We have seen a range of Ford Granadas here on Barn Finds over the years, but not many have caught my eye like this one has. A low-mile Arizona car in silver over red? Yes, please. Wait, a two-door model, too? This 1976 Ford Granada can be found posted here on craigslist in Prescott, Wisconsin and the seller is asking $4,600. Here’s the listing in case this one goes away in the near future.
A couple of years ago I would have jumped on this car like (insert un-pc phrase here), but we’re building a new garage and I’ve sworn off buying any cars until next year. I just bought another motorcycle over the weekend so hopefully those don’t count. A two-door silver, early-Granada with a red interior, no rust, and having a V8 is something that I’d love to add to the collection. And, being somewhat local so not having any shipping costs is another huge benefit.
The Granada went through two generations and this car is from the first generation, of course, the second year of production. They were made up until 1982 but I think the early cars were much more interesting. After all, they’re the ones where Ford tried to tie in their looks with Mercedes-Benz which was a pretty interesting move. This particular Mercedes… er.. Granada looks absolutely perfect to me, I don’t see a flaw inside, outside, underneath, or under the hood.
The interior is beautiful in red with no visible flaws that I can see other than maybe some fading on the carpet. Sure, fabric bucket seats would be great as would a 4-speed manual, but it’s hard to argue with this one. The gear changes are accomplished by a 3-speed Ford C4 automatic transmission and column shifter. The seats look perfect and the faux wood dash does, too, as does the steering wheel. Is the steering wheel wearing an aftermarket wrap? The trunk also looks basically like new. This car shows 35,504 miles on the photo of the odometer and the seller has provided a driving video here on YouTube.
The engine compartment looks spoon-and-fork clean, as in it looks like you could eat off of it. This is clearly not a Wisconsin vehicle given the super solid and clean appearance – I’m just thinking of the salt on the roads in Wisconsin and being an Arizona car has definitely preserved this one. The engine is a Ford 302 cubic-inch V8 with around 130 horsepower so it’s not a lot, but a V8 is a V8 is a V8. The seller mentions a lot of work having been completed in the last five years, including “All new brake system, rear shocks, exhaust system, battery, belts, hoses, spark plugs and wires.” Are there any first-generation Granada fans out there?
The Granada, Ford’s answer the the Mercedes E Class, lol. The fit and trim on these were horrible, as with most 70’s and 80’s domestic vehicles. I had the opportunity to drive a Granada with the V8, and the performance was laughable, again, like most early emissions cars of the era. On a positive note, the asking price seems reasonable and the car appears to be in excellent condition, so I would have to believe the 35K mileage claim (unlike the 3500 mile fox body Mustang below). As always, just my opinion.
I too had a Granada with a 302 and it drank a lot of gas for only 122 HP. I swear my 1973 Impala with a 350 got better mileage.
Yes bad fit and finish on the U.S. cars while all the imports completely dissolved into piles of rust . We see where your favorites are from
Two low-mileage, good condition two-door Granadas in one week. This one is very nice.
We can easily criticize them today, but for their day they were attractive move-ups from economy cars and move-downs from full size sedans. Another example of Ford being able to milk years and years out of a platform; there is an excellent article on Curbside Classic outlining the myriad of variations from the basic 1960 Falcon.
I actually like the yellow one a little better, just because of its now-uncommon color. Like I mentioned before, you could have lots of fun conversations at Cars and Coffee with it, as many people had experience with them.
Brings back memories of DriversEd class Fall 1976. We had the 4dr version in a light or sky blue Granada my first semester 10th Grade, & most of us liked it being a little smaller for the class. Of course we were not allowed to check out how fast or anything, but when we didn’t have an instructor in the car, the right front passenger could play around with the extra brake pedal that had been installed on that side!
I glanced too quickly at this article’s headline and mis-read it as “35k mile Grandma Car”
Which is kind of perfect, actually.
My dad purchased a 76 Mercury Monarch same color combination as this vehicle. I still remember as a young kid the smell of the Mercury and was wowed by the analog digital looking clock on the passenger side of the dash. He owned the car for one year before trading it on on a green Volvo 244DL. Up to the Mercury he owned nothing but Toyota cars and as others have mentioned the build quality coupled to poor fuel economy and performance quickly drove him from the brand. He never purchased another American car.
And the 244 had more performance ? LOL
Double the fuel economy, same interior space, better build quality.
Miss my 77 Granada Ghia 4 door.
My parents bought a new ’76 Ghia 4 door, 302, loaded, which was unusual for them. I remember driving it and thinking it rode nice, cornered flat, and was very quiet. They had zero problems with it. Guess they got a good one.
Don’t laugh; it’s got more steel and pass. space in it than any 3 of today’s cars! I miss cars of this size.
I always thought of the Granada as Ford’s poster child for the malaise period.
That said, I’m always heartened by a survivor that’s been lovingly cared for and this one sure fits the bill.
My father had one of these as a company car when new while working at a Ford/Lincoln dealership.
I drove it on many occasions and found it to be very tight and quiet with the smoothness of any Marquis he brought home.
The style isn’t for everyone but I prefer it over the revamped Malibus that came along. Would like to have one with the 4 speed and Magnum 500s which really set these cars off.
Mark, did you live in a very small town?
I ask because seeing a Ford/Lincoln dealership is very rare.
Ford kept Ford separate from the Lincoln Mercury dealerships, unless the town was so small they had to combine them all.
Granadas are one of those cars where I prefer the four door version. Drove a new one like this, only with four doors, in this color combination — with a vinyl roof (haven’t seen many without one) — and I liked it. It was comfortable, rode nicely, and looked good.
Wow…my dad had a 1980 granada, my phone auto corrected to grandpa haha, anyway it was 4 door with the 302 full power options windows locks the window motors always needed attention and the leather or vinyl was extra hot in the summer and extra cold in the winter.
I had a 2 door Granada when I was a kid, bought from my Aunt for 500 bucks or so. It was blue metallic with white partial vinyl top, and cloth interior and those body color wheelcovers (like Mercedes). Just a notch up from this one, but it had a straight 6 so I’d prefer this example!
My Mom had the Mercury Monarch for a while, it was fortunate, it had the 351 Windsor rather than the 302. The 351 Windsor was a rare option. She sold a 1970 Torino with a 351 Cleveland. The Torino was a bronze 2 door in bronze with a black vinyl top. As a kid I liked the Torino better, I think most on barnfinds would agree!
Well, my attempt to try to sneak this one into a storage unit failed. The seller got back to me saying that they just sold it.
Who brought the car.. local?
Gone!
I’ve mentioned this here before, but my girlfriend in the mid-80’s had a Mercury Monarch 2 door that had exactly zero options and was a manual.
I still find it hard to believe that Mercury would have made a model of any car that was stripped of all but the essentials.
The only thing it had going for it was that, unlike all mid-70’s cars in New England at the time, this one had not a speck of rust. She bought it while in college in TX. Other than that, it was a POS.
Remember the Bobcat ? LOL
A 302 Is A 302 Is A 302. You can do lots of things with it. Always Love These, and the Mercury Cousin. If you can find the Lincoln version in had a 9″ with disk brakes. I’ve seen some sweet little sleepers when it came to these. Maybe someday.
Scotty,
You will be glad to know the Granada went to a good home. I guess the official purchase was yesterday 04/26. It is a birthday gift for my
beautiful wife. So we purchased a 1976 Granada, for my wife born in 1976, on the day her dad would have been 76, from a super great guy, who shares a name with mine and Andrea’s son. The car will make a debut at a cruise-in, Pilot Mtn NC, her birthday weekend in May. Many, many, thanks to the seller for being so gracious in these transactions of the purchase, getting the car to NC, etc. We bought matching T-Shirts for the cruise-in, they say, Stay Cool and Drive a Granada. God Bless To All!!!!
Congrats. Cool story. Thanks for letting us know. You will have fun with it.
That’s awesome, Bobby! Hope the wife has a lot of fun with this cream puff.
Super happy to see it going to a household that will appreciate it and keep it nice. These were common when I was in high school and I actually thought the build quality was decent. Buddy had one at the time it was 10 years old with over 100k on it and not only ran fine but the interior held up well. Another friends 6 year old Toyota had such a poor quality interior that the upholstery literally disintegrated with less miles on that car.
Scotty, you should hold out for a car with bucket seats, a console and A/C.
My first new car was a 1977 Granda 2 door with a 250 six and a 4 speed. Fantastic car as long as the road was dry. In ice and snow it was lethal; sold it after I moved to Traverse City Michigan. Two “off roading” experiences [without a scratch on me or the car] were all the excitement I could handle. Very reliable, quiet, and over 25 mpg on the highway.
I love my old Granada! I’m the second owner of a Black 1976, 2 door Granada with a 302, 4 speed in it. Surprises a lot of people when they look inside and see it’s a 4 speed. With the Magnum 500 rims on it it looks pretty good. This Silver 2 door looks pretty nice also. It would look like a different car with the right set of rims on it.
Arizona car with no AC!? What were they thinking!
Bought a 1975 Granada 4 door from Hertz as a used car in 1976. 302 V8, automatic with bucket seat interior, AC and a Philco AM radio. I fixed the radio myself twice and then replaced it with an AM-FM radio from J.C. Whitney which worked fine (and was a breeze to install). I liked it and remember it so well that last year I bought a 1978 four door. Only thing is my “new” one doesn’t have bucket seats.
My parents bought a new 1975 2 door 3 on the tree Granada which I bought from them in 1980 and brought to college. Loved that car but sold it in ‘85 for a Chevy Citation. Wish I could have it back or find one.