I saw this car on eBay...well, actually I saw it on the Grassroots board, but thought this community might have insight.
It's listed as a 1973 2500m, but I think that's a mistake. It's also listed as a 302, but I had thought the biggest engine they were offered with was the 289. Admittedly, I'm more of a TVR fan than enthusiast (nice way of saying I don't know much, other than that I like them.) but I'd be curious if anybody can tell me more about this car.
Geez, that's some funky bodywork at the rear. I'm not aware of a V8 version of that vintage TVR. At least here in the US we only received the ones with the Triumph 2.5L 6 cyl. Maybe it's a home conversion.
Somebody at Car and Driver used to use the term "fright pig" for cars like this.
Wow...I would run away from that car!
The Griffin had the Ford V-8. There was an MGB as well as a Triumph 2.5L powered variant. Not sure of the displacement on the V-8. I belive CM did some sort of comparsion between the Cobra, Tiger, and Griffin a couple of years ago.
Im not sure that the one on ebay would make a good parts car.
Leo
Tim had a very hot Griffith back in the late '80s - I was tempted to say a beautiful Griffith, but, well ... not the most appropriate term for any Griffith. Let's say it was in excellent condition. I was fortunate to get a short ride in it when I was in Florida for one of our test sessions that GRM did back then, and it is still the hardest accelerating car I have ever been in. Of course, the fact that the passenger seat wasn't securely bolted in at the time and literally flipped me over backwards might have had something to do with it...
Anyhow, Tim should have lots of info on that period TVR.
It is indeed a '73 2500M. It is rare because they didn't make many '73's. The V-8 is not original, it came with a 2500cc Triumph 6 cyl, same as the TR-6.
The cars that had Ford V-8's were the Griffith's, not Griffin's, and they had 289's. These cars were built on the Grantura and Vixen platforms, but never the 2500M. They were converted to V-8 power by Jack Griffith, not TVR. TVR did make a V-8 Tuscan and wide body Tuscan that came with a 302 V-8, but they are extremely rare.
This car could be a great project, or it could be junk. The condition of the frame is the key thing with these. If it's not rusted, it could be a good deal...Or not.
Contrary to some comments here, these cars do very well with V-8's if the brake and rear differential are upgraded. The wide body Tuscan was the prototype for the 2500M, so the chassis was designed for use with a V-8. At the last minute they made a change to the 6 cylinder due to the oil crisis. A Ford 302 with aluminum heads weighs less than the Triumph engine, and the chassis is more than capable of sustaining 350hp.
Jim Pettengill wrote:Anyhow, Tim should have lots of info on that period TVR.
Tim has lots of TVR knowledge. His advice- stay far away from them.
I can't help but be tempted though. Something about out-of-the-norm British cars with American V-8 power draws me in. Someday I'll be in a position to ignore Tim's good advice. 
Thanks for the insight, Bravenrace. I figured it must have been a non-original engine, but had no idea the 2500 was designed with a V8 in mind.
Knowledge is power, right?
Tom,
I have a 1975 2500M that I wrote one or two brief stories on for CMS a few years ago (maybe just before your time). TVRs are really cool cars for the lore and a lot of the design elements, but they're also kind of poorly built overgrown kit cars. And that's why I like them so much--they're very grassroots. 2500Ms are the most common in the states--somewhere around 700 of them made it over here. Griffiths get all the glory (and $$), but you can have a lot of fun with a 2500M. V8 swaps are very popular, but honestly, if you give that TR6 engine some cam and compression, you'll get a pretty fast car. A Moss supercharger will get you even more--0-60 in just under 6 seconds is attainable without too much work.
If you do get more serious, you've got one of the country's top TVR experts nearby--Hayes Harris at WireWheel.com. He's probably bought or sold half the TVRs in the country, he's a good guy, and he's always helpful. Go visit him before you do anything.
--Carl
p.s. We recently had an early Lotus Espirit in the shop and we as we were looking at the plywood bulkheads in the engine bay (note picture 3# at http://www.eclecticmotorworks.com/lotus01.html), we all thought "this is just a slightly more sophisticated TVR." Now I need an Espirit.
I personally don't get all the negativity about TVR's. Yes, they weren't the best built cars ever, but were any old British cars?? If you are going to go through the whole thing, their weaknesses are easily corrected. Think of it this way - if that car in the auction has a solid frame, you can build a car that is much less common and just as fast as a Cobra kit car, for a ton less money. The stock chassis is good - pretty stiff. The fiberglass quality is spotty, but easy to fix. Parts are relatively cheap. The TR-6 engine is good for about 160hp without worrying about the bottom end, although with it's long stroke and weak mains it isn't a high revver. The car has about 50/50 weight distribution, and as I said earlier, adding a 5.0 with aluminum heads, intake and T-5 trans will actually be lighter than the original. These cars weigh around 2000-2100 lbs, so a 300hp SBF will really scoot. If you want more handling, there's plenty of parts available. Not enough tire? Add flares. The beauty of these cars isn't what they are in stock form (although they are fun even stock as long as everything is in good shape), it's what you can do with them. They are easy to work on, with the exception of the Lucas electrics, but that can be easily remedied with a new wiring kit. Carl - Between '73 and '77 they imported 946 2500M's into the US.
Thanks bravenrace...946 is "around 700" for me I guess. The other piece of trivia I don't remember very well (and am too lazy to look up right now) is that there are very few 1975s as there was a factory fire that year--I recall about 25 post-fire cars were built. So my kids tell everyone how rare my car is and I remind them that first, it doesn't really matter, and second, most 1975 cars were the worst ones of a series (think 1975 MGB, 1975 911, 1975 American car--first year of impact bumpers, greatly increased smog equipment, etc). But I digress...
I'm not negative about TVRs--I love them. To generalize, I think they're not as easy to own as a car with a larger production volume or a better-resourced factory.
Regarding their electrics, no worse than any other British car and I think there is way too much negativity about Lucas stuff. If things are clean and not "rewired," they work. We see as many 30-50 year old American, German, and Italian cars with wiring problems at the shop as we do British.
I hope this doesn't sound too tit for tat--all good discussion for me.
--Carl
I wasn't talking about you, except to let you know the production number. I think you are correct about the '75's. In fact, the vast majority of M's that I encounter are '74's or '77's for some reason. I'm not up on the production numbers per year though.
I'm sure you have more experience than I do, but I'm not sure I agree about the electrics. I had a completely original, 9k mile 2500M. It had one electrical issue after another, and the fact that TVR didn't use color coding on the wires or have a real fuse box didn't help. Maybe the problem was more TVR than Lucas, idunno.
In any case, my next one I re-wired and never had a problem after that. I guess I just expect that even that long ago a professional could design a better electrical system than me (not my strength), but maybe that's expecting too much. 
had a 1969 Vixen S2 powered by a 1.6 Kent engine.
Had it all of 6 days before a truck didn't see me and nearly killed me. What I DO remember... is for their day, and the tires available, they handled EXTREMELY well, very flat... My S2 had the 15" vane type wheels... from memory they had Michelin "X" tires on it, and 90 degree bends were no problem!!!
Not sure I could fit in one today(6', 245#s)
I've always thought that British cars with V8's are the bomb since I've owned a Tiger and now a hotted up TR8.
I once saw a very clean 2500M 5.0 V8 coversion. So it can be done.
oldeskewltoy wrote:had a 1969 Vixen S2 powered by a 1.6 Kent engine.....
That's my absolute, favourite TVR. I'd buy one tomorrow if I could find a decent deal on one.
Never owned one, but I have been to the TVR "Woodwork" event many times (including 2011 back in NJ). Always had a good time. I'm friends with Rich Rock who races a very nice 2500M in our vintage club (VRG). Also Randy Clark, who has a very nice MGA-powered TVR racer.
The only other connection I have to TVR is that I actually met Trevor Wilkinson about 15 years ago (at a Woodwork event). That's me with him below. Nice man.
