E30 Zone

Hey guys,

It's a Friday afternoon and I'm thiking about the next car again. What are your thoughts/hints/advice about buying/owning a TVR Griffith 500?

I love the look and the noise but have never driven one myself. Would I be likely to encounter reliability problems?

Thanks,

Nick

They are rubbish, I.E they leak like a seive, comedy electrics and chassis rot is now an issue .

BUT if you are handy, they are a simple fixable hero chariot for peanuts. Don't be hung up on a 500 as they never make the quoted power. A boggo 4.3 is plenty fast enough to frighten most people.
Try and have a drive in one first, lots of the older ones don't have power steering and if you spend a lot of time in urban areas, the lack of PAS can become tedious.
Another thing to bare in mind is that due to the leaks and the poor quality components and fasteners used throughout, I would not recommend a TVR to anybody that doesn't have a garage.

Food for thought. Thanks mate!!

There's a TVR specialist not too far from where I live so may pop in one day for a test drive. I'm sure they will tell me the car is great so it's good to hear some non bias truths about ownership. But the prices at which they go for now are very tempting none the less!

Thanks,

Nick

Stick with a standard chimera, buying guide in autocar a couple of weeks ago. Less problematic, and if you get an early ish (not the first 2 years of manufacture) you get the borg-warner gearbox and a 4.3- Best bet.

Plastic bodywork so less rust to worry about and with their age, most of the common issues should have been sorted out and now be a reliable TVR.

Also not that expensive to get now either.

Much prefer the look of the Griffith though...

NIX wrote:Much prefer the look of the Griffith though...

As do most, that is why they are more expensive !

Do you think if I looked hard enough I'd be able to find one in good nick without the leaks and dodgy electrics for £10k??

NIX wrote:Do you think if I looked hard enough I'd be able to find one in good nick without the leaks and dodgy electrics for £10k??

No ! These foibles are part of the character building exercise that is TVR ownership !


Most electrical issues are caused by connectors/ plugs getting damp and / or dodgy earths. You really do need a garage if you don't like the idea of spending your free time doing gymnastics under the dash

Hmmm, kind of like the thought of getting a car that didn't need as much attention as my "charasmatic" e30 does. Perhaps a TVR isn't the route for an amateur like me... don't really fancy shelling out frequent £'s to a garage either.

Cheers,

Nick

drove a cebbera 4.2 straight six and i loved it!

mates just got a chimera. battery likes going flat all time and its keyless entery!

awsome cars to drive if ur a propa petrolhead but they really where built in a shed in blackpool

fantastic cars to drive, mate got a tuscan 2, thats a propper nightmare in the wet. Took it out on donnington at a trackday along with a DB9, we did a swop after each session.

Cerberra's are nice but the roof looks a bit weird as its not convertible (got once round the corner at work, along with a 911 turbo (997) next door, 2 Jag XFR's round the corner, also a Ferrari 328 GTS. Haven for nice cars where i work. then my crappy bright greeen Suzuki Swift in the mix. lol.

Haha, well if it makes you feel any better even my beloved e30 gets outshone by 2 of my good mate's cars... new boxster s and 997 911 C2S with GT3 kit.

I looked at a 6mth old 996 CS2 with the Aero kit a few years ago when i had my 924. great car.

Would happily buy a Chimera though, just need to check it very throughly though (Borg Warner gearbox later one)

So would you guys say that in terms of reliability and general ownership from a very novice mechanics point of view, the Chimera would be the better bet?

Probably would be, Griffith 500 is a fantastic car, but the cost over a chimera is a lot, essentially its the same car, but there is additional wear on the griffith.

Get a good condition well looked after 4.0 or 4.3 chimera as early a model as you can with the borg warner gearbox (first 2 years of production were rover gearboxes) and as a rule of thumb, the bits that fall off have been replaced and it should be a reasonably reliable car, expensive to run and service but reliable non the less. Remember to really check the car over as with all cars, there are exeptions to the rule.

Thanks for the info! What would you say is a realistic in terms of guide price for a decent one?

Good one here

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3013034.htm

Not a bad price for what it is

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2819135.htm

Good bet if you don't mind a small amount of work

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3009229.htm

Thanks!

Am actually quite liking the Tuscan style lights in the 3rd one but they look like they're part of the front arches. Do you know if they're a standard fit on some models or if it's an expensive mod to do?

Mod, Chimera's only ever had round lights on the front. I also love the lights on that one, ok few light scratches and or dinks, its an older car its bound to happen. Maybe a new bit or carpet, if you are handy it will cost a lot less to fix than the saving you make on it being a mint example. Perfectly usable as it is though, plus its not that bad a colour.

Yeah if I was looking right now/had the cash now I think it could be a contender but for the moment I'm still dreaming. Main thing is even though I've got a few things to sort out first like buying a house! I'd still like to have a car to aim for on the side. I work in sales so it's always good to have some targets, although buying a house is pretty much going to consume any savings for the next year or so!

Thanks for your help!!

By the way, what are the Chimaeras like to drive? I hear the Griffs are quite a handful. Are Chimaeras a little bit less likely to take you out or do they too like to keep you on your toes?

NIX wrote:By the way, what are the Chimaeras like to drive? I hear the Griffs are quite a handful. Are Chimaeras a little bit less likely to take you out or do they too like to keep you on your toes?

Put it this way, you have a light car with a 4.3, 4.5 or 5L engine. No traction control, in fact no driver aids. You take liberties especially in the wet, it will bite.

I had a TVR S1 as my only car for 3 years. Let me down twice, starter motor and overheated once (thermostat jammed). Neither were a falt of TVR as it was the Ford engine that let me down. The bodies do not rust but some of the older ones need attention to the chassie, my 1988 car did, not sure how well the later models were rust treated.

I went to Le Mans with the TVR City Region and 30 cars. One came home on a trailer with electrical problems. 1 out of 30 cars is not a bad average.

TVR are always a handfull, it will throw you backwards through a hedge into a field faster than you ever thought possible..................if you push it. They have no anti-lock brakes, no Stability control, nothing at all apart from brakes, engines, gearbox and some plastic body panels. Fantastic drivers car though, comfy to sit and drive all day along (if you can afford the fuel) and also happens to be some of the best sounding cars money can buy (any TVR sounds fantastic).

Cotty wrote: The bodies do not rust but some of the older ones need attention to the chassie, my 1988 car did, not sure how well the later models were rust treated.

Not very well!

theyre getting to the point where a lot of griffs, cerbs and chims are needing extensive body off rebuilds, which often involves stripping the chassis completely bare to get it dipped and recoated.

people seem to forget that under the pretty plastic body is a complex thin wall steel tube chassis which likes to rust as mch as anything else steel does!

obviously, finding one that's already had the work done would be best, but each and every tvr would need a thorough underside inspection before i even though about handing over any cash.

Theres alot of bollox being written here by people who've probably never had first hand experience at owning a TVR.

I've owned a TVR Chimaera for the last 14 months, it always lives outside and doesn't get used alot because I have other toys to play with. The only problem I've had since buying it (touches wood) is a flat battery...because I didn't use it for three months over winter, a recharge and she's been good ever since, so much for crappy unreliable cars, its been the most reliable car I've had and I've owned over fifty cars.

The Rover LT77 gearbox is the older box and not the best box, as stated the better box is the Borg Warner T5 (as used in Cossies) and also buyers of TVRs of that era also prefer Serpentine Aux belts and power steering although non PAS cars aren't that much of a big deal.

The Griffith is a lovely car I'd love one but considering that they're ALOT more than a Chimaera and mechanically they're the same car you have to really want a Griffith rather than a TVR V8.

A 500 is a nice choice, the 4.3 is highly desirable but mine being a 400 is plenty enough and never feels like its lacking in any dept.

When buying you want to be looking at the condition of the tubular chassis especially the outriggers which are placed in such an area that they collect crap off the wheels and rot out, a body off job isn't a major hassle if you have the time and space to do it yourself otherwise paying somebody to do it will be expensive.

The brakes are Ford based and there are plenty of specialists are out there, Griffiths are like the E30 M3 of TVRs but they are gorgous cars considering their age, if you can afford it go for it!

I like the Chimaera, I did the brakes for Iain's one in the TVR Dunlop Challenge:





AFAIK it's coming back to the series this/next year with a "much larger" V8.....

A mate of mine had a Griffith 500 about 8 years ago. It was stunning. The noise, the power the looks. It was a treat to look at.
Sadly he had no mechanical ability at all and sold it after a year because he was sick of returning on a trailer every time he ventured outside the M25.

why are TVRs so badly built?

TVRs sound really great......i heard one go past round here and it sounds like when he lifts off the throttle in a straight line you can hear the crackle from the exhuast which possibly suggests there is unburnt fuel being ignitied in the exhaust system. Is that a TVR characteristic or was that particular car tuned badly i.e. too rich fuel/air mixture?

electrical issues and they are british, and like most british cars they sound nice but either are crap to drive, rust and unreliable or all 3. you can normally bet that a british car will tick 2 of those boxes

germans are and always been not one but several steps ahead