Essexman's Mk2 Granny estate, Slow progress......

[Junkman]

 

http://kleinanzeigen.ebay.de/anzeigen/s-anzeige/seltener-ford-granada-hella-grill-doppelscheinwerfergrill/226073537-223-7965

[NorfolkNWeigh]

I love this, but agree that the bumper ends ,grille and wheels need impoverishing. Can't imagine that shiny roof rack has been on it since 1982 either.

The fog lights could have been a dealer fit accessory,that giant rear fog not so much.

 

As for power, my first accident at 17 years and 3 days was in my dads company 2.0 L 4 speed manual ( DRK 28T) I lost the back end in the wet so gave it more power obviously....

Wiped out a hedge,keep left bollard and lampost, at the bottom of our road. I did a runner ,woke my dad up who took it to his work mates house and swapped it for an almost identical car, same colour but a 2.3 Auto.

The Old Bill knocked on the door about 30 mins later, after being pointed in our direction by busybody neighbours.

Dad comes out ,speaks to copper,they both look round the Granny on the drive,not a scratch. Copper apologises for getting him up and goes away. Luckily dads boss knew me and thought it funny,just made me work as a steward on his boat for Henley weekend to pay insurance excess. ( loads of champagne and a posh legover- happy days)

So more powerthan I can handle, just needs a 5 speed, injection and 24v 16" alloys, wonder where you could find those?

[cms206]

Lovely!

 

Put me down for 1, 13, 18, 26, 36 and 42 plz.

[greengartside]

I had one exactly the same as that

So did Fatha GG - Gold 2.8 GL, WEX 890X.

[HMC]

Been using this for getting about locally. It rides well over the local pock marked B-roads, although there's a klonk if your a bit careless coming on or off the throttle which wants investigating. Maybe a duff bush somewhere? combination of no PAS and the wider Ghia wheels means its harder work that it ought to be parking etc. Another example of how uncle Henry knew best in having no pas in combination with spindly steel wheels. Actually the spare looks to be the original style steel still. Handy for reference if I decide to ditch the present alloys and return it back to its povo roots.

 

 

Speaking of wheels, here's the 2-spoker that needs all that non pas muscle......

 

 

Actually once your under way it's decently weighted. The stereo works, as does most things. The clocks ( no rev counter, just a massive, broken clock) have a dymo label bearing the reg- wonder if it was part of a company fleet at one point?

[HMC]

Double post

[HMC]

That looks superb!

 

I think that the mark 2 Granada's styling lends itself well to a lack of excess adornment:

 

Ford_Granada_Break.jpg

This afternoon I had a good look at the extra lighting on the front. It wasn't working and was in such a state I've binned it, I may yet need extra/ improved lighting but for now the front looks a lot cleaner.

Some leftover broken brackets for other (long since gone) lights were also on the bumper so whilst I was lying down there I whipped those off too......

 

I was also going to take off that Ghia chrome on the leading edge of the bonnet. That will have to wait untill later in the year as its been lobbed on to hide some rot in the bonnet edge.

 

The car was pulling to one side slightly on braking, but a bit of use has sorted this and it pulls up nice and straight now. One other issue is a "hunting" idle especially when warm. Any idea what that could be?

[phil_lihp]

Blocked idle jet on the carb?

[captain_70s]

Oooft, what a beast. Needs steel wheels and hubcaps though...

[Sealtainn]

Indeed! Can't remember ever seeing that type steering wheel in a Granada before.

 

Interesting to compare the base spec interior and dash to the top spec ones.

Here's mine.

All those gauges and buttons blanked off, no wood (or plastic wood either!) different wheel...

I wonder what the price difference was between base and Ghia X?

 

A quick look at my April/May 1985 brochure reveals the following:

 

As of then the 2.0 engine was only available in the estate in LX trim, the Estate L only came with the 2.3 engine

Pricewise the 2.0LX Estate is £8,800.64 OTR

2.8 Ghia Estate is £12,464.95 OTR

2.8 Ghia X Estate is £14,276.81 OTR

2.8i Ghia X Estate is £14,896.81 OTR

[danthecapriman]

This afternoon I had a good look at the extra lighting on the front. It wasn't working and was in such a state I've binned it, I may yet need extra/ improved lighting but for now the front looks a lot cleaner. Some leftover broken brackets for other ( long since gone) lights were also on the bumper so whilst I was lying down there I whipped those off too......image.jpg

I was also going to take off that Ghia chrome on the leading edge of the bonnet. That will have to wait untill later in the year as its been lobbed on to hide some rot in the bonnet edge.

The car was pulling to one side slightly on braking, but a bit of use has sorted this and it pulls up nice and straight now. One other issue is a "hunting" idle especially when warm. Any idea what that could be?

If you don't want that chrome strip off the bonnet I'll happily forward you some beer tokens for it! Mines missing and I can't find one!

 

One thing worth checking on these if you get suspension/bush type knocks and clunks is the front track control arm where it mounts into the subframe right at the very front of the car. (Other end connects to the little link bar with rubber bushes which also fail!) the big bush at the front is made from a foam wierd stuff if they are OE and it's shit! Mine ripped out and the TCA was able to move forward and back through the sub frame mounting, causing some noises and interesting handling! If yours are the foam type (appears like an orangey yellow colour) then swap them for poly bushes, it's easy to do. Just don't alter the big nut on the inner side of the TCA as it will knock the wheels castor out of setting.

[Timewaster]

That steering wheel! I had forgotten these were briefly fitted to the poverty spec MK2 Granada around 1982/83

An 80's favorite trick for Ford.

 

One plastic wheel for Vans, Pop (or base) and L, another for the GL, a leather one for the Gee Har and a chunky one for the sporty version.

 

I wonder how much it cost to tool up and produce a design of wheel which probably only appeared on a few hundred cars?

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

From memory that steering wheel was used on the base Granada only. They had a misery satin black grille as well.

 

I once drove a Mark 1 Granada 2000 that belonged to a local farmer, an R reg sub-L base model with the 75 bhp 2000 c/w single choke carb. I can honestly say the 2000 Transit was faster - it had to be.

[danthecapriman]

A few years ago I nearly bought a B reg 2.3LX saloon. It was really basic, and the 2.3 V6 was gutless! I'm sure the 2.0 was actually faster! This one didn't have that steering wheel either, so it must have been limited to base models.

I don't know why I didn't go back with the cash for that LX, only £500! It was very solid too. I think it ended up on the oval in the end.

A mate of mine had a pre facelift diesel (ex taxi) this was basic as you like too. The engine died in it and he lobbed a 2.0 pinto into that. Certainly made it quicker.

[Richard]

There was a special taxi version with vinyl seats and multiple ashtrays and interior lights.

[HMC]

Im trying to figure out what wheels it would have had originally. Can someone ID the spare ? (5.5j/ 14in) I assumed it was the original but looking at pics made me think it might be a cortina mk5 steel wheel..........

 

[Richard]

Cortinas (apart from the P100) were all four stud.

[r.welfare]

Not a Cortina wheel because that has five bolt holes. That doesn't look right though, perhaps a Transit wheel?

 

The wheels it would have had originally are the same as the gold estate picture Shep Shepherd put up earlier in the thread, but without the centre cap.

 

I had a 2.3 V6 manual a few years ago and it was gutless but smooth. I never did drive it in the dark (in fact I'd be surprised if I did more than 500 miles in it) so can't comment on the headlights. I seem to recall a similar clunk though, which was the prop shaft donut.

[stripped fred]

A quick look at my April/May 1985 brochure reveals the following:

 

As of then the 2.0 engine was only available in the estate in LX trim, the Estate L only came with the 2.3 engine

Pricewise the 2.0LX Estate is £8,800.64 OTR

2.8 Ghia Estate is £12,464.95 OTR

2.8 Ghia X Estate is £14,276.81 OTR

2.8i Ghia X Estate is £14,896.81 OTR

That's a big premuim for the better specced models!

[outlaw118]

Wheel looks like a MK1 Granny/Consul wheel, would have had a big chrome hubcap. Again, low-spec model stuff. 

 

(IIRC the opening titles of The Professionals features one jumping through a window?)

[Jon]

According to my September '82 edition of CAR, the 2.0 estate wasn't listed, though a 2.0 L estate was £7125 and the Ghia estate (no Ghia X estate option then) was £12145, so £5000, or 70% premium. Look at you though, Mr. Decadent delusions of grandeur with your stereo! My Dad had a late model MkII 2.8i as a works car and I've still got the radio blanking plate somewhere. 

 

I thought all the facelift MkIIs came with colour coded grilles but I must admit that the black grille on the earlier ones was a favourite feature, along with those cool steels a lot of them wore:

 

 

 

Then I found this image of a base model in Police livery with a frankly ludicrous roof light, demonstrating the correct grille and wheels with centre caps.

 

 

I remember other models coming with hub caps on these wheels which was something that the earlier MkIIs didn't come with, so it was a nice reversion of specs there by Ford in the 80's to let everyone truly know their place.

[AndyW201]

Yep, outlaw is correct. That style of wheel was also fitted to very early mk2 base and L versions IIRC with chrome rim embellishers and the small metal centre caps as seen on the Ford 'dartboard' sport steelies.

Post facelift base models looked like this however,

 

 

So these are what should be on this car. Small centre cap on the L and the GL had a larger stainless steel cap. Edit, beaten to it by Jon!

 

I'll be following this thread with interest, I love a nice mk2 and after a lot of miles minicabbing a Sapphire 1.6LX years ago, I'll always have a soft spot for the sound of a pinto. It's great to see an honest-to-goodness misery spec example and look forward to seeing it de-Ghia'd!

[Bucketeer]

 

Is there any significance to the horse doing the backstroke across your tiger pile?

[trigger]

These are the wheels it should have.

 

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Whilst it looks miserable, I'd wager than a 2.0 Granada L wasn't a bad thing to smoke about in. Bollocks to no PAS though.

[trigger]

Cortinaboy of this forum owns this ex-Semi-C pre-gaylift 2.0 L, and a very nice thing it is too.

 

[Ghosty]

Personally I'd go with these wonderful cream jobbies:

 

 

[Largactil]

Nice car, ex-BrookJm.

 

I like the pre-facelift too, especially in this shade:

 

[warren t claim]

I briefly owned a mk3 Granada Ghia 2.0 on a C plate and even that didn't have power steering. Wasn't too much of a handful to drive either.

[r.welfare]

I seem to recall the equipment dropping between the runout Mk2 and first Mk3s was significant, although the ABS must have cost Ford a bit.