RE: SOTW: Ford Granada Ghia X
Friday 6th June 2008
Whether you robbed banks or managed them in the eighties this was the car for you. Big Fords sadly died out in this country with the bug-eyed monster of the late nineties but back in the day they had, as their drivers might have put it, ‘clout’. And there was none better than the Granada 2.8 Ghia X. Thirsty, powerful and big – everything that you are not allowed to like these days. The Mark II had been produced from 1977 to 1985 in four-door, estate and even a rare two-door shape. It was a far more elegant car than its predecessor and there were German built 2.3-litre engines as well as a small number of diesels produced. But forget all those, what you really wanted was the 2.8-litre. Special editions were brought out almost on a daily basis to keep the interest of fleet customers, but in 1982 Ford brought out the king of the Grannies – the Ghia X. 160bhp in the eighties was something to shout about and would be enough to push this Ford up to a heady 120mph. It wasn't just on the motorway that the Granada could hold its own either, the Cologne V6 (2792cc) would throw the car to 60mph in a respectable 8.9 seconds too.
Yes it had heated front seats and yes metallic paint was standard - this was a high spec bruiser that would take on the new breed of hot hatches in total comfort. The rear-drive handling was decent for a car of this size, adding fun to those drives back from the boardroom. After the Mark II died out in 1985 some of the magic was lost. The Sierra-esque lines lacked the authority of the squared off Grannies of the past and before long no-one wanted to buy them.
Ad Reads: '1984 Ford Granada 2.8 Ghia X, nimbus grey,
Mot May 09, Taxed May 08, recent service, new tyres, tie bar bushes, tracking set etc, 38 DGAS Weber carb, K&N filter, drives very well, slight rust on front wings but generaly a very clean car inside and out.'
SOTW: Ford Granada Ghia X
Old school bruiser from the days when people wanted big Fords
The Mark II was certainly cool enough to make a cameo in gangster flick 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' and since most have been used and abused they will undoubtedly become classics of the future. This Ghia X cropped up on classiccarsforsale.co.uk and is even more of a sleeper thanks to a K&N air filter and interestingly, a Weber carb. It’s got the good old Tax and MOT and has a recent service, with a few bits and pieces corrected. A bit of rust on the front wings should be easy to sort and overall the car looks pretty clean.
All this for £750 ono? It’s a deal, it’s a steal etc, etc...
Mot May 09, Taxed May 08, recent service, new tyres, tie bar bushes, tracking set etc, 38 DGAS Weber carb, K&N filter, drives very well, slight rust on front wings but generaly a very clean car inside and out.'
Discussion
Cracking old ford, I have a real soft spot for 80s cars, even the boring dull ones..
Its a shame so many have been banger raced to hell thou.
That 2.8v6 in carb on injection form, whezzy, old fashioned and not very powerful, but just briming with character. makes a great sound with stainless pipes as well.
wood look veneer, they dont do it like that any more....
Its a shame so many have been banger raced to hell thou.
That 2.8v6 in carb on injection form, whezzy, old fashioned and not very powerful, but just briming with character. makes a great sound with stainless pipes as well.
wood look veneer, they dont do it like that any more....
.
As far as I was aware, the two doors were MkIs (I have a Ford Range brochure from 1979 that confirms this: anorak or what??).
Also quotes power (sic) figure of 63PS for the Diesel and the 2.0 Pinto-engined one @ 99PS... and you could have an auto if you weren't in a hurry.
Unfortunately my brochure is too old to feature "your" car, but a top-of-the-range 2.8 Ghia Auto in 1979 was £7938.31 on the road. Metallic paint was £62.35.
Happy days...
Also quotes power (sic) figure of 63PS for the Diesel and the 2.0 Pinto-engined one @ 99PS... and you could have an auto if you weren't in a hurry.
Unfortunately my brochure is too old to feature "your" car, but a top-of-the-range 2.8 Ghia Auto in 1979 was £7938.31 on the road. Metallic paint was £62.35.
Happy days...
I bought one about ten years ago, a 2.8 Ghia X Estate when a football injury required me to be in plaster for a couple of months. I couldn't be without a car so an auto was called for. Metallic gold with brown velour interior and wood capped door trims. Stereo would only play Barry White songs!!
Power steering was ligheter when turning left and the brakes were shot, but it was still great fun when you were used to FWD hot hatches.
Sold it straight away again for £25 more than I paid for it. That helped pay for some of the petrol.
Power steering was ligheter when turning left and the brakes were shot, but it was still great fun when you were used to FWD hot hatches.
Sold it straight away again for £25 more than I paid for it. That helped pay for some of the petrol.
Edited by rgracin on Friday 6th June 13:06
Edited by rgracin on Friday 6th June 13:08
I was deeply gutted as in 84/85 my dad got a promotion at work and his new company car was to be a Granada Ghia X, but then ford released the jelly mold Scorpio series and my dad just hated the look off them, so instead he went a got a 85 senator 3.0iCD in bronze..
The senator had flashy LCD dials and stuff, but it wasn't a Ghia X and that truly troubled me!!!!
The senator had flashy LCD dials and stuff, but it wasn't a Ghia X and that truly troubled me!!!!
Superb car, big, simple and great for a laugh! I have many fond memories of these. You can tell all the young'uns who go on looks alone, this thing was iconic back in the day! The 7 series didn't exist as a serious proposition and the S class was way too expensive.
Love it, great find!
Love it, great find!
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