78 "Grenade" Project... Kinda Different

not to highjack, but if you guys like fords that are "different" then check out my new ride......................

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1980 Ford Fiesta. front wheel drive with a 1.6L "kent" engine (same as the pinto but with different motor mount locations on the block

the guy we got it from thought it was way too cool and painted it that green, added green underlighting, a light up license plate holder, painted the hood to look like carbon fiber (rofl), added a car alarm, those american racing rims, and even decided that light up windshield washer nozzles would be cool. basically this thing has every available part from autozone on it.

We're planning on entering the car into some SCCA rally cross events in the near future.
 
haha yeah, your granada definitely has a lot of sleeper potential, but you're going to have to keep an eye on her or you might walk out of your house one day to find your spindles missing! but yeah, that ugly thing is not my daily driver. a friend and i co-purchased it for for the sole purpose of rally cross racing it (auto-x on dirt basically). for $440 i think we got a pretty good deal.

I'm thinking that the granada would gain a few style points if you added a turbo. nobody would expect to hear the sound of a blow off valve coming out of that thing.

-duke
 
I had a 77 Granada right out of high school. It had a 250(6cyl) with a 3 speed with OD(on the floor). I think it was some sort of sport model. I built a 1969 351W for it and bolted it up to the stock tranny. It was "fast". My good friend and I are going to build a drag only car(Granada) someday. I like the body style and its different. Good luck.
 
I have a soft spot for Granolas. My Mom bought a new one in 1975 that was forest green with a tan interior and had a 302, auto, air. I always liked that car. You can search ebay for them, and find damn nice ones for under two grand. These cars have zero resale value and they are just a Mustang underneath. Nice cruisers.
 
if you need any obscure used small parts, let me know. We have a 75 4dr Granada Ghia, a 77 govt issue Granada, and a 77 versailles, all in various stages of being parted out. I remember my dad used to drive the hell outta that 75, it was a 302, 3 spd manual car. He fiddled with the timing and put on a double roller timing set, it made big difference. He also ditched the cat. converter and the stock muff, put on a single glasspack, which burnt out in record time, lol. I later learned how to drive in that car, seemed reasonably powerful even though it was only rated at like 130 hp.

If I could find a decent two door car in good shape, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it, they are cool cars and super cheap to operate.
 
there was an article in hot rod a few years back, part of the dare to be different series, where they had someone draw up a a saleen inspired granada. it was pretty damn cool, it looked like a saleen SSC and a BMW or something combined. they went for the euro look since the granada was originally introduced as Euro fighter.


it would be kinda cool to see one done like that.
 
I bought a 76 Granada in 97 and drove it until 04 as one of my daily drivers. Put it back on the road for a couple months in 06 but had too many cars. It's got 69 stang drum brakes and sway bar with a two tone (white over blue rattle can) paint job but rode and handled like a dream. It just sits now in the driveway as a mini storage building for all the parts off my 69 351c stang while painting it.

Every time I go the Ford weekend in Carlisle PA, I see several in the corral and am tempted to buy another
 
Thanks for all the positive reviews guys!

I just got it on the road and am VERY happy with the results. My only real concern now is my rear pinion angle. When I welded my new perches on, I must have gotten it a bit too high. I also had to lower the trans crossmember for tunnel clearance, so the combination of the two make for a very silly looking driveshaft angle. i'm gonn try to get some shims to try and fix the rear pinion angle, and i just put a set of shackles for some lift. now i don't have to rely on the air shocks for my altitude. makes for a much nicer ride. Next project is to patch the rust. :bang: