Graeme Sutherland wrote:
>
> + Also on the track day (Goodwood) there was something called
> + a Grantura (spelling ?) in white ? It was supposed to be a 1600cc but
> + boy was it quick !!!!
Probably 'cos it was driven by Ian Massey-Crosse. Ian, myself, Trevor
Jasper and Gary ? (from Essex) would often have to weave our Vixens
and
Granturas through the V8 traffic during a test day.
Remember there are people who drive fast cars and there are those
who drive cars fast. Some might do both.
>
> Granturas (Granturae for the Latin-inclined) were the earliest, mass
>produced TVR model, following a succession of prototypes, and the Jomars.
>Engines ranged from Ford 105E Sidevalves, MGA and MGB units, through to
>Coventry Climaxes. Parts supply for the very earliest cars can be quite
>patchy, but David Gerald can supply most things.
>
> The Vixen is an evolution of the Grantura, and again is available
>with a variety of engines.
Well, in a sense all TVRs are evolutions of previous ones but the Vixen
has
quite a different chassis and suspension to the Grantura. Evolution is
Grantura -> 1800s mk.IV -> Vixen S1 etc etc. see
http://www.rdg.ac.uk/~kcsupham/vixen/handbook/model.html
I know that a 1600cc Ford (Crossflow?) was used, and I've got a feeling
that Triumph 2500cc engines were available.
see above. Engines fitted to Vixen were
MGB Engines
1600 Cortina GT
1600 Capri GT
2500 Triumph
1300 Triumph
3000 Essex V6 (The Tuscan V6 is very similar to a Vixen S3)
The Vixens (from the Mark II onwards) have a longer wheelbase (making
its handling less twitchy, and easier to get into the car), and a
bolted-on chassis that makes restoration easier.
Correct.
>
> You should be able to find a Grantura or Vixen in your price range.
>
> If the Grantura and Vixen are just too slow, then you could always
>save up for a Griffith or Tuscan, which are the early V8 cars (not to be
>confused with modern Griffs and Tuscans), but the only Griffith that I've seen
>in your price range was a bare, rolling chassis.
The Griffith 200 and 400 are very expensive and provence is important to
establish.
A lot of Vixen S2s were turned into Griffith 400s and Tuscan V8s
Mervyn Larner knows the low down on all of these shenanigans.
Regards,
John Upham
--
Dr John Upham, The UKMotorSport Index,
http://www.ukmotorsport.com/, webmaster@ukmotorsport.com,
Voice: +44 (0) 976 634 053 (W), Voice: +44 (0) 125 287 2551 (H),
Voice: +44 (0) 976 634 053 (M)
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