Sold 1985 Ford Granada mk2 estate. Sold and collected.

[sporty-shite]

I'm a bit concerned that somebody might post the wrong kind of money shot...

You are Stu_CDX AICMFP.

[anonymous user]

This is the best (dressed) collection thread ever.

Is it only me who initially thought that Skizzer was wearing a grey super-hero cape. It was second glance that revealed it to be the Mercury's cover.

[Braddon81]

Just catching up with all this shenanigans! Well done to all concerned, Top Ghia!

[Guest Breadvan72]

If this ever goes to chez_breadvan please let me know so I can pop over and have a cheeky lick... (via sydenham as the bastard direct road is closed, the xantia is filthy with these single track back roads!)

 

Will probz be at Chez BV from some time next week.

[Guest Breadvan72]

This is the best (dressed) collection thread ever.

 

There may even be a shot somewhere of me doing a Woollard while my suit button tries to cope with the consequences of too many motorway snacks.

 

BTW, Skizzer, I went off with your emergency "hog roast sausage roll".  You missed nothing, let me tell you.

[Captain Furious]

Incidentally, re the temp gauge, I remember my dad and his next door neighbour (who both had Mk2 Granadas at the time) trying to figure out the exact same phenomenon in circa 1990

 

So it can probably be safely filed under 'they all do that, sir'

[NorfolkNWeigh]

So which one won in the drag race?

There is no way an SD1 and Granada are allowed in the same street without a race, this law has existed since 1976. My life from 1982 until about 1987 was dominated by abiding with this rule.

A2.8 carb and 2600 are perfectly matched, although in my experience Rovers always won , unless it was wet.

[Junkman]

Matter of factly, the carbed Colognes have more torque than the injected ones.

Weirdly they came with a huge amount of variance from the factory, so whether you got a race car or a waiting room is down to pure dumb luck.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

The carb on the 2.3 and 2.8 was a hateful Solex shitheap that could be a right bastard - blocked idle jets were a common problem plus they wore out quickly. The Weber 38DGAS on the 3.0 was much better.

Never a fan of Bosch K Jet either.

[Guest Breadvan72]

I had a bit of a ranty at Skizzer when he turned up in civvies, as I thought that we were doing the mid 80s Finance Director Giant Test.

 

It is interesting to note the different ways in which Frod and Roofer tried to do posh.  The Granada has power everything, including seats, and aircon (not working).  It has the full six gauges.  But it has a plastic steering wheel (albeit a good one, squidgy foamy and pleasant to hold), and the seat fabric isn't quit as lush as in the Rover.   Each car has a manual sunroof.     The Frod allows you to adjust the speed of the intermittent wiper setting, but the rear wiper has only one setting.  It has map lights for driver and passenger.  These work (door light doesn't, as noted above).  Left armrest for driver, no central armrest in rear, but seats fold flatter than in Rover.  Trip computers of needless complexity and dubious operability adorn both cars. 

 

The SD1, which is in the apparently rare SE spec that was replaced after a short run by VDP, has five gauges (no voltmeter), and the seats aren't electric. The intermittent wiper setting isn't adjustable, but the rear wiper has two settings.  No left armrest for driver, but big central armrest in the back.    Rear head rests too, not fitted in the Granny.  The SD1 has red lights in the front door frames to let the cyclist see what he is about to hit.  The steering wheel is chunky and leather covered, but is also too enormous, and slightly ovoid.  The instrument lighting in the Rover is better than that in the Granny, but it may be that the Granny's dash lights are a bit fatigued.  The Granny's horn currently sounds a bit rubbish, but at least the hooter buttons are on the steering wheel.  The Rover has a typical BL-sounding horn, but the button is less optimally placed on the end of one of the stalks.  Neither car wold win a prize for the best ever cockpit ergonomics, but the Rover's switches, tits, knobs and levers are a bit less higgledy piggledy in layout than the Ford's, I reckon.  That may just be because I am familiar with them.  

 

The Granada is plainly the quicker of the two on the straights, feeling a lot more peppy and not needing to rev very hard to go fast.  The handling really isn't too bad for a long bargey thing, but the SD1 is much the more sportif in the corners.  Pirelli Cinturatos on the Granny, by the way.  The Rover currently has three Toyos and (naughty me, mixing brands and tread patterns on an axle), one Maxxis.  Finding good tyres for it is hard - the tyre size is a van tyre these days.  

 

You have to rev the Rover a bit to make it get going.   Brakes pretty good on both cars, although I think that my calipers may be getting a bit weary.  Both cars have good headlights.  The Granny's tail lights are quite teeny.   The Granny is quieter on the road, although the rear offside door-rubber on the Rover is currently a bit out of place, adding to the wind noise.  I think that the Rover has slightly the better engine note heard from the driver's seat, especially when you are giving it some welly.  The Rover is probably slightly the easier to see out of, but both cars have excellent viz compared to any modern heap.

 

The photos do not do the Granny full justice.  The colour is lovely, despite the paint and lacquer blemishes (and Dan has some awesome rattlecan SKILLZ).  The car has a great shape, and although it is hundreds of miles long it looks quite compact in the metal, and very handsome on the road.  I must say that it was also a pleasure to see, when driving the Granny, what a handsome thing an SD1 is on the road.

 

I have never liked Fords, and never before owned even part of one, but I really do like this Granada very much indeed.

[Junkman]

Although the vast majority of my Granadas were injected, I never had the slightest problem with the carbed ones.

I also never had any problems with the injected either, apart from the one from Wales and I blame Welsh storage conditions for that.

Whoever drove a 2.8 Cologne and still wants a 3 Litre Essex should see a doctor. Apart from admittedly sounding better, the Essex

is a boat anchor in comparison.

 

Many of the Cologne V6es also came with Webers, at least in Germany.

The Solex is deffo the better carb, but its workings aren't that easy to understand.

 

I once bought a 2.8 Solex carbed Ghia with a 5 speed manual (a no cost option in .de) on a whim in Hildesheim.

An empolyee who accompanied me on that trip drove home to Belgium with my Typ 43 Audi 100 5S, I drove the Granny.

We brimmed both cars at the same petrol station, drove in tandem and brimmed them again at the same petrol station

upon arrival. To our utter surprise, the Gran had guzzled two litres fewer than the Aldi.

[Guest Breadvan72]

Two litres FEWER, FFS.

[Guest Breadvan72]

Hey pervs!  Have another shot of Skizzer getting jiggy with the Mercury.

 

 

[Skizzer]

Obviously we wouldn't have dreamed of racing them on a public road, taking turns to pass each other all the way up the A34. Oh no.

 

Very hard to call a winner, actually. Acceleration-wise there's not much in it, with the Rover having some benefit from allowing you to choose your own gears but the Ford having buckets of torque to draw on. Neither is exactly the traffic light Grand Prix driver's weapon of choice, but both are well able to pull confidently out into the Audi-stream to overtake on a dual carriageway or to surge out of a corner uphill on the famously curvy A272.

 

Both cruise very comfortably at 70-75, the Granada having a surprising edge over the SD1 because of less wind noise. Breadvan wonders if that's his door seals but I think mine is similarly roary above 70 (though it's been a while since I've driven mine on a motorway). At that speed both still have plenty of torque on offer should it be needed to slot into a gap.

 

Both engines are smooth and quiet at those speeds, which translate to somewhere in the neighbourhood of 3000-3500rpm. Above this, both make a really rather fine noise, setting them above hoi polloi with their four lonely cylinders and reminding you that you've reached executive status. We may* have dropped a couple of cogs in the Hindhead tunnel to test this in the Rover on the way down from London. I agree with Breadvan that the Rover has the edge on the quality of the engine soundtrack.

 

I'd love to get these cars back together with some proper filming gear in daylight and do a real Old Top Gear test. Let's see what we can organise.

[Skizzer]

I had a bit of a ranty at Skizzer when he turned up in civvies, as I thought that we were doing the mid 80s Finance Director Giant Test.

I felt very bad about this. I forgot to pack enough shirts for the week when I left home on Monday so only had Dress Down Friday kit with me. I promise to do better next time.

 

Was quite glad of jeans when it came to grubbling around under the Rover to investigate the source of the frothy orange puddle, mind.

[Junkman]

I had a bit of a ranty at Skizzer when he turned up in civvies, as I thought that we were doing the mid 80s Finance Director Giant Test.

 

It is interesting to note the different ways in which Frod and Roofer tried to do posh.  The Granada has power everything, including seats, and aircon (not working).  It has the full six gauges.  But it has a plastic steering wheel (albeit a good one, squidgy foamy and pleasant to hold), and the seat fabric isn't quit as lush as in the Rover.   Each car has a manual sunroof.     The Frod allows you to adjust the speed of the intermittent wiper setting, but the rear wiper has only one setting.  It has map lights for driver and passenger.  These work (door light doesn't, as noted above).  Left armrest for driver, no central armrest in rear, but seats fold flatter than in Rover.  Trip computers of needless complexity and dubious operability adorn both cars. 

 

The SD1, which is in the apparently rare SE spec that was replaced after a short run by VDP, has five gauges (no voltmeter), and the seats aren't electric. The intermittent wiper setting isn't adjustable, but the rear wiper has two settings.  No left armrest for driver, but big central armrest in the back.    Rear head rests too, not fitted in the Granny.  The SD1 has red lights in the front door frames to let the cyclist see what he is about to hit.  The steering wheel is chunky and leather covered, but is also too enormous, and slightly ovoid.  The instrument lighting in the Rover is better than that in the Granny, but it may be that the Granny's dash lights are a bit fatigued.  The Granny's horn currently sounds a bit rubbish, but at least the hooter buttons are on the steering wheel.  The Rover has a typical BL-sounding horn, but the button is less optimally placed on the end of one of the stalks.  Neither car wold win a prize for the best ever cockpit ergonomics, but the Rover's switches, tits, knobs and levers are a bit less higgledy piggledy in layout than the Ford's, I reckon.  That may just be because I am familiar with them.  

 

The Granada is plainly the quicker of the two on the straights, feeling a lot more peppy and not needing to rev very hard to go fast.  The handling really isn't too bad for a long bargey thing, but the SD1 is much the more sportif in the corners.  Pirelli Cinturatos on the Granny, by the way.  The Rover currently has three Toyos and (naughty me, mixing brands and tread patterns on an axle), one Maxxis.  Finding good tyres for it is hard - the tyre size is a van tyre these days.  

 

You have to rev the Rover a bit to make it get going.   Brakes pretty good on both cars, although I think that my calipers may be getting a bit weary.  Both cars have good headlights.  The Granny's tail lights are quite teeny.   The Granny is quieter on the road, although the rear offside door-rubber on the Rover is currently a bit out of place, adding to the wind noise.  I think that the Rover has slightly the better engine note heard from the driver's seat, especially when you are giving it some welly.  The Rover is probably slightly the easier to see out of, but both cars have excellent viz compared to any modern heap.

 

The photos do not do the Granny full justice.  The colour is lovely, despite the paint and lacquer blemishes (and Dan has some awesome rattlecan SKILLZ).  The car has a great shape, and although it is hundreds of miles long it looks quite compact in the metal, and very handsome on the road.  I must say that it was also a pleasure to see, when driving the Granny, what a handsome thing an SD1 is on the road.

 

I have never liked Fords, and never before owned even part of one, but I really do like this Granada very much indeed.

 

A/C and electric chairs were only fitted as standard when there was an 'X' after the 'Ghia'.

Weirdly, only the blue Ghia seat upholstery material looks a bit naff. All other colours look decidedly lush:

 

 

 

The full complement of reading lamps and an illuminated ashtray with cigarette lighter also for the children

was standard even on the humble L versions.

 

The oil pressure gauge is a real manometer, if it malfunctions, your carpet will look and smell like the one in the Heathrow aeroport executive lounge.

Lack of rear headrests and centre armrest is restricted to Turniers, the saloons do have both.

 

I cannot believe that you praise the Granny's headlights. They are by far the shittiest ones I've ever experienced and I have recently experienced

the totally shit ones in a newfangled Pooshite. Not only once I actually got out of the car to check whether they are working.

Did they feed you Krypton or some such as a kid since you are able to see anything with them?

[Junkman]

Two litres FEWER, FFS.

 

Don't be such a fucking nazi.

[Skizzer]

Odd - I thought the lights were fine too. Maybe you need to eat more carrots?

 

The Granada's rear lights, on the other hand, are so tiny as to be almost invisible. The brake light/tail light distinction is a particularly fine subtlety. I nearly had to ask Breadman to phone me up to let me know when he was thinking of braking.

[Junkman]

Oh, and before I forget - the facelifted MKII Granada is the only European Ford I actually do like,

so I'm a bit with Breadvan here.

[Skizzer]

Two litres FEWER, FFS.

  

Don't be such a fucking nazi.

If you two fall out and/or kill each other, can you please do it quickly while I've got custody of this Granada? Thx.

[danthecapriman]

Must admit the blue interior was always my favourite on these! I don't like the grey ones at all. Maybe it's because the blue is unlike anything you'd get nowadays and it looks very much of the era this car comes from?

 

The oil gauge failed on this car, but luckily it was A; on the engine take off end and B; while sitting idling on the drive so no harm done! It's originally one of those hard plastic pipes which cracked so if you look at it now the end onto the oil take off union on the block is now a short length of rubber hose and a pair of micro jubilee clips. Works a treat.

[NorfolkNWeigh]

My career* as a professional* ( enough with the astrix) chauffeur began in 1982 when my boss lost his licence. He purchased a silver 2.8 carb Ghia X saloon UPD 26 X to replace his XJ-S and I was promoted from office messenger to MD's chauffeur at the tender age of 18. This was replaced after a couple of years with a Moonraker 3500SE A98 OGS, with optional air con, he'd got a taste for being driven.

My memories are hazy, but things like wind noise ring a bell. I remember the Rover going back to the dealer a couple of times because of it not been as refined as the Granny. I also remember how light the back end felt after 2 years of sure footed Granada grip, tyres wouldn't have been the reason then. Build quality and servicing unfortunately were exactly as popular belief would have you believe.

The Rover actually froze up and blew it's head gasket one chilly morning when it was about 6 months old- apparently it hadn't got anti-freeze in it from the factory.

The Rover felt a lot quicker , but that was comparing carburettor 2.8 with a 3500, my memories of 2.8i Granada's is that they were as fast as carb V8s, which doesn't fit with Junkman's memories so could be wishful thinking.

Since then I've driven many thousands of miles in products from Coventry,Crewe, Germany, Detroit and Japan but those two remain my favourites. Over the years the long suffering Mrs N was made to drive many examples of each from 2.3LX to 2.8i Chausseur Granny and 2000 to Twin Plenum SD1, yet I still don't know if I'm a Granada or Rover man.

You people are truly living ( my) The Dream.

[EssDeeWon]

Brilliant thread, it should be pinned.

 

Two cars I grew up loving.

 

That Granada is a right bargain but at least its remained in the fold, so well done Dan.

 

The SD1 as always, looks awesome.

[Guest Breadvan72]

Breadvan72, on 11 Mar 2017 - 12:04 PM, said:

Two litres FEWER, FFS.

  

Junkman, on 11 Mar 2017 - 12:35 PM, said:

Don't be such a fucking nazi.

 

  
If you two fall out and/or kill each other, can you please do it quickly while I've got custody of this Granada? Thx.

 

 

Yeah, well I have already tried invading Poland.  It seemed to go well for a while, but it all ended badly.

[Junkman]

Yar dooin it RONG!

[Guest Breadvan72]

That's what she said as well.

[JeeExEll]

Have just read this thread from start till up to date. Epic Autoshite shenanigans.

Dan that Merc is fuckin lush, more pics? Hope Cappa resto is going well, so much work into this Cappa, will be a legend in the same way as Swampy Cortina 2000GXL. (for anyone who hasn't seen it check it out).

 

Been out of the loop for about 3 weeks due to enforced holiday, but short term.

Lots of tobacco and coffee, no alcohol, and complete boxed sets of Breaking Bad, Peaky Blinders, The Young Ones, and Life On Mars. I will survive this terrible ordeal.

 

Pic of my 1985 Granada to follow.

[danthecapriman]

Here's a pic of the Merc with the Granny in the background.

 

[Guest Hooli]

Hey pervs!  Have another shot of Skizzer getting jiggy with the Mercury.

 

 

 

Next on through the keyhole...

[Noel Tidybeard]

Hey pervs!  Have another shot of Skizzer getting jiggy with the Mercury.

 

 

 

Ger, Ger, Granville fer, fer, fetch a cloth