Some cracking stories there - Anthony, I thought the filth (aka Mr Plod) used Granadas, ala Sweeney? I'm surprised they used the 2ltr Rover, surely the 2.7 would be more their style? Or the 820 turbo I guess - I had one of those for a while, it was a blast, until the head quit, oil went everywhere, that was the last time that car moved under its own steam.
I've owned a succession of Mk2 grannies over the years; first was a pre-facelift estate, came out of the factory as a beige 2.3 L 4-speed with GL interior (it was one of the last pre-facelifts made, and they were clearly using up the old bits off the factory floor before the facelift came in). By the time Dad finished with it, it was a 2.8i 5-speed with ride-levelling suspension, now painted in a fairly dramatic metallic gold. It spent 5 years laid up in a field, and still started first time (so long as you knew the technique - basically, pedal to the metal & crank until she fired, then back off before the revs got too high). Eventually, the tinworm became too severe and she ended her days on a banger track, sadly.
After that I bought a 2.8i Ghia X saloon in Nimbus Grey, very nice, had a few things go wrong over the years, she got laid up when I bought another one in Caspian Blue B603FGP. I drove that car between Liverpool and Portsmouth for months, until the miles started to take their toll, that's when I bought the 820 turbo. After the Rover packed in I used the Granada again for a while, before buying a Vauxhall Senator 3.0 - another very quick and exceedingly comfortable car. The Grannies and rover got scrapped (sob), eventually the Senator made way for an S-type Jag, but when that went expensively wrong it was back to the Vauxhall for a bit, then another Granada, which was my daily for a while before I discovered Lexus...
I sold the Saloon granny (which was in pretty good nick, all things considered) and bought the Estate specifically with this project in mind. I see good Estates are selling for big money these days (big for knackered old Fords, that is), so I'm hoping that once mine is de-rusted and sorted, it will be worth a few bob. Depending on how enjoyable the process of uprating/modifying it is, I may end up selling it to do the same thing to another one....
Dean - I got quite interested when I discovered that Ford USA had produced a Granada - and a V8 one at that. It was a bit disappointing to discover it was a totally different car; had it been based on the European one, the V8 conversion would be a no-brainer.
Ford Australia produced a Granada-a-like with a V8 engine, the Falcon XD, but it was in fact a completely different car.
Kjelle - I've also heard that SA Fords had V8s in them. I'm not sure why Dagenham never used a V8, probably a fuel economy thing. And yet the venerable Rover V8 was used in all sorts of vehicles for years and years & proved enduringly popular. There have been plenty of Rover V8 conversions, but the simple fact is, getting 200+ bhp out of a Rover engine means making it fragile; the Lexus does 250bhp in standard trim, and properly fuelled with improved breathing, it should give much more than that with relatively little hassle. And if it turns out to be insufficient, well, I do have a spare BMW M5 450bhp V8 + 6-speed box sitting around looking for a job....
At present, I am in the process of taking all the glass out, all the knobs bells and whistles off, etc. I've ordered a hog spit for it, so once I've whipped out the engine/box, I should be able to get her up in the air and spinning around, which will make removing all the ugly rust a bit easier. I had a bit of a look underneath yesterday, boy it's rough.... lots of grot
