4.0 Griffith fans unite!!!
Discussion
Just a quick early morning rant!!!
Earlier this year my Father bought an early 4.0 Griffith, it is a gorgeous car which is in very good condition and has never let him down since he has had it (touchwood). Plenty of friends, family etc have of course been taken for rides and all come back white in the face, all with huge grins and all amazed at the performance.
The point here is that this really is an affordable, thus far reliable way, to buy something with exceptional performance and yet the 4.0 Griff is often dismissed by all and sundry on P'heads as too old, too slow and infinitely less appealing an option to the 5.0 Griff (with the exception of Simpo
). In this case the Griff was a step up from an S3 and IMHO offers a nice increase in power, noise and even sexier looks.
The affordability of a low mileage early 4.0 DOES make this a great car to consider for someone looking to buy a TVR Griffith!
Any other 4.0 owners care to comment on their experiences?
And yes of course I am biased
Earlier this year my Father bought an early 4.0 Griffith, it is a gorgeous car which is in very good condition and has never let him down since he has had it (touchwood). Plenty of friends, family etc have of course been taken for rides and all come back white in the face, all with huge grins and all amazed at the performance.
The point here is that this really is an affordable, thus far reliable way, to buy something with exceptional performance and yet the 4.0 Griff is often dismissed by all and sundry on P'heads as too old, too slow and infinitely less appealing an option to the 5.0 Griff (with the exception of Simpo
). In this case the Griff was a step up from an S3 and IMHO offers a nice increase in power, noise and even sexier looks. The affordability of a low mileage early 4.0 DOES make this a great car to consider for someone looking to buy a TVR Griffith!
Any other 4.0 owners care to comment on their experiences?
And yes of course I am biased
'Any other 4.0 owners care to comment on their experiences?'
My old car, K14 TVR, as featured in EVO November 2001. Nuff said. I only chose a 500 to replace it for the colour combination and condition. Oh, and the twiddly ally bits. For driving pleasure though, if all else was equal, I'd choose the old growler.
My old car, K14 TVR, as featured in EVO November 2001. Nuff said. I only chose a 500 to replace it for the colour combination and condition. Oh, and the twiddly ally bits. For driving pleasure though, if all else was equal, I'd choose the old growler.
Oh well here was the Old Man's response!!
"Came in in Griff 2day - cold but glorious. Got replacement fascia for radio
re your PH today - 4.0 v 5.0 is a bit like arguing whether its better to shag Nicole Appleton or Cameron Diaz - I can't get too worked up about it as both look & feel fantastic - would be V happy with either!"
"Came in in Griff 2day - cold but glorious. Got replacement fascia for radio
re your PH today - 4.0 v 5.0 is a bit like arguing whether its better to shag Nicole Appleton or Cameron Diaz - I can't get too worked up about it as both look & feel fantastic - would be V happy with either!"
quote:
a bit like arguing whether its better to shag Nicole Appleton or Cameron Diaz
I imagine both boxes would whine quite a bit and need lubrication from time to time. Certainly maintenance costs on the older chassis would be more, and for IMHO an uglier model, not my first choice.
My Griff on the other hand is a friend, it keeps borrowing money off me, is more attractive to any girls I fancy but great to be around (though it does goad me into doing silly stuff..). It's a 400...
...at the moment
quote:
Keep the comments coming guys I'm looking for a good Griff at the moment all advice welcome.
w/w
This may help - written by Griffer last year:
Saturday 1st September 2001
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It is always sad to read of others bad experiences with a Tiv and the poor impression it can give to aspiring new owners to take the plunge and buy one, I have had my car for exactly 2 years now and this is how I have got on with my car. I set out to find a pre-cat with full hide and Wilton with reasonable miles and found the ideal car for me at Portfield, 92 4 litre with the ported heads option in Moonraker black,with 42K on the clock, top money at the time but with a years warranty and full service record. This was a daily driver for the previous owner and had all the usual bits replaced, full exhaust and manifolds, radiator, SO2''s etc. The day I collected it I did a 500 mile round trip to Devon and back in a day to get the feel of it.I really did not want to go home again, surely that''s what it''s all about! The only problems in the first year were a failed micro switch on the heater flap motor and a broken courtesy switch that prevented me from locking the doors,both done under warranty. After 5K miles a fuel pump relay failed, fixed that myself.Since then the only neccesary expense has been on routine servicing and I did replace the seat belts, water had travelled along the lower reel mounting bolt from the wheel arch on the passenger side and started to corrode the reel bracket,I have sealed the reinforcing plate in the arch with silicone now. The car was regularly sprayed with waxoyl and the front wishbones are the originals and are as good as new, the front crossmember has some light rusting now but this will be dealt with over the winter, I use black underbody waxoyl on the outriggers and wheel arch struts and clear on the visible areas.The car still wears the original Koni shocks with red stripe front and yellow stripe rear springs as it left the factory and am perfectly happy with it. A few people have been of the opinion that the earlier cars were better built, there may be some truth in that but can''t really comment,some trim on later cars I have looked at certainly looked a bit rough. I am also completely satisfied with the performance from the 4 litre, yes the 500 is quicker but this does me! I have managed to frighten myself a couple of times but was completely my fault and treat with utmost respect in the wet etc. which is just common sense really. A couple of products I can recomend are Renovo roof sealer and hood reviver, these maintain the roof looking as new and I have no leaks, also have used some leather care products with great success from Gliptone, they do a colour wash kit, cleaner and hide food , my drivers seat was creasing and losing some colour in the cracks, being magnolia it realy showed but now looks great with just a nice slightly used look. Non essential expense has been limited to Leven alloy bits and some 500 rims as the OZ split rims are a pain to clean, oh yes I did fit a set of Magnecor leads and new plug shrouds,highly recomended,great quality and feels smoother at low RPM. Nothing has broken or fallen off. All in all a happy bunny, take your time when looking, find a good independent specialist for service and enjoy!
I loved my 4.0 Griffith, it was absolutely fantastic, fast, gorgeous and made such a wonderful noise.
But (you knew there was a but coming!), I am addicted to TVR's and that means I always crave more power. The 500 was available so it was a natural choice. Did I need the extra power - no way, can I use the extra power on the road - probably not (well legally anyway).
It's the reason I am considering changing to a Cerbera or Tuscan. Be careful when you buy your first, it's a hard habit to break (S3, Griff 4.0, Griff 500).
Cheers,
Graham
But (you knew there was a but coming!), I am addicted to TVR's and that means I always crave more power. The 500 was available so it was a natural choice. Did I need the extra power - no way, can I use the extra power on the road - probably not (well legally anyway).
It's the reason I am considering changing to a Cerbera or Tuscan. Be careful when you buy your first, it's a hard habit to break (S3, Griff 4.0, Griff 500).
Cheers,
Graham
quote:
I loved my 4.0 Griffith, it was absolutely fantastic, fast, gorgeous and made such a wonderful noise.
But (you knew there was a but coming!), I am addicted to TVR's and that means I always crave more power. The 500 was available so it was a natural choice. Did I need the extra power - no way, can I use the extra power on the road - probably not (well legally anyway).
It's the reason I am considering changing to a Cerbera or Tuscan. Be careful when you buy your first, it's a hard habit to break (S3, Griff 4.0, Griff 500).
Cheers,
Graham
Graham,
I used to own a Chim 450,sold it for my Porsche.I now need a Tiv(Griff) as well.Talk about a hard habit to break!!
Steve
>> Edited by sb930turbo on Wednesday 11th September 18:20
'it's a hard habit to break (S3, Griff 4.0, Griff 500).'
Snap!
'There's no law against quick acceleration (yet - but only because Tony hasn't thought of it and Gordon hasn't taxed it).'
A friend gunned his company Vectra out of a junction a few years ago. Plod saw it and pulled him over. 'I wasn't speeding Occifer!' 'No' said Plod, 'but you were thinking about it weren't you?'
And so we have a new offence: 'Conspiracy to speed'. That's got to be worth 5 years in prison (or 6 months working in Greepeace reception). Sigh.
Snap!
'There's no law against quick acceleration (yet - but only because Tony hasn't thought of it and Gordon hasn't taxed it).'
A friend gunned his company Vectra out of a junction a few years ago. Plod saw it and pulled him over. 'I wasn't speeding Occifer!' 'No' said Plod, 'but you were thinking about it weren't you?'
And so we have a new offence: 'Conspiracy to speed'. That's got to be worth 5 years in prison (or 6 months working in Greepeace reception). Sigh.
Everybody raves about the 500 performance, so how about sorting the 400 engine, I am in the process of fitting stage 3 heads, serious cam, induction, & chip to my otherwise standard 4.0L ( well engine anyway).
The thing is that the 4.0L has a better bore / stoke ratio, and a near to ideal rod length / crank throw ratio, in terms of revving and pick up, i recon that the stock bottom end is good for 250+ bhp without compromising the durability of the engine. the torque will never match a 500 , but the driving experience & bhp should at least equal, with the inherent revving characteristics of the smaller capacity, Oh and they sound better to !
Tim
The thing is that the 4.0L has a better bore / stoke ratio, and a near to ideal rod length / crank throw ratio, in terms of revving and pick up, i recon that the stock bottom end is good for 250+ bhp without compromising the durability of the engine. the torque will never match a 500 , but the driving experience & bhp should at least equal, with the inherent revving characteristics of the smaller capacity, Oh and they sound better to !
Tim
quote:
Everybody raves about the 500 performance, so how about sorting the 400 engine, I am in the process of fitting stage 3 heads, serious cam, induction, & chip to my otherwise standard 4.0L ( well engine anyway).
The thing is that the 4.0L has a better bore / stoke ratio, and a near to ideal rod length / crank throw ratio, in terms of revving and pick up, i recon that the stock bottom end is good for 250+ bhp without compromising the durability of the engine. the torque will never match a 500 , but the driving experience & bhp should at least equal, with the inherent revving characteristics of the smaller capacity, Oh and they sound better to !
Tim
Beautifully put. Who says 4s have to stay 4s
Double snap with Graham B and simpo one - S3/Griff 400/Griff 500
Just bought a 500 a couple of weeks ago. I loved the 400 as was an excellent car alround. Let me down once on the Dartford Bridge on a friday night in rush hour when she overheated as the fan fuse had blown - amused all the great unwashed in their dullard motors. She still got me home no problem.
I always wanted a 500 for reasons as expressed above - the extra power is not useable as compared to the 4 and its so much quieter. I bet my neighbours were jumping for joy when the 4 went off with her new owner - and then cursing when the new one arrived...ha ha! To top it all the wife then says " I must admit that I always thought the 400 was too loud....!" What does "too loud" mean??
I'm really pleased with the 500 - much easier to drive than I thought - but the 400 is something that will always be well remembered and missed
Just bought a 500 a couple of weeks ago. I loved the 400 as was an excellent car alround. Let me down once on the Dartford Bridge on a friday night in rush hour when she overheated as the fan fuse had blown - amused all the great unwashed in their dullard motors. She still got me home no problem.
I always wanted a 500 for reasons as expressed above - the extra power is not useable as compared to the 4 and its so much quieter. I bet my neighbours were jumping for joy when the 4 went off with her new owner - and then cursing when the new one arrived...ha ha! To top it all the wife then says " I must admit that I always thought the 400 was too loud....!" What does "too loud" mean??
I'm really pleased with the 500 - much easier to drive than I thought - but the 400 is something that will always be well remembered and missed
quote:
So scruff, wadya planning to do to it? .....modify the boot to take your clubs
Nothing much...
Huge brakes + comp shocks, Stage three: Ultimate Big Valve Heads, Piper 300 Cam, Ported intake, Big Throttle body plenum, shorted big bore Polished Trumpets. 4.6 Air mass meter, Tornado, Mark Adams ECU Chip + rolling road tweaks.
Shame I wont have the money for any clubs then...
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