Project 1975 Ford Granada Coupe - Lots & lots of tinkering

[danthecapriman]

Nice work Rich, it brings back memories of doing the same on my Capri... boiling my bollocks off in the summer heat!!

[TripleRich]

I'm freezing my tits off instead!  Had a heater with me in the car but all the heat buggered off through my missing side windows!

[danthecapriman]

3 hours ago, TripleRich said:

I'm freezing my tits off instead!  Had a heater with me in the car but all the heat buggered off through my missing side windows!

How did your sound deadening sheets go down? Mine were almost melting as I was doing it in the heat! They’d gone really soft and floppy (haha!) but it made it nice and easy to make them form into the same curves and shapes as the floor pans.

 

Btw, I’m still considering getting the Mercury painted and sorted with you... just need to sort a few things out first before I make my mind up if it’s now or at a later time.

[TripleRich]

They went in quite easily.  I had a decent sized heater in the car which kept things warmish.  Took me a few sheets to get the hang of it, sticky stuff.

[TripleRich]

As I cross over 900 hours work on the dashboard continues.  I've now reached a point where I need to make a start on the engine bay & front end of the car.

Before fitting the dashboard I need to go through and fit the interior heater box.  This unit contains various flaps and receives air from the main heater box which lives in the engine bay.  The flaps like most cars are covered in foam to keep them quiet when used and it also provides a better seal against incoming air from the blower motor.  On cars of this age the foam is usually falling to bits so it's a good time to replace it.

With the flaps removed I got rid of the old foam and wire wheeled the rust off.  They were then painted silver.

Some new foam and a massive clean to the rest of the parts means its can now go back together.  I also cleaned, painted and checked over the controls for it.

It's a tight fit in the car and goes in very similar to a Capri unit.  I've chucked in the carpet at this point and will give it a serious clean later on.  The ducting has also been cleaned & fitted.

The dashboard itself can now go back in.  This is another fragile part that I don't like sitting around so it's nice to have it safe back where it belongs.  It was very dirty but cleaned up quite well.  It has a few marks but in general its very good.  The switches will be replaced with new ones.

  

Time to look at some audio.  The MK1 Granada doesn't offer much in terms of sound.  At best you had a speaker under the dash and possibly another on the parcel shelf if you were lucky.  I have everything I need to recreate the original setup for this car which just had the dashboard speaker. The electric aerial is from the 80s and might be fitted if it still works.

I've not decided what to do here yet.  For now I've fitted the speaker and will decide later on how to proceed.  There are various options about but whatever happens I'll be keeping to the original look.

I moved on and fitted the cardboard bulkhead and parcel shelf.  Very happy with the parcel shelf.  To have one unmarked with no speaker holes in it is almost unheard of.  It'll be staying like that as I can hide speakers in other places.

 

Spend the rest of my time going through the engine bay section of the wiring loom.  I'll be making a few repairs and then it can go back in allowing for the front end of the car to be assembled.

[billy_bunter]

Where do you get the foam you used on the heater flaps from? 

 

[TripleRich]

I got it from ebay went for the 4mm stuff.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Foam-Sheet-Sponge-Rubber-Grey-Extra-Sticky-Self-Adhesive-Plain-Gaskets-Seals/261530567751?hash=item3ce46fc447:m:mpzF0zdJgu_H2dpfidBqtSw

[sutty2006]

Is it left hand drive or are the pictures reversed? 

[TripleRich]

Its left hand drive, car was sold new somewhere around Dortmund in Germany.  Came to the UK in 1985 and came off the road in the early 90s.

[mat_the_cat]

9 hours ago, TripleRich said:

I've not decided what to do here yet.  For now I've fitted the speaker and will decide later on how to proceed.  There are various options about but whatever happens I'll be keeping to the original look.

Original radio in the dash running the single speaker, and a more modern one in the glovebox coupled to some hidden speakers?

Or, at a price:
https://www.tadpoleradios.co.uk/OwnStandardConv.aspx

[Tadhg Tiogar]

22 hours ago, billy_bunter said:

Where do you get the foam you used on the heater flaps from? 

22 hours ago, TripleRich said:

I got it from ebay went for the 4mm stuff.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Foam-Sheet-Sponge-Rubber-Grey-Extra-Sticky-Self-Adhesive-Plain-Gaskets-Seals/261530567751?hash=item3ce46fc447:m:mpzF0zdJgu_H2dpfidBqtSw

Is there an alternative that won't deteriorate into crumbly dust like foam does?

 

[TripleRich]

On 12/2/2019 at 12:06 PM, Tadhg Tiogar said:

Is there an alternative that won't deteriorate into crumbly dust like foam does?

 

I'm not sure.  I just replace the foam, should last a good few years.

[TripleRich]

4 hours ago, The Mighty Quinn said:

It's nice to see someone painting a car properly - that's with the panels fitted. That's how it was done at the factory after all. I can't fathom why some painters spray cars like a Mecanno kit and then try to fit the panels, all the while having to adjust fits etc without marking the fresh paint.

 

4 hours ago, The Mighty Quinn said:

 

 

Aaah, hence the 2.3 Koln V6. They're a bit breathless but very smooth revving. Iirc these had a Solex rather than a Weber carburettor or they do on the Mark II.

 

The Carnival red didn't last very long - came out early '75 (?) on the first Mark II Escorts and replaced in 1976 by Venetian red. The red before Carnival would have been  Sebring.  Ford had some great colours in the seventies.

I've got quite good at fitting and gapping cars with painted panels thanks to that mentality.  Met a few painters who just paint stuff on stands.  You risk colour match problems, make my job difficult and all the bolts that should be body colour on the finished car are not.  

Didn't realize the colour was that short lived, my car was built in may 75.  It should have a Solex 35EEIT carb which differ from the mk2s by having a water controlled auto choke rather than the electric one.  Mine had a later unit but I managed to get hold of an earlier unit last week.

[Sir Snipes]

Water controlled choke? What's that, temperature controlled? I've never heard of that before. 

[TripleRich]

It's basically a temperature controlled auto choke.  Theres a water hose that runs through the carb on it's way to the heater box.  As the coolant warms up a metal coil inside the choke should slowly release.  However being a Ford this didn't happen often and a touch of the accelerator on warm up would knock it off completely and then the engine cuts out.  The electric one isn't much better either.  

 

[dollywobbler]

The biggest problem this thread is the constant battle to find new ways to show amazement. 

[Sir Snipes]

To be fair to Ford I don't think there many auto chokes that worked all that well?

[ETCHY]

Fabulous job.

I hope the electric aerial works. I do like those, they were so utterly cool. They seemed the height of luxury back in the day.

[Scruffy Bodger]

Are you going to bin that auto choke off and put a period correct manual conversion on and save a shit load of hassle? 

[TripleRich]

On 12/5/2019 at 6:13 PM, Scruffy Bodger said:

Are you going to bin that auto choke off and put a period correct manual conversion on and save a shit load of hassle? 

I'm going to stick with it, took me ages to find the correct carb for the car.  You can set them up to work a bit better but I enjoy these sort of things.  Gives the car character!

[TripleRich]

Another day completed on the car.  It now has it's face back on!

Previously I went through and cleaned up the engine bay wiring loom.  I've now redone most of the loom wrap and installed it in the engine bay making sure it follows the original route.

With the loom installed I can now begin to build the front end of the car.  Once again various new parts are being used and I've also fitted lucas RHD head lamps.

Getting all this stuff to line up can take a while.  General fit of the indicator, lamps & chrome is usually quite poor on a Mk1 Granada.  Its a few hours to get all the flimsy bits and pieces to line up properly.  I've got as close as I can with this one, they don't typically get much better and I'm happy with the look.  The grille is also a new part.

The bumper is the original unit and has survived in excellent condition.  It needs a final polish but I'll save that for later.  Next up is the spot lamps which where available on the Granada S or as a dealer fit option.  Without spot lamps I find these cars can look a bit dull at the front and luckily the previous owner had the same idea.  

Granada spec S lamps are very hard to find especially the brackets that hold them onto the car.  Very happy to have these, looks much better!

 

[JeeExEll]

Pressed the like button about 30 times. Lots of bits to line up there, don't think it could be done any neater.  

[mercedade]

Just read this from start to finish.

 

Mind. Blown.

[TripleRich]

Today I fitted a few more bits.  Started off with the fog lamps which where standard equipment on this car.  I bought a new set some time ago as the original ones were not very good.  The bezels for them are also new.  Plenty of wax needed for protection of these as they only last a couple of years before they start looking worn out.  

I've also fitted the number plate which completes the front of the car.

Next I made a start on the braking system.  The original servo still works but looks terrible so I cleaned off all the old paint and surface rust.  Saved the Ate sticker and will put that back on later.  Looks to have had a much larger sticker on top at some point but that's long gone.  Some etch primer and satin black sorted it out.  It's now fitted with new hardware and connected to the brake pedal.

While looking for some more bits I found the boot lock.  Fitted it back in with the correct hardware and a new rubber gasket.  It still works fine and I can now shut the boot properly.

I have a 'new' master cylinder for the car.  It's been sitting in the box for ages but on inspection it's still in as new condition thanks to the oil that was put into it when it was made.

Still a long way to go but each bolt brings me a step closer.  It's come on a fair bit since September so I reckon we're still on course for a drive next year.

[omegod]

I reckon Ford might tap you up for this to join their heritage fleet, it's that bloody good ! 

[Sudsprint]

Stunning, simply stunning.

[dollywobbler]

This is so exciting.

[AndySnapper]

Excellent work as usual! Have really enjoyed watching this project progress Rich.

[TripleRich]

Made some more progress yesterday.  The car now has a working heater system.  

Started off making a new foam mat that goes on the bulkhead behind the heater box.  It's not very easy to put on due to the shape of the bulkhead but I managed it without any nasty creases.

Next I fitted the bits that hold the bonnet shut.  I've also cleaned and fitted the bonnet cable.

Next is the heater box itself which contains the blower motor, hot/cold flap and the matrix itself.  These come apart but you have to be careful as the the cases are very brittle.

The matrix in this one has been replaced so I was hopeful that it would be ok.  Unfortunately it leaked when I tested it.  Not really surprised as it's probably 25 years old. 

I went to the company Granada cave and came back with 4 used units that looked serviceable.  Cleaned up the first one and it didn't leak so I painted it.  These are original units so they have the advantage of being a perfect fit in the heater box.  My leaking unit didn't fit properly and would have rattled over bumps.  I also tested the blower motor and it sounds fine.

With the box cleaned and the flap re-foamed I put everything back together.

Bit tight getting it into the car but managed to get it there without dislodging any of the foam gaskets to the bulkhead.

That completes progress for 2019.  I'm going to leave it over the Christmas break as it's been pretty flat out for the second half of this year.  Painting the car was a much bigger task than I'd anticipated and swallowed 200 hours.  The refit so far has been quite intense with some of the work being done after work during the week.  So far I've spent about 90 hours putting the car back together.

Looking forward to a break.  I hope to have the car on the road next year and provided I don't have too many setbacks with the mechanical side of things it's certainly possible.

Merry Christmas!  

[danthecapriman]

Great stuff Rich. Looking forward to seeing more next year!

 

Have a good Xmas and New Year