garymanc Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 how about this clive http://forums.mantaclub.org/topic/27812-fan-enough-power/ am sure you could get it to look much better. my car is still on holiday so havent had another go at it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opel2000 Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 how about this clive http://forums.mantaclub.org/topic/27812-fan-enough-power/ am sure you could get it to look much better. my car is still on holiday so havent had another go at it Thanks for that Gary, just read through your topic.... Now the idea of this isn't new to me, When I was asked to build the heater box for Curt's Ascona 400 rep (a job that I really didn't look forward to doing) Retropower were going to be assembling the heater matrix and cooling fan area, I did some online searching for small fans, and did come up with a damn good small item that had a decent current draw of about 3.5 amps see link http://www.sofasco.com/dcaxial.html can't find the particular one now, but I was given a price of £180.00 for 2 items. Basically a fan is needed with a good bit of oomph behind it to be able to force the air through the matrix and through the ducting of the heater. Lots of small fans out there that will give good CFM air flow and will feel like you have put your hand in a hurricane when putting current to the fan. BUT you enclose the fan and restrict the flow and if it hasn't got a decent motor on it, it will struggle to push the air through the matrix and the heater ducts and will simply just slow down. This is one of the reasons I was trying to use the original heater fan of the Manta. Coupled with the awkward fitting of fabricating anything to fit in that bloody awkeard shape of the battery tray/bulkhead area, and the scuttle which slopes and curves .......... AaaAAaargh just gave my self a headache just thinking about it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opel2000 Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 Been chewing a few ideas over in my head and been doing some searching on the Net, now this is a good looking fan, but a housing would beneeded to be built for it, and at 190 cubic metres per hour it should be enough to clear a Manta front screen regardless of how much moisture has been soaked up by the sound deadening beneath the carpets http://docs-europe.electrocomponents.com/webdocs/0979/0900766b80979962.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opel2000 Posted July 17, 2011 Author Share Posted July 17, 2011 (edited) Been thinking long and hard on this pretty much stalled project of mine recently. Benn getting a little work done here and there, such as filling and shaping the N/S arch (this pulled in a bit more during welding and has been a bitch to sort with my lack of filling skills) But main thorn in my side is till the heater area. Basically I have no cash to go and buy a DIS pack set up, or alternative heater matrixes and fans/blowers etc. Engine bay is looking absolute 5hite, and basically I just need to deal with what I have to hand...... What I do have to hand is........ A Manta Heater Matrix....... A Manta Blower fan, the only problem is they do not fit in the area I have available and it is not possible to fit a flap to cut off the hot air (well it may be possible but the logistics are too involved in the space available. So the plan I now have is to .......... Cobble up a heater box that will fit in the area available using th original matrix and blower, heater box shape will be similar to original but will be using a cable operated valve to cut the hot water flow to the matrix. Got a reasonably quite day tomorrow, a few loose ends to sort out at work and then a bit of construction on this shall begin.......... If this all works, it could turn out to be a pretty damn cool off the shelf 16V heater box conversion, the main problems being at the moment......... Hose angles.... a really tight U turn required, which is why I'd been hanging on to my old B sereies heater hoses. Blower......... may not flow the air through matrix sufficiently due to altered angle of the matrix to create space. Battery........ an 063 battery may be required due to infringement of the new heater box towards the battery area. Matrix......... Wrong hose outlet angles on the matrix, I'll need to loosen these with a bit of heat and solder them up at the angles I desire. Basically all this will cost me is a bit of time, and a few fasteners, if it all works then this will add that bit of missing something to the engine bay. Edited July 17, 2011 by opel2000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monzta Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 I have a tip for you 16V modders that has been used in Germany for ages when doing the 16V mod. Use a heater from a old Polo mk 1, 2 or 3. They are only the size of a car battery but they pack alot of punch (let´s face it, Opel never did make any good heaters for the old cars except maybe the Rekord´s). They are not a direct fit, but they are much easyer to fit than recreating the original one. Anyways, just a tip, you could check it out at the scrappers a heater from a old polo should almost be free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opel2000 Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 Thanks Monzta, I've done a couple of Polo heater conversions on the Manta, reasonably straightforward, BUT to box them in so that they aren't drawing in engine bay air is not straightforward and they end up being pretty damn tight around the XE dizzy area Would agree though that the Manta blower is not the best on a vehicle but after examining the route the air has had to take through the Manta heater box, it looks to be not the most flow efficient item ever made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monzta Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Oh i have to agree on that one ! Just took apart the heater on the A series and my god what where they thinking The fan is located all up at the top of the heater casing and is lying down flat (nice for the bearings no wonder they stop working !) and that poor little fan need to push all the air through the entire box, and into the air tubes ! I know it is diffent on the B but that is just even more complex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opel2000 Posted July 18, 2011 Author Share Posted July 18, 2011 Well this is as far as i've got today, but quite pushed for time for rest of week so will be on a back burner for a couple of days now. And just as I had took the pics of the start of the box in the engine bay and was about to start re-sizing the pics I got a text through from a good mate offering me a DIS pack loom Ecu and all the gubbings..... Doh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Abbott Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Nice bit of work there Clive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opel2000 Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 Still moving along.......... Just finished off the rear quarter.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midasmesh Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Looking good Clive Love the 2 slot grill with the GTE front spoiler, looks like its about to eat the Corsa in front of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opel2000 Posted July 26, 2011 Author Share Posted July 26, 2011 Thanks Mesh, air was pretty still today, and it looked like the flyimg ants had their stint yesterday so thought i'd have a bash at spraying up the rear quarter, Wasn't too sure how good my filling and shaping around the arch was until it actually had the red on it, but pretty pleased, paint could have been a bit wetter really, but paint in the pot was running out and the warmth ftom the sun on the panel was making the paint go off reasonably quickly as I was spraying so didn't have time to mix a bit more up, should flatten down ok though. Least there are no beetles or wasps in it this time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leon Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Bloody hell Clive, that looks ace! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toni Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 Absolute stunner Clive :thumbup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opel2000 Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Thanks for comments Toni and Leon. It was July 2008 that I first cut the rot out of this arch and replaced with new steel, so to see the rear quarter "Finished" at last is a big result for me. Finding the time and the weather to do this on a drive has been the main issue really. Other big finishing off bitts such as finally being able to fit the plastic B pillar trims permanently, I have 2 good ones, the drivers side has 5 tabs on it (it did have 6) and as we all know what an absolute bast these are to remove there was no way I was going to fit these until this area was ready to accept them. All little holes where fasteners go into the body to secure trim have all been given a blob of silicon before fitting to ensure no water ingress. The rubber fittings that hold the metal quarter glass tabbed hinges into place (Thanks Mantasrme for posting them down for me ages ago ) have also had a silicon treatment as one wasn't a brilliant seal. Also as the rear quarter glass wasn't sealed to the hinges/tabs, I used Kevin Abbott's method of drilling through the B pillar and threading the tabs to pull them tight against the glass. So I now have lovely fitting rear quarter glass against excellent Quarter Glass seals (Thanks Bobby AKA czwh42 ) and correctly fitting B pillar trim, which gives the Manta the superb clean look it should have in this area. Just need to add a little paint to the filler cap mount today and seal that up with a blob of silicon to ensure no water ingress there too. It aint just about throwing paint on a car, it is about knowing the cars and re-fitting to a standard to ensure no future issues....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opel2000 Posted July 28, 2011 Author Share Posted July 28, 2011 At long long last, 3 years down the line and I have a RED Manta. Got 3 beetles in the paint but what the hell can I expect when painting outside. Pretty damn pleased with the outcome as I couldn't really tell how well my filling was going. The top of the arch had pulled in to the quarter panel when welding the new arch section in place, and there has been a lot of filling and shaping going on here, the arch isn't as good an arch as it should be on the Manta but fcuk me I had to draw a line somewhere else I'd still be filling and sanding 8 years down the line and it wouldn't get any better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rab Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Noo, that`s one fair BRAW / Translation " STUNNING " looking Manta Clive yur a inspiration to us all. rab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Abbott Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 Holy shit Clive that is a great finish for a car painted in celly outside. You must have balls of steel and have a contact at the MET office to paint outside! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devil Fish Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 nice job dude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christ Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Paint's looking good from the pics mate How's the heater assembly coming on, looks like an interesting bit of fabrication - know what you mean about working with metal rather than plastic though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opel2000 Posted July 31, 2011 Author Share Posted July 31, 2011 (edited) Hello Chris. done a little bit more on the heater box, but not been at work this week (Welder got left at work) so it has been at a standstill, still going well though. Most of the fabrication on the heater box has been fairly straightforward and mainly done with an Angle Grinder and the Welder of course Apart from the 2 rear quarters finished I have been going over the front of the underside of the car, undersealing the inner wing areas and putting a bit of Hamerite on a few areas of the crosmember (originally ran out of Hammerite and Underseal) Yesterday I was pottering about on one of the rear foglights and No. Plate lamp, fcuking amazing that so much time got spent on these yesterday for the stupid bloody size of them. Realized eventually that i was trying to fit a Chrome bumpered No. Plate lamp into a plastic bumper. And don't know what the fcuk is wrong with the fogs just gonna re-wire the lot today. Also sorted the boot lamp, (why this area had been messed about with I don't know), and pushed the wires up to connect the heated rear window. Rear screen looks as though it's going to be coming out yet again today as it seems to have gained a film of primer over it when I last painted. All just fettling up now, can't wait to get MOT on this, and have already been tidying up the Corsa ready to sell. Shall post some pics up later this eve. Edited July 31, 2011 by opel2000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1900SR Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 (edited) Looks excellent mate, but wouldn't expect anything less from you. Edited July 31, 2011 by 1900SR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opel2000 Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 Well eventually found a few pennies to get a bit of silicon hose so I could cobble up the air filter mount. And quite pleased i was with the outcome of this, as last weekend i tried fitting a radiator cooling fan that Callum at Retropower gave me, and just as I was tweaking up the last fastener through the rad the fooking radiator split on me. This weekend I had been given a couple of old rads from Nat at retropower which had been fitted with a BSP fitting for the little water hose off of the elbow on the inlet/plenum (that little bit with the V with 2 teeny tiny little pipes on) managed to find a BSP fitting knocking around and got that soldered into place and painted up the rad, ready to take water and run the engine this morn in order to check my shitty soldering. Must say that my soldering held up quite well. Took car up the road as it didn't seem to want to hit temp sat idling on the drive, drove it hard enough to get a rear wheel slipping when changing up into 2nd (on a 1.8 carlton clutch) getting it back onto the drive I lifted bonnet to see if there were any leaks from the 2nd hand rad, especially where I had soldered the fitting into place. All looked well and good but noticed that the temp gauge had rose to it's highest (Normal) position at long long last, and that the overflow from the rad cap was steaming, which meant that the rad was not shoeing any leaks under poressure, and i was a happy bunny, ,,,,,, ,, Until I noticed MORE steam and water coming out of overflow, as the water level was halfway up the top tank of rad this struck me as odd and shouldn't really be happening, then hot water and steam were simply Coming out of the overflow,,,, No No NOT right at all. This led to the suspicion that the head gasket may have gone, I released the rad cap and FOOK ME really not good, system was so pressurised it nearly took me fooking arm off. Alway had my doubts about the surface quality of the head and always thought that it would soon show itself to be bad if indeed it was, Ideally i would have likedthe cash and somehwere nearby I could have took it to to be skimmed before fitting, unfortunately at the time I had neither so took a gamble, but the gamble did not pay off.... Bugger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christ Posted August 14, 2011 Share Posted August 14, 2011 (edited) Unlucky mate Sure it wasn't just an air lock or thermostat/water pump not working? Completely off topic - did I see some of your handy work (and pic of engraving machine) in this months Retro Cars mag? Edited August 14, 2011 by Christ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opel2000 Posted August 14, 2011 Author Share Posted August 14, 2011 Unlucky mate Sure it wasn't just an air lock or thermostat/water pump not working? Completely off topic - did I see some of your handy work (and pic of engraving machine) in this months Retro Cars mag? You know what Chris, i'm fooking puzzled by this.......... Bobby popped round this afternoon, about 30 mins after I'd posted that up and I filled rad with water to show him what it was doing..... I filled rad to show him what it was doing..... come on then car DO IT ,,,,,,, ??????? NOTHING, bloody thing sat there idling staeady as a rock and I drove it up the dtreet and all seemed fine. Now beginning to think i had a ridiculous air lock somewhere, next time I refill rad I'll jack the bloody thing up and take it slowly, heater box shouls hopefully be complete soon and be finally fitted into position so that should hopefully be the last time I need to fill the rad. Retro Cars, yes there was a pic of my handiwork I believe, and god knows why there was a pic of the engraving machine when I was engraving the dash for the V8 Van, totally minor work compared to what had gone into the work on that van, most people will look at that pic and say/thimk "What the fook is that supposed to be?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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