When the Granada was introduced for the 1975 model year, it was marketed as a less-expensive Cadillac, or perhaps a less-expensive Mercedes. Yes, I have seen the print ads, and one of them highlighted a middle-aged urban female who got a parking ticket in her Granada. What did the officer write under “Make of Car?” Cadillac, of course. While that takes a certain suspension of disbelief, the Granada of my early childhood, pictured above as a 1981 model, may be completely forgotten. Indeed, there was a Fox-Body Granada, and the fact that there is such a nice one still plying the roads erases the vanilla you once may have tasted when you saw them way back when. Barn Finds reader Jack M. sent us this forgotten 55,000-mile gem from craigslist in Phoenix, Arizona, and it has the biggest available engine and some fun upgrades, too. The price is about what that original ’75 Granada cost new: $3,900.
This Granada has some strange options considering that it is the base-level “L” model (there were also GLs and GLXs, because that’s the kick Ford was on in 1981). It has the “big” 255 V8, which produced 115 horsepower in 1981; it cost an almost no-brainer $50 over the 200-cubic-inch six that was also available. The base engine? The rough little 2300. Yep, the 255 looks really good in that crowd. This Granada also has air conditioning, although the seller has done the right thing and mentioned that it doesn’t work (all the parts are still there).
The interior leaves almost no doubt that this is a 55,000-mile car; an interior this clean in Arizona could hardly mean anything else. Also, because the Granada was a Fox platform car, the owner has taken advantage of the popularity of the Fox Mustang to perform some repairs and upgrades, including the following:
- New tires (with 1987-89 Mustang GT turbine wheels)
- New shocks, struts, power steering rack, and rear control arms
- QA1 front sway bar and a Mustang GT rear sway bar
- New water pump, aluminum radiator, battery, and alternator
- New heater core (gotcha moment: it has not been installed, a bear of a job on Fox cars)
The original wheels and wheel covers, shown above, will come with the car if you want a more factory-original look, or if you simply don’t like the Mustang turbines. For under four grand, this could easily become someone’s interesting daily driver, especially considering that it could run forever in rust-free Arizona. It could also become the ultimate sleeper, with any number of engine options easily installed between those Fox strut towers. Some have even installed (gasp) GM LS engines. While the Granada didn’t quite capture the imagination of the buying public in 1981 (121,341 sold vs. 302,649 in the original Granada’s introductory 1975 model year), that anonymity is what makes it fun today. This seems like a great buy.
Yes its a clean car but I believe that odometer has rolled once based off the brake pedal when you zoom in and the other rusted components of what should be a fairly dry climate
Low mileage claims on a car this old have to be taken with a grain of salt, nine times out of ten. The tenth? The whole shaker.
A nice week-end worth of shampoo’s and cleaners will do wonders on the whole car including the engine bay. then as previously mentioned some heavy duty stuff for the suspension will make it a fun driver for every day
I remember about ten years before this car was produced, Ford advertised their LTD as more quiet than a Rolls Royce.
It looks like it only has the Mustang turbine wheels on one side of the car.
Guessing they did that to show both sets of wheels without having to change both sides. The craigslist ad has a left side shot of the hubcaps.
At 40 miles per hour!! Lol
Lovely looking car. If only more pictures were posted. IMHO there’s no such thing as too many pictures. The more the better. 🙂
The car is priced to sell into the local market. There are nearly 4 million people in the metropolitan area, anyone who is really interested will make the drive. I agree more pictures are always better, but when a car is inexpensive, especially in an area not prone to rust, it’s not that big of a deal.
Steve R
Very true. Particularly in a place such as Phoenix Arizona. They don’t get much, if any rain or snow.
Modest transportation when this was new. We recognize the air, auto and V8 as extras. While not even marketable today it appears to be a worthy driver as long as you can maintain it or have a trusted shop. White and blue says the old folks owned it first.
Looks like a “sleeper project” the owner has given up on. That’s a fair price though. At one point in time this car was worth probably $800 (like in the mid-90s).
Maybe his intention was to flip it. The parts listed are common and inexpensive on 5.0 forums and easy to install. They will help differentiate it from an unmodified version while increasing what you could sell it for.
Steve R
Foxes came in many flavors; these Granada flavors are largely forgotten. This one looks pretty good. Just have fun with it, knowing that what you do to it won’t harm its value, and that there is tons of aftermarket support for its mechanicals.
That 255 might be the “biggest” engine available for the Granada, but that doesn’t mean it could get out of its own way. The engine was an emissions-choked dog. If I had this car, I’d pull out that garbage from under the hood and plop a fresh 302 in its place. It’s a nice enough car that it would be worth “upgrading”.
AC not working in Phoenix is a non-starter all day long. Take it from me, I live here. Unless you only want to drive this thing November – April.
Yes, it can be repaired but at what cost?
I must not have seen many of these new. The proportions look, odd. The short wheelbase and long overhangs, the tall green house and square C pillar. It looks like a collection of squares that don’t fit. If it wasn’t for the awkward look I agree, drop a 302 in it and get the AC running
I don’t think much changed from the Fairmont except making the body appear bigger and more formal, befitting the name change.
I always thought this car was very strangely proportioned. It’s the fox platform. This particular example needs thoroughly cleaned at the very least. It also looks like a stripper model. I know it’s not very base model, but I wouldn’t want it.
Why do sellers never want to fix the A/C? Especially in a place like Arizona? Doesn’t make sense.
Right? I don’t get it. Given how warm (hot) Arizona can get during the Summer, you’d think having a working A/C unit would be imperative.
Maybe it’s repair cost vs sales net.
Just a compressor is about $350. If the seller is not the one that installed the suspension goodies etc and needs a pro to install it that’s another $250-$400. Start adding in the other stuff it might need like the evaporator ($200+), dryer ($50-$100), condenser ($150-$800!}, and any assortment of other needed parts then add the shop rate $150-$250 @ hr it might not be worth it for what they can get out of it in the end..
And that’s not considering that this used R12 in the system.
Exactly, repairing AC is expensive. It will be November in less than 2 weeks, now is the time to sell a car in Arizona without it.
Steve R
My dad had a Grenada,or a Grenade at least that’s what I called it .It never did explode tho .Also had a few friends that had Grenadas. One was a 3spd stick on the floor with bucket seats the other just a plain Jane all ran pretty good as I recall.
I had a 75 Granada, many years ago. It was a two door, six cylinder, stick shift (which is a big reason why I bought it). It was a nice car, good driving.
Funny. The 255 made 115 horsepower. Only a decade earlier, the 200 6-cylinder made 120. Not sure that was a no brainer, except that stuffing a 302 under the hood might be easier. If you would bother with a Granada.