by "Dave the car guy , still here" (a3dave)
Published 11/01/2017 at 18:38
by "Dave the car guy , still here" (a3dave)
Published 11/01/2017 at 18:38
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STARS: 3
One of my coworkers has about 6 cars but usually weather permitting rides his motorcycle. I knew he also had a suicide door Lincoln but a few weeks back he showed up in this. Its the two door 6 cylinder version and he has slightly oversize rims on it. I think he said he is the third owner. Not a full on Donk but a nice clean cruiser, remarkably rust free. It caught my eye because I had owned its stable mate a 1976 black 4 door Mercury Monarch Ghia with a 302 Windsor, 4 wheel disc brakes and factory alloy wheels back in 1977-79. What was amusing was my 302 was a bit faster than one of my friends 1977 Camaro RS with a 305 at the time. I made the Merc handle better by swapping the shocks to HD gas ones plus switched to BFG T/A tires when I removed the ill-fated Firestone 500's, all while my car only had 18k miles. It transformed the car handling wise into something you could sling around instead of just floating along. What had been near dangerous on a curve was all of a sudden a pleasure to drive. I had owned a Triumph, Gremlin, Saab and Fiat prior to the Mercury so I’d wanted it to be more nimble like the smaller cars and the changes worked.
Being based on the Falcon chassis much like the Mustang there was actually a lot you could do to these cars but I never got the chance for more mods before I needed to trade mine. My sister used the car for a year while I was in Texas working offshore and she beat the car to death. I had to do a valve job, brakes, suspension work and get tires again after she had driven it for only 22k miles. It had under 60k when I finally traded it and got a Mk1 Fiesta. I’ll have to see if I can drive my coworkers Granada. Not much he will ever do to it being its a six cylinder but I’d be tempted to do a cam and exhaust. I had to post this little article because Richards car is so OPPO. Hopefully I can get a picture of his big Lincoln next year.
"For Sweden" (rallybeetle)
11/01/2017 at 18:44, STARS: 2
this is a Granada thread
"Dave the car guy , still here" (a3dave)
11/01/2017 at 18:53, STARS: 1
Approved. I always thought it was an underrated car. With its chassis background there was so much that could be done to the car. If I ever had the time and money I’d love to make a Red Pig homage car since it was supposed to have been tailored as competition for the 280 MB. Next on the list for mine would have been a cam.
"wafflesnfalafel" (wafflesnfalafel1)
11/01/2017 at 19:07, STARS: 1
The 302 Granadas are great little sleepers. A high school buddy had a blue 2dr.
"Dave the car guy , still here" (a3dave)
11/01/2017 at 19:30, STARS: 0
This picture from the brochure was very close to my car. It was black with the dark red vinyl top. Being a 302, Ghia model with the 4 wheel disc and the alloys was a rarity. I picked it up with only 14k at a dealer that got government auction cars. It was only 16 months old when I bought it in 1977. Never knew what agency had it. With a cam and a distributor advance kit from Mr. Gasket these cam to life a lot better. All I ever did on a couple of my older GM and Ford V8s was install a new weight kit and change the timing slightly to make the cars a little faster. They were so tuned for the emissions at the time that the performance suffered. My wife’s old 79 Buick Regal back in the 80s ran about a second faster quarter time with just an advance weight kit and timing tweak.
"SpeedSix" (speedsix)
11/01/2017 at 19:35, STARS: 1
Proportion-wise, I’ve always thought that the four-door looked better than the two-door - it doesn’t help that most two-doors had opera windows.
There’s quite the community around hopping up those inline sixes.
"Dave the car guy , still here" (a3dave)
11/01/2017 at 20:07, STARS: 0
"Chariotoflove" (chariotoflove)
11/01/2017 at 20:42, STARS: 1
Very nice. Thanks for sharing.
"Dave the car guy , still here" (a3dave)
11/01/2017 at 20:44, STARS: 2
No problem. Its in amazing condition and I believe original paint.
"Tristan" (casselts)
11/01/2017 at 20:50, STARS: 1
Thanks for sharing! I’ve got a big soft spot for these. Not for any sentimental reason, just because they’re neat.
"John-Palazzo" (John-Palazzo)
11/01/2017 at 22:04, STARS: 1
Ooooooh, a Ford done in mild box style. Neat! Most Boxes are Chevys, always nice to see some variation.