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Front-Mid Engined Manta Project


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After speaking to lots of mantaclub members at Billing this year, I thought I'd post some pictures of my ongoing project. It's a Nissan powered A - Series that will have a power to weight ratio of around 412bhp/tonne. Basically it started as a car that seemed a lot more sound than it actually was; but now, 4 months down the line, it's coming together and I cannot wait to get it out on the road! More pics will follow but the ones below give you an idea of the progress to date... Many thanks to the posse for putting up with me, helping me out and the most gracious hospitality:)

Sorry some of the pics are a bit out of focus.

This was the car when I picked it up...

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Within about 3 weeks it looked like this!

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It's pretty stressful taking a 9" grinder to the front of your car!

The chassis required a fair bit of chopping and changing to get the engine as far back as I wanted. Just as well the rails were rotten as a pear and needed replacing and strengthening anyway!

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The front pulley of the engine sits just behind the front crossmember so I'm hoping this will help improve the handling by bringing the weight to the centre of the car.

This was the first turbo we went for (a T28) but, in the pursuit of more power this changed for a T3 later on...

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This was about a month ago...

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And this was today, with the new turbo fitted and the firewall nearly finished.

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All that's left to do is wire up the cigarette lighter and it's ready to drive... I wish... because I'm not even going to have a cigarette lighter inside! Decided to keep it simple and light - two seats, a steering wheel and some floor mount pedals should do the trick. This car will be my daily driver but I'm happy to loose a few luxuries to keep the car light.

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It's ongoing but I'm hoping it'll be on the road before Winter...

AL:o)

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Many thanks to Simon of Suffolk county mantas for doing the hard bits, keeping me on the right track and fixing my errors!

I couldn't have done this without you mate!

AL:o)

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About time one of these engines got fitted into a Manta.

Was however thinking after measuring my CA18DET up earlier last year that due to the weight on the engine on the p1ss it could have been moved over to the drivers side a bit more than you have done Young_un1

Not criticising, I'm hoping you are gonna tell me exactly whey it was fitted as you have fitted it, as it may well save me some time in the future[;)][;)]

Did you know, i do some nice shiney plug covers for the CA18DET [8D][;)][;)]

s13%20pc.jpg

Shiny bits http://www.customsolutions.me.uk

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quote:Originally posted by opel2000

About time one of these engines got fitted into a Manta.

Was however thinking after measuring my CA18DET up earlier last year that due to the weight on the engine on the p1ss it could have been moved over to the drivers side a bit more than you have done Young_un1

Shiny bits http://www.customsolutions.me.uk


id="quote">id="quote">

I was wondering if the heat from the turbo might foul the inner wing.....?

OMOC 5885

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quote:[iWas however thinking after measuring my CA18DET up earlier last year that due to the weight on the engine on the p1ss it could have been moved over to the drivers side a bit more


id="quote">id="quote">

There are several reasons Clive. Call me tomorrow if you get a moment and i talk you through them.

Suffolk County Mantas. Engine conversions,Customs,

Full restorations, paintwork. http://www.suffolkcountymantas.co.uk

2zoj21g

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Simon I have to call you very soon anyway regarding our customer.

Oh and Christ.... Glad you have finally realised "A mighty Nissan engine" I take it you have got round the idea that the CA18DET is far superior to the Budget SR20DET that you have in your S14 [:D][:D][:D]

Do I need to be looking for me coat?

Sorry about total thread hi-jack young_un1

Shiny bits http://www.customsolutions.me.uk

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Hi Robbie, hows your head?

the cars moving on quicker now, clearance for the turbo was on the todo listand has now been made, firewall is in etc, check out the relation between the front pulley and the front beam.

63ravye.jpg

Suffolk County Mantas. Engine conversions,Customs,

Full restorations, paintwork. http://www.suffolkcountymantas.co.uk

2zoj21g

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I was half planning a 26det from a skyline for a modern version of a te2800 so be interesting to see how a nissan block works out in this.

Reckon it'll be at billing next year? I wanna see!

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hmackay at opel-manta.com

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The heads fine now Simon [:)] Engine sits nicely behind the xmember and still looks from the pics that it isnt to far inside the car so that there is still plenty of room to get the pedal box in when the tunnel is done [^]

http://www.mantamagic.com

OMOC N,Ireland Rep

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Please dont shoot me it,s only an opinion not a demand

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That car would be wasted as a daily driver, IMHO.

Buy something crappy like a corsa and tootle around in that. Save the Manta for special occassions.

Another reason why I intend my B Hatch. Pain in the ass putting a cherished car on the commute everyday.

OMOC 5885

Life is a waste of Time

Time a waste of Life

Get wasted all the Time

And you'll have the time of your life

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Not to worry, the inner wing's still to be chopped about to give the extra clearance for the turbo. It didn't have ny bolts on in that pic either so it's sitting a bit closer to the wing than it will finally.

Cheers for the encouragement guys. It will be at Billing next year I hope.

Robbie; I've moved the seats back too, to increase the room available inside but mostly to get the occupants weight right in the centre of the car - hopefully that positioning should be best for feeling what's happening at both ends of the car.

I've got a crappy car at the moment hehe. (A VW Jetta) It gets me to and from the workshop at weekends. The manta will be my daily driver but I won't actually be doing that much driving this forthcoming year - I'm moving to a flat that's far closer to University than before so I'll be walking to uni and going out for a blast in the manta in the evenings [:)] I've had a couple of quick cars in the past but the manufacturer's versions are never really hardcore enough for me to be honest - youthful stupidity eh?! That's why this car came about - I wanted a no frills, purposeful and focused car. So far, I think it's working out...

Christ; Have you modified your S14? Any recommendations as far as getting power out of the nissan lump's concerned. So far, my mods are:

T3 turbo, 555cc injectors, fuel pump, paddle clutch, equal length primary manifold, Z32 AFM, front mount intercooler and an ECU Remap.

AL:o)

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best advice i can give you on tuning is get on the SXOC website, if you've not done already - there's sooo much knowledge on there and a project like yours would be well recieved (there's already a CA powered moggy minor and an anglia with one on there)

AFAIK you seem to be on the right track with what you've done already - very similar to the way i'm going (got some 555's waiting to be installed and an SAFCII to adjust the fueling)

the only thing i can see missing from your list is a boost controller (and colder plugs). where's the ECU been re-mapped and to what 'stage'?

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That's always reassuring hehe. Oh yeah, forgot about those. I'll probably go for the Greddy profec B spec ii or the profec E-01. I've heard good things about both. Do you use an electronic boost controller - any suggestions?! The ECU will be a VEMS.co.uk system. It's not really a "stage" system as far as I can see, it's totally re-mappable from start to finish. I'll be getting the man from VEMS to set the car up though for peace of mind. I'm not a big fan of computers and the potential for getting something wrong with such an important aspect of the engine is a bit stressful!

AL:o)

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That looks excellent, are you keeping it fairly standard looking from the outside in true street sleeper style?

Or going for loud and agressive looking?

I must say i'm a street sleeper fan, i love projects with a silly engine (in a good way) in an otherwise normal looking old classic car [:D]

Just need some more space around here so i can let fly with some of my ideas for different combinations [:P]

http://www.mantasport.co.uk

OMOC no:3325

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heard good things about VEMS - as you say, it'll be mapped for your car/mods so it's better than a chip

i'm using an apexi AVCR to control the boost - the SXOC is split about 50/50 between that and the profecB

the greddy is simpler to set up apparently i bought the apexi as it was at good price and had more features - not used half of them but it's always good to have them

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In Austrailia Nissan 6 cylinder engines were fitted to some Holden Commodores from the factory, hence a few have been converted to mega horse power Skyline turbo engines. Also saw some small Kadett coupes with factory fitted Isuzu engines too. The cars look brand new close up I assumed they were still producing them in 1997, when I visited there, but with the good weather they were well preserved and very popular with custom car freaks who even fit sbc [8D]engines to them!!!

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Well it's going to be a bit of a sleeper to a certain extent until it gets painted. At the moment it's a bit ratty looking but it'll be spotless under the bonnet. The front mount intercooler and big brakes may be a bit of a give-away [:)]

I like the sound of those crazy skyline powered sleepers - any pics?!

Christ, or anyone else who uses an electronic boost controller - how often do you actually mess about with the boost controller and how much difference can you make to the performance?

Got the turbo clearance issues sorted out today - have got a nice smooth cutaway piece in there now. The front end's back on and it's now time to make space for a nice ali radiator and intercooler system - anyone know of any good sources for the above?! Have been flea-baying it up looking for one. A skyline radiator would more than likely be perfect... (620 mm wide x up to 400 mm tall. Depth doesn't matter too much.) Anyone have a second hand ali one for sale?

I'm looking for an ali intercooler too - dimensions on a postcard please and I'll see if it'll fit...

Cheers Guys.

AL:o)

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quote:Originally posted by young_un1

Christ, or anyone else who uses an electronic boost controller - how often do you actually mess about with the boost controller and how much difference can you make to the performance?


id="quote">id="quote">

once it's set up you don't 'need' to mess about with it but it's good to have the option

with the AVCR you can set the boost level across the rev range (every 500rpm or so) so when i went down pod the other week (didn't run because of the rain) i altered it so there was less boost earlier on so i could get better traction

also there's a couple of settings so I've got a wet weather setting and a higher dry one. it can also be switched off completely, so the boost is limited by the actuator - good for when it's snowing/icy

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That sounds like a sensible option! Should hopefully keep me out of trouble during the Edinburgh winter time!

Got a bit more done this weekend, will post the pics soon.

(There's almost no holes left in the engine bay now! [:D])

AL:o)

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I do have a Saab FMIC here, that is going spare, it is far from brilliant though with a few of the fins distorted. Not the sort of thing I'm assuming you would want to fit to your car unless you spent some time tidying this up.

But the Saab intercoolers are supposed to be absolutely brilliant, mines off of the 2.3 which has different outlet/inlet to the 2.0 and are supposed to perform better, big fecking thing but light as a feather.

The XS Power FMIC's off of Ebay seem to be a popular choice for CA18DET owners, and unlike the XS Power turbos' these do seem to be very good. I do have one of these ready to fit myself, should I ever find the time,

Shiny bits http://www.customsolutions.me.uk

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what a great project. no offence to anyone on here, but its nice to see a manta that hasn't got a c20xe, c20let engine in it for a change (although my a series has an xe engine). I have been looking at using different engines for a while and have a few in mind for my next project (not saying what yet though)

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