When the Ford Granada was conceived, it was to be the successor to the aging Maverick. However, the car was more upscale than its intended predecessor, so Ford kept both cars for three years (1975-77) before the Maverick disappeared. The Granda took cues from some of Ford of Europe’s products, such as calling the upscale coupe a Ghia. Located in Macon, Georgia, this ’77 Ghia is said to be a survivor that was in storage for a time. It runs but could use a tune-up and a new vinyl roof covering. It’s available here on Facebook Marketplace for $7,500 OBO. Thanks for the tip, “PRA4SNW”.
This Ford was built during the middle of the so-called “Malaise Era” of U.S. automobile production. Cars generally built between 1973 and 1983 fall into this category because quality was not Job 1 in those days. So, this begs the question, will the Granada ever be collectible, or are examples like this one just nice vintage vehicles? Across two generations from 1975 to 1982, more than two million Granadas were built (along with quite a few Mercury Monarchs, which were the same car). Where are they now?
The seller’s car will soon be 50 years old, yet it only has 64,000 miles on the clock. And unlike any factory Maverick, it has a 351 cubic inch V8 under the hood (2-barrel carburetor, no doubt). As you would expect for a “luxury car” (bear with me), this Granada has an automatic transmission. The interior is clean, and the paint is good, with no signs of rust per the seller. It spent an undetermined number of years in a garage before relocating to a carport. It has air conditioning, which still gets the job done.
We’re told the vinyl roof covering shows signs of age and should be on your to-do list at some point. And the auto needs a tune-up from sitting (why didn’t the seller have that done before listing the machine?). Time was found to change out the heater valve and thermostat. The sound system has been updated but still looks period-correct (per the seller). At what price point would you be in on this Ford?
A decent used car with the right number of doors, and an engine that could be woken up. Wonder how much lower OBO could be acceptable…
Agree w Fahrv…nice 351 Ghia Granada. Good eye snow ❄️ thanks for writing it up Dixon. 👍
I doubt that many of these left the assembly line with a 351. It’d be interesting to see the Marti report. The asked price seems reasonable.
Quite frankly I was expecting a six or maybe a 302. This was a nice surprise finding a 351 under the hood. It looks extremely well kept, inside and out and under the hood too.
First one I’ve ever seen with cornering lights. Didn’t know you could get those on these cars. 351 is a nice touch too on an overall decent ride.
I like cornering lights on cars. Granada offered them starting in 1976 and went through the rest of the production run.
I have them on my Buick Lucerne. All of these come on with your turn signals but mine also come on briefly turning the steering wheel a little like beginning to navigate a curve.
Call me crazy, but I always liked the body on these. Reminded me of an LTDs younger brother. 351 is a very nice surprise. Nice find and write up.
You get what you pay for sometimes. This seems to be a good find.
Looks good. Clean. And priced well. Should sell fast to someone who likes these. Me myself, I’m partial to the 70’s colonnade style GM’s way over these type.
I had a 302 76 Granada Ghia coupe for a short time. Outside was mint but serious rust underneath surprised me. It was quiet, smooth and pleasant to drive. Ford did a nice job with the interior. About 5 years ago they started showing up at weekly car shows. Elites, Granada, Mustang II and some Torinos. I think they were stuck in garages with owners hoping “one day.”
Thought I knew my ’70’s Fords but never heard of a 351 Granada. Nice example, by now gotta be a unicorn.
This Ford Granada Ghia was just as much of luxury cars Lincoln Versailles was. My mother bought a brand new 1976 mercury monarch grand Ghia and it was so similar to a Versailles that it was unreal. All these cars were extremely inter-related and more badge engineering. However, they truly were decent vehicle for the time and sold very well. Maybe Ford needs to do this again? Actually sell cars that people want. Just an idea.
Pretty nice Granada, I must say. Reminds me a bit of one my high school buddy had but his was a nice metallic brown with the tan interior and Magnum 500ish wheels.
my grandmother traded her 65 Catalina for 1 of these. that car was the biggest POS. it spent more time in the shop. she kept 16 yrs and tried to keep it nice, but it just rotted away. i think it had about 75k on it when i sold it for her.
16 years? That pretty good for 70’s iron.
I sold Fords for 53 years. I was at the Ford new car intro show for dealership people when Ford introduced the Granada. The speaker said with a straight face, “this is our answer to the Mercedes -Benz.” I snickered at that line and drew angry stares from some Ford people.
We sold a lot of them, mostly 4 doors although the 2 door had nice lines.
as nice as the one that was on here a few days ago. But, I like the color of the other one better
Yeah I really liked that one – the color and overall look of it was great. When these came out I always thought they looked (and probably drove) terrible but boy have they grown on me in the last few years. Can’t explain it but I would love to own one now. Maybe one day I will.
This is what the other one looked like
Pop bought mom a new 2 door, ’75 Raven Black Granada that had the 302. I’ve never seen one with a factory 351w.
’75 was the first year for the FoMoCo electronic ignition, Duraspark I. They had a nasty habit of dying out of the blue clear sky and not crank back up until it damn well wants to.
Pop wound up pulling out the Duraspark and slapped an old points distributor in it and never had another issue.
Early electronic ignition systems, particularly the Ford Duraspark systems, were somewhat problematic, but once the Engineers got the bugs worked out, they became reliable as a rock, and were far more reliable than the breaker point systems they replaced. Modern electronic ignition systems are not only more reliable than the breaker point systems they replaced, they are cheaper, as well. So cheap, in fact, that they have completely replaced the breaker points used in the magneto ignition systems of your lawnmower or snowblower engine! The entire electronic module is sealed, including the ignition coil, so if it fails, the only cure is to replace it!
Oh yeah. I put a Duraspark II setup in my ’67 fastback and it was as reliable as an anvil. The only problem I ever had with it was a 20+ year old coil finally giving out. I slapped another ancient coil in it’s place and the last I heard it was still working just fine.
351, cornering lights, AC, Ghia trim but still crank windows….Why???
Nice car and likely a very fair price. I don’t remember the V8 badge. I’m wondering if 302 cars got that badge or just 351 cars. I would think it would preform nicely with that engine…at least by 1977 standards.
Lots of people didn’t trust power windows and other accessories back then. And cars only came with a 12/12 warranty.
True. My Mom, for one. She wouldn’t have a car with power windows, as she was afraid that one of us kids horsing around in the car would raise the window by mistake with some kid hanging his head out of the window and get choked to death by accident! Also, power accessories were expensive, and these were lower cost compact and subcompact models, bought primarily for their low price. Most people kept the option list short, to keep the price down. Most cars of this vintage had only an AM radio, an automatic transmission, and maybe power steering and/or power brakes, and little else in the way of accessories.
True enough, and modern upgrades can restore the lost ponies that the EPA took away with the anti-smog gear of the period. Ditching the smog-choked carburetor for either throttle-body or port fuel injection, combined with some light machine work to increase the compression ratio, should help. Add in the usual assortment of go-fast goodies (headers, dual exhaust, ported and polished heads, or aftermarket heads) to allow the engine to breathe properly, and these can be nice sleepers!
The 351 is a rare option, most of these came with sixes or a 302. The Ford Fairmont/Mercury Zephyr twins replaced the Maverick & Comet three (3) years after these debuted, in late 1977 as a model year 1978 offering. I never cared for the styling of these, as they echoed the “Ford Baroque” styling of the period, with overdone front and rear ends, the faux Mercedes grille just looked silly! Based on the unibody Falcon platform that also formed the structure for the Mustang and the Maverick/Comet twins, this was the end of the line for that platform before the Fox-Body platform would replace it in the Fairmont/Zephyr twins.
My mom bought a 76 4 door with a 302 and 3 speed floor shifter. Comfortable and reasonably fuel efficient. The owners manual listed the 351 as an optional engine.
Had a killer A/C system. I bought it from her when I graduated college in 1980 and it required constant upkeep to keep it tip top from rust, plastic parts falling off and rattles and squeaks. Still, I would not hesitate to buy this one with the 351. The drive train is pretty bullet proof. Should be a good runner. Best of success to the lucky buyer.
Should be a 9in with disc brakes, at least mine was.
Got a sales job when I was in my twenties. One of the perks was a Granada or Monarch as a company car. They fired the sales manager and I ended up with his brand new Lincoln Versailles in cordovan maroon. Every option and then some. I absolutely loved that car. Decades have passed and I’ve graduated to German luxury cars, but I still have a fond memory of the Versailles—hope it’s still on the road somewhere.
I like these cars. The odd thing with this one is, if it has been in storage for so long, why does it have a Bluetooth radio installed, yet it needs to be tuned up.
Somebody has been driving it around. I only hope they weren’t driving it with all the 50 year old fluids in it.
I had its high class brother ! Lol The Mercury Monarch also had 351 W under the hood. Great car even the backseat was comfortable. Only problem was the doors were too heavy and that plastic piece on the door latch would wear out , lol nothing black tape couldn’t fix for a month or two. Eldelbrock intake and a four barrel back when the elite series first came out lol looked good on the vavle covers and air cleaner. Sure dont make em like that anymore. Gas prices keep that from happening !
The 351 Granada’s are almost unicorns!