 18:26
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Tuesday 16th April 18:27
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Tuesday 16th April 18:29
Edited by SS427 Camaro on Thursday 18th April 16:52
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