1985 Ford Granada 2.8 Ghia

[Shortos]

I love these Granadas. When I was a kid they were so classy and the 2.8 Ghia (X) was the ultimate car to own.  

[grogee]

1 hour ago, rob88h said:

Dunton. Brentwood (Warley) has been sold off and turned into flats. 

Blimey. Looks different from when I worked there 25 years ago. Is that a new entrance to the main building?

[wesacosa]

20 minutes ago, grogee said:

Blimey. Looks different from when I worked there 25 years ago. Is that a new entrance to the main building?

Its the old Visteon building which became the HQ once Warley closed.

Main entrance is still as was 

[rob88h]

I couldn’t resist some river photos while out and about in the Granada.

 

no bodies rolled in carpet to dump out of the boot. 

[danthecapriman]

Still, all these years later, the mk2 Granny is a very sharp looking car I think. Exactly what a saloon car should be and look like.

[rob88h]

It’s a pity my camera is also shite. 

[Lord Sterling]

What do your colleagues make of it at work? It looks really nice.

[rob88h]

It’s a bit of a dog in real life, but certainly not a lost cause. Shite Life (TM) seems to be a bit of a minority opinion in South Essex, so although no-one says much about it I’m not convinced it’s regarded all that highly as a fine motor vehicle. 
 

To catch up with the past few weeks, I’ve serviced it in terms of oil, filter and spark plugs. blah blah, boring. The old oil filter had surface rust so I guess that’s been there a while!

I also gave it a new power steering belt and a new alternator belt. 

I’m getting close to having done 1500 miles with it now so I have started thinking about “phase 2” of spending, whereby I took it to a garage for appraisal on work priorities. 

A couple of near term tasks are replacing/ repairing the n/s inner steering rack (dog bone?) tie rod and the rear n/s driveshaft. Not the most widely available parts after the first round of Googling. 

Other points of note were the state of the diff - drain plug rounded and stuck, intermediate seal leaking. And general gearbox health including some broken fasteners which worries me. Also it seems the back box which generally looks in good health has a bit of a hole forming on a seam. Oh, and some shock bushings.

All good fun. 

[Pauly.22]

On 02/07/2024 at 19:18, rob88h said:

…Looking after Granny…

It’s my absolute pleasure to be knocking about in this glorious old Granada.

Built in January 1985, registered in Cardiff; the 2.8 Ghia “BUH”. Having had 14 different keepers, it’s a bit rough around the edges, definitely a survivor car. At some point it might have had a life in the Midlands, possibly being sold at Meteor Ford, St. Mary’s Row, Moseley, Birmingham B13 9EG based on some of the aging stickers. From the history that came with it, it lived in Selsey, West Sussex between 2017-2023 and then belonged to our very own HMC in 2024. Right now it’s repatriated to its spiritual homeland in Essex (I know, eventhough these were made in Köln).

 

Collection was a mission, involving 8 hours of public transport of which I won’t bore you with all the details, but suffice to say in the end due to some excessive delays the whole trip (including refunds) cost just £2!

The way back was much more enjoyable. I split the journey into two by taking the Granada on a 70 mile warm-up across Dartmoor to the South Coast before cruising the remaining 200 miles back to Essex after a weekend break on the coast. As Ford said: ”…200 miles to drive. What better introduction to the 1982 Ford Granada”

The drive is just as soft and squishy as you’d imagine it to be and the centre arm rest has the elbow indentation of 115,000miles of one-handed cruising. It wanders around the road like you’d expect from any 40-year-old Ford, but certainly not as alarmingly as it could be by this age. There is a blow on the connection to the right-hand side mid-muffler, but that’s alright because the right-hand side window doesn’t work so you only hear it reflecting in through the passenger side. It’s not mint, it’s probably not even shabby, but it is honest. 

I grew up in B13. The Ford garage there is now a Waitrose. 
 

great looking car. 

[cbowditch]

Did you try motomobil.com for parts? Based in Germany they have most parts for Cortinas, Granadas, and other Fords but they are a little pricey