TVR GRIFFITH 1965 SERIES 200 289 HP FORD SHELBY COBRA BOSS 302 MUSTANG

Description

UP FOR AUCTION:

This 1965 TVR Griffith, is a series 200, with its original HY PO Ford 289CI 271 HP V8 engine and a 4-speed top loader transmission. Only about 200 were built and very few with the HY PO engine. The Griffith is approximately 1400 lbs. sports car with a tube chassis, a fiber glass body, independent suspension and Ford V8. This car is extremely fast and very rare. I’ve owned this car for approximately 10 years. It has been to numerous car shows and has taken 1st place. This is an early Griffith 200-5-006 as you can tell by the side grill vents. The original headers and exhaust have been replaced with a stainless steel exhaust system by the previous owner. It has a gear reduction starter, which is smaller than factory, which was also replaced by the previous owner. It has spax shocks all the way around and it appears the springs are also newer. It still bears its original TVR rear. The front ball joints are new and still bears the original radiator and kenlow fans. It has an early dual-point distributor, new front brake pads, original VIN foil & a master cut-off switch was installed by one of the previous owners. The car was painted Mercedes silver (DB180) by the previous owner and the interior is red. The bonnet badge shows patina and it appears to be the original. The odometer reads 11,670 but I do not believe it to be true. The tachometer is the proper Faria tack. The inner fender wheel well has been signed by Mike Mooney, Dick Monnich & Roger Teck. Mike Mooney has written a book called “The Griffith Years”. It is a history of the Griffith motor cars 1963-1967 and beyond. It is an excellent book to obtain He has captured the history of the Griffith motorcars from 1963 to 1967 with behind the scene details.

All bidders are welcome to inspect the car prior to bidding. A $1000.00 (one thousand dollar) NON REFUNDABLE deposit is required within 48 hours after auction ends. If you have a feedback lower than 25 please contact me prior to bidding. This car is being sold in as-is condition with no warranty stated or implied. I reserve the right to remove this listing from Ebay as the car is advertised elsewhere. The last Griffith (serial #200-6-074) that was on Ebay sold for 50K needing complete restoration and chassis repair. These are extremely rare when they are available. Thanks for looking!! J

On May-10-16 at 08:55:03 PDT, seller added the following information:

Note From Mike Mooney: There are approximately 18 early Griffith Series 200 cars that were unique to the breed. When the Ford 289 engine was initially installed in the TVR Grantura Mk III body the lack of evaluation of the beast caused some design problems, one of which was the poor cooling. At the factory it was thought that trapped hot air inside the engine compartment was causing the overheating and we cut larger air exit holes on each vent location. Thesewere filled with an aluminum gridfabricated from the Formica counter-top edging that we purchased at a local hardware store. These cars were affectionally called "Refrigerator Cars." When we found that this was not a "fix"and further research indicated thatit wasthe inadequacy of the smallMG-sized radiator that sat in front of the original 4-cylinder BMC engineswhich powered the Grantura Mk III. We then replaced that with a larger and much heavier Kenlowe radiator. There were no Series 400 cars that had the enlarged side vents. Some of the "Refrigerator" cars left our factory fitted with the early small radiator but when we found the problem those which still had not been sold had the Kenlowe radiators installed.As a side note, the Series 200, originally named for the 2-bbl 289 cid engine that produced 200 horsepower, which was the standard engine. As options the 225 hp 4-bbl 289 and the High Performance (HiPo) 289, that topped the dyno at 271 hp, were available. Several of the early Series 200s were equipped with the HiPo engine including 200-5-011, another "Refrigerator"car that sat in my stable for several years. There were also 5 Series 200 "boat engine" cars. These were equipped with the "red engines" that were originally designed for use in motor boats and were gutless wonders that hardly produced any power above the 4000 rpm range.These engines were suppliedby FoMoCo as they were probably cleaning out the Industrial Engine inventory.So much for an abbreviated history lesson on this fine and unusual motorcar.