mk2 granada project

[Rich]

ive owned my mk2 granada for 20 years or so now, driven it enthusiaticly for pretty much the whole time its been on the road too running it up to 176000 miles now.
i bought it for £800 originaly as a standard 2.3 gl 5 speed. i promptly (as you did back then) sourced a set of ghia bumpers,wheels and a chrome grill. then followed the wheel arches,loud stereo etc and eventually,the rear core plug went,the heater stopped working,central locking was very central,basicly it only worked the door you put the key in and i had to travel 75 miles a day for work.
begrudgingly she was dumped in a mates garage for around 6-7 years. i just drove her in and left her there. eventually th egarage started falling down so she was woken back up with a new battery,a hose in the rad and £20 of new petrol. she wouldnt turn on the first try but then at the 7th turn she growled back into life. sounded great for a few seconds.....till the exhaust blew apart .
then she was driven out the garge only to find the brakes only worked the once......
new brakes fitted,new exhaust,some welding underside and a new clutch and core plug later and we were all good again.
i drove the car for 3-4 years doing shows but then i lost my job.
my daily drive at the time was a mint mk2 mr2 gt but in a moment of .......hmmmmm....i sold it and decided to spend the money rebuilding the grnada.
what followed was nearly 3 years of car work in the garden on a concrete hard standing.
teh car was taken apart, pretty much to a shell, i cut out and replaced the bad metal and then modified pretty much everything before it went back on. there were good days and many really lousy ones but the end result was a unique car that proved pretty popular at every show and meet it attended.
last year after taking it to the retro day at brands( not trackside,just watching) i drove her into the garage for a refit.
the last few months have seen me gathering info and parts to do a single suck through turbo conversion (never seen another granada with one yet) and give the old girl a racier feel and look.
so far ive had the turbo rebuilt,made a modified sump and fitted it,got the manifolds all ready to go on and im almost ready to start tightening things up and work out where the pipes all go. ive never worked with a turbo set up so im running blind but im not in any rush and am (despite my maverick mechanic reputation)double checking absolutley everything i do.ive found a few issues already like the fuel pump on the cologne cant be used and the pas pipes may need making longer and being rerouted. the header tanks now been moved again and id already relocated the battery so its coming along slowly.
behind me giving advice are the members of a granada club i help run and amongst them are some very knowledgable people.
its gonna be a while before any keys get turned and ebven once its a runner ive still got to sort the interior but like i said, theres no time limit now and this time im working insode a garage so im not weather controlled.

[Rich]

Heres the progress as copied and pasted from the Granada forum im on. Its been ongoing since last autumn but its how things have gone so far though. Background info maybe....

Dark green was as i bought it,the in progress is obvious and the highland green with black wheels is how she sits now









Firstly , the modified sump



on the "needed "list,

exhaust manifold gaskets-got
turbo manifold to turbo gasket-got
turbo out to front pipe gasket-got
su carb-got and pollished
su linkage- needed
big air filter-needed
fuel pipe-may be able to use existing...........
reducer pipe to join front pipe to meet existing system-needed
oil feed adaptor to feed oil out oil pressure gauge into turbo-needed
new plugs-got
new leads-got
new duraspark unit-got
new distributor-got
new rotor arm-got
boost gauge-needed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

car was checked last night and the following has been established.
carb leaking at base. reaesealed and although better,still running rough.
valve clearances,almost spot on with only a couple needing minor adjustment.
lastly,compression test , all in the green!
1-11
2-10
3-10
4-11
5-10
6-10
not bad at all considering its unknown history. another top buy from tickover me thinks.
all the plugs,leads,duraspark unit,cap,rotor arm and leccie unit next to coil have been changed too so its been settled on. the carb is faulty.
wont be fixing it now though, as ive got an su for the tubby set up. seeing as everything else is looking fine the carb can go in a box and the turbo can be dropped on. the only two things that i see as being a pain are the sump swap but we'll try to lift the engine up and do the swap from underneith and the exhaust.just need to undo a couple of bolts and get the dizzy out. ill weld a "snout" on the end of the front pipe so i can add a system to it from there.
ill photo copy the gaskets too so i can have some spare ones made up .........just in case


made a bit of space in the garage last weekend and started seeing how the lots bolts together. found the downpipe was stightly outa alignment but after a trial bolting up all now looks pretty much where it should be.need to find me some silicon joint for the carb to air filter ,looking at running a pipe accross the front of the engine and having the filter on the opp side of the engine bay. thats unless i can find a nice fat ram air one.
got me a nice flexi fan to free up the space up the front of the engine freeing up a couple of inches for the air pipe too.apparently theyre good for freeing up wasted energy taken by the viscous fans too:rolleyes: doubt itll make much difference though.
heres the mating surfaces which i was worried about but i recon ill be ok,they look worse in th epics than they are




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developed a really bad miss back in june but was still driven to santa pod and work daily throughout the summer regarldess but now its gonna be made a little more lively if i can get myself sorted ill use it all next summer long.
compression was checked a few weeks back by a granada expert mate and all looks good for the upgrade. soon the bonnet'll be off and sump swapped,then ill be playing in the garage through the winter and hopefully ready for next spring. while the current engine is used for testing and trial fittings ill get another and build it up with the proper bits. i'd like to add nos at some point but nothing silly,around 50 horses a squirt max would be more than enough. if i can get to up to 200 bhp ill be more than happy. being realistic though its not very likely out the lazy cologne lump.after another mate had his 3 litre 24v powered granada dynod and saw he only had 179 horses im not expecting a miracle though.
anything over 170 reliable horses would be good
im hoping to give the car a light striping out and a mini revamp for 2012 too with a lightened interior,bucket seats and black interior. id like to drop the rear a bit more too but not convinced itd be a wise move as i already struggle over speed humps.......more a case of scraping over them than struggling.
cant even get up dropped kurbs but the handling is so good.......................................




gotten a bit slack lately , way to much going on at home and work to play cars but its all back on.
jacked the car up.......ralised i dont know where the ramps are????? made a call and got another pair:D
one corners up, other side will join it over the weekend.
sumps ready, 2.9 rubber sump gasket is obtained. im off next week so fingers crossed ill be packing new sump next week.
at least this time ill be in the warm and dry:cool:
once the sumps swapped it should be reasonably easy from there...........:rolleyes::rolleyes:
got a flared end pipe joint too that i should be able to weld onto the exsisting turbo down pipe.
may fit a "3 bolt open headers "section up front too ,for track use of course.
heres a couple of garage shots


Measured twice,and then.measured again.............mega thin cutting discs applied and were now armed with a front end.jus needs welding and were ready
couldnt have been a snugger fit and just needed a gentle tapping to drive in



both sides are up now so all i need to do is set the timing ,oik the cap off and undo the engine mounts........ill probabaly find the rad pipes need offing too but will try with em on first.got the heater all ready and even managed to secure me a pair of 2.9 rocker shafts. apparently they have wider surface area than the 2.8 ones????? just need to swap the shaft pedastals over which im guessing, cant be too hard.
obviously i have no idea if what ive been told is true but what the hell............in for a penny
also by doing things the way i am, i should in theory be able to carry all the work on my own so wont need to keep stopping with stuff


too many beers on friday night found me under the car ........
oils drained, engines timed to tdc,caps off, mounts undone,grills out. starter is off and ive started raising the mill. .......but its not high enough plus i need weld a small width 10mm socket to a real long rod so i can get between the rear of the sump and the splash shield..........
loaded the boot at work this morning with a length of box section, a ratchet strap and a few other bits.
gonna be booking some time off next month to get really into it but ive started and thats just what i needed to do
worked out a few things and now the engines hopefully high enough for me to get the sump off.worse case ill unbolt the oil pick up pipe if ness.
got me a two way adaptor for the oil galley so now ive got my turbos oil supply sorted.
need two oil lines and also need to find a suitable oil return spout ...like a damn minefiled looking for a suitable one. may just give in and use the gasket as a template and make my own from scratch..........






lousy long day but we're on our way...............well i am anyway. tubbys not on,sumps is swapped though and heres the tubby sat on the almost bolted on manifold. gonna be a tad tight..........









[IMG]http://i986.photobucket.com/albums/ae345/granadaclubuk/monday1-2.png[/IMG





had a few mins spare on friday so using the gas torch i borrowed from work,my draper (never used before) stud extractor,torque wrench (never used before) and a few drill bits that were borroed from work too and i thought id have a try at ......well,at least see if i could ease things a bit,
the torch and extractor saw 3 studs removed and replaced with longer new ones. they all came out real easy (thanks for advice rob) and that made me much happier.
then i drilled out the tubby manifold holes by 1mm each.
result was a sweet fit ert
one bolt left to tighten underneith but im still battered from mondays escapades.
ive got the pas pump back on,all be it a tad close and its a def that the fuel pump needs to come off.
if anyone has a spare blanking plate im after one
i discovered (by accident) theres a choke arm on the su too so ive sourced in my stock pile a manual choke kit.
the header has been put back where it came from as per vic and steves advice and itll also give me a tad more room.
the carb was oiked off in the early hours of saturday....its like a pringles project this.......
the engine looks much neater now and theres more access to stuff which helps.
the snap on (my pikey version) tool chest is serving me well and all tools are replaced and cleaned after each use so i dont lose anything(just like a real mechanic..... )
the hard pipe will be bare metalled and just heat proff clear laqured for a nice rat look.....dunno why but i just fancy it looking a bit "made at home".
the middle ns plug will be an arse to change once its all together so does anyone know if ill need different plugs for the set up????
high temp ones???????
its got a set of bpr6es standard ones in at the moment.
ill also need one of those 90 degree bendy plug leads too ,dont want anythingnear the hot bits.
if ive missed anything obvious feel free to say as i dont want to mess anything up

pics below of replaced studs,new seat etc

[Satin Black Steve]

sorry for the ignorance but does this turbo setup just run off 2 pots of the 6? cant see any cross over pipe or a 3rd pot on the manifold?

good luck with the project, looks cool

[Rich]

Thanks mate,
theres a second bypass pipe that runs from the o/s manifold,under the gearbox and up to the underside of the turbos manifold box. basicly all the gasses feed into the "box" manifold and are fed up into the turbo. all 4 exhaust ports / 6 cylinders fire into the one turbo

[Satin Black Steve]

ahh cool, i never realised the old ford v6 used siamesed exhaust ports

[Rich]

yeah, its a strange set up. the later 2.9 and 2.9 24v cosworth ones have the correct 3 per side though.

[Rich]

had a tip from a mate that i can get little heat shield sleeves for my plug leads so they arent damaged by the turbo heat
ill be at essex arena on sunday (along with every other petrol head in the south of england) scouring for parts.
got a few things on my "want list" so fingers crossed.need an exhaust olive which shouldnt be a problem,will take my braided oil lines too and see if i can get a new pair .needs a 45 degree bend for the air pipe and some heat wrap too.
thhinks ill be writing a list before i go or ill come back with another random piece of automotive pointlesness............just like last time

[Rich]

Went to essex and came back with a buggered fuel pump,useless oil lines and a cold

so to make things better i bought a new pump and oiked the old mechanical one off the mill and popped a blanking plate over the hole.
its all loosley bolted together now and teh mounts are back in teh engine cradle again.
gaskets are in their respective places and im ogg to get some better nuts and bolts after work along with an exhaust sealing ring/olive.
the rear end is up on ramps now ......th epump would never suck fuel up at th eangle it was sat. still loads to do but ive lined all the tubby sections to suit and the heater pipe is out the way too.
steve from a granny site im on has kindly given me advice on the su set up and also the fuelling requirements which made buying a suitable pump a lot easier. still need a reg though.
i originally bought a 0-100 psi one ......silly me,should always ask a grown up first
if anyones after a blue anodise adjustable reg ive got a new one for sale.
hoping to get a pair of oil lines soon and some braided hose and some silicon vacume hose too.
the rear bucket seats isnt going to happen now,ill see about getting my rear seats covered to match the front, i recon itll look much nicer.
ive got a spare dash and console coming soon and a set of door panel inerts too. the inserts will be covered in red leather while the dash and console will be blacked. the door panels will be vinyl coated black to match and the carpet will be dyed black. hopefully itll just be a weekends messing to fit it all back in.














got me a tow bar too ,seemed a good idea to do all the work at the same time or ill never do it if im driving the car around

[Rich]

Made a little progress over the last couple of weeks.
zorsts swapped and engine bay has started getting emptier

[Rich]

[Relentless Rob]

Draw through turbo?

Doesn't the turbo temperature concern you at all?


You can guess why I'd like to know.

[Rich]

when i bought the rough set up i didnt notice it was draw through ,it was only whe i started working out what bolted onto where that i realised.
i've looked at a few ideas inluding the following but was given reasons why i couldnt so i'll just do it and see what happens. it worked fione on rover v8's with the janspeed twin turbo set ups so im not too worried

charge cooler-cant be used as it would leave vapour droplets in it.can only use one witnh a blow through carb set up.

short intercooler between and turbo and inlet -same reason

coiling a copper pipe around the inlet hard pipe,then feeding water through it with a leccie pump and having a front mounted oil cooler rad. told it wouldnt make any difference.

ive also been told the hot air and petrol mix flows real nice into the engine but as youve probably worked out already, ive no idea what im doing and am just trying to work it out as i go. thinks im doing ok so far but we'll see when its time to turn things on i guess.
if you have nay info on these set ups id really appreciate seeign it as no one seems to have this set up on a granada....or any other old fords that i can find

[Rich]

managed to slice through my hand and have had to have surgery to repair my efforts....
fuel pump moved to the rear and all working fine now.
all hoses are on ,bolts all tightened,air filter ordered,oil filter fitted,new grill ordered,scuttle cover refitted and ive started topping the water up, throttle cable is in and works.
just need some oil now. ive made a small funnel out of a cut up fuel filter which ill use to prime the turbo until the feed is there.
soon as ive got oil to the turbo ill connect the electric pump and also the ht lead that ill leave off why dry turning the old girl over.
one day during next week should see something......hopefully not loadsa blows on the turbo though.......................

[Rich]

many swear works later,a torn out stitch and a bath in petrol later and it was ready to try,.....
fuel leaks everywhere
new cotton braded fuel lines purchased and we're nearly done.
fuel pump connected to a jump start pack for ease of turning off just in case and it was time to turn the key.started better when i connected the starter motor power supply too........
second hand ebay crap purchase oil line burst after a short time and now the su carb seems to be playing up. fuel starving and floods out the front of the carb too...ive been told its the float that needs cleaning out so ill have a look when i get a chance. battery is royally finished now too so i need to save up for a replacement too. pressure reg is now being moved a bit ...........but where am i at now?????
here,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQuTao-KuDo

also heres an update

[Rich]

been real busy but started relocating the gauges along the ns dash top. decided id do it all nicley so plenty of wire was needed.
heres the results. the gauge in the pics on the far right was swapped for a matching air/fuel mixture one after the pics were taken

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7qQ6brcrmg