Griffith 4.3 Big Valve

[britzman]

For those of you that are interested, as the proud owner of a 4.3BV Griff I emailed TVR to ask how many of that model were made. The answer was 25. Damn I must have been lucky when I found it for sale!!

[graham]

didnt they also convert some existing cars at the request of their owner, so although there were only 25 as they left the factory their may be more that were modified by tvr to becone 4.3 bv....

[GasBlaster]

Also in Staffs. Lots of info re 4.3 BVs and 4.5 BVs in Steve Heath's book. He also mentions a one-off(pre-Griff 500) 5 litre Griff. Now that cost £45,000 in 1992 when regular Griffs were £26,000. Must be a beast and I wonder where it is now? GB (silver Griff 500)

[tractorboy]

I've got one...and its an original...thats 2...anyone else? Edited by tractorboy on Thursday 16th August 00:17

[amsterdam]

That's weird, I bought a standard 4 litre when they were originally shown at the Earls Court motor show, and was told by the dealer (TVR Centre) that most orders were for 4.3 BVs! I've heard that too from other sources so someone's telling you or me porkeys.

[britzman]

I read somewhere (I think it was one of those retrospective magazine reviews from the mid 90s) that most people ordered the 4.3 engine rather than the 4.0 but there was no mention of big valves. Being a driver rather than a mechanic (which can occasionally be a problem with a TVR I suppose :-) I haven't a clue what extra the big valves give, although from reading this and that I've somehow built the (possibly mistaken) opinion that it gives the engine a little more power (20BHP?) and makes it rev more freely. I did take some satisafction from the article about the last batch of Griff 500s in the April edition of Evo. They interviewed Neill Anderson who was the Griffith chassis man who was "responsible from the Griff's underpinnings, as well as lending a hand with the body design". When asked about his ideal Griffith spec he said he'd avoid power steering, and go for the "old sports suspension kit" and the 4.3BV engine "which was the sweetest all round". So there you have it! It's official. The 4.3BV engine is "sweeter all round". There must be some guys around here that know what big valves *really* mean... anyone?

[tractorboy]

I spoke to the manager of TVR Power who built the 4.3 big valves and asked what the diference was from the 4 ltr and he said the cams were high lifters,the valves are larger and the heads are ported more, TVr didnt make the 5 ltr at this time but changed later as the cost of the extra work was more expensive than opening the cylinders up which is why they stopped making it. You can phone them up with your engine number handy and they can tell you if its a big valver or not. The exhaust note on a pre-cat big valve is awesome ...nothing else comes close..and in some respects I think the early Griffs were better made as cheaper parts were used later on.

[GasBlaster]

You get lots of snippets from those guys at TVR Power. The manager told me for instance that there is no such thing as a 500HC engine. All Griff 500's had the same spec engine up til the back end of 1997. Just that some had an HC badge slapped on and some didn't. I guess it's part of what makes TVR what it is...They also keep a logbook of the weights of every con rod ever used. There is an amazing variance in weights, no wonder each motor is so individual. GB (silver Griff 500)

[britzman]

Whereabouts Nat? I'm originally from the Neath valley, but living in the London area now.

[SwanJack]

Nat, was it the one Newtown had in for sale at the start of the year. I think that one even had '430' in the number plate. Sounded awesome when it was started up.

[JamesK]

As an ex Griff 500 owner who was forced to sell I am getting the bug again big time! I am thinking of going a for a pre-cat Griff this time round and really want a 4.3BV if possible. I know they are scarce and good ones even more so but has anyone got any ideas on where best to try and locate one? Any help gratefully received.....