Steve Prevett was kind enough to share this info and images with us, Thankyou Steve. These notes were made by me during a lengthy chat on the telephone with Neill Anderson (TVR’s legendary chassis designer) just after I had acquired the car from TVR and are based on his recollections.

The car was the first ‘press’ car built which was followed by the other well-known car in Ocean Haze. After doing duty all through 1992 as a press ‘hack’ and test car (numerous features resulted of which copies are available from me and include Performance Car, Autocar, Fast Lane and Car) its 4.3 engine was removed and the car temporarily put to one side. In 1993 Neill found another engine (4.3) and ran the car as his own transport.

By 1994 the new Cerbera was on the drawing board and Neill used J524MHG as a test bed for items such as the 5-stud bearing pack for which he made one-off uprights and also moved the steering rack. He also fitted Brembo brakes to evaluate.

Other ‘prototype’ items that were fitted included a set of trial VDO instruments which are still on the car today, but never went into production (the ‘large dial’ rev counter looks like something out of a vintage Bentley!). He commented that the interior was a bit scruffy in places now, as the dash was in and out on numerous occasions. The scuff marks are still to be seen around the dashboard from its regular removal. Another small but interesting feature Neill commented on, is that the panel lamps light switch hidden under the dash was changed to control the cooling fans. This was to allow the fans to be discretely switched on a few minutes before 0-60 test runs by members of the press so that they would not come on during a standing start attempt! Apparently TVR found that the voltage drop the fans caused across the coil was enough to add unwanted milliseconds to a recorded speed…

By 1995 new 5 stud uprights were fitted with AP Racing brakes (still on today ) and the front set-up is what became the standard Cerbera discs and calipers arrangement. At this stage it had 16” Spider wheels all round but later the rears were changed to 18” which is how the car remains shod today.

With regard to suspension Neill fitted bigger dampers and roll bars and lowered the ride height for optimum cornering ability. The differential fitted was a BTR unit as fitted to the Cerbera. The gearbox remained the Rover 5-speed LT77 unit.

During 1995 the car was then fitted with an experimental 5.3ltr engine which Neill recalled produced 100bhp at 1800rpm! it then only produced about 180bhp anywhere else on the rev range! So it was dropped as the 5 litre spec was superior. The engine hence did not remain in the car and I do not know what happened to it. During 1995/96 Neill won a sprint championship two years running and the car remained his personal transport for a number of years.

By 2000 the car was fitted with the 4.5ltr engine that it still has today, but with a big butterfly plenum and possibly some other tuning effected by Neill. I do not know if this is still on the car – perhaps someone could tell me when they see it! The car was also repainted and fitted with a new hood and the original grey carpets were replaced with mauve.

For some time before I bought the car in 2003 the car was left to deteriorate, standing outside the factory for a very long time. The interior was soaking wet and the engine bay was rusty and corroded from top to bottom when I first saw it in April 2003. (There are a number of photos that accompany these words that clearly show the state it was in).

I actually came across the car by accident. My involvement with TVR goes back to 1995 when I heard of a TVR engine conversion for my Range Rover called the ‘Lichfield’ (named after Lord Lichfield who also favoured the conversion). This had been pioneered by Peter O’Connor of TMS and involved TVR Power taking my stock 3.9 and converting it to a TVR spec 4.5ltr which was fabulous fun. I later went on to supercharge the TVR 4.5 with great success (not an easy feat at all) but that’s another story…During 1996-98 my involvement with TVR became professional, as I had developed a marketing campaign for my then employer, Siemens plc, using TVR cars in advertising campaigns, customer events and Tuscan challenge sponsorship. Over a period of three years or so I got to know people like Ben Samuelson, Vicky Swift, Ian Law, Jason Oxley and all the car designers quite well. This for me was the ‘golden era’ of TVR , just after the Cerbera was launched, and the track days and events we put together with the TVR team of the time were amazing fun and introduced me to characters like Gerry Marshall, Malcolm Hamilton, Rod Gretton and many more. (a photo of Gerry Marshall in my previous Griffith wearing a hankie on his head to prevent helmet chafe is provided for your added enjoyment!)

Gerry Marshall

 It was Ben I contacted in 2003 when my supercharged 4.5 needed a new car to ride in. The Range Rover had seen better days by then and I asked him if they had an old Griffith chassis I could buy to drop the blower engine into to make an ‘interesting’ conversion. It was then that he suggested I visit the factory to view J524MHG as a potential ‘donor’. When I saw it, it was not in a good state of repair but I quickly realised what a shame it would be to ‘molest’ such an historic vehicle and I decided instead to acquire it to restore properly. I struck a deal with Ben that included a new chassis as the existing one was rotten right through. My plan was to build it up again on the new chassis and have it just as Neill last used it, for which he was very helpful in providing guidance and information as described earlier.

To do the complex job of dismantling and rebuilding Ben suggested I contact a new dealer, HL Gorner who may be willing to do it as a training exercise for their technicians for a fair price. I met Andrew Gorner and we agreed a deal and a year and a half later the ‘renewed’ J524MHG emerged. The trials and tribulations of the rebuild were many but the technician who did almost all the work, Steve Critchley, did a fabulous job. The 140 pictures that accompany these words show the dedication that went into a long and difficult restoration project. The only ‘improvements’ I requested during the rebuild were a fully rust-proofed chassis and polyurethane suspension bushes. It is otherwise virtually as Neill left it, in terms of specification, although I have fitted some Nitron adjustable rear shocks to improve clearance in the wheel arch.

Final setting of the suspension to overcome some unwanted vibration, and the difficulties posed by 18” rear wheels in a car not designed for them, was done expertly by ex-TVR engineer Shane at SFR Engineering in Stockport. The result is an interesting piece of TVR history and a fabulous ‘fast road’ car, and so I’m still looking for something to put my supercharged engine into, but have run out of cash! Well, it will make an interesting coffee table if nothing else!

Apologies to anyone who’s name I have omitted in this brief history (my memory is appalling) and thanks to Roger Shackleton for his excellent coverage of J524 MHG in his book ‘The Griffith Story ’ which I strongly recommend for further information on this car.

Many thanks also to all at TVR who helped with the restoration of J524 MHG.

Steven Prevett
7th July 2006

More pictures of the rebuild can be found in the Griffith Pages Gallery