So after lurking on this site for about 5 years I have finally bought a Manta!

You may have seen it on eBay, and its currently in Glasgow Scotland

The owner appears to be a man of few words, so all i really know is he has had it for the last 5 years, it has had a full brake overhaul and the Weber carby replaced, on his last MOT he also had an advisory item mentioning the nearside front coil spring was corroded

I figure if its passed its last MOT ok....the car should be 'relatively' ok........Right!?

Plans for the car include....

1. Getting it to Australia!

2. Fixing rust - respray (Hopefully not a strip to bare shell overhaul!)

3. Keep car original inside and out

4. neaten neaten neaten

5. Fit a late model efi auto V8

6. Uprate the suspension and brakes, whilst not effecting point #3

I grew up in the UK (Saltburn - Cleveland) and Dad bought a new 1978 Ascona SR Berlina which is the car I credit with my car addiction, so holds a very sentimental value....hence this purchase

The Mrs is not entirely happy with this as we do have a few cars at our house already (clicky) but she did come home with another Dog last week so fairs fair I reckon!

After reading the article in the may 2005 total vauxhall mag , over ten years ago , i said some day id get this hatch ...... !!!  and in a round about way .... it came to me 

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Ian Hills old hatch ..loved it from the time i seen it ...  its a bit worse for wear at the moment , but will restore handie enough ...  

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two sills are gone at the joins and chassis legs will need doing plus a good tidy inside should sort here out !

but im a happy bunny !!!!  

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I started a topic in the introduction area a while ago and thought it's about time I started one in the correct place. I also got a new picture from the guys building it that I just had to share.

I'll include the original pictures from the first topic and add new ones after the 4th of November, when me and the wife are going down to see the car and sort out some things. At that time I'll also scan in some old hardcopy pictures from the body kit fitting I found in a drawer the other day. 

Specs so far:

The car started as a 2.0 GTE Coupé in black with a sunroof.

Bodykit : Mattig Super Extreme wide arch with optional new lights but without the optional bonnet

Full roll cage and additional chassis strengthening

Engine: Edelbrock supercharged 350ci fuel injected small block Chevy V8

Link to the catalogue: http://www.edelbrock.com/automotive/mc/crate-engines/chevy-519.shtml

5 Speed manual transmission to custom built rear end (prop, LSD, axle, rear disc brakes etc)

Bilstien front shocks and custom 450lb springs

Power steering kit and clear indicator lenses from club members

Removed door handles and locks

New fuel tank in the boot

3 piece Image split rims 11x15 front and 13x15 rear

Yokhama AVS tyres 285/40/15 front and 345/35/15 rear (might be replacing these soon after the cars is finished even though they have 0 miles on them due to their age)     

Calibra turbo calipers, Cosworth discs and matching pads, from another club member.

Still to be done:

Main build finished at Hauser, exhaust, modded bonnet the list goes on....

Mot work/prep

Security

New gauges and interior

A mild sound system

A new paint job, same colour

The latest picture that got us both drooling...

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These are the pictures from the original intro topic:

edit: Ok I lied, I added another engine picture

On the way to Hauser Racing for the drive-train work after 10 years in my garage on bricks

The dummy V8 in place for fitting purposes, you can see the welding for engine mounts, chassis rail/bulkhead mods if you squint. Apparently they are cutting even more out of the bulkhead last time I spoke to them.

A pic in the workshop showing how far back they are mounting the new engine to make room for SC pulleys, big radiator etc

A pic of the crate engine going in once the work on fitting the dummy is finished

The engine upon arrival as Hauser still in it's crate:

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Some pictures showing previous body work and brakes done approx 11 years ago

here are some pictures of my manta. not so much as a prolect more of just fixing and sorting bits

sorry for the real crap day! but i cant stop it lol. i wanted to get some pictures of it up so there they are. just a couple of things i need to get sorted out. i need better light's so spot lights i think but i dont want to be dilling holes in her. does the lamp pod just bolt on with out dilling new holes?

Just over 5 years ago I bought an OMOC Members car that was the subject of 'Hedleys casebook' in the club mag.

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The car was loved but well used by its only owner having covered over 200k miles as a daily driver. I commissioned Retropower to complete a 400R conversion initially with the intention of a basic XE engine and basic spec. The car inevitably had rot 'in the usual places' but the roof was miraculously rust free so the decision was made to keep the sunroof. The car was a regular at Billing I believe.

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Now I've had my Sports Hatch for a couple of months I thought I should document some of the work that I've done tl it so far. Back in November last year I took a gamble and bid on a 29,000 mile from new Cavalier Sports Hatch that was listed on Ebay. The car was in Northern Ireland and I live in Hampshire,  so it wasn't practical to view before buying. After talking to the owner and doing some further research to reassure myself that everything was above board, I paid the money and waited nervously for the car to arrive. It turned up early one morning on the back of a transporter but unfortunately it wouldn't start so we rolled it off the back of the transporter.

When I had time to investigate further I put a gallon of fresh petrol in and, although it still didn't run I found that it would start if I poured some petrol directly into the carb. I took the top off the carb and freed off the needle valve and managed to get the car running.

It has been dry stored for at least 10 years so I have had to do a few jobs to get the car running properly such as a recored heater matrix, new points and distributor cap and oil and filter change.

The car passed the MOT with no problems in December and I have been doing short trips to be sure that it will be reliable. It has become apparent that it suffers from fuel starvation at higher speeds, which is caused by the filter on the fuel pump from getting clogged up. After cleaning this out it runs fine for a few miles before it cuts out again. I have now decided to remove and clean out the tank properly.

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After a long stint away from the club my wife has decided that she can no longer put up with these modern boring cars. Especially when its a PT Cruiser and keeps breaking down(4 fan belts in 6 months and dont ask how much it costs to replace the alternator). So with great joy it is time to resurrect our beloved Manta A which according to the tax disc was last mobile in June 2005. During its long hibernation I have been starting the old girl and moving her about to stop everything from siezing up. Which was working fine until 18 months ago I put the keys somewhere safe and didn't find them again until dec 2010. Here's how she looked on saturday morning.

After a lot of pushing and shoving I managed to get her into the daylight for the first time since 2005.

The 18 months of standing without movement hasn't done the brakes any favours!

After a bit of work I managed to get the pads out and clean up the discs enough just so that I can get the car to move about easier. Whilst there I had a good look at the ball joints and track rod ends to check there condition. The rubber boot on each track rod had a split in it. No problem I have been buying up spares on ebay when ever there was something worth having. It would be a simple job to put the new ones on!! Removal was pure Haynes text book stuff. However when I tried putting the new track rod on the passenger side it was really difficult to start and after one turn it would stick. On close inspection of the thread on the end of the steering knuckle it became apparent that the last time this was track rod was replaced the monkey responsible had managed to cross thread it! Never mind I have a replacement steering knuckle (ebay again) only to fit these you to remove the steering rack in order to be able to bend back the tabs on the locking ring. More time required to carry out the work.

Other work that needs to be carried out before going for the MOT is some welding to the swan neck on the drivers side and a small blister on the floor pan next to the sill. One possibly 2 headlamps need replacing the silvering has gone rusty. One of the screws holding down the distributor cap has rouded out (sh*t) making it tricky to checks point etc. Has anyone tried the Accu spark system on their Manta? Might go for that if it works but £30 seems cheap for an electronic system! The cylinder head could do with converting to an unleaded head. Oh and clean the inside yuk!!

When funds and time allow I want to replace the exhaust system with a stainless system, upgrade the brakes. I'm sure I will find plenty of things to keep me busy with. My wife (I love her so much) wants us to get another A so we can use that for when the existing one is not on the road. Would be interested in A with straight engine in it, could be the only way I'll have the opportunity to own a TE2800 even if it was a replica.

I thought it was about time to sort out my bulging chassis rails so first I made up a jig to keep the front mounting points etc

I removed most of the double skin section

Then I removed the inner rail front part( sub frame mounting area) cleaned it up an made out of 2mm steel a insert welded them together

As I wanted to keep the original look I decided to use GM new rails but could only get driver side ones so had to modify it ,rather than try to bend the middle section to fit I made from 2mm steel the curved part bellow

then I fitted the front inner part of rail and the main new straight rear part

now it was time to fit the middle inner part to join it all together

Then I modified the new driver side outer rail parts to fit

after a bit of welding an grinding this is the end result

Manta arrives home last night and put under a temporary cover for the night... last stuff taking up Manta space in the garage has been dropped off at the charity shop ten mins ago!

Looks a bit sorry for itself with the front wings and bumper off for shipping but gathering bits currently and first task might as well be rot proofing swan necks etc.

What works best..I'd normally put some rust killer on and then bitumen...maybe Waxoil?

Cheers

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Well finally got my manta started after having her for a few years got it stripped and got some pics of the bad bits and some good bits. P.s how can I post the pics off my phone onto the post?

This arrived at my house this morning....

You probably saw it on ebay. I called the guy up and did a deal, The car was collected yesterday and dropped off today.

It is better than described which is always good but there is still a lot of work to do.

If anyone has any parts they don't need that would suit this car please get in touch...

OK, may be this needs to be somewhere else moderators(?), but in the mean time here are some pictures of my Commie starting the road back to full health over at Suffolk County Manta's:

Pictures are progress to date in no particular order:

This is after spending three solid days working on the car (mostly my own efforts) - though expert advice from Simon and his team helped enormously!

Enjoy []

Cheers,

Simon.

1987 2.0 GTE Hatchback

1971 Opel Commodore Coupe

Old Mantas never die, they just get faster !

I bought this yesterday. Only because I didn't want to come home empty handed don't know what I'm going to do with it yet. If anyone wants it give me a shout

going to be starting the coupe soon so made a rollover jig for it last night ,still to fit the mountings will do that once it's in the garage .

couple off pics

hi guys n girls ive owned mantas for last 5 years or so i currently own a 400r and a gte exclusive coupe so when i saw this hatchback only 25 miles away i thought i would have a go at the main resto myself as in the past david (mantasrme) has always done the welding and engine installs and many other bits n bobs     ive bought a welder    (mantasrme puts his head in his hands at this point lol) and now have some access to my gaffers shed with ramp electric and of course the essential heater lol     as its my first project and ive never held a welder progress will be slow but im sure with some guidence from here i will get there its staying standard so in theory apart from the welding everything else should pose no real problems             so summary on first glance couple of holes on inner wings mainly 1 side front jacking point on drivers side not been on the ramp yet the guy said the swan necks were in decent order but i fully expect them to need attention sunroof area bad //          interior has mould and a little wear on drivers bolster has working elec windows all seems complete genuine vosa backed milage of 67k      ive been selling most of my coupe spares and didnt think i would end up with 3 mantas but im sure im not alone in unexpected purchases lol hopefully the pics will load up here goes

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So after many years of novas and my old man being a big manta man  I thought it was time I got one so after few weeks of viewing rot boxes I found I bare she'll 38k from new very clean in all the right places over the last month I have started to get stuck in (photos to follow ) .john 

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So here she is! I was originally a little skeptical about this, all I'd seen was one photo from the back of the car, so I went up to have a look at it. I've never seen a car before that's been sat for so long and is still this solid! I expected it to be at least a little rotten. 

So this is how I found it, stood here since 2009

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Filled to the brim with VHS tapes

Fitted with a 2.0 from a manta, still with the 1600 4 speed and axle. I've heard it gets off quick.

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Ziebart everywhere, I reckon it's saved it, but It'll have to go!

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Battery tray was solid, we attempted to start it, it turned over very nicely but wouldn't fire. probably needs HT leads and plugs, probably condenser and rotor arm too. 

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inner wings and wing rails look good

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Funky little trumpet horns! They're staying  

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Jacking points appear solid, but we all know what can be hiding.

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Boot floor is solid too

Decided I want it So the next weekend went back to move it to my friends farm as I've yet to sort out storage for this...

Managed to drag it out from it's resting place and tow it to a trailer waiting at the bottom of the hill. Roads in wales are very tight! No getting the trailer up there.

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Love the scenery in north wales, and my first proper look at the car! incidentally some of my earlies memories are going to north wales on holiday in my dads Ascona berlina

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Best car on this road in a while

Now down at the car park where the trailer was waiting, I could get a proper look around all sides.

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Interior is shredded!

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Wouldn't mind a 6 dial speedo for this

Now up on the trailer I can get a proper look underneath, and she looks solid!

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Down in Caernarfon with the reason she's been sitting for so long. 

Sorry for the pic overload! I'm a little obsessed as I can't do anything with it for a few weeks til I can sort out somewhere to put it! Now I know she's going to need some welding, which is fine. The swan necks look pretty good from what I can see but I'd be surprised if they didn't need anything. I think the main jobs will be rebuilding the brakes. The plan is to do what she needs to get it an mot and on the road and use it

This is a new project which I hope the OMOC members (and Manta fans generally) will get behind and help make it a success.

We are hoping to use a fairly modest machine to prove that one doesn't have to spend £1000s to compete in the sport.

We are hoping to score a few points for 'the man in the street' and claim a few scalps from the rich boys with better cars. Call it 'underdog snobbery/one-upmanship' if you will!

We're also flying the flag for the Manta against its long-time old school RWD rival, the MkII Escort (ever dominant in club level rallying and fetching five figure sums nowadays).

This car will probably have the lowest power to weight ratio on any normal rally (i.e. any rally apart from 'historic' events), but this is where you guys come in. I hope to enlist the support of the vast pool of talented backyard Manta tuners and tweakers who can potentially help even the odds with sheer people power by passing on R&D advice to steepen the learning curve, selling key spares etc. [the big boys will just throw money at BURTON and other firms!]. Even better, would be to have people along to advise/assist on its rebuild (located at OX18 3LX in Oxfordshire) or running the car on events if anyone is up for it?

1987 E plate Manta GTE

2ltr Pinto Engine Fitted with a Type 9 Sierra 5 Speed box

I'm told it has a good engine -quite newly rebuilt

Brand new twin choke carb

Standard tune –estimated at 100 Bhp

Pinto engine (very heavy)

Sports exhaust (possibly?)

Diff may be a bit high-geared for rallying but good for track days

2 sets of standard 14" Manta alloy wheels on road tyres

Safety devices cage - Don't think it's out of a manta though but not a bad fit. Probably from a Pug 205 –rearmost crossbar has lumps underneath it where the bars were probably ground off.

Mantas are quite strong –shouldn't need body strengthening?

Corbeau forza drivers seat and a cobra seat for passenger

Luke 2" Harnesses

Sump Guard

Plumbed in extinguishers

Not RAC Logbooked yet. The plumbed in Extinguisher is out of date, as are the belts and seats

Basically the car was being used on rally sprint days / autotests etc originally, including the 'Bont stages':

http://www.teifistag...o.uk/index.html

Car has sat for couple of years so not sure how good it is underneath. Rust is bubbling around the sunroof and on front of bonnet, Noticed a bit of rust around by where the boot floor meets the back panel. Sunroof, boot + front of bonnet rusting.

It starts and runs fine, Turns over + fired with fuel down carb but needs fuel in tank.

Was Mot'd until April 08 and not moved since!

There's a plate on the slam panel which says "1200kg" but this may be from before it was stripped out inside. Wikipedia says the Manta is 4.45m long [wheelbase 2.52m]

Current weight unknown

hi i thought i would put some pictures of my latest project as some of you know this has been rallied by simon crook untill  he rolled it earlier this year he had stripped it for repair but the regs changed so wouldnt be eligible for next year.

ive bought the car,and have started to straighten the shell out, the damage is quite extensive and if it wasnt for the fact that it had been prepared by gerry johnson who founded safety devices and every single panel has been seam welded together with large tunnel and group 4 5 linked it probably would have been easier to reshell.

a brief list includes;roof badly kinked above windscreen rear roof pillar flattened one front pillar flattened o/s rear wing badly crushed and top edge rolled over  o/s front inner wing rolled over n/s front inner wing bent down and when i measured the n/s front inner chassis rail there was a nearly a inch differance between the height

even the front suspension crossmember is badly twisted 

first job was to put the full cage back in to keep the  shell rigid especially as it ties in with the front suspension pick up points.

then cut off the entire front panel off back to  the inner wings then i removed the front suspension and bolted a 6x2 lenght of box accross the front then welded another lenght of box  to this which was also bolted to the rear suspension points this gave me a good point to jack up the front chassis once is was within a 1mm of its correct height i gave the kinks on the inner chassis rail  some gentle smacks with a hammer they dissapeared with it under tension. released the jack and all remained within a 1mm.used the same rig to jack the inner wing back in place.

ive put a few pictures up after the crash and strip down and will post some more as the rebuild continues

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Someone pulled out on me on Monday managed swerve and hit the wing and door, 

The door can be repaired but a new wing is needed, 

he has admitted liability 

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