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.
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...
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.'