Jack Griffith

[Bud & Donna Elliott]

I met Jack Griffith (Father of the TVR based Griffith) yesterday at a charity car show. I didn’t know who he was when he stopped by my car to BS. I was a bit confused when he mentioned a car with his name and then started telling me about a friend of his who was converting his Griffith to a 427. Showing off my superior automotive knowledge, I told him that it sounded a bit crazy to me because the original Griffith was a double handful to drive and was even worse than the Tiger when it comes to more motor than tire. About ten seconds later, I realized who I was talking to. He was quite gracious while I was pulling my foot out of my mouth. This guy is a hoot. He has to be in his late 80s and is sharp as a tack. He convinced some of his friends (The same friends who join him at Amelia Island) to bring a few cars out for display. There were seven cars worth over twelve million dollars on display, a ’32 Cadillac, a Ferrari Daytona, a Maserati Bora and an E-Type along with a few Brumos cars. The fact that this man stopped to look and talk about my humble Sunbeam just goes to show you that a car guy is a car guy. It was way cool.

[impbarn]

That’s a great story. You never know who you are going to meet.

[Eric and Bonnie and Bonnie Gibeaut]

I was at the Carlisle Import show two weekends ago and a seller had a series 200 Griffith for sale that had sat for about 25 years in a garage undriven. It had about 10,000 miles on it and was pretty much all original but would need to have just about everything rebuilt. He sold it for $45,000! I knew they had increased in value but that is a lot of money. I sold my TVR Vixen that still needs lots of work done to it earlier this year.
I always wanted a Griffith. There is a new book out called "The Griffith Years". I got a copy and there are many rememberances by Jack Griffith in it. It was a real shoestring operation when they were making and selling the cars. Eric

[0neoffive]

HEY; liked the Jack Griffith anecdote. As a wild young leadfoot fresh from 16 months in the jungle, I tested most New England roads and people’s tempers with my 65 Tiger back in 67 – 68. A friend offered to swap keys with me for a day with his Griffith and off we went hunting domestic game. The first sweet hairpin corner off the Wells Maine coast sucked another 50 years from my lifespan. All the hard driving habits we use in a Tiger to break it loose and drift a tight corner under power confused the little Griffith and it got very angry with us. Poor little critter almost went for a swim. The lady of the moment threw up and we spent the rest of the day putt-putting like old folk waiting to give the keys back. keep em’ runnin’, randy

[Tom and Joanne Ehrhart]

BTW, Eric, The Griffith Years was written by, I believe, fellow Tiger owner Mike Mooney who lives by Lake Norman area of NC. He still has his Tiger with Mustang spindles and brakes on the front. He wrote a tech tip in the early days. Mike was active in TEAE while Bud was absent from TEAE. See what you missed Bud! Thought you guys should know.

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