Parts Update Info

Hello again,
I had a couple of things that I either forgot to mention or have learned since my earlier posts, so I thought I should share.

 I recently realized that I forgot to mention having to replace the Ford Fuel Filler Neck Seal when I installed the fuel tank.    Luckily Ford used this seal on several different models, so they are fairly easy to find.  The seal part# is E1AZ-9072-B, and I purchased mine from Amazon for around $15 with shipping.

It was a fairly tight fit, but I am pretty sure that it was supposed to be.  I had to put a little oil on it to get the filler neck to slide in, but I don't think that will hurt anything.  

I also heard from a fellow Granada enthusiast that a stainless fuel sending unit from a 1971-74 Ford Maverick will fit the Granada's gas tank.  It is a good bit cheaper than the route that I took since you can get them off of ebay for around $75-$100.  He purchased one for his Granada and found that it did work perfectly.   Hopefully that will help someone out who may stumble upon this!

Winter Update

Wow, time has really flown by this year.  I've just had some down time for the first time in a long while and realized that I haven't posted any updates in 5 months!  I haven't made a lot of progress on the old girl since my last post due to being so busy and other projects.  The major update I do have is that I was able to move the Granada back home!  Back in September my Dad was gracious enough to help me load her up on his trailer and tow her back to my house.  I forgot to take any pictures until we were finished, but here she is back under my car port.

I kind of hated to move her out of the garage and somewhat back into the elements, but it does have it's advantages.  I can now start her up and move her without having to drive almost an hour away.  I can also do things like work on getting her cleaned up.  Which I had some opportunity to do in the middle of October.

So now that Christmas is behind us, I hope to get some work done on her soon.  Thanks to an Amazon gift card I have been able to get some parts ordered and will be doing a tune up as soon as they all get here.  I plan on updating almost the entire ignition system next so I can work on getting her running smooth and getting the timing set.  Once that is done the next step is to work the rear brakes.  Now that I have been moving her around some, I found that one of the rear brakes will not release.  So more updates will be coming soon!

Gas tank and sending unit

Hi folks,
  It's time for another progress update.  I mentioned in my last post that my sending unit was not here yet.  Since then I did receive the sending unit, tested it by connecting it to my car, and even installed it in my fuel tank.  This is when I first pulled it from the tank:

As you can see, it was pretty gunky and the brass float had completely disintegrated. There is a piece still hanging onto the wire float arm.  And here is a pic after I tried to clean it up slightly using carb cleaner:

Even with a lot of the gunk cleaned off, it was still pretty rusty.  This is what it looked like after I received it from Mr. O'Hara at Tri-Starr Radiator: 

He did an excellent job!  There was some deep pitting in the metal, but that could not be helped.  Otherwise if looks like new.  The tank that I purchased came with a new lock ring, so I did not have to purchase one of those.  Here is a pic of it installed in the tank with the new lock ring:

As you can see, I decided to paint the tank black.  The original tank was covered in rubberized undercoating, but I really hated to go that route.  I did however want some protection from rust.  So, with a lot of prep work, I went with a semi flat black paint which was applied via spray cans.  It turned out pretty well:

BUT, it didn't last long.  I had a little bit of trouble installing the tank and scratched it all up.  Just a tip for those who may try this:  if you don't replace the tank straps, be sure to loosen the nuts on them all of the way before starting the install!  I did not do this and it took a few extra steps to get it installed.  Here's a pic of the installed tank with it's scratched up paint:

I should be able to touch it up a bit now that it's installed, so no worries there.  As you may be able to see, I also just painted over the undercoating on the tank straps.  I probably should have just replaced them, but they had absolutely no rust and were still in really good shape.  And I almost forgot to mention the tank pads that go on the top of the tank.  I couldn't find any replacements, so I just cleaned the old ones up the best I could and reinstalled them. 

As for the fuel lines, I also opted to not replace them either.  I just used my oil mixing syringe that I used earlier in this project and squirted a half and half mixture of Seafoam and gasoline through the lines.  Most of what came out on the other side was just old gas.  There were a few pieces of rust sediment, but it was really minimal.  I installed an inline filter just before the fuel pump, just in case.  I let that mixture sit while I installed the tank, then followed it up with straight gas.  I also replaced all of the rubber fuel lines and clamps.  No pics of those as they are pretty generic.  And that is basically it!  I was able to put some gas in the tank and start her up!  I even drove her, very carefully, around the block.  I think I smiled for two days straight afterward.  But this is just the beginning.  There are a lot of rubber components that need to be replaced and she still needs a general tune-up, and a transmission.  That will all come in time though.  OH! I almost forgot to post a pic of my helper:

And don't worry, she was kept away from all gas and chemicals. 

Parts comaptability

Hi Folks,
  I figured I should give an update on my progress since it has been over a month since I pulled the gas tank.  This is going to be a boring one unless you are interested in finding Granada parts and what parts can be used from other cars.
   As far as compatibility is concerned, all of the '75-'80 Ford Granadas, Mercury Monarchs and Lincoln Versailles as well as the '75-'77 Ford Mavericks and Mercury Comets share the exact same fuel system setup.  This was key in finding replacement parts for my car.  I was actually somewhat surprised that there weren't more cars that shared the same fuel system since Ford uses the same parts in many different vehicles.
  So the first order of business was what to do with the old, gummy, rusty gas tank.  I checked into my options of cleaning the tank, and I decided that I would just go ahead and replace it.  I could have had it cleaned out, or cleaned it out myself, but I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to keep the rust from coming back.  I had heard stories from others about some of the coatings peeling off if it isn't done correctly or because of the ethanol content in today's gas, and then you have an even bigger mess.  So, needless to say, I was a bit worried about going that route.  When I checked into getting a new tank I found that they were fairly easy to get for not too high of a price.  A company by the name of Spectra makes a replacement gas tank (part #F30) so I ended up buying one from the ebay store for R&J Automotive Products.  They had the best prices I could find and free shipping as well.  I ended up paying about $120 for the tank, and it was delivered really fast.  I would recommend shopping from them any time.  The tank looks like a perfect replacement as well. 
  The next issue I had to deal with was the fuel sending unit.  In older vehicles this is basically just the fuel pickup tube with a float attached for the fuel level sensor.  For it to be a part with such a basic function it has been really hard to find a replacement for it.  From what I have been able to find, no one makes an aftermarket replacement for these model cars.  I have heard rumors that the sending units for the earlier model Mavericks/Comets will work, but I was unable to verify that the pickup tube was at the correct angle.  I was able to find a place in New York state called Tri-Starr Radiator that rebuilds hard to find sending units, so that is the route I have chosen to follow.  The guy that I have talked to is Dan Ohara and he has been very friendly and quite responsive to my emails and phone calls.  I am supposed to get the sending unit back this week, so I will post an update on how it turned out.  
  Again, I have to apologize for such a boring post, but hopefully it will help someone out there.  Pictures and updates to come!

Dropping the Tank

I absolutely hate starting a project and not being able to finish it as soon as possible.  I've been thinking about working on my Granada for months now.  I either haven't had the time to get back over and work on her, and when I did have time, it was unseasonably cold.  Thankfully I was able to go over and start working on the old girl again this weekend.  She hasn't been started since August, so that was my first priority.  After a little bit of coaxing I was able to get her to fire right up and pull her out of the garage!  Since that went so well, I decided to move to the next step in my project, the gas tank.  

The tank doesn't look so bad on the outside, but I wasn't sure how much trouble it was going to be to pull.

You can't see it really well, but I tried draining the tank as best I could.  Unfortunately I couldn't get much out.  After I dropped the tank, i realized it probably still had 5 gallons of gas in it!  Luckily I was able to enlist the help of my Stepfather-in-law to empty the tank into a storage container.  That was some nasty looking, terrible smelling gas for sure!

Two nuts later, the tank was off.  The car has a surprisingly small amount of rust.  I knew that, but I was still pleased by how well the underside of the trunk looked.

Other than some dirt dauber nests, it doesn't look too terrible.  I'm going to see if I can get it cleaned up and hopefully reuse it.  Now I have to figure out what to do with all of that old gas! 

Carter YFA Rebuild

It has literally been years since I have rebuilt a carburetor, but I knew I had to do it before I could get the old girl started.  I didn't necessarily want to go with just any parts store's rebuild kit, because sometimes they are not the best quality.  I ended up going with a kit from Mike's Carburetor Parts out of  Rochester, Washington.  The guy who runs the business seems to really know his stuff, and he even had videos on YouTube detailing how to rebuild the Carter YFA.  The kit was $24.95, and was of very good quality.  I definitely recommend going to Mike for all of your carb needs!  His website is: http://www.carburetor-parts.com.

When it came to cleaning my carburetor, I decided that I would really like to soda blast it.  Unfortunately, I do not have a blaster or a large air compressor, so I started searching the net for a solution.  I came across an article on how to make a DIY soda blaster.  They recommended a larger air compressor than what I have, but I decided to try it anyway.  I initially tried a box of baking soda, but it was very slow and I used the box up in just a few minutes.  I found some extra large soda blasting media at Harbor Freight, but the smallest amount they had was a 50 lb. bag.  I went ahead and bought it and have to admit that it worked much better than the box of baking soda and was much cheaper in the long run.  My compressor is only 2HP and has an 8 Gallon tank, so I only did a small section at a time.  It did an amazing job!  The carb doesn't look as good as some of the ones I saw online, but it is definitely much cleaner!  I cleaned most of the internals with carb cleaner, and you want to be sure to rinse all of that soda off.  For info on how to make your own homemade soda blaster, check out this site: http://www.aircooledtech.com/tools-on-the-cheap/soda_blaster/

Below are some before and after pics.  Sorry that the before pics are not very clear.  It was starting to get dark out when I took them.

Before 1

Before 2

After 1

After 2

Gas and oil

Yet another trip to Suzanne's house and I feel like I am making some progress.  I decided to put a battery on the old girl and see if she would turn over.  As soon as I hit the ignition switch she turned over without any hesitation.  I just bumped it at first, mainly to make sure that the old oil didn't get pumped all through the engine.  I'm not sure if the Marvel Mystery Oil helped, but it definitely didn't hurt!

  The next thing I decided to do was to pull it up on some ramps with my wife's Jeep Cherokee so I could get under it and change the oil.  My Dad always put Castrol 20w-50 in it, due to a recommendation from my uncle I'm pretty sure, so that's what I used to put in it.  Since that seems a little thick compared to today's standards, I decided to do some research.  I found that using heavy oil in these engines is pretty commonplace.  I did find that the recommended oil weight is 15w-40, and decided to use Shell Rotella 15w-40 diesel engine oil.  Primarily this is because diesel oil has similar levels of zinc and detergents that were used in gasoline engine oil 15 years ago and should help clean up the internals.  It's also just a little thinner, so maybe it will pick it up a little quicker  I won't go into the details, but a quick internet search provides plenty of info about the pros and cons of using this oil.

  I also decided to pull the old carburetor off to work on rebuilding it.  I will post my progress rebuilding it next time.  Hopefully it will go well!

For more inline six specs:
http://www.classicinlines.com/SmallSixSpecs.asp

And for all of the oil info you will ever want to read:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com

First oil change after several years of sitting!

First Steps

Hello again,
  I went to my Mother-in-law's (Suzanne's) a couple of weeks back and started the steps to awaken the old Granada.  My first and main concern was that the engine had not been turned over at all in six years or more.  This can lead to the piston rings fusing to the cylinder walls and to a rebuild if it is bad enough.  So my first step was to make sure that the pistons would be able to move freely and with some lubrication when I was ready to turn the engine over.  This made me remember what an older friend of mine told me about this subject several years ago.  Basically you take the spark plugs out and squirt some Marvel Mystery Oil into the cylinders.  If you leave it in there for a few days or even weeks, then it will start to seep around the rings and make sure that they are free to move.  It also adds a little bit of initial lubrication since no oil has been pumped into the cylinders for several years.  So that is basically what I did.  I removed all six plugs from the old 250 six cylinder one at a time and used a two cycle oil measuring syringe to squirt the oil into the cylinders.  We'll see how it goes once I try to start her up!

My next concern was that I was unable to start the Granada six years ago before I moved it.  I had to winch it up onto a trailer to get it to Suzanne's house.  I narrowed it down to a fuel pump back then, but had no cash to fix it.  So I have now bought a new fuel pump for it at O'Reilly's Auto Parts and installed it.  It is super easy on an old car like this.  You have two fuel lines to disconnect, and two bolts to remove.  That is basically it.  And don't forget to install the gasket that comes with it!

Parts used:
Oil Mixing syringe
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hopkins-Mfg.-Corp.-10111-6-Oil-Mixing-Tool/22314667

Marvel Mystery Oil
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/MVL0/MM13R/N0443.oap?..

Fuel Pump
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/PFP0/M16060/02535.oap?year=1977&make=Ford&model=Granada&vi=1129902&ck=Search_C0401_1129902_1312&pt=C0401&ppt=C0025

This is my Granada after six years in Suzanne's garage

Fresh Starts and Second Chances

Hello all,
  This blog is dedicated to my first car, a 1977 Ford Granada.  I still own this car and it has unfortunately been left sitting in my mother-in-law's garage for the past six or so years.  As I start working on it, I hope to post my progress here and share any valuable information that may help others.  Some may say, why keep and work on an old Granada? First off, let me give you a little background on my car.

  A friend of our family owned the Granada for years, and when my Mom started looking for a car, we found that he had decided to sell it.  It needed a few repairs, but was in pretty darn good shape at the time.  (Keep in mind that this was in 1990, and I was eight years old.)  My Mom was a homemaker and also worked on our family farm alongside my Dad and Uncle.  She didn't need anything super new, she mainly just needed something to drive to the store and to visit family in that wasn't a truck.  So my parents purchased the old Granada for $1000.  She served the family well for about 5 years, but was really starting to have some issues.  In about 1995, my Mom started working for a local organization called C.A.S.A (Care Assurance System for the Aging and Homebound), and really needed a more dependable vehicle to drive.  It was going to cost a bit to repair the old Granada, so my parents decided to buy another car.  One of my uncle's owned a body shop and ended up selling my Mom a 1990 Chevy Lumina that had been repaired in his shop.  We didn't really need the Granada any more, so my parents decided to sell it for $500.  For some reason, this really bothered me.  Up until this time I didn't think I had any real attachment to the car.  So, for whatever reason, I asked my Mom and Dad if there was any way that we could keep it.  My parents took this into consideration and a couple of days later asked if I wanted the car.  My initial reaction was "heck no!" because I didn't want that ugly car!  But the more I thought about it, I realized that I could have my own car at 13 years old.  So, I soon accepted the offer and haven't looked back.  By the time I was sixteen, I had it in pretty good running condition and even did my driver's license exam in it.   So between the sentimental ties to the car and my love of Fords, I had almost no choice but to keep it and fix it.

  Stay tuned for future posts on my progress!

This was right after I washed it and took it to my mother-in-law's six years ago.  It's not really that shiny, just wet.