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Ebay Find: Will This Super-Clean Ford Granada Win McTaggart Over?


Ebay Find: Will This Super-Clean Ford Granada Win McTaggart Over?

Lots of automotive biases are known here on these pages. Lohnes hates four-seater Thunderbirds of any year and DeLoreans and I hate Ford Granadas and their corporate cousins, the Mercury Monarch and the Lincoln Versailles. And it’s not just because the last time I had to work on one the transmission landed on my sternum, either.

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If there was ever an unnecessary car in Ford’s lineup in the mid-70’s, this thing was it. The short story was that the Granada was meant to replace the Ford Maverick as the compact car, but when the 1973 gas crisis hit, Maverick sales climbed sharply and Ford decided to just make both at the same time. The Granada’s underpinnings are the same as the four-door Maverick, which is pretty much identical to the 1960 Ford Falcon. The car’s three-box styling wasn’t charming, the interior was typical ’70s “brougham” accruements, the dash layout just sucks (only a fuel gauge and speedometer? That’s it? Really?!) and even with these issues, Ford actually had the balls to market this car as a rival to the Mercedes-Benz 280SL. I’m sure there was a lot of German-tinged laughter over that little foible.

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I hate the sleds passionately, so what the hell am I doing writing this one up? Because this is about as close as I’m ever going to get to liking one of these cars. The basics are good: 302 and a four-speed is a good foot forward. It’s green everywhere, but it’s a decent emerald color, not some avocado green or “You change him” diaper green. The whole car looks to be in good condition, as it better be; the car is a one-owner ride and the clock is at just a tick over 90,000 miles. And it’s bone-stock. Nobody has messed with this Granada. Would I keep it that way? Hell no! But it’s nice to know that the car you’re getting ready to rip into hasn’t been messed with before. Nothing makes me hate a project faster than booger welds and spaghetti wiring. Not to say that I’d buy it…even this good I don’t want it…but it’s close.

Click Here to see the eBay listing for this Granada while it is still available

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7 thoughts on “Ebay Find: Will This Super-Clean Ford Granada Win McTaggart Over?

  1. Sumgai

    I love it. I have an irrational desire to make a sleeper based off a senior citizen’s car, and have been looking at a nearby ’89 Grand Marquis in taupe with a 5.0, but this might be more fun to start with.

  2. john

    Came over to my parents house one day to find my dad had purchased a 6cyl. Granada. WTF! was my UNSPOKEN response. He was a Dodge man his whole life and now his first Ford was a Granada? It was roomy, had a good ride, and it was silver with a red interior, my favorite.I Never drove it, only rode in it. From that point on however, my father was officially old.

  3. Nick D.

    My father talks about the time he nearly bought a used Granada, white with a blue vinyl top and a 302/auto. Instead he bought a ’77 Buick Regal that he liked much better. He liked the Regal even better once he put in a 455 Olds/TH400 out of a ’69 Delta 88. Sadly, it was long gone by the time I came around, although the 455 and TH400 are still floating around our barn

  4. ImpalaMatt

    Yeah. Coyote 5.0 and a 5 or 6 speed, plus some pro-touring suspension and brake bits…Voilà, a Granada G-machiine!

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