Project 1975 Ford Granada Coupe - Lots & lots of tinkering

[Spottedlaurel]

Looks truly incredible, and to be brave enough to redo those big rear panels at the end of it as well.

Just eight hours left, what a feeling that must be! Will you know what to do with your time once it's done?......

[taxi paul]

Amazing work and levels of skill and detail. Beautiful car. 

[TripleRich]

Completed the last few jobs for assembly.  Been saving some of these jobs for the end of the build.  

Went around the car and applied the relevant stickers for stuff like coolant and sunroof etc.

Also fitted the ford stickers to the sills.  These are a reproduction item as originals cost very silly money.

 

Filled the glovebox up with tat!

Cleaned the vinyl roof

The tyres on the car were an ancient set of Viking Norways from 1985.  I needed 5 new tyres and decided to fit some period correct ones.  These michelin's would have been fitted to Granada from new in 175, 185 and 195 sizes.  Just like the old vikings these are full profile so they fill the arches nicely as before.  These pics were taken after letting the car down off axle stands.  It will sit better once it moves again.

Fitted the new centre caps and trim rings.  Been wanting to do that for months!

The car is now finally built.  Next job is test drives and checking everything.  I expect some teething trouble but that's all part of the fun.  Can't wait, its been 27 years since this car was last taxed.

Before that I'm working with a professional detailer to finish and improve the polishing process.  I need a lot more practice and knowledge on this subject so its great to work with a professional and learn how to properly polish a car.

[Ghosty]

Simply stunning. 

[Tyredout]

Completed the last few jobs for assembly.  Been saving some of these jobs for the end of the build.  
Went around the car and applied the relevant stickers for stuff like coolant and sunroof etc.


Also fitted the ford stickers to the sills.  These are a reproduction item as originals cost very silly money.
 
Filled the glovebox up with tat!

Cleaned the vinyl roof

The tyres on the car were an ancient set of Viking Norways from 1985.  I needed 5 new tyres and decided to fit some period correct ones.  These michelin's would have been fitted to Granada from new in 175, 185 and 195 sizes.  Just like the old vikings these are full profile so they fill the arches nicely as before.  These pics were taken after letting the car down off axle stands.  It will sit better once it moves again.
Fitted the new centre caps and trim rings.  Been wanting to do that for months!

The car is now finally built.  Next job is test drives and checking everything.  I expect some teething trouble but that's all part of the fun.  Can't wait, its been 27 years since this car was last taxed.
Before that I'm working with a professional detailer to finish and improve the polishing process.  I need a lot more practice and knowledge on this subject so its great to work with a professional and learn how to properly polish a car.

The most enjoyable 4yr build thread ever. Utmost respect and congratulations. The car looks sublime.


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[mk2_craig]

Awesome! That rear wing looks literally 50% of the cars length in that view. 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

Attention.to.detail.

[Mrs6C]

26 minutes ago, TripleRich said:

The car is now finally built. 

Huzzah!

It looks stunning.

Well done!

[HMC]

Is there any trepidation about using it? What I mean it it’s so fabulous and must be so much pride you have in it, id almost want a semi rough one so I could drive into a supermarket car park etc without anxiety. That’s me though. 

[sutty2006]

What a beautiful thing. 
 

it’s probably been mentioned before, but is it a UK original car or was it imported from abroad? 

[ETCHY]

Utterly brilliant.

Incredible job, it's just fabulous, really well done.

[busmansholiday]

Absolutely brilliant!. Hopefully there'll be a Classic Car show at the NEC sooner than later and that deserves to be pride of place.

 

 

[danthecapriman]

Absolutely stunning Rich, you should be very very proud of that.

And... you beat me to the finish!! I’m still a little way off.😀

[brandersnatch]

Fabulous. Just fabulous. 

[Dick Cheeseburger]

I'm not a huge Ford fanboi, but your Granada is bloody gorgeous. You just know EVERYONE will stop and look at you. Are your shades of comparable vintage/quality? 😉

[Asimo]

Marvellous. Inspirational thread, this. 
Thank you very much for sharing the project here.

[UltraWomble]

Outstanding.

[wuvvum]

Superb!

[Parky]

Someone deserves a beer ,a promotion, and a heck of a lot of adoration 

[Rod/b]

Just amazing stuff. What a superb restoration, it’s been a privilege to watch it happen. 

[Broadsword]

This thread has been one of the highlights of the forum for some time now. The end result is outstanding. I wonder what the people who built these cars back in the day would think about the sheer quality of the way you have put this painstakingly together?

I have a quick question regarding the battery. It says calcium on it. Can the old-school alternator actually charge a modern battery like that? My understanding was that these newfangled calcium type batteries required a higher output voltage from the alternator to charge properly. This was a major consideration on my Range Rover P38, which would slowly kill a silver-calcium battery and have a whole host of strange electrical issues along the way. The moment I put a traditional lead-acid battery in, it has been fine ever since.

[Talbot]

At this moment in time, that has to be the best Granada.  In The World. </clarkson voice>

Have you contacted Ford/anyone else to see if they're interested in using it for some promotional material?  Whilst it may not have been your intention, this is so original, it absolutely looks like a factory new car from 1975, so I'm sure there are opportunities for it to earn you back some significant monies.  If you're interested in that sort of thing of course.

Being the same age as this car, I just wish it was possible to do a similar body restoration on a person.

[dollywobbler]

Wonderful. I almost feel sad that the end has been reached, but I guess in some ways, the story of this car is only just beginning. Please capture some video of it on those test drives.

[Rod/b]

5 minutes ago, dollywobbler said:

Wonderful. I almost feel sad that the end has been reached, but I guess in some ways, the story of this car is only just beginning. Please capture some video of it on those test drives.

I hear he’s doing an Invacar next. 

[Ian_Fearn]

Absolutely undeniably amazing beyond normal words. 

[Wilko220]

I don't have much to add to the wild plaudits everyone else has already expressed. Except to say that, after prevaricating for a long time, I'm now getting some work done at MBVR, where @TripleRich is based.  Although it's obviously nowhere near to the extent of this resto, this thread has made me very confident that I've gone with exactly the right people.

[junkyarddog]

One of my absolute favourite cars,what a beauty.

A credit to your skills and experience. 

You should be proud of this achievement. 

Well done.

 

5k tonite M8?

[Talbot]

37 minutes ago, junkyarddog said:

5k tonite M8?

I think you would need a lot of broken Xboxes to top that figure up to somewhere near it's true value.

1342 Hrs of work, plus all the parts, plus the car in the first place..  that must be....  Actually I think it would be almost vulgar to put a price on it.

I'd have it insured for about £80k though.

[LightBulbFun]

1 hour ago, Rod/b said:

I hear he’s doing an Invacar next. 

you said it not me! and this quote is evidence of that!

but yeah that would be amazing, one can dream (on LOL)

 

but back to the granada, that really is some amazing stuff, its really awesome to see it standing on all 4 wheels fully assembled!

I look forward to seeing her out on the road, and who knows maybe in person someday!

[dozeydustman]

Simply stunning. The last time I saw a Grandad looking as good as that was the last time I watched the Sweeney.

Pi r squared/10