Junkyard Find: 1977 Ford Granada Ghia
I took my first driver’s-license test in a 1979 Ford Granada, and so I always notice Granadas (and Monarchs) when I see them on the street (very rarely) and in the junkyard (slightly more frequently).
The Granada Ghia was the version with the top trim level, using the name of Ford-purchased Carrozzeria Ghia. Since you could also buy a Fiesta Ghia, there was a certain amount of 70s-style designer-label brand-cheapening involved.
This car has the 302-cubic-inch V8 instead of the standard, miserably low-powered 250 L6. The V8 Granadas weren’t quick, but they managed to avoid being dangerously slow.
Riding as a passenger in my parents’ Granada, I would get a little bit freaked out by the Faces of Tormented Souls In Hell™ pattern on the faux woodgrain interior panels.
Like every Granada that shows up in a junkyard, this one had its front brake components yanked immediately. That’s because the Granada is a member of the same chassis family that produced the 1964-73 Mustang, which means that Granada brakes can be used as a bolt-on disc upgrade for old Mustangs.
I collect old car clocks, but I’ve learned that exactly zero percent of these mechanical digital Ford clocks of the 1980s are in working condition.
You don’t see many cultural references to the Granada, but here’s about the only reference I can find in popular culture.
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
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Watching this Granada commercial brought back some memories: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Sblq-CwzEY I vividly recall my father first viewing this commercial in 1977 and saying in disgust " When that Ford is in the junkyard, that Mercedes will still be on the road!"
Here is a link to a summary of 1975-80 advertisements that compared the Ford Granada to a Mercedes and a Cadillac: http://www.examiner.com/article/the-1975-80-ford-granada-had-a-simple-yet-effective-ad-campaign-we-copied-the-cars-you-really-want