Jim's 1976 Ford Granada

[Palf70Step]

Nice little project. I had the Mercury version, the Monarch...an 80 4 door. Ugly as sin (to me) but it hauled the family for a few years. Mine was just a six though.

[bollybib]

Car work is like painting, most of the work is prep work. At last I've begun reassembly and am having fun again !


This is the tool to install the Sleeve 'n' Seal. You could probably install the sleeve without the tool, but after using it, I was glad I bought it. This way I knew that the sleeve was being pressed on without any distortion.




Here is what I used to install the sleeve. The sleeve is secured with Fel Pro's Pro Lock II that is included in the timing cover gasket kit. I used the bolt, nut and washers to pull the tool on to the damper snout (similar to the operation of a damper installation tool).




The groove on the damper snout is quite apparent in this pic. I cleaned the circumference with 1500 grit wet/dry paper and wiped it clean with acetone before I installed the sleeve.




Here I am pressing the sleeve on to the snout. I first coated the damper snout and the inside of the sleeve with the Pro Lock II.




And there you have it. The sleeve only covers the inner groove where the wear is worst.




Next, installing the new timing gear set.

[bollybib]

Originally Posted by Palf70Step

Nice little project. I had the Mercury version, the Monarch...an 80 4 door. Ugly as sin (to me) but it hauled the family for a few years. Mine was just a six though.

I agree, the four-doors didn't have nice lines like the two-doors.

BTW, mine is a six, 250 cubic inches @ 88 hp net !

[bollybib]

I had more ambition today than I thought. I got the gear set in. It's a pretty easy job. I had to rotate the cam slightly to mate with the aligned gears and new chain.



I put Loctite on the cam bolt and torqued to 45 ftlb.




Alignment marks are good. A pic like this can be useful later to verify that the alignment was done properly. Compare this with the old chain in Post #20, it's amazing how much they stretch over time. The old one had about 50,000 miles or so on it.




All done with the slinger on, too.




Next up, the timing cover.

[bollybib]

I've had a lifelong interest in "the-fundamentals-of" and "how-to" types of books. While reading up on gasket installation for my Granada project, I stumbled across this one on amazon.com for less than five bucks (including shipping). It is very comprehensive and is much handier than searching all over the internet for this info.














OK, that was a fun early morning post. I think I'm gonna go check the surf now.

[LEEVON]

So when are you going to start the LSx swap?

[bollybib]

Originally Posted by LEEVON

So when are you going to start the LSx swap?

That is a very good question - one to which I have considered numerous answers, all of which contain the word “Never !”. It would be an awesome feat to put an engine like that in Grandma’s Granada, no doubt.

My Granada is still considered a pollution controlled vehicle in California and it is regulated accordingly. I suppose an engine swap could be done given adequate time, money, and motivation. Legal and political savvy would help, too.

Take a gander at this, it is only the tip of the iceberg.

http://www.bar.ca.gov/80_BARResource...uidelines.html

Swapping the engine of my choice into this potential sleeper would be free of government interference if the Granada were only one model year older, 1975.

[bollybib]

Cover with new seal is back on now. I used the damper to align the cover before torquing it down.




I cleaned up the timing tab so I can see wtf I'm doing now timing wise.




Next up, the oil pan.

Oh wait, today is Thanksgiving so next up is turkey and dressing !
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone !


(the oil pan is on deck)

[Tx Firefighter]

I've been watching this thread out of respect for your work ethic and craftsmanship. Then I noticed your build thread link on your signature and realized that your truck build thread is another of my favorites on here. You do damn good work whether Chevy orange or Ford blue.
Posted via Mobile Device

[bollybib]

Originally Posted by Tx Firefighter

I've been watching this thread out of respect for your work ethic and craftsmanship. Then I noticed your build thread link on your signature and realized that your truck build thread is another of my favorites on here. You do damn good work whether Chevy orange or Ford blue.
Posted via Mobile Device

Thanks. My incentive is that these two cars are my basic transportation so I need to keep them in good running order. The 76 Granada is the newest car I own !

[bollybib]

Here is a pic taken back in '06. I used this car for almost daily dawn patrols at El Porto for several years. There are quite a few classic car buffs that surf there. Everyone seemed to get a lot of enjoyment out of seeing it transport my 10'0" Tyler. The wood racks were given to me by a friend, I refurbished and modified them a bit to carry my board.

[caminokid]

Originally Posted by bollybib

Cool. I would have liked to have seen that ! Got any pics of it ?

I would have liked to have pics of that one. That was back in the 80's when I did that. I was motor swapping fool back then.

[bollybib]

I don't think our interests change a whole lot over the years but the time and effort we spend on certain activities surely does.

I've been rummaging around my digital archives and found this one taken on Thanksgiving day a few years back at my sister's house.

[bollybib]

The transmission extension housing seal was leaking so I decided to try and replace it myself. Getting the old seal out wasn't much of a problem. Unfortunately, I was unable to lift the vehicle high enough to get an adequate swing so I could drive the new seal home.

After some thought, I made an installer tool using three bolts, a hose clamp, a fabricated piece of plywood, and the seal installer. It worked quite well.

The installer on the left is store-bought and designed to hold the seal while tapping it in with a hammer. I fabricated the collar on the right with a piece of 3/4" plywood.




The bolt heads are held securely against the transmission housing with the hose clamp. The orange color is the seal. By sequentially tightening the nuts, the seal is slowly and evenly pushed into the extension housing.

[bollybib]

I haven't posted here in a long, long time. However, this afternoon I was doing absolutely nothing and I thought I'd post these pics (the date was set incorrectly on my camera for the first two pics).

A while back I was perusing 1976 Ford Granada sales literature and saw that styled steel wheels were an option that year. I thought they looked pretty cool so I started looking for parts.

I found two wheels on eBay that came from a salvage yard in Minnesota. Two other wheels I found locally. The trim rings came from a Cougar restoration business (they were used on early 70s Cougars apparently). Two center caps are used from eBay and the other two are NOS from Green Sales. Nothing is perfect so they all fit in nicely with the car as-is.

I derusted the wheels in Evaporust and did all the masking and painting myself. The only aftermarket parts are the lugnuts, everything else is OG Ford.





It doesn't look so much like mom's car now

Here is a wheel getting derusted:



I also found a set of NOS rocker panel moldings that I haven't put on yet. I'll get around to it sooner or later I suppose.

[bollybib]

Here is a vintage ad that shows a Granada Sports Coupe (bottom) with the styled steel wheels and rocker panel molding. This car has blackwalls though.

A decent vintage 450SLC today will run about the same amount as when new. A Granada, well, who knows ? But probably not four grand !

[hotrod 80]

Great thread ! Good job keeping this one running .There is a guy up morth that has a super clean one that he bracket races . Don't see many of them anymore.

[Warrens69GMC]

Nice wheels!!

[Palf70Step]

You did a great job on the wheels. Ride looks good.

[alsriv2]

It was interesting seeing this post updated. My Dad had one of these that was bought used around '82. His had the 302 v-8 in it. He had been driving large Buicks back and forth to work (86 miles round trip) and was looking for a more fuel efficient car. NOT!
That 302 only got 12 or so MPG and his 455BB in the Electra he was driving got 16. Add to his displeasure, that 302 had 2 cylinders (2 center on the right cyl bank) that required weekly spark plug changes. Needless to say, he didn't keep the car long. But it was fun to drive and pretty to look at. His was a dark blue with white top, 2 door like yours.

[bollybib]

Thanks guys for your comments. I've been taking the car to shows more often. I get a lot of reminiscing from people whose family or friends had one. One guy told me that this was the first car he ever drove. I haven't seen another one on the road in many years now.

Mine has the 250 CID 6. I get about 13 mpg around town and 18 on the highway on regular gas. It just passed smog, too ! I'm way under the allowable limit on tailpipe emissions. This is the oldest model year that still has to be smog checked every two years in California. It's kind of a pain but it gives me an incentive to keep it in good running condition.

[WorkinLonghorn]

Nice job on the wheels and the rest of the car.
Didn't that year have a 351W option? I had a neighbor practically give me a '74 Grand Torino (or maybe Torino?) which was similar in some ways to your car and it came with the 351 C. We took it to Mexico with the idea that when the engine crapped out, we'd just leave it. But it soldiered on and made it home to our surprise.
Anyway, a very mildly built 351 or even 302 might drastically increase your fun per gallon and still be smog-legal.

[jovibuilt]

Originally Posted by bollybib

I haven't posted here in a long, long time. However, this afternoon I was doing absolutely nothing and I thought I'd post these pics (the date was set incorrectly on my camera for the first two pics).

A while back I was perusing 1976 Ford Granada sales literature and saw that styled steel wheels were an option that year. I thought they looked pretty cool so I started looking for parts.

I found two wheels on eBay that came from a salvage yard in Minnesota. Two other wheels I found locally. The trim rings came from a Cougar restoration business (they were used on early 70s Cougars apparently). Two center caps are used from eBay and the other two are NOS from Green Sales. Nothing is perfect so they all fit in nicely with the car as-is.

I derusted the wheels in Evaporust and did all the masking and painting myself. The only aftermarket parts are the lugnuts, everything else is OG Ford.

Attachment 1684355

Attachment 1684356

It doesn't look so much like mom's car now

Here is a wheel getting derusted:

Attachment 1684357

I also found a set of NOS rocker panel moldings that I haven't put on yet. I'll get around to it sooner or later I suppose.

I have the same wheels on mine.But I am missing a couple center caps. Could you give me the part number so I can call Green Sales? And what did you search for on ebay? Mine is a 4 door, there hard to find parts for right?.Took forever to find a clutch pedal for mine. Love you car. Here is mine I know all the pictures but the photo shop one are gone.Dang photobucket. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=715225

[Russell Ashley]

Originally Posted by bollybib

Here is a vintage ad that shows a Granada Sports Coupe (bottom) with the styled steel wheels and rocker panel molding. This car has blackwalls though.

A decent vintage 450SLC today will run about the same amount as when new. A Granada, well, who knows ? But probably not four grand !

Attachment 1684358

I have definitely enjoyed this thread. Please keep posting when you make farther improvements no matter how small. Those two door cars made in the seventies look good to me. I think you would come closer to getting the original price for your car than most any 450SLC owner would. Those cars seem to have fallen out of favor and don't bring much around here.

[rusty76]

I gotta watch. I like these cars for some reason.