TVR’s Owned by Forum Members (Past or Present)

There have also been a number of calls for a picture of Susan Shaw, who unfortunately passed away about three years back…

But getting back to the subject at hand, here is my 1971 Vixen 2500 (M series tribute)…

This has the Triumph straight 6 TR6 2500cc motor, with triple Weber 40DCOE carburetors…

This one was a car I owned for about a year, and sold to Costa Mesa, CA.  It was fully refurbished, and then sold via Bring-A-Trailer recently to somewhere on the East Coast.

It is a 1974 TVR 2500M.

Somewhere out in Motorland is a frightening TVR-Griffith built by POCA member and my partner-in-crime Rich Agiorni in San Jose, CA. We worked on it together a bit. Last I saw it, the thing was stripped to bare fiberglas and had a Ford top loader 4 speed & Boss 302 (possibly with a Magnusen dual-supercharger) replacing the original hi-po 289. And gigantic fiberglas fender flares to house four 10" x 15" wheels within the tiny body. Any knowledge?

Here are some photos of my 1996 Griffith 500.

Rover-sourced V8 engine, itself Buick-sourced, all-aluminum, stroked by TVR to 5 liters (305 CI) of displacement with a custom crankshaft, custom connecting rods, etc., etc. Power is advertised at 340 hp, but in reality it's more like 280, comparable to an OEM Pantera, but with a weight, verified with mine, of only 1060 kg (Thanks to the aluminum engine and the laminated bodywork) compared to 1400 kg for the Pantera.

Unfortunately, unlike the 351 C, it's difficult to significantly increase the Rover's power; even in competition, it barely exceeds 320/330 hp. The bore, only 94 mm, doesn't leave much room for the valves, which are too small.

A very good, very rigid tubular chassis with four independent wheels via double wishbones. With the engine positioned at the front but well back from the front wheel centerline (front center position), the weight distribution is 50/50.

The problem with these cars is the perforating corrosion of some of the chassis tubes, especially with those from England, which is the vast majority, where there is a lot of salt on the roads in winter. When I bought mine, there were holes much bigger than my thumb in some of the tubes, and it's IMPOSSIBLE to see them without removing the body. I know many sellers claim otherwise, but it's false. Without removing the body, you can't see the areas that rust the most, just as you can't protect them from rust.

Sweet car Rene – Thanks for posting!

I thought that in the mid 70s, the TVR corporation guaranteed their frames for five years from corrosion - to do this  they would leave oil inside of the tubes before they welded them shut.

I do know the early Granturas had the fiberglass wrapped around the tubes at the factory - it was their build process.  It was a huge nightmare to remove the body from the frame, to (first find, and then…) fix any corrosion.

I believe that starting with about the Vixen series, the cars were designed with a body bolted to the chassis, which significantly eased the workload of chassis repairs.

I can’t speak to Rene’s experience, but it seems like there is a benefit in trying to get those very few cars that lived in Southern California, or Arizona!

Rocky

On models like the Chimaera and the Griffith, the bodywork is actually attached to the chassis by about twenty bolts and is relatively easy to remove after disconnecting all the wiring harnesses.

The corrosion problem stems from poor protection during manufacturing and, more importantly, design errors that create multiple water retention areas without drainage holes.

As was the case on the Panteras…. Or the drain holes were prone to clogging up, and water was retained in several locations…

… but no one really worried about driving our cars for even 10 years after production (let alone 50)!

OK so out of the closet....Road and track published a road test of the Vixen in the early 70's and mentioned a newer body coming out and to be sold in the US. Well I was at the local BMC dealer buying MG parts and saw a sad car out back up on wood blocks. Amazed to see it was a "new body" and new 1973 2500M which a customer had quickly killed and gave back to the dealer. I was in high school (1974)  and was working nights and had some money and met the BMC manager who sold me the "thing" for all that I had , 2500 dollars.  This was my daily driver up until 1984 and then given to my mother who used it everyday until the late 90's. Now long gone.   I never saw another one, ever in CA.  Now I have two wedges..both with V8's.  Very good cars held together with wood pieces here and there and lots of Sikaflex. Picture of current "Wedge" and another of the 2500M from maybe 1977 or so...Oh by the way, to keep this De Tomaso, I am looking for a head rest for my '72. just need one if anyone has this??

Dan,

Is that you, or your mother (hard to be sure because of the hairstyle!) by the 2500M?*

😎

Great pictures and stories!  

Thanks for posting!

Rocky

* you know I was just kidding!

A good friend owns a TVR that I love. Plenty good looks and even more power. We had no problems keeping up at one of the local Ferrari outings. Of course, most of them drove like they spent a lot of money on their cars.  I did a drawing of it for him and his girlfriend. He still has the car.

Very cool drawing - you have artistic, as well as automotive talent!

Thanks for sharing!

Would you have an objection if i shared this with my buddy who edits and publishes the TVR Times?  They are always looking for good stuff to print (like all car magazines)

Rocky

Rocky,

You are welcome to show the photo, it was a present for my friend and not done for money. I left off the front license plate because it's visually awful.  He bought it in England and kept it there for nearly a year so he could import it as an antique. It's a very low milage very well-maintained car. Should you wish to know more about it, I can put you into contact with him.

I am a member and artist of a committee that puts on the yearly Festival of Speed & Style in Old Town Alexandria.  https://festivalofspeedandstyle.com. Last year we attracted over 50,000 people in a five-hour period.

I draw a lot of cars for the event but usually stay away from my Pantera because it gets a lot of attention as is, as Panteras do. 

Tom,

Sweet!

Those are really nice.

You’ve got a great talent! Thanks for sharing!

very nice!   Art Center Alumni??

@tomkuester posted:

Rocky,

You are welcome to show the photo, it was a present for my friend and not done for money. I left off the front license plate because it's visually awful.  He bought it in England and kept it there for nearly a year so he could import it as an antique. It's a very low milage very well-maintained car. Should you wish to know more about it, I can put you into contact with him.

Very beautiful Griffith.
The Griffith had won a British Design Council award for its styling in 1992.

In case you didn't believe in the effectiveness of Martin Lilley's TVR marketing strategy....

My good friend with a TVR will be lighted to know of this Naked Lady marketing campaign if that didn’t get him to love those cars in the first place