Project 1975 Ford Granada Coupe - Lots & lots of tinkering

[TripleRich]

Hi all, new to the forum.  Thought you might be interested in what I've got myself into

I'd been after my first classic car for a while.  If it's big and made in the 70s I'm interested.  Looked at few things like P6s, Zodiacs, Victors, SD1s and various other things.  Problem was I didn't want to spend a boatload of money on something that looked alright but underneath was actually a total heap.  The solution was to buy a complete heap in the first place and spend the money fixing it.

So in January I went ahead and bought this from a colleague at work who was moving away and needed to get shot of it.

It's a part finished restoration (I prefer not started) and it needs a whole load of help if it's going to stand any chance of using a road again.

Pros

It's right up my street.  Granada Coupes are quite odd and certainly stand out from the norm.

It still has the original engine, box, interior and most trim.

It came with loads of panels I need to repair it (mostly original Ford stock).

It came with so many spares I could probably build a few Granadas and still have stuff left over.

It was cheap.

Cons

Most of the front end has been cut off.

Most of the body structure is quite rotten.

It's going to take me ages.

I work at a restoration company and my boss kindly allows me to keep the car there.  So I've got access to all the gear I need to restore it.  I've been busy on the car for a while now so will post more pics over the coming days.

Cheers 

[Cavcraft]

Welcome along, that is one fit looking car.

[vulgalour]

I hope you keep it orange!  These look amazing in really bright offensive 70s colours.  Look forward to reading more about this one.

[Mally]

Looks fine to me. Just needs the time, you have everything else it seems.

Never attempted anything like that, but someone once told me you just put the bonnet on straight and build everything round it.

Am sure there's a bit more to it than that.

 

Keep going till the boss starts charging you. Good luck!

[fordperv]

i love the coupes

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Handsome things, mk1 coupes. Looks solid from what I can see in the photo; just goes to show what lurks beneath!

[Tamworthbay]

Gorgeous motor and rarely seen these days.

[trigger]

Stunning car, that will look the bollocks once finished!

[Louise2cv]

Great stuff. I have always loved 70s fords.

 

Can't wait to see the progress reports.

[dollywobbler]

Excellent. These are definitely one of the best-looking cars of the time. 

[adw1977]

Excellent choice, looking forward to the updates.

[Bren]

Nice car. Mk1 granadas make SD1's look amateur when it comes to rust.

[STUNO]

Welcome, this is a very good start.

 

Just remember you work for the boss between 8am and 5pm with a few breaks in between. even when I'm not there.

[danthecapriman]

Welcome aboard, and great choice in car.

I'm a Ford man myself, having a mk2 estate and a few other old Fords so the more of them on here the better as far as I'm concerned!

 

Can't wait to see more about this.

[Bobthebeard]

Welcome aboard! That does look lovely. I also look forward to the progress reports!

[Skizzer]

Orange Granada coupe: oh yes, yes indeed.

 

There's some cracking resto threads happening in here at the moment, looking forward to this.

[TripleRich]

Before I get to the pics, bit of history on the car...

It was sold in Germany somewhere around Dortmund in 1975 as a 2.3 GL with vinyl roof, black cloth interior and carnival red paint which looks just like tomato soup.  Reg number was DO-KY 565.

It came to the UK in 1985 with its owner who was a Ford mechanic.  He went to work temporarily in a ford dealer on the south coast.  During that time it broke down and the owner sold it to a guy and returned to Germany.  It then spent many years being hardly used and sitting in the guys garden.  It only went out to some Ford shows, the last being 1994 which is when it was last taxed.  In 2005 it was then bought by the guy I bought it from and sat around for another 10 years inside various workshops pending restoration.  The clocks say it's done 86000km or 53000 miles which I reckon is probably genuine.

So onto the repairs...

The first thing I did was cough up some cash and got our more experienced fabricator to make some replacement kick well panels with all the correct pressings and shapes.  Both the top and bottom portions of these on both sides had rusted out which is about normal.  He also rebuilt and repaired the bonnet hinge panels which had rusted out under the wings.  The remains of the inner wings were cut off and replacement panels screwed on to allow for the repairs to be welded onto the bulkhead in the right place.

While this was happening I removed all the tar crap the ford poured over the floorpan.  It often doesn't stick very well and traps moisture in the floors.  I uncovered various areas that were rusting through while doing so.  The worst being around the rear jacking points which suggested the inner sills were probably toast (more on that later).

More stuff to follow soon!

[83C]

Epic. I'll be watching this with interest!

[Felly Magic]

Ooh another 'back from the dead' resto thread, grabs popcorn and a comfy seat

[Guest Hooli]

Great work, great car.

[Magnificent Rustbucket]

Great work, great car.

 

 

It really is!

[DSdriver]

Tasty! Will it be rebuilt as a left or right hand drive?

[danthecapriman]

Tasty! Will it be rebuilt as a left or right hand drive?

I don't think it's easy to do on these. The bulkheads different RHD-LHD, mirror image I think so to swap the steering over involves quite a bit of modification.

I'd planned doing that very thing to a mk1 2 door saloon, we never got them in the UK and I wanted to get one imported from Europe and use a RHD donor car to swap it all over but it turned out to be far more involving than I first thought. I think it might of been Junkman that told me about the difference and work involved.

 

LHD is ok here anyway once your used to it.

[Spottedlaurel]

Good luck with it, look forward to seeing progress.

 

Always had a soft spot for these, probably from remembering the older brother of a lad I was at school with having one in the early ‘80s – stood out as something a bit unusual even then.

 

Sadly most of the ones I’ve seen in more recent years didn’t have windows and were painted in bright colours…..

[mercrocker]

This is really good to see, some very nice metal-work going on there...

[Junkman]

I don't think it's easy to do on these. The bulkheads different RHD-LHD, mirror image I think so to swap the steering over involves quite a bit of modification.

I'd planned doing that very thing to a mk1 2 door saloon, we never got them in the UK and I wanted to get one imported from Europe and use a RHD donor car to swap it all over but it turned out to be far more involving than I first thought. I think it might of been Junkman that told me about the difference and work involved.

 

LHD is ok here anyway once your used to it.

 

Can't have been me, since I know nothing about MKIs.

All I know is that LHD is far superior for rolling straight onto the pavement if one's plasterised.

[danthecapriman]

Can't have been me, since I know nothing about MKIs.

All I know is that LHD is far superior for rolling straight onto the pavement if one's plasterised.

Perhaps it wasn't then. I'm sure I was discussing converting mk1 2 door saloons to RHD with someone on here some time ago. I can't think who it was in that case that mentioned the bulkhead being different... Oh well!

[Junkman]

No idea. All I know is that you can't convert a MKII Granada from one hand drive to another.

[danthecapriman]

Just had a look at a few pics.

 

RHD engine bay:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/133313360@N07/29197952191/in/photolist-nRfvtj-4rgLiN-iXK3Um-7WWCFp-C7Ro7N-4pjbHZ-C7Ro8u-C7Ro89-C7Ro91-CvQ1aF-C7Ro9S-C7Ro9m-rMtDru-rMBTfp-5LEmyx-hAFfeq-fA8iWg-985DaZ-9hz3Dj-5zUkYo-5AkJHa-oQttoz-5V2F3G-aC94sf-8Aw7dL-seNbCJ-Lu88WP-Khm9yD

 

LHD engine bay:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/henrik-sommer/14340831140/in/photolist-nRfvtj-4rgLiN-iXK3Um-7WWCFp-C7Ro7N-4pjbHZ-C7Ro8u-C7Ro89-C7Ro91-CvQ1aF-C7Ro9S-C7Ro9m-rMtDru-rMBTfp-5LEmyx-hAFfeq-fA8iWg-985DaZ-9hz3Dj-5zUkYo-5AkJHa-oQttoz-5V2F3G-aC94sf-8Aw7dL-seNbCJ-Lu88WP-Khm9yD

 

They are mirror image of each other, heater box location etc are opposite so I'd guess that means the bulkhead would either need major modification or swapping from a RHD donor car. Either way it's a fair bit of effort!

[TripleRich]

Converting a mk1 from one drive to another would be a huge task and require a solid donor car for the job.  A Mk2 Granada might be easier as the bulkheads on those are almost the same on each side with the heater box in the middle.  You'd still have to move stuff like the battery tray though.

I wont be converting the coupe as I want to keep it original.  I've driven LHD stuff on UK roads and its not that bad really.  You soon get used to it and forget about it.

Anyway, onto some more pics...

With the complex bonnet panels and kick wells repaired the car was mocked up with all the replacement panels to make sure things were going in the right direction.

Including the inner wings and valence there are 12 panels that come together to form the front end.  Everything fitted together quite well first time round and was held on with panel screws while the wings and bonnet were trial fitted.  Having original Ford panels makes this job much easier.