Had a 2.8i Ghia S, silver with a dark blue velour interior, with the RS front and rear spoilers, upper spotlights, lower fog lights, I also fitted rear head restraints from the MK2 trimmed to match the interior, loved that car, so capable, refined and comfortable. Loved the looks, the crisp styling has aged really well. Loved the fact that Ford at the time advertised all Ghia’s, from the whole model range, Fiesta, Escort, Cortina , Capri, Granada, in gold, it was most definitely “the Ghia” colour I’m an ex-Ford employee, I have to say the Granada was and is the best car they ever made. It’s a real shame it was cancelled in the 90’s Has a Mercedes W123 280E, the Granada was a better car and wasn’t a rust bucket like the Mercedes was.
My mates parents in about 1979 had a 2.8 GL saloon which I remember riding in which at the time was a large comfortable car and very smooth with the burbling V6 engine and auto transmission. There was a silver Granada 2.8iS VHK 491S used as the squad car in some episodes of Series 4 of The Sweeney TV show which was filmed in 1978.
Really interesting video. Never had a Granny. We used to re-engine (lots of low mileage carb engines around then due to rot and crashes). My experience ... the Essex used to eat gaskets, the Cologne was longer lived but when it died, it was dead. There were loads of pinto's around which were lighter and far easier to work on Diy, with a cheap cam and pretty bullet proof. But I remember doing the heads on an Essex one eve after work and then going down the pub in it. So, we are in the early 80's now, Granny weighed nearly 1/2 ton lighter than a modern Astra, sticking a polished up Essex or Cologne in a stripped Manta which we did (which weighed nearly 3/4 of a ton less than a modern Astra) was a great deal of fun and so cheap! Those were the days.
A mate of mine at school early - mid 80's , his Dad had a gold 2.8 Ghia automatic on a W plate . I thought it was the height of luxury and it felt like being chauffeur driven at the time !
This was my first car,a 1979 2.3L manual 4 speed in metalic red.Very nice car to drive although mine being secondhand had some annoying issues like the smell of oil fumes for the first 15-20 minutes after starting the engine from cold,the sump gasket had a slight oil leak and the only way to remove the sump was to either remove the engine or lower the sub frame.I remember the gear lever came off in my hand when changing up into 2nd when pulling away from a junction...seriously! After a few years I could'nt get a MOT pass because of the amount of rust underneath the body so the poor old girl had to be scrapped.
@@quarterlight Thank you for the video.I remember another issue was the prop shaft would make a 'clonking' sound when changing gear,which according to a local garage was due to wear but not an MOT failure.Interseting fact about the rocker arms is that they were made of bronze.If only Ford in Germany could have put a bit more quality into these otherwise lovely cars!
I definitely prefer the first batch of the mark 2. The facelifted model didn't look nearly as good. Vinyl roof was amazing and it wasn't available for the newer models anymore. That blue GL with vinyl roof and black rims look amazing. For the record: The 2.8i LS manual had the fastest acceleration. 9.4 seconds 0-100 km/h. It was lighter than GL and Ghia. I think the 2.8i GLS was more common. It came with the TRX wheels basically and the later 2.8 Injection was pretty much the same idea. For whatever reason there was a LOT of 2.8i L models in Sweden where my personal car was originally imported to Finland. There was also 2.8i Ghia S which had the TRX package. Brings back so many memories. In my opinion this was the finest car European Ford ever produced. Scorpio was just a "big Sierra" and it didn't have the same vibe anymore. Too bad Ford also made those ridiculous 1.7 V4 and 2.0 basic models. That was always Ford's downside... like Capri. 2.8i and 3.0S were HOT cars... but then they did 1.3 Laser Automatic which kinda brought down the whole respect of the model. Absolutely ridiculous. Cheers. Thanks for the video.
European Granada is far better than US Granada, in all aspect. Sadly they stopped producing it. A few was imported here in the Philippines. A very comfortable car and well balanced. I say one of the best Ford had produced
I believe that the Granada 2.8i S model was available until around 1979. Then there was an "S-pack" option available for the GL model which was badged as a 2.8i GLS. When Ford facelifted the Mk II car around 1981 the sport model was named the 2.8 Injection which had recaro seats as standard.. The above format is similar to what happened with the Cortina. The Mk IV was available as a 2.0S & 2.3S and when the Mk V was launched there was an S-pack option available for the 2.0 & 2.3 GL which was badged a GLS. The S-pack was also available for the 1.6L which was badged as a 1.6LS which had the twin choke carb (standard fitment on the 1.6 Ghia) with higher output of 90 Bhp compared to 75 Bhp in the 1.6 single choke models of base trim, L & GL. Fishnet recaro front seats were a cost option on the S-pack and the seat fabric for the LS was the same as the L model and likewise the GLS seat fabric was the same as the GL model. The S-pack option was also available on the 2.0 & 2.3 Ghia but don't think that recaro seats were available for the Ghia S. It would be great if you could do a video on the S-Pack options for the Cortina V. My recollection is from over 40 years ago when the father of one of my school friends had a W-reg 2.0 GLS with recaros as his company car.
It was always either 2.8i LS or 2.8i GLS. There wasn't a 2.8i S. There was also 2.8i Ghia S from special order. LS was the lightest and the manual had the best acceleration time to 0-100 (9.4 seconds) which was a fast car by the standards of 1978. Those sluggish 3-speed automatics took SO much performance away it wasn't even funny. 2.0 V6 was a strange model as it was even slower than the 2.0 OHC 4 cylinder. Weird that Ford offered all those engines.
Well I do remember this gen Granadas from Germany - pretty popular used car here in Russia. Big, cheap, easy to maintain and reliable. But rust issues killed many those cars - road salt of early 90's was not a gift for all the cars.
My father had a new 1980 Granada 2.3GL in Solar Gold but I can remember when the Mk2 was launched in the UK. Regarding the Granada S model, look up the 1978 TV series 'Out' starring Tom Bell on RUclips - in the series his character drove a bright metallic green Granada S. I've no doubt it was a Ford product placement to promote the new Granada.
Hey, Man...have you ever seen a brochure for the large Aussie cars sold in the UK by Ford, Vauxhall and Chrysler? These were the Ford Fairmont, 'Chevrolet' (Holden Premier) and Chrysler Valiant Regal - super rare cars...even as new. They were sold as an alternative to 'Yank Tanks' at a premium over the Granada size class...they were High Line versions of the full size Australian lines. Very little is said about them now, but quite a few were imported...I even saw a rare Valiant Charger in an Alexei Sayle music video - it intrigued me!
Great look at the 1977 MK 2 Granada launch brochure a childhood thing for me in the 1980's brochures from local dealers still do have the May 1983 Ford Cars brochure and the launch 1982 Sierra and 1983 XR4i Sierra brochures and many more in my collection from the 80's
Back in those days almost all brands had a top model in that class. Let's see: Fiat Croma Renault 25 Citroen CX Opel Senator / Monza Ford Granada Peugeot 505/604 Saab 9000 Alfa Romeo 164 Now that executive class is completely dominated by BMW, Audi and Mercedes. Maybe Volvo can be counted too. Not sure if Jaguar still produces the XF. Doubt it.
The styling is the same as the XD Falcon released here in 79.That is where the similarity ends. Under the skin 100% different and the smallest engine was a 3.3 crossflow 6 , largest 351 Cleveland. The suspension was the same as earlier Falcons. Though it has those horrid Cortina door handles, the fastest moving Ford part of the era. One on my desk as I type. I have literally sold 100s!
I am led to believe this is correct. Ford Au used them as a template for the 79-84 Falcon using an enlarged version of the Granada body shell. They share virtually no engineering commonality despite looking almost identical.
@@quarterlight Yes - the design was internally known as Blackwood...the body styling was pure 1977 Ford international design language and is essentially a scaled up Granada with a few more sharp corners. The OP was not wrong about those door handles! Another change from the XC (Coke Bottle styling) was the use of an all plastic fuel tank and 'Watts Linkage' in the rear end.
Never ever seen a MkII in “S” trim, but countless L and GLs back in the day, the odd Ghia. In Ireland at least, any Granada Estates I ever saw were hearses! No Ghia X trim level in the Mark 2a?
I think it was possible to acquire a Granada L with a 2.8 V6 engine unit but it would have has to be some special order. No rear head restraints or leather upholstery until the facelifted model in 1981/2. The 2.1 diesel engines were Peugeot items. By this time Peugeot had launched a much more improved 2.3 litre diesel engine!
In 1979/80 there was a special edition model called a Sapphire which was two tone - dark blue above the waistline and silver below. I believe this had a leather interior.
Great video ! I wonder what year car brochures started to include the colour and trim options ? Very few mention colours. Any info greatly appreciated, no one seems to know.
That’s a really question and I really don’t know - I don’t have any brochures that are pre-war but colour and different specifications would have appeared before then. It wasn’t until the 1970 when more detailed information was found though.
On the Granada L page what is the difference between the silver car with sports style wheels and the red car with chrome flush hub caps? The chrome flush hub caps are shown again later in the brochure on the silver estate car.
The silver car is the Granada L - it came with what they call sports road wheels - the red car is the Granada diesel - which was less well equipped interestingly - it came with what they call bright wheel trims.The silver estate later in the brochure is the Granada estate L - this came also came with the bright wheel covers (as did the GL estate for that matter. Hope that makes sense.
They do look very similar. The XD falcon was heavily influenced by the European MK2 Ford Granada but I do believe the only component they actually shared was the headlights
I had a diesel built for the taxi market,a rare beast then.probably none left now.
Yea not a very popular version
Such a handsome car. I love Ford's crisp, modern styling from this era. It's very elegant and has aged well.
Had a 2.8i Ghia S, silver with a dark blue velour interior, with the RS front and rear spoilers, upper spotlights, lower fog lights, I also fitted rear head restraints from the MK2 trimmed to match the interior, loved that car, so capable, refined and comfortable. Loved the looks, the crisp styling has aged really well.
Loved the fact that Ford at the time advertised all Ghia’s, from the whole model range, Fiesta, Escort, Cortina , Capri, Granada, in gold, it was most definitely “the Ghia” colour
I’m an ex-Ford employee, I have to say the Granada was and is the best car they ever made. It’s a real shame it was cancelled in the 90’s
Has a Mercedes W123 280E, the Granada was a better car and wasn’t a rust bucket like the Mercedes was.
Yea indeed wonderful cars. Could only dream of owning a Granada Ghia at the time.
My mates parents in about 1979 had a 2.8 GL saloon which I remember riding in which at the time was a large comfortable car and very smooth with the burbling V6 engine and auto transmission. There was a silver Granada 2.8iS VHK 491S used as the squad car in some episodes of Series 4 of The Sweeney TV show which was filmed in 1978.
Really interesting video. Never had a Granny. We used to re-engine (lots of low mileage carb engines around then due to rot and crashes). My experience ... the Essex used to eat gaskets, the Cologne was longer lived but when it died, it was dead. There were loads of pinto's around which were lighter and far easier to work on Diy, with a cheap cam and pretty bullet proof. But I remember doing the heads on an Essex one eve after work and then going down the pub in it. So, we are in the early 80's now, Granny weighed nearly 1/2 ton lighter than a modern Astra, sticking a polished up Essex or Cologne in a stripped Manta which we did (which weighed nearly 3/4 of a ton less than a modern Astra) was a great deal of fun and so cheap! Those were the days.
Thank you enjoyed reading your experience
A mate of mine at school early - mid 80's , his Dad had a gold 2.8 Ghia automatic on a W plate . I thought it was the height of luxury and it felt like being chauffeur driven at the time !
Yep I can see that - The Ghia badge on a Ford was really something to aspire to back then.
This was my first car,a 1979 2.3L manual 4 speed in metalic red.Very nice car to drive although mine being secondhand had some annoying issues like the smell of oil fumes for the first 15-20 minutes after starting the engine from cold,the sump gasket had a slight oil leak and the only way to remove the sump was to either remove the engine or lower the sub frame.I remember the gear lever came off in my hand when changing up into 2nd when pulling away from a junction...seriously! After a few years I could'nt get a MOT pass because of the amount of rust underneath the body so the poor old girl had to be scrapped.
Thank you for the comment I do enjoy reading viewers personal experiences.
@@quarterlight Thank you for the video.I remember another issue was the prop shaft would make a 'clonking' sound when changing gear,which according to a local garage was due to wear but not an MOT failure.Interseting fact about the rocker arms is that they were made of bronze.If only Ford in Germany could have put a bit more quality into these otherwise lovely cars!
I definitely prefer the first batch of the mark 2. The facelifted model didn't look nearly as good. Vinyl roof was amazing and it wasn't available for the newer models anymore. That blue GL with vinyl roof and black rims look amazing. For the record: The 2.8i LS manual had the fastest acceleration. 9.4 seconds 0-100 km/h. It was lighter than GL and Ghia. I think the 2.8i GLS was more common. It came with the TRX wheels basically and the later 2.8 Injection was pretty much the same idea. For whatever reason there was a LOT of 2.8i L models in Sweden where my personal car was originally imported to Finland. There was also 2.8i Ghia S which had the TRX package. Brings back so many memories. In my opinion this was the finest car European Ford ever produced. Scorpio was just a "big Sierra" and it didn't have the same vibe anymore. Too bad Ford also made those ridiculous 1.7 V4 and 2.0 basic models. That was always Ford's downside... like Capri. 2.8i and 3.0S were HOT cars... but then they did 1.3 Laser Automatic which kinda brought down the whole respect of the model. Absolutely ridiculous. Cheers. Thanks for the video.
Thank you - interesting comment - all the best
European Granada is far better than US Granada, in all aspect. Sadly they stopped producing it. A few was imported here in the Philippines. A very comfortable car and well balanced. I say one of the best Ford had produced
I believe that the Granada 2.8i S model was available until around 1979. Then there was an "S-pack" option available for the GL model which was badged as a 2.8i GLS. When Ford facelifted the Mk II car around 1981 the sport model was named the 2.8 Injection which had recaro seats as standard..
The above format is similar to what happened with the Cortina. The Mk IV was available as a 2.0S & 2.3S and when the Mk V was launched there was an S-pack option available for the 2.0 & 2.3 GL which was badged a GLS. The S-pack was also available for the 1.6L which was badged as a 1.6LS which had the twin choke carb (standard fitment on the 1.6 Ghia) with higher output of 90 Bhp compared to 75 Bhp in the 1.6 single choke models of base trim, L & GL. Fishnet recaro front seats were a cost option on the S-pack and the seat fabric for the LS was the same as the L model and likewise the GLS seat fabric was the same as the GL model. The S-pack option was also available on the 2.0 & 2.3 Ghia but don't think that recaro seats were available for the Ghia S.
It would be great if you could do a video on the S-Pack options for the Cortina V. My recollection is from over 40 years ago when the father of one of my school friends had a W-reg 2.0 GLS with recaros as his company car.
Thank you for the comment and Info - I have added the request to my list.
It was always either 2.8i LS or 2.8i GLS. There wasn't a 2.8i S. There was also 2.8i Ghia S from special order. LS was the lightest and the manual had the best acceleration time to 0-100 (9.4 seconds) which was a fast car by the standards of 1978. Those sluggish 3-speed automatics took SO much performance away it wasn't even funny. 2.0 V6 was a strange model as it was even slower than the 2.0 OHC 4 cylinder. Weird that Ford offered all those engines.
Well I do remember this gen Granadas from Germany - pretty popular used car here in Russia. Big, cheap, easy to maintain and reliable. But rust issues killed many those cars - road salt of early 90's was not a gift for all the cars.
My father had a new 1980 Granada 2.3GL in Solar Gold but I can remember when the Mk2 was launched in the UK. Regarding the Granada S model, look up the 1978 TV series 'Out' starring Tom Bell on RUclips - in the series his character drove a bright metallic green Granada S. I've no doubt it was a Ford product placement to promote the new Granada.
Thank you for your comment that’s very interesting.
Ford Granada Ghia was the most beautyfull version
Hey, Man...have you ever seen a brochure for the large Aussie cars sold in the UK by Ford, Vauxhall and Chrysler? These were the Ford Fairmont, 'Chevrolet' (Holden Premier) and Chrysler Valiant Regal - super rare cars...even as new. They were sold as an alternative to 'Yank Tanks' at a premium over the Granada size class...they were High Line versions of the full size Australian lines.
Very little is said about them now, but quite a few were imported...I even saw a rare Valiant Charger in an Alexei Sayle music video - it intrigued me!
I have not but will keep my eye out - they are indeed intriguing.
Great look at the 1977 MK 2 Granada launch brochure a childhood thing for me in the 1980's brochures from local dealers still do have the May 1983 Ford Cars brochure and the launch 1982 Sierra and 1983 XR4i Sierra brochures and many more in my collection from the 80's
Thank you for the comment always takes me back when I open an old car brochure.
Back in those days almost all brands had a top model in that class. Let's see:
Fiat Croma
Renault 25
Citroen CX
Opel Senator / Monza
Ford Granada
Peugeot 505/604
Saab 9000
Alfa Romeo 164
Now that executive class is completely dominated by BMW, Audi and Mercedes. Maybe Volvo can be counted too. Not sure if Jaguar still produces the XF. Doubt it.
The styling is the same as the XD Falcon released here in 79.That is where the similarity ends. Under the skin 100% different and the smallest engine was a 3.3 crossflow 6 , largest 351 Cleveland. The suspension was the same as earlier Falcons.
Though it has those horrid Cortina door handles, the fastest moving Ford part of the era. One on my desk as I type. I have literally sold 100s!
I am led to believe this is correct. Ford Au used them as a template for the 79-84 Falcon using an enlarged version of the Granada body shell. They share virtually no engineering commonality despite looking almost identical.
@@quarterlight Yes - the design was internally known as Blackwood...the body styling was pure 1977 Ford international design language and is essentially a scaled up Granada with a few more sharp corners. The OP was not wrong about those door handles!
Another change from the XC (Coke Bottle styling) was the use of an all plastic fuel tank and 'Watts Linkage' in the rear end.
Never ever seen a MkII in “S” trim, but countless L and GLs back in the day, the odd Ghia. In Ireland at least, any Granada Estates I ever saw were hearses! No Ghia X trim level in the Mark 2a?
It was essentially Ford's version of Mercedes
I think it was possible to acquire a Granada L with a 2.8 V6 engine unit but it would have has to be some special order. No rear head restraints or leather upholstery until the facelifted model in 1981/2.
The 2.1 diesel engines were Peugeot items. By this time Peugeot had launched a much more improved 2.3 litre diesel engine!
Thank you for the comment - some great info
In 1979/80 there was a special edition model called a Sapphire which was two tone - dark blue above the waistline and silver below. I believe this had a leather interior.
Great video ! I wonder what year car brochures started to include the colour and trim options ?
Very few mention colours. Any info greatly appreciated, no one seems to know.
That’s a really question and I really don’t know - I don’t have any brochures that are pre-war but colour and different specifications would have appeared before then. It wasn’t until the 1970 when more detailed information was found though.
On the Granada L page what is the difference between the silver car with sports style wheels and the red car with chrome flush hub caps? The chrome flush hub caps are shown again later in the brochure on the silver estate car.
The silver car is the Granada L - it came with what they call sports road wheels - the red car is the Granada diesel - which was less well equipped interestingly - it came with what they call bright wheel trims.The silver estate later in the brochure is the Granada estate L - this came also came with the bright wheel covers (as did the GL estate for that matter. Hope that makes sense.
That's an Aussie XD Falcon
They do look very similar. The XD falcon was heavily influenced by the European MK2 Ford Granada but I do believe the only component they actually shared was the headlights
They looked very similar to mazda