sealer has to be equally applied on both sides
or I do it again.”
Everything didn’t go completely smoothly:
“We replaced the gearbox the day before Ade
took the photos,” admits Neil with a laugh,
“when we were installing it one of the rods
chipped a tooth off a cog, I did a 12-hour drive
to get another one and we fitted it that night.
There’s also a tiny pinhole in the front glass
because I just couldn’t find a brand-new
windscreen anywhere. It came with the Hella
round spotlights and I sourced the oblong 2.8i
ones at Ford Fair. Some parts were far harder to
find than I’d expected — the Granada Mk1 and
Mk2 Driver’s Guild were very helpful.”
When it came time for paint the exterior got
high-build primer, three coats of base and four of
lacquer. “We then did two of base and two
lacquer on the inside,” explains Neil, “every inch
of that shell is painted and polished, you can lift
the carpets and find shiny paint. The bumpers“I was given virtually free reign by Davey,”
explains Neil, “other than to specify the colour
he wanted and to get everything on the car
working. We’d never done a car to this
standard, we started out to do a good one then
realised we could do better, so we went the
extra mile on it and it was a learning curve.”
The team at KD Kustoms UK are justifiably
proud of what they’ve achieved. Neil wants to
say thanks to his team: Graham, Kyle, Nik,
Scott, Roo and Cal and Kara, as well as Davie
next door — a Ford specialist who helped out
several times including getting the front
springs back in at midnight. “To be honest we
got carried away. We’re a bodyshop and
fabricator, we build drift cars, but we now have
another 12 cars to restore just based on people
seeing the quality of this Granada, which is
great. I’m 38 and the Granada will outlive me!”KUSTOM MADE
GOING THE DISTANCE
Engine: 2792cc, V6 pushrod
Transmission: three-speed auto
Suspension: front wishbones, rear
trailing arms
Brakes: discs front, drums rear
Wheels and tyres: 14-inch alloys, 185/80R14
tyres
Top speed: 114 mph
0-60: 11.2 secondsTECH SPEC
1983 GRANADA 2.8 GHIA XGranada Mk1 and Mk2 Driver’s Guild
http://www.ford-granadaguild.org.uk
KD Kustoms UK
07532 827960,
http://www.facebook.com/kdkustomsukRESTORATION
CONTACTSwere stripped but after a quote of over £4000 for
rechroming we ended up powdercoating them
instead, and so far only one person has spotted
they’re not chromed. We did the same with the
side trims and the door handles.
“There’s over 5000 hours of work in it. We
did everything in-house other than
powdercoating the wheels — they were blasted
and acid dipped. I tried to find period tyres but
they were silly money, so these are the closest
equivalent. When it’s someone else’s money you
can’t go completely mad, but we did bring it in
for the budget I’d originally quoted.”
Is owner Davey happy with the car?
“I’ve only just got it back, so not had a
chance to drive it,” he admits, “but it looks
stunning. I’m really looking forward to
having some fun in it. But only during
dry weather!”
Rest assured, this Granada is never going
to get wet again...EXPERT HELP
“WE DID ALMOST
EVERYTHING —
THERE’S OVER 5000
HOURS OF WORKIN THIS CAR”
The Cologne V6 had only covered 1500 miles but was still
stripped and checked as a precaution — then fully detailed.Now the Mk2 is finished, Davey can finally
enjoy it — once he’s refitted the numberplates...96 August 2019