Nicest One Left? 1976 Ford Granada “Virginian”
The Ford Granada was a product of the so-called “Malaise Era” of U.S. automobile production where quality and engineering were rather indifferent. That usually covers the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s, right when the Granada was on the market. It was developed to become the successor to the Ford Maverick and was sold while the latter was still in production. The seller has a Granada from 1976 called the “Virginian Edition” which we believe was marketed by a local dealer. It looks to be in great shape as a nice survivor-quality car (but with one repaint). Located in Chesapeake, Virginia, this Ford is available here on craigslist for $7,950.
I never owned a Granada but rented the similar Fairmont one time and was not knocked out. Yet Ford sold more than two million Granada’s from 1975 to 1982 (when was the last time you saw one?). The Granada was plusher than the Maverick as Ford thought buyers would be in the market for a luxury compact (Mercury and Lincoln also got in on the act). The Granada Virginian was not a production car and we don’t know if it is any different from a regular Granada with a lot of options except for the badge on the fenders.
The seller says the rarity of this car is partly attributable to it having bucket seats with a center console and a floor-shifted automatic transmission. It has the same 302 cubic inch V8 under the hood that populated a lot of Fords for more than a decade. Some new parts enable the car to run and drive as it should, including the battery and carburetor. Other than some additional emissions plumbing, the Granada is probably no more difficult to work on than, say, a Mustang.
For 75,000 miles, the car looks really good, especially the interior and vinyl top. The paint was redone in what may be the original color, though we don’t know when. The Ford Granada isn’t likely to achieve cult or collector status, but you’re still going to get some of those “what is it?” questions at Cars & Coffee. If you have eight grand to spend on a collector car, would you go for this Granada? Barn Finder Rocco B. brings us this interesting tip!
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Comments
Driver ed car in 1977. Bench seats, weak motor, typical poor handling. 3 of f us and a instructor. Can still remember him saying nice job using your mirrors, was good to get out of the building.
Do they still have driver ed?
Bet they don’t allow kids to bring shotguns in their trunks and hunt doves on school property after school.
My folks bought a ‘76 Granada with the I6, having traded in our ‘66 LTD 390; it was the first time we knew the word “milquetoast” as applied to a car.
IIRC, we had a ‘68 Ford Galaxie with a brake pedal for the drivers Ed teacher but we had to pass the analog classroom simulator portion first and yes some failed it!
Insofar as drivers ed, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) years ago said driver education education alone isn’t enough and the insurance companies stopped monetary assistance to the schools.
They said driver education alone won’t make drivers safer or reduce crashes. The IIHS also said “some programs that are popular with the public may not make drivers safer and could even have negative consequences”. All this was a combination of greed(as in extending the national 55MPH speed limit) and the attempt to institute a national tiered licensing system.
Regarding the shotgun in the trunk, my grandson drove my ‘79 F150 ranch truck to school ONCE – he was told he couldn’t come back onto school property again until he removed the (empty) gun rack mounted in the back window!
We all had rifles IN our gun racks in high school..no problems at all..fwiw
🎶 🎤 “Almost Heaven..
West Virginia, Blue Ridge mountains Shenandoah river
Life is old there, older than the trees, younger than the mountains, blowing like a breeze” 🎵
We used to bring rifles and shotguns to school back in the late ’70s to refinish the stocks in woodshop class. As in, walk right in through the front door, and nobody batted an eye. My high school had 1,500 kids, 500 or so in each grade, back when high school was 10th, 11th, and 12th grade, so it wasn’t a little country school. The times, they are a’changin’.
They had driver’s ed at my high school ten years ago. The car was a then new 2015 Ford Taurus with a 6 I believe. The driving simulators had final generation Nova dashes and wheels. It entirely consisted of how to start the car and keep it between the lanes. Nothing on how a motor works/basic engine parts, how to change a tire, how to check the oil/radiator. No stick shift or parallel parking either. Thankfully I had good parents that taught me all of that. When I moved to a bigger city for college I was the mandatory driver for weekend excursions because none of them knew how to parallel park (or just played it up so they didn’t have to).
Is that Frigidaire A6 compressor factory? Seeing how Frigidaire was a subsidiary of GM, I’ve never seen one in a Ford before.
Yes that is correct. In the middle and latter 70’s I saw a few Ford products with GM style compressors and even some GM style power steering pumps. Not sure if it was a supply issue where Ford needed more units than could be supplied and therefore had to substitute or what.
When you look at the interior picture. What is that on the floor, next to the console? I can’t make it out, but it looks like either an add on a/c control, or an 8 track tape deck!
No, it looks like a radio and CD player as the original radio is there but the hole was an over sized one and hard to fit a newer one in and look good.
Ford at one point used a similar A/C compressor with the Motorcraft name on it (as I recall)whether it was manufactured by GM or not is another story,first time I saw one I wondered the same thing.
The TV & print marketing for the Granada was based on Ford’s assertion that people will confuse it for a Mercedes Benz. Search Google for “Granada vs Mercedes Benz”. You’ll enjoy some head shaking commercials.
Beautiful car, had 2, this looks like a Monarch Ghia, one has a 302, the other 351. Both went over 200k, still running to the junk yard.
I noticed that GM A/C compressor too!
Checking past Granada listings here show a similar compressor on the V8 cars. Maybe they couldn’t fit the normal Ford compressor (?)
These were an example of good packaging and marketing. Nothing particularly noteworthy about their basis or drivetrain, as their platform dates to the first Falcon and the drivetrains were basic Ford. But they were nicely trimmed and marketed as being upscale. The advertising was, in hindsight, pretty hokey; but I’d say it worked… they sold well.
I’m not sure about the “similar Fairmont” comment; they were both bread-and-butter midsize Fords, but they were different cars at their core.
This looks like a good example. I agree, must be a regional marketing model. The buckets and floor shift were uncommon. I’d return the wheels to their stock colors, for me they end up looking like blue overkill.
Maybe the dealer painted the wheels body color as part of the Virginian package.
Also had Granada for drivers ed car. My first real job out of high school and one of the bosses had a loaded Granada. He used to pride himself that he got one with every option available. That car was nice. Always liked the look of them. Nice luxury without feeling like you were in something the size of an ocean liner.
My dad used to buy Granada’s all the time in the early 80’s. They were plentiful and cheap. We would bring them home and fix whatever was wrong with them and flip them for profit. I drove them but found nothing special about them. Badges can’t erase how mediocre these cars are.
When was the last time I saw one? Why, just this very day, as a matter of fact. Awful yellow with brown vinyl top, looked to be someone’s driving project in very nice shape.
Nice car, I just don’t like that shade of blue. It reminds me of old American cars that are in Cuba. The Cubans seem to like those bright shades on the old American iron that have survived since the revolution.
Paint was redone in the original color? So Ford used gray on the firewall and inside of fenders? This car was obviously repainted, unless I know even less than I realize.
I had a 78 LTD II with a 302 and the same AC compressor. I’ve seen pictures of plenty of Lincolns with that same compressor.
Anybody notice the ashtrays in the doors?!
Any Granada/Monarch would be rarer than this if either had the 351 motor in a base car with 4 spd manual trans & no heavy options – possibly making it faster than a mach 1 for ’75-’78 !
“…product of the so-called “Malaise Era”. “ But what a great product (~105 inch WB) as it’s 1st of the fox body platform (onto fairmont/zepher, LTD/Marquis… stang) a 25 yr run (some say past the SN95). B4 the MB W123 wagons (w/mil mi motor, OM617) which were their 1st in house, they bought Granade-a waggy backs to glue on their sedans. My thought? ford copied their grill look-it this car), Y not grab the back in exchange (well they fit anyway). LOL
I have a 77 Ghia with 39K. It’s a great car. Turns heads at car shows.
In 1976 that Granada Virginian price tag was 3861.00. With 75,000 miles on the car and they are asking twice the money for the car and it’s not a collecter car nothing special about it other then looks nice. The asking price $ 8000.00 it is what they can get for it but to me the car is worth around 2500.
Any car is a collector car to somebody who desires it.
Kids aren’t even required to take road tests in wisconsin anymore!!
Pop bought mom a ’75 Granada with the 302 /C4 combination. It was a good looking, nice riding car but it had a nasty habit of dying unexpectedly in traffic. It turned out to be a problem with the DuraSpark I ignition system. ’75 was FoMoCo’s first year for the electronic ignition and it still had some kinks.
It soured Pop on Ford products and for the rest of his life he was a GM man.