Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[Ellis]

[img]

If you travel on any motorway these days and look at the executive cars flashing past you the majority of them will be BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Range Rover/Discovery whether in saloon car guise or 4 x4.[/img].

Thirty years ago the same type of car would have been
a Rover SD1, Jaguar XJ6, a big Vauxhall or a Ford Granada. A BMW 5 or 7 series or an Audi 100 was outnumbered by the "British" although their numbers were increasing.

I remember being outside Skelly's Fordworld in Bootle, Liverpool in the Autumn of 1977 when the Mark 2 Ford Granada was introduced. It wasn't "British" because it was built in Germany but it looked home grown.

I always thought it was a handsome car in a "Ford" way and I had the pleasure of driving several examples over the years. A friend had a 2.3 GL at one time which he later upgraded to a 2.8 GL and I drove both.
Some commentators of the time dismissed them as big Cortinas. I disagreed then as I do now.

The Mark 2 Granada felt solid, was powerful and in my opinion had a certain presence on the road as well as being supremely comfortable and powerful in 2.3 and 2.8 litre guise.

The ultimate model was the Sapphire version of 1979/80 in two tone blue over silver and there were several in my area, all automatics. I have never been a lover of automatic cars but having driven a Sapphire I could have lived with and enjoyed it.

You see very few of any variant these days and the estate is now rare. A business acquaintance bought one of the last 2.8 Ghia Estates in 1985 to replace an older model. He liked it so much that he even had it re-engined in 2000 and took the total mileage over 250k until it finally succumbed to iron oxide.

I know of one 1979 V registered Sapphire which is hibernating in it's garage and has been since the early 1990s when it's owner decided to retire it with only 50k miles on it's odometer. Nobody wanted it in part exchange then so he just bought a Vauxhall Senator in a straight purchase.

If that one ever came up for sale I would be very tempted...........
I disliked it's Sierra shaped successor from 1985 on and even less the final versions as the Scorpio.

What do you think about the Mark 2 Ford Granada?
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Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[clan chieftain]

The mk2 Granada was a great car. I have never owned one but one of the mechanics I worked with had one the very same as in the photo. There was a Dorchester in a scrapyard near to me that I nearly bought a couple of years ago but I had nowhere to keep it.
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The Clan Chieftain

[Riley Blue]

Is it a car one would have wanted one's chauffeur to drive one about in?

[Brian M]

Ellis - I couldn't agree more.

In 1977 my Company car was a Granada 2.3GL. Company policy was to replace before the car reached 30k miles, as I was covering 50k per year I was given a new one before the ashtrays were full - every 7 or 8 months.
A promotion meant I was upgraded to a 2.8GL for my 5th and 6th Granada.

I changed jobs and bought my final Granada with 9k on the clock for 50% of the new price, and promptly sold it to my new employer at a profit. The new job was not a success and so after 12 months I bought it back when I left!

I then started my own business and took the car to 130k miles in the next four years.

Some of the best cars I have ever owned.

Perhaps it is because I live in Essex, 25 miles from Dagenham, but I seem to see lots of them either in everyday use, or at car shows on the stands of one of the seemingly hundreds of Ford classic car clubs!
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Brian
1970 Volvo Amazon and 1978 Safari 15-4 Caravan
Classic Safari Forum: www.classicsafaris.co.uk

[smiffy220]

I'm not a Ford fan particularly, but did always like the Mk2 Ganadas. As said, they were a proper big executive saloon, and in the 2.8 Ghia and X models, looked pretty sporty too. Have been in many, but never owned or driven one.
But again, in Essex, we still see a number of them about. In fact I passed one parked outside a shop in Wickford only yesterday!
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Born to rally, forced to work!

1980 Opel Manta 2.0 SR Berlinetta
1934 Morris Cowley Four (my late fathers)

[badhuis]

[peppiB]

back in the early 80's an uncle was chairman of a multinational company and had an XJ6, Merc SEL (can't remember the engine size), One of those large Daimler things with the glass partition (favoured as coaches by funeral directors) and ...... a Ford Granada. If he had to make the journey from the north east to London the chauffeur would ALWAYS turn up in the Ford! He reckoned it was the best car he had ever driven

[emmerson]

I had a Chasseur estate car in the late 80s. Fanbl**dytastic!
Not seen one in many years now, but if one came up at a reasonable price, it could replace my Volvo as a daily driver.

[Ironhead]

had two,a 2.8 Ghia,and a 2.0,A330 YMC.lovely cars.

[Rick]

What would its rivals have been back in the day? BMW 728i? Vauxhall Senator? I remember a mate's dad had a 3.0S BMW followed by an (E23) 728 in the early/mid 1980s, around the time of the Granada 2.8s, but I still preferred my dad's Saab Turbo. Can't say I ever liked Granadas much, but I'd have another super Swede...

RJ
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[Scotty]

When I worked part-time in a car accessory shop my boss had a Granada MkI Ghia in metallic 'leaf' green, it was a solid great big brute, lovely and smooth to boot.

He decided to buy the new MkII (AGG 99 S) in white with a tan roof when it came out and it couldn't hold a candle to the MkI, flimsy panels (the boot lid would flex from side to side when it was open, whereas the MkI's was a solid lump of motor vehicle construction.

In my view Ford had completely ruined a fabulous car in favour of cost-cutting quality for profit.

[Ironhead]

[Graham Clayton]

Was the Vauxhall VX4/90 too "sporty" to be an executive car?



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"The distinguished car, with just a little more power than you will ever need." DANIELS - Reading, Pennsylvania: 1916-24

[smiffy220]