1975 Granada (1st Restoration Project)

[-cK-]

Well my dad's new car is now parked in the garage and his old car is just begging me to begin with the restore job, unfortunately I still just need to wait a small while longer (patience is a virtue they say) until the folks stop using the old girl as their daily driver. But I do believe that it will still be in this year that I should be able to get the project underway.

But anyways, while I'm still forced to wait nothing is stopping me from gathering the info or some of the parts I want/need and most important advice on the correct route to start of with this project

For you viewing pleasure here is the old girl (been in the family now for 36 years already and only had one previous owner with low mileage)



As far as I'm considered the first and foremost issue I'll have to tend to is removing all the rust. Here are just some of the major cancer spots on the out side, I still need to inspect the car in detail but on the inside of the door panels on the chassis is also rust.



I guess I'll only get a complete assessment once I can strip her down completely

At this point I'm not sure if I should attempt to do the rust removal and body fixing myself or outsource it to a "professional". The problem with outsourcing it is you're not always sure what the people did to "fix" it. At this point it would seem that if I could source all 4 doors, that are rust free, it would be a better option than trying to fix them.

Basically the reference of what I would like the girl to look like when I'm done is the following:



Then there are some smaller bits and pieces that I would like to source as well. For example the rear tail light lenses as they lost their original interior paint, the back FORD plate I would like to replace with a black background one as I'm planning to respray the car a similar black as in the picture, the mirrors (would like to get those silver/chrome ones for both sides as in the reference picture) the front grill and bonnet strip. This model is the XL and I believe the one in the reference picture is the Ghia.

On a little side note anybody have any idea what mags those are that are on the reference picture as well as their size?

Also after lots of idea shopping on what I wanted to do before settling on this reference picture, I would like to keep things semi original.

All help and inputs are welcomed and appreciated

[FOX MAD]

Hey car doesnt look bad at all. I wish you all the best on the build and please keep us up to date!
Regards
William

[-cK-]

Thanks Fox

Yes I will most definitely keep you all updated on this build as soon as it officially gets going, which might only be August this year if not earlier

At this point I'm going to see whether I can't get a quote on the body work from a local panel beater my dad knows, maybe they can assist me with this part for a decent price before I try to do it myself and fubar it They fixed my Sentra when I decided to park it on its roof and the work was decent considering they did it "cheap" as to keep the car from being a write off so that the insurance would cover it At least for the engine/mechanical side I'm set with my dad's knowledge as a mechanic which will save me some $$ I can rather then invest into fixing the body properly.

[bg0572]

hwst

let me know when you start your project. busy with my granada perana and have found a few places that help with hard to find parts...

p/u bushes, rack reconn, slotted ventilated discs, 4-6 pot calipers, rubbers, chrome, powder coat etc.

cheers

mack

[barry]

Car doesn't look too bad at all!

I would like to offer the following cautionary, without knowing the full scope of what you plan to achieve, and your plan for getting there:

If it runs and drives good, DON"T PULL IT APART!! No quicker way to end up with and "unfinished project" in 3 years time - even the best intentions can get derailed quickly.

If at all possible, get it done as a rolling restoration - ie do small bits at a time, but keep it on the road.
I'd suggest learning the skills to tackle the rust yourself - it isn't hard. And then you'll be able to do it again in future and save bucks then too. Spend the money you would have paid someone to do it on decent tools, and skilling yourself.

Good luck

[-cK-]

Thanks Barry and BG0572 and sorry for the delayed response. Haven't checked back here in a while as I got a bit side tracked.

To be honest if I can do stuff myself I'd oped for that option and yes my plan was to keep the car on the road as far a possible. As the car is still in daily use I've not sorted out the details on starting the project yet But besides fixing up the body, chassis and suspension I'm in two minds at this point about the engine.

On one side I'm thinking of keeping it original and fix it up. Lots of leaks to be plugged and she smokes a lot but then again after 36 years and a lot of miles on the clock with a engine that has never been redone, that can be expected.

The other option is to drop in a new engine (302 was suggested before). But that bridge will be crossed later.

My main objective right now is to sort out some minor details to get this project started already

[ZA Perana]

Car doesn't look too bad at all!

I would like to offer the following cautionary, without knowing the full scope of what you plan to achieve, and your plan for getting there:

If it runs and drives good, DON"T PULL IT APART!! No quicker way to end up with and "unfinished project" in 3 years time - even the best intentions can get derailed quickly.

If at all possible, get it done as a rolling restoration - ie do small bits at a time, but keep it on the road.
I'd suggest learning the skills to tackle the rust yourself - it isn't hard. And then you'll be able to do it again in future and save bucks then too. Spend the money you would have paid someone to do it on decent tools, and skilling yourself.

Good luck

+100 000 on this, I have been to look at and seen many cars where everything is stripped and now the person either cant put it all back together, doesnt know how or the parts are missing..

[gordini]

Welcome back, saw you lurking. Tel us how far you got with the resto

[-cK-]

To be honest I've got a bit stonewalled by the Pater Familias who haven't given me his final blessing to start as he is still opting to use the Granada as the daily driver instead of his new car so the project haven't officially started (very frustrating)

But the bonnet paint started to crack and peal off by itself to a previous layer so I hope that will convey the message that the car is desperately begging for this restoration to start

[-cK-]

Holy crap can't believe it's almost been a decade since I wanted to start with this restoration

Lots have happened in the mean time but long story short work has started on the old gal...

Been fixing some minor stuff and leaks the past year or so but she is now at the body shop to get the rust removed after which I plan do a proper engine overhaul/rebuild and tackle it piece by piece fixing what needs to be fix...