81 ford granada (marquis)

 

The Granada was Ford’s flagship model originally launched in 1972 to replace the ageing Zephyr in the U.K and the P7 in Europe, initially badged as a Consul due to a trademark lawsuit by The Granada Group (a television media company), a lawsuit which they subsequently lost allowing Ford to trademark the Granada name.  The Mk1 Granada was produced from 1972 until 1976 and came in a variety of trim levels from L being the lowest to Ghia being the highest, also with numerous engine options from a 1.7 litre (104ci) V4 up to a 3.0 litre (183ci) V6, there was even a 4.9 litre (302ci) V8 version available in South Africa made by Perana.

In 1977 Ford introduced us to the Mk2 Granada which was basically a Mk1 with updated body styling, it was a couple inches longer in the wheelbase and six inches longer overall, engine choices to start with were similar to the Mk1 with the smaller V4 engines replaced with an I4 Pinto engine and the V6 Essex engines replaced with the V6 Cologne engines, there were even a couple of diesel engine options.  In September 1981 the Mk2 received a facelift with revised bumpers, grille, taillights and interior and later a Ghia X model was produced with all options such as sunroof, heated seats, air conditioning and Connolly leather seats as standard.

Finally from 1985 until 1994 Ford produced the Mk3 Granada with a more rounded modern body shape, updated suspension, revised driveline and engines.  Engine options included a 1.8 litre (110ci) and 2.0 litre (122ci) I4 Pinto engines, 2.4 litre (146ci),  2.8 litre (171ci) and later 2.9 litre (177ci) V6 Cologne engines.  In 1991 Ford released a top of the range Scorpio model with a 24 valve, quad cam 2.9 litre V6 producing 200hp and a top speed of 140mph.

 

History of the Granada Marquis

Leaving Ford’s Cologne, Germany factory June 1981 as a 2.0L model, the lowest trim level possible with no electric windows or seats, no central locking, no air conditioning, no power steering, steel wheels, only an AM/LW radio with one speaker centrally mounted in the dashboard and an inline four cylinder engine, this particular car was originally sold to Mr Paul De Kerpel a Belgium senator by Cegeac Motors a  dealership in Brussels on 7th October 1981.   On June 8th 2019 the car was purchased and imported to the U.K. by Mr Paul Norris, after registration and recommissioning the car was sold to its current owner Mr Dereck Cook on 28th December 2019, still with only 12200 original kilometres (7580 miles).

why ford granada marquis?

Having just finished a Lambretta Chopper my spanner fingers were getting itchy for a new project and whilst idly browsing the interweb and watching some Youtube videos one evening the idea struck me to fit a modern American V8 into a classic British/European car.  Now the search was on not only for a suitable engine but a car to put it in.

Please follow the links below to find out how the 1981 Ford Granada Marquis was created. (Click on pictures to see at full size)