I had been on the look out for a nice TVR Griffith 500.
I was lucky enough to spot a ‘Due in’ advert with Shmoo Automotive Ltd for a rather interesting looking, low mileage Griff. This was back in Oct 2020.
I called and spoke with Ed Gibson, he runs the company and he was happy to give me a good degree of time on the phone, and then make an appointment for me to view the TVR as soon as it came in. True to his word, I actually saw it about 15 minutes after it had been dropped off, so I was pleased that I really was the first guy to get to look at it.
Obviously nothing had been done to the car, so when I arrived Ed was very helpful and explained all the points to check on this particular TVR model.
Ed put it up on the lift so I could have a good look underneath, and we could discuss all the pros and cons. The car had only covered just over 26,000 miles, so it was in good condition
There were a few jobs that needing attention. Ed said he would rectify these faults when the car had a full inspection and valet.
The Griffith was in Olympic Pearl blue, one of the colours I liked. I was interested in this car, it really was just what I wanted….. even the reg plate had my initials on it. I think it was fate….
So we agreed a price. All the faults were indeed put right, and to a high standard. This included, a strip down to replace the Valley gasket, Rocker cover gaskets, even a new water pump, just because they were in there. It also including a brand new set, and very difficult to find, original spec TVR tyres.
There was a crack in the gel coat on the front of the car, Ed had that repaired and painted correctly, with an excellent colour match.
Ed kept me informed during all of the work, with video recordings of all the jobs being carried out, photos and emails etc. I was very pleased with service Ed gave me, so in my view if you are after a particular car, then you could not do better than give Ed a call at Shmoo Automotive. Happy hunting. Alan.