Changing starmist blue/magnolia Griff to black/black - help
Discussion
Any advice, help, parts to complete needed. As the thread title says, attending the Growl and seeing a black Griff for the first time that I can remember, and the black and black leather interior in Rob's Griff, I've made my mind up that's what I really want. Black on the outside with plenty of flake in it, and a totally black interior.
I never wanted a blue Griff and yet that's what I've got. As it drives and handles great, and I'd struggle to find a black pre-serp Griff for sale, I'm better off changing the one I have to the colour combination I want. Already booked the paintshop for a full and total paint job. Proper job, doors and lids off, all shuts changed too. Not a trace of starmist blue will be left.
Spoke with D&C trimmers and have several prices to play with, and can do it in stages.
Does anyone have or know the whereabouts of black interior items for a Griff? Perhaps someone knows of a Griff being broken that has a black interior? Anything, no matter how large or small, if anyone does know I'd be keen to hear of it or their whereabouts. Has anyone tried dying their screen surround or dash top?
Thanks.
I never wanted a blue Griff and yet that's what I've got. As it drives and handles great, and I'd struggle to find a black pre-serp Griff for sale, I'm better off changing the one I have to the colour combination I want. Already booked the paintshop for a full and total paint job. Proper job, doors and lids off, all shuts changed too. Not a trace of starmist blue will be left.
Spoke with D&C trimmers and have several prices to play with, and can do it in stages.
Does anyone have or know the whereabouts of black interior items for a Griff? Perhaps someone knows of a Griff being broken that has a black interior? Anything, no matter how large or small, if anyone does know I'd be keen to hear of it or their whereabouts. Has anyone tried dying their screen surround or dash top?
Thanks.
Most cars were supplied with 'half leather interior' which was standard. The bits that weren't leather were plastic fake leather. Plastic won't absorb dye, so dying isn't an option.
Some cars were supplied with optional 'full leather interior' See your owner's handbook. It should state which specification is fitted to your car.
The metallic black was called 'moonraker black'
A word of warning. I have an all black Griff. It looks great when it's clean and polished. The trouble is keeping them clean. I have never yet arrived anywhere without it looking dirty, despite having left looking immaculate.
Some cars were supplied with optional 'full leather interior' See your owner's handbook. It should state which specification is fitted to your car.
The metallic black was called 'moonraker black'
A word of warning. I have an all black Griff. It looks great when it's clean and polished. The trouble is keeping them clean. I have never yet arrived anywhere without it looking dirty, despite having left looking immaculate.
Sadly I don't have the original handbook. The blue dash and blue door coverings are leather. The magnolia screen surround and T piece I think are vinyl.
Having owned a lot of black cars, including my Taimar for many years, I don't mind them dirty. Moonraker is where I'll probably start, but adding maybe some rainbow holographic and silver flakes and lots of lacquer. Suggestions?
A big chunk of the expense is having the roof panel cover changed to black, and replacing a pretty good blue hood with a black one. Would be nice to sell / swap / exchange but that's probably clutching at straws. What's a good blue mohair hood worth anyway......
So, suggestions on custom black paint finishes welcome.
Having owned a lot of black cars, including my Taimar for many years, I don't mind them dirty. Moonraker is where I'll probably start, but adding maybe some rainbow holographic and silver flakes and lots of lacquer. Suggestions?
A big chunk of the expense is having the roof panel cover changed to black, and replacing a pretty good blue hood with a black one. Would be nice to sell / swap / exchange but that's probably clutching at straws. What's a good blue mohair hood worth anyway......
So, suggestions on custom black paint finishes welcome.
Nebula black? Cant help with a piccie though.
Edit.Tuscan here if you scroll down through.....
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
Edit.Tuscan here if you scroll down through.....
http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0...
Edited by scorcher on Thursday 14th August 09:44
Yup, they look Real Baaad! 'Cornish Boy' recently (and very reluctantly) sold his 99er in exactly this combo. That was a stunner, a minter, and totally original.
If I were you RP (and as desperate for the combo as you imply) then I'd look to do a part ex somewhere; it'd be cheaper and I'm sure that your car'd be worth more as it is than if you went ahead with your intention.
Think one of these shot's is James Aggers; dunno how I came to have it; hope he's o.k with that.
griffter said:
RP, I recoloured my dash surround black. The key is meticulous preparation, the results are impressive. I used an aerosol colourant from Frost.
I paid £500 for a hood retrim, changing black to red.
Ironically, I also had a full respray - from deep metallic black to graphite grey!
I must admit that colour combo is one of my favorites with the red hood BenI paid £500 for a hood retrim, changing black to red.
Ironically, I also had a full respray - from deep metallic black to graphite grey!
The re spray is the main cost, Carpet sets can be had from people like coverdale LINKY
or Martrims?
Interior may cost you, you could get the leather dyed or even go to Bell hill/Douglas valley breakers and by second hand?
For the door cards you do the insert part with Carbon Fibre
been thinking of doing this myself to match my dash ..BB
Thank you so very much. Some really nice info there fellas.
Ben, I wish I'd have looked at your dash and paid attention. Yeah, my mate who's a fantastic painter told me of Vinylkote. Vinylkote's website info doesn't say it's ok on leather, so I'm guessing your prep was to remove the tan yard finish to the hide? Send me some high res pic's please, kiss kiss
Stevie, I'm thinking any contrast, which I'm unlikely to go with, would be yellow. Over the top - maybe yellow inserts in the doors and yellow seat piping and stitching. Just enough, maybe just yellow stitching in the seats. I'm convinced just black on black is the best though, as Bruce posting those two pic's shows. Thanks Bruce. Very inspirational! That's what I'm talking about.
Regarding looking for another Griff in black on black, I gave it a thought for all of a few hours, and decided no way. First off, mines a pre-serp and important to me not to have PAS. Then there's the condition of mine under the skin. I talk to so many Griff owners old and new who say stuff like they're scared of 85mph B roading, twitchy handling, too tail happy, etc etc, and I just think jeez, I've got none of that and I'm stoked mine drives so well. Not wanting to brag but I do get down those remote country lanes and drive it like a superbike. I would be gutted if I bought another and found it handled like crap. Then there's the work I've done, like gearbox rebuild and total clutch and components renewed. New brakes all around. The under bonnet upgrades. The Leven stuff......
My paint job is already secured so cost is not an issue in this respect. I don't share colour changing a Griff as devaluing it. A Griff is different from most other cars in the respect when doing a Griff there's only the door shuts and door backs, boot shut and under boot and that amounts to how it would have left Bristol Ave. Then it could have been any colour in the world, as we know, and it would be absolutely down to personal preference. I don't see DVLA history as making any difference either. I see it as a TVR bonus that doesn't affect its history or value as it's a plastic car, and one where the factory didn't set a value in stone with how they left the place.
BB, I've tried Bells Hill already. £400 for any colour dash. £400 pair of good black leather seats. But they hardly ever turn up, and when they do they're gone in days. So, you have to be on the case and ready and waiting. But then I took Bells pricing and compared them with D&C prices and I was shocked. 6 black hides to cover most everything in leather that needs be, full carpets wherever and a new black hood and roof panel recover which amounts to 3 weeks work is never going to be cheap. I thought £650 for seats was respectable. Roof and hood were about £700 (assuming mohair - I forgot to clarify). Dash and screen surround are the biggies. Sometimes the screen has to come out apparently. Still, D&C were happy to do it in stages and that's appealing.
As for carbon fibre, I'm a fan, but I'm not sure if I want to break from tradition where the Griff's concerned. You know, in the respect carbon fibre is 'high tech' instead of walnut and Axminster. To be honest, that's a lame excuse on my part. The bike is dripping in carbon, and it's incredibly addictive, and expensive, once you start. Where would you stop with a Griff? Dash and door panel inserts? Then there's the transmission 'T' piece. See, now you've gone and done it, lol!
Please keep 'em coming. Anymore black on black pic's? Anyone know of a black interior or parts of? I'm all ears. I want this to happen.
Thanks.
Ben, I wish I'd have looked at your dash and paid attention. Yeah, my mate who's a fantastic painter told me of Vinylkote. Vinylkote's website info doesn't say it's ok on leather, so I'm guessing your prep was to remove the tan yard finish to the hide? Send me some high res pic's please, kiss kiss
Stevie, I'm thinking any contrast, which I'm unlikely to go with, would be yellow. Over the top - maybe yellow inserts in the doors and yellow seat piping and stitching. Just enough, maybe just yellow stitching in the seats. I'm convinced just black on black is the best though, as Bruce posting those two pic's shows. Thanks Bruce. Very inspirational! That's what I'm talking about.
Regarding looking for another Griff in black on black, I gave it a thought for all of a few hours, and decided no way. First off, mines a pre-serp and important to me not to have PAS. Then there's the condition of mine under the skin. I talk to so many Griff owners old and new who say stuff like they're scared of 85mph B roading, twitchy handling, too tail happy, etc etc, and I just think jeez, I've got none of that and I'm stoked mine drives so well. Not wanting to brag but I do get down those remote country lanes and drive it like a superbike. I would be gutted if I bought another and found it handled like crap. Then there's the work I've done, like gearbox rebuild and total clutch and components renewed. New brakes all around. The under bonnet upgrades. The Leven stuff......
My paint job is already secured so cost is not an issue in this respect. I don't share colour changing a Griff as devaluing it. A Griff is different from most other cars in the respect when doing a Griff there's only the door shuts and door backs, boot shut and under boot and that amounts to how it would have left Bristol Ave. Then it could have been any colour in the world, as we know, and it would be absolutely down to personal preference. I don't see DVLA history as making any difference either. I see it as a TVR bonus that doesn't affect its history or value as it's a plastic car, and one where the factory didn't set a value in stone with how they left the place.
BB, I've tried Bells Hill already. £400 for any colour dash. £400 pair of good black leather seats. But they hardly ever turn up, and when they do they're gone in days. So, you have to be on the case and ready and waiting. But then I took Bells pricing and compared them with D&C prices and I was shocked. 6 black hides to cover most everything in leather that needs be, full carpets wherever and a new black hood and roof panel recover which amounts to 3 weeks work is never going to be cheap. I thought £650 for seats was respectable. Roof and hood were about £700 (assuming mohair - I forgot to clarify). Dash and screen surround are the biggies. Sometimes the screen has to come out apparently. Still, D&C were happy to do it in stages and that's appealing.
As for carbon fibre, I'm a fan, but I'm not sure if I want to break from tradition where the Griff's concerned. You know, in the respect carbon fibre is 'high tech' instead of walnut and Axminster. To be honest, that's a lame excuse on my part. The bike is dripping in carbon, and it's incredibly addictive, and expensive, once you start. Where would you stop with a Griff? Dash and door panel inserts? Then there's the transmission 'T' piece. See, now you've gone and done it, lol!
Please keep 'em coming. Anymore black on black pic's? Anyone know of a black interior or parts of? I'm all ears. I want this to happen.
Thanks.
Mine's the second pic in the previous post.
Here's a few more..
http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h32/pwd95/My%20G...
Here's a few more..
http://s60.photobucket.com/albums/h32/pwd95/My%20G...
David Hammerton will do you a full roof cover for aroun £300 you'll just have to put it on yourself or get a trimmer nearby to do it.
His advert is
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/625703.htm
BB
His advert is
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/625703.htm
BB
have just done a full colour change inside and out on my griff..
D&C trim did the interior and they have done an absolutly amazing job. mine is black hide with green stitching.
they also did my hood..again black with green stitching..
my exterior colour is lotus imperial green, which is almost black in dull light and dark metallic green in sunlight.
i would recommend D&C trim completely, very good work and they are ex factory..so it is the same people doing the work..good for history
the main issue is not having the car for the time its off the road
D&C trim did the interior and they have done an absolutly amazing job. mine is black hide with green stitching.
they also did my hood..again black with green stitching..
my exterior colour is lotus imperial green, which is almost black in dull light and dark metallic green in sunlight.
i would recommend D&C trim completely, very good work and they are ex factory..so it is the same people doing the work..good for history
the main issue is not having the car for the time its off the road
Rather than starting my own post I'd like to ask the following supplementary as I am considering a similar job - with the addition of taking the engine and gearbox out to get the cam changed , leaks fixed and a few items chromed or polished.
The question is - what order would you do the above jobs in terms of a project plan? Is it better to do the trim after the paintjob or maybe do the engine first?
At present I am considering this order:
Engine & gearbox first together with decontaminate/respray engine bay. Do retrim in second place then paintjob third (after removing all the relevant new trim which might suffer from overspray)
What do you reckon?
The question is - what order would you do the above jobs in terms of a project plan? Is it better to do the trim after the paintjob or maybe do the engine first?
At present I am considering this order:
Engine & gearbox first together with decontaminate/respray engine bay. Do retrim in second place then paintjob third (after removing all the relevant new trim which might suffer from overspray)
What do you reckon?
Aha. . . A man with truly great taste.
Mine is Moonrakeer black metallic with 'full' hide interior in black.
Took some finding the right one and it was over budget but I wasn't going to settle on anything less.
While you're looking for interior bits why don't you consider changing to Cerb seats instead of std ones ?
Given the slight scuff to the passenger side on mine I'm having mine totally resprayed and I can't wait.
I'm not a totally anal polisher, but to get mine looking really good (and I do a fair amount of miles in it) takes a couple of days stripping back existing wax layers and re-coating. Essentially a full detail. A really good wax is the key to a black car's finish as long as the polishing time has been put in to a good paint job.
However after a day's driving on a continental hoon it always looks the worst of the fleet
As for order of doing things then I would get the engine and box out, as it makes getting engine bay easier to do, strip the interior as it will make the removal of the screen and other bits easier and then assemble in which order you prfer after the sparaying. I would go for eng + box then interior based on access to looms and tunnel etc . . Mmaking sure you protect that paintwork.
I have a Griffith maintenance apron that goes around the whole front of the car Tdesigned for Griffith ex service dept) which helps stop unwanted scratched.
Washing black cars is also an art, lambswool and 2 buckets minimum, snow foam even better !
Good luck
Mine is Moonrakeer black metallic with 'full' hide interior in black.
Took some finding the right one and it was over budget but I wasn't going to settle on anything less.
While you're looking for interior bits why don't you consider changing to Cerb seats instead of std ones ?
Given the slight scuff to the passenger side on mine I'm having mine totally resprayed and I can't wait.
I'm not a totally anal polisher, but to get mine looking really good (and I do a fair amount of miles in it) takes a couple of days stripping back existing wax layers and re-coating. Essentially a full detail. A really good wax is the key to a black car's finish as long as the polishing time has been put in to a good paint job.
However after a day's driving on a continental hoon it always looks the worst of the fleet
As for order of doing things then I would get the engine and box out, as it makes getting engine bay easier to do, strip the interior as it will make the removal of the screen and other bits easier and then assemble in which order you prfer after the sparaying. I would go for eng + box then interior based on access to looms and tunnel etc . . Mmaking sure you protect that paintwork.
I have a Griffith maintenance apron that goes around the whole front of the car Tdesigned for Griffith ex service dept) which helps stop unwanted scratched.
Washing black cars is also an art, lambswool and 2 buckets minimum, snow foam even better !
Good luck
Edited by Johno on Saturday 16th August 18:05
Johno, post some pic's. Did I see you Griff at the Growl?
Wargriff, sounds like a nice colour combo. Post some pic's.
Cerb seats? Been offered a possibility of Tuscan black leather seats. I've seen them in Griffs but never paid any attention. My existing memory says they look too fancy and a bit off from the traditional lines, styling cues and concepts the Griff seems to capture perfectly everywhere.
Please post pic's of different seats in your Griffs.
Thanks. I'm stoked you all take the time to offer up stuff.
Wargriff, sounds like a nice colour combo. Post some pic's.
Cerb seats? Been offered a possibility of Tuscan black leather seats. I've seen them in Griffs but never paid any attention. My existing memory says they look too fancy and a bit off from the traditional lines, styling cues and concepts the Griff seems to capture perfectly everywhere.
Please post pic's of different seats in your Griffs.
Thanks. I'm stoked you all take the time to offer up stuff.
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