Robbie Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Thats major work going on there at the front end Andy and not the easiest job to get lined perfect, sterling work [^] It's going to be a real pleasure to see that car when its finsihed [^] http://www.mantamagic.com OMOC N,Ireland Rep id="blue"> OMOC 5706 Please dont shoot me it,s only an opinion not a demand Email robbie @ mantamagic.com (without the spaces) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon p Posted August 30, 2007 Share Posted August 30, 2007 Coming on Andy, one thing though. Where's is the guard on that sander? Suffolk County Mantas. Engine conversions,Customs, Full restorations, paintwork. http://www.suffolkcountymantas.co.uk call 07720 288928 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyc Posted August 31, 2007 Author Share Posted August 31, 2007 Simon, it's in the bin where it belongs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyc Posted September 3, 2007 Author Share Posted September 3, 2007 just some pics of the weekends welderthon. Main job for this weekend was to fab the battery tray. We could of just fitted a flap sheet but we need the raised section of the panel as the A/C box will sit on the panel and we will need to chanel the condensation away. The only way i could think of makeing somethink like the orginal panel was to make up some wooden formers and panel beat some sheet over them to form the raised section and the tack these to a flat sheet. Fot the first go at this i think it came out quite well. Anyway less chat and more pics template for tray section old battery tray new sections to make up the tray new tray tacked in place inner wing and nose cone clamped ready to start gapping Cheers Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantadoc Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 (edited) Deleted Edited September 26, 2017 by mantadoc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Abbott Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 You doing all that on a throw away gas bottle for the mig? It must be costing you a fortune! Many A Night Tinkering About OMOC 4076 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyc Posted September 4, 2007 Author Share Posted September 4, 2007 NO ONLY ON MY FOURTH BOTTLE FROM THE START, MOST OF THE WORK IS SPOTTING AND WITH THE REG DOWN YOU DON'T USE THAT MUCH ANDY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyc Posted September 9, 2007 Author Share Posted September 9, 2007 This weekends work has been to finish of all the little bits of fabbing around the back of the n/s wheel arch. Firts job was to make the inner wing re-inforcement plate under the inner wing (sorry photos aren't that good. old one on the left and new one on the right next jod was to finish off the battery tray to inner wing area next job was to tackle the edge of the wheel arch old rot cut out new panel fitted while i was doing that Barry, my right hand man was cutting the hole in the bulk head for the A/C venting next week we should see the inner wing area finished and the nose fully attached and if time is on our side we should get the spare front axel in so we can start setting the engine and gearbox up to fit the 5 speed x memeber mounts Cheers Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyc Posted September 25, 2007 Author Share Posted September 25, 2007 Hi Guys Update time, well a corner has been turned, the front nose cone is back on and as an added bonus it'sin the correct place. Also the battery tray has been fitted to the front N/S chassis leg as this car is having air con. before the nose went on for the last time we fitted a spare front axel to the shell, hey that fitted as well, must be doing something right!!. We then fitted a spare block and spare trans into the car so we could set the 5 speed x member mounts, after first drilling out and refilling 17 holes each side of the tunnel that held the 4speed mounts on. Next few jobs this week are to finish the floor, drivers foot well and fingers crossed we should be able to turn the shell at the weekend to start on the o/s chassis leg and boot floor. If everything goes as it should by the end of next week we should have the under side welded, seam sealed and stone chipped.. mock up block, axel and trans in place 17 holes filled and cleaned back arty shot of the 5speed mounts tacked in place nose on .....finally a/c battery tray a/c accumlator fitted.....must remember to drill ALL holes before paint! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbie Posted September 25, 2007 Share Posted September 25, 2007 Andy are you using sikaflex to seam seal the car or what are you using, also do you use a particular gun for the seam sealing to get a good finish, you been busy lately [] http://www.mantamagic.com OMOC N,Ireland Rep id="blue"> OMOC 5706 Please dont shoot me it,s only an opinion not a demand Email robbie @ mantamagic.com (without the spaces) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyc Posted September 26, 2007 Author Share Posted September 26, 2007 using a 3M sealer that we use in our Bodyshop at work, It can be sprayed but they won't lend me the gun so i will use a trigger gun then use a seam seal brush to make sure it gets in the seams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyc Posted October 21, 2007 Author Share Posted October 21, 2007 Well its been a few weeks since the last update and at last we seem to be cresting the hill and that light at the end of the tunnel isn't some sod bring more work. Well since the last update we have tipped the shell onto its n/s so we could sort the underside out. First job was the front chassis leg and as we could only get an Ascone one, which is shorter we chopped the leg about three inches foward of the start of the double skin, inserta 3/4 box and welded in place. Next job was the boot floor which didn't go to bad, in fact it dropped straight in. With that in place all the drain holes were welded up and a lite skim of the grinding marks and seamed sealed it was time for the first coat of stone chip. Before anyone says anything, yes i know its not finished along the bottom, that will done when we flip the shell next week onto its o/s Ok now photo time chassis leg cut out joining stump for the new leg boot floor in spotted and seamed we have paint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunman Posted October 21, 2007 Share Posted October 21, 2007 great stuff there andy, whats yer paint? If what I say can be taken in 2 ways and one of those ways get you angry....I meant it the other way e-mail : mark_gunning@yahoo.co.uk OMOC 5817 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaMad Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Coming together nicely - will be a new car when its finished[] David OMOC Member 420 Fife, Scotland http://www.mantamad.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantadoc Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 (edited) Deleted Edited September 26, 2017 by mantadoc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welder Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 At least Nick didn't swear about me too much in te mag, he sure did at Billing!!![] Publicity Officer Frustrated rock legend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalCol Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 I was swearing in admiration only, Charlie! Hey, if I was at all unsure about making the car into a GT/E before Billing, you totally removed any doubt. That's a real nice car you have there, by the way. Cheers, Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantadoc Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 (edited) Deleted Edited September 26, 2017 by mantadoc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welder Posted October 26, 2007 Share Posted October 26, 2007 Cheers for the kind words Nick. It's going back in the garage soon for some more fettling as there's still a few bits I'm not happy with. Can't wait to see this one when it's done! Publicity Officer Frustrated rock legend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyc Posted November 1, 2007 Author Share Posted November 1, 2007 Ok, Ready for the next thrilling installment?. In the last episode we had finally got the stone chip So after it spent a few days drying we dropped the car back down, turned it around and tipped it up onto its o/s flank. Now this was really the first time we'd be able to have a good look at the n/s/r and guess what, go on have a guess, go on, go on, go on, Yep more 'kin metal work. After a brew and a fag, me and Barry had a good look to see what was needed and thankfully not much. The lower part of the 1/4 at the front come sill section was full of small holes so we cut down a sill repair panel and Barry got on with cutting out the rot and prepping the new panel, bloody good job he done as well. We also noticed the brake pipe retaining bracket had been chewed up at some time so that came off and Barry rescued the one from the old O/S chassis leg and welded that into place. Now the only other piece that needed our attention was the lower rear 1/4 which as you'll see from the pics was like a tea bag. Another fag and a brew while we throught about the best way around it. Option 1: Make the panle out of four pieces, do able but time consuming Option 2: Nick picked up a NOS 1/4 at billing. Damage not that bad to warrant fitting a new 1/4 IF YOU SUFFER FROM HEART PROBLEMS OR ARE EASILT UPSET DO NOT READ THE NEXT OPTION Option 3: YOU HAVR BEEN WARNED, CAN YOU GUESS??? Mark up the NEW 1/4 panel and cut the section out we needed INSERT SWEAR WORDS HERE*********************************** Option 4: get a repair section from DR Manta. He's not that quick and we have to go through another source, best not to ask!! So after speaking to Nick and giving HIM all the options we came up with a solution. Cut the piece of the new 1/4 and he'll order a reapir section from DRM, that way if we ever need another 1/4 we can nail the two back together. So thats it, the 1/4 section is fitted as is the 1/4 sill section, finished the seam sealing last night so now all we have to do is stone chip and the underside is done.. OK pic time Cheers Andy Thats all the rot from the N/s Baz seam sealing Me marking out the 1/4 panel cut line Baz on the hunt for the "lesser spotted" spot welds Baz has made a big hole!!! New 1/4 section tacked in place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyc Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 Hi Guys Just an update on the project. We no pics at the moment, there are only so many picks of the car being rubbed down you can take. Up till Xmas the time has been spent sorting out all the little dings and dents and getting all the panel gaps correct which has been a bit of a mare. Haven't touched it over the xmas holidays and the other half was taken ill at the begining of the week so all is quite at the moment All the engine parts are back so once the shell is athe the painters we can have a clean up and put it altogether. Moore to follow soon Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul1393 Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 This must be the most comprehensive restoration of a Manta ever carried out! The standard of the work is 1st class and a credit to all involved. Nick, is this the car you were originally going to re-shell? Although a re-shell would have been easier Andy and the rest of the team would not have been able to provide us with such a fascinating article and demonstration of their body work skills. They must have gone through a whole box full of spot weld drills! I think your "better than new" comment is spot on. Cheers, Paul H omoc 412 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalCol Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Yup, this is the car I was going to re-shell, although when I first made that decision this car was in much better condition. 5 years of storage on wet ground did some serious damage to it. The problem is that every time I got round to breaking this car for parts I found a reason not to do it. In the end we realised that we'd have to save it and use the shell for something else. So we shipped the shell back to the US in 2003 when we moved back here with the intention of re-shelling my orange B that's also in a pretty bad way. It needs the usual chassis leg repair on the right side, two new sills, new wings, right side lower rear quarter, new door and so on. Of course, when I sat down and thought what of that is shell work I realised there's no point in throwing a brand new shell at that, I might as well just fix the bits that are wrong. So there I am, still with the new shell. The latest idea is to make it a brand new car with all the new parts I've got stashed away. Possibly the last ever Manta if John Rowbotham hurries up and finishes his! The plan is to make the orange car into a 400 replica, but one of the very early B-series 400s with black bumpers and square headlamps. Then the new shell will be a black Exclusive, very similar to Jo's but LHD (I have most of the conversion parts from RHD to LHD for it). Well, that's the current plan. Dunno if it will happen like that though. [] Back to the silver car - I'm really impressed with Andy's and Barry's work, definitely a cut above most restorers. I think they're wasted in their current jobs, they need to do this full time. Anyone else want their car restored? Cheers, Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalCol Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Here are a few photos from my trip in December - I spent three days on the car, trying to get the air conditioning rough install finished up. Apart from Dum Dum becoming almost impossible to get, everything went fairly well. Anyway, onto the photos... Here's the front quarter view. You can see the front wings, doors and bonnet are on the car now and Andy is working on gapping and smoothing. Close-up on the door. The bottom of the door seems to stick out quite badly so Andy ties the car up each night to persuade the bottom to bend back in. I guess it's orthodontics for cars in a way. Tons of filler all over the place. The panels look straight but are subtly rippled. Notice there's no boot lid on the car? Barry has had this as his personal project for weeks and he still can't get the bloody thing flat! The dash is temporarily back in the car as the heater controls need modification for the air con system. Of course, I forgot to bring the levers with me, didn't I? The air con system all roughed in. The A/C unit itself needs to be taken apart and Dum Dum-ed back together to make it airtight and the recirculation hole in the firewall needs opening out as I marked it incorrectly the first time around. At least I marked it too small, rather than too big! That's all for now. Cheers, Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welder Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Tremendous work there guys. Can't wait to see this done. Publicity Officer Frustrated rock legend polishing-services@hotmail.co.uk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.