I feel a project coming on

[mantadoc]

Simplest option is just to cut and box the heater box, but I think you lose the airflap and have to valve it. Two Kadett / Chevette valves side by side would avoid blocking the circulation.

[Kevin Abbott]

Good to see you cracking on with this mate despite the circumstances, even working on the grass you're making quicker progress than me god dam it

See you soon mate

Kev

[czwh42]

Well finally I have 16V Manta

Big thanks to Bobby (Can't remember his username, it's something like czwh42) for popping over with his engine hoist.

It was nice to see that V8 of yours again mate.

Really got the bit between my teeth now on this, as evrything can now be done on the front of my house barring the body work.

Only real irritating thing is the heater, really don't know what route to choose for this at all. I have thoughts of using a bilge blower, or using a bracket mounted off of the front of the engine using a Manta 1.8 pulley to drive the front mounted dissy, or build a heater box around a Polo heater (said I'd never do it again) Or.... May do something quite trick that I've not seen done before, but I need to clarify where the oil is deposited from at the back of the cam first.

But for now it will stay at the back of the engine until it has been fired up and I know all is well.

Got a lot of people to thank for bits n bobs on this project to date

No problem mate. It must have been one of the most productive weekends I've had in ages when working on a manta Don't hesitate to give me a shout if you need more help.

As for the heater box, have you considered going down the DIS pack route ? I know you've got an 20XE engine, but the DIS pack engine may solve your heater box issue. Just a thought.

[mark morris]

Just nosing through here, ive got a photo of your car i took at Billing 2002, a standard looking car with a crumpled drivers wing

Mark

[opel2000]

Blimey Mark, just said hello to you on another post, dead surprised to see you posting on my scabby topic.

Anyway mate, hope you and Karen are both well.

The cars history that I know of is ............. It used to belong to the chairman/organiser (whatever) of the Opel drivers club (Barwell, Leics) car was sold to Nat and Callum (Now run a Co. called Retropower) and they stripped car and fitted a non sunroof roof, and were going to prep it for road rallying, the car sat with nothing being done to it for a while as they were pretty short on time due to being involved with other projects when they passed the car on to me as a total bare shell, with the thoughts that "Clive will do something with it"

Tell you what Mark, I've got a lot of people in the OMOC to thank for the parts and help I've recieved to date on this little project, a hell of a lot of good people in this club still. I remember trying to gain interest for an East Mids event once and Karen as membership sercetary turned round the members list for the East Mids area for me by post within 24 hours. What an asset the club lost when she stood down.

[Retro Power]

Simplest option is just to cut and box the heater box, but I think you lose the airflap and have to valve it. Two Kadett / Chevette valves side by side would avoid blocking the circulation.

another way is to use a vacuum operated valve like the ones used in vectras, these are 3 way, plumb it to the inlet manifold via a solonoid valve (all XE16v engines handily come with one fitted, the fuel tank vent purge valve) and wire it to a microswitch operated by the heater control lever....... sounds more complicated than it is. move the lever off cold and the solonoid valve opens, dumps the vacuum and the bypass shuts off and diverts coolant through the heater.

We've done this on the V8 CF van we're building (thanks Clive for the dash engraving!!) but operated by one of the toggle switches on the dash in that.

PS Hi Clive!!!

Think I still have the logbook for your manta, need to sort that!! lol!!

It was owned by Andy Lee, think he was 2nd or 3rd owner, it came from Lancashire before that. Andy was club sec/organiser of "The Opel Group", and is a really great guy. Really droll, and can be a bit quiet, but knows EVERYTHING about pretty much ALL opels, he's got stuff like original build manuals for Manta and Ascona 400's, among other stuff. What he doesn't know, his mates in Belgium, Holland, Germany and Switzerland do! Anyway, I bought the car off him, and as Clive said, racing, work and starting a business all got in the way, and I know of no better person to hand it to than Clive, so that's where it went!

Can't wait to see it finished soon!!

cheers

Nat

[opel2000]

Cheers for that Nat.

Was trying to update this thread last night but got a bit sidetracked by things.

Currently seem to have a few electrical issues on the car, well put it this way, the N/S sidelight works, er and er well er nothing else at all really.

Seems to be no current to the starter whatsoever, but shorted out the terminals to spin engine over on the starter, electrics are not my forte, but I have a good working knowledge and I do know the Manta loom reasonably well. It would help if I didn't have a loom that has been hacked about, so I need to examine what has been done.

All good fun

[mantadoc]

another way is to use a vacuum operated valve like the ones used in vectras, these are 3 way,

Just breaking a Vectra but planning running standard management, so if this is surplus to my requirements, and / or one on the previous X20XEV sitting on the floor you're welcome to one.

[welder]

Hey Clive

I've got a couple of looms here if thats any help. Cars looking ace mate but it was never going to turn out otherwise really

[Shug]

Know the feeling re the loom. Mine was so hacked and mangled I bought a rapitfit loom. Almost got my head round it! 130 quid tho, and need to add few more wires.

[opel2000]

Charlie, (welder) many thanks for offer of the loom, but got it all sorted today, everything now works I had actually forgot that the car came with no steering column and I had bolted a new one in place just to enable me to roll the car around easier, and er, I guess I er, well er, might have ahem, forgot to have plugged the multiconnectors from the steering column into the main loom oops.

There were however a few electrical niggles which I did sort out easily enough.

Also seems the loom had been hacked for fitting a towbar, unsure why there is a light which comes on under the dash when the hazards are on, but I remember a 2 door MKI Cav I once had thathad a factory/dealer fitted towbar and a light on the dash.

Absolute heaven to see the car coming to life, and what is better than anything is that with a majority of the hard work behind me and the car off of the bloody grass at long long last, everything is just like finishing off a big jigsaw puzzle, you know, when you can see where every bit has to go and you can't wait to fit it all into place to see the finished item.

Interestingly enough, went to the local car (we can get anything you want mate) type shop today, and asked for 10 metres of 8mm bore high pressure fuel line, (did think about copper stuff but when I tried running it beneath car previously I ended up losing my rag with it and stamping it to bits ) anyway bloke wipped out some meagre looking fuel line and said this is what you want........

Now I got caught out here once before and said to bloke "Are you sure this is high pressure" he said yes. Now I thought that all high pressure hose had to have it's pressure rating printed on it this crap just had bore size and manufacturers mark.

Best of it was the bast behind counter sort of tried to serve me with a condescending atitude as if he knew everything (I'm great me, atitude) and I knew nothing. grr

[pma]

Hi Clive,can't beleive how far you've come with this mate!Bloody great work.I really need to get my arse in gear and bring those cold Bud's over and see this in the metal.While i'm there,may as well have a look at that Jap heap you've got lol.Btw,i think you need fuel injection spec'd fuel line Clive,it has a much higher 'burst' rate.As you know,my place sells GATES hose,i'll have a look in the morning and let you know buddy.Cheers for now mate.

[czwh42]

Interestingly enough, went to the local car (we can get anything you want mate) type shop today....

Where was that Clive ? Please don't tell me you went to Bestwicks in Allenton.

[1900SR]

Looking really good Clive, can't wait to see it for real.

[opel2000]

Where was that Clive ? Please don't tell me you went to Bestwicks in Allenton.

Er well, it might have been

Made me laugh when I read your post though mate

PMA.

Thanks for text today, we got to open a couple of bottles some time mate, if Debbie was more up to a long journey we would pop over some time, really look forward to seeing your Audi.

Steve mate (1900SR) thanks for comments mate, hope to see you at pub meet soonish. May not be in the red Manta though but a different colour one altogether.

[czwh42]

Er well, it might have been

Made me laugh when I read your post though mate

I should have warned you about them Still, it seems you quickly clocked the type of clientèle the shop is aimed at.

If you want hoses mate, have a look at Hose World. That's where I got the braided hose for the V8 from. I ordered it on-line and it was with me the following day.

[Fasterthanyou]

Hi Clive, car is looking good mate, cant wait to see it in the metal. Got a bit started on my engine! needs your expert eye...

Del

[mark morris]

Hi Clive

Heres the pic i had of your car

All well down this end, no interesting cars at the mo, got into bikes about 5 years ago, had a bad accident 3 years ago which nearly cost me my hand, my job and did cost me a lot of money. If all goes well with my impending court case i will be back in an interesting car, only got crappy fiesta and Suzuki gsxr 1000 at the mo.

Have to catch up at Billing next year

All the best

Mark and Karen

[mantaray]

Great work Clive, was it as bad when you got it, as it is in Marks piccy?

Where abouts are you now? I have friends up near Derby, if thats any where near you and would love to catch up

next time I'm up that way.

[opel2000]

That's good to see Mark, I had noticed the tell tale crease in the chassis rail that suggested it had a bump at some point in it's life.

Sorry to hear about your accident, don't life just have a way of kicking you in the teeth at times.

Thanks for the piccie mate, oh and btw, I heard that your old i240 had been sat rusting in someones front garden for years now, don't know if that is correct or not.

Chris mate (Mantaray) Car was literally bare shell when I got it, not even a steering column fitted, no wings, no lights, no engine or box, etc, etc,

And currently living in Chellaston, Derby, just off the A50, give me a call if you are ever over this way, I understand Kendre Chiles (ex national meets organiser) is in Derby now too.

If weather holds off today there may be a few little piccies of a few bits n bobs, not been doing a great deal on this over the last week.

Edited August 1, 2010 by opel2000

[plumster]

Get crackin you lazy git.......

How're you doing Clive?

Hope all's well for you & hope this turns out better than that last crappy, black V8 junker you knocked together. :P

Seriously though, I expect another car saved & likely to live on for a very long time, so well done that man.

Take care matey. Sam.

[opel2000]

Hello Sam, how's it going mate, you still got that scabby old Cav Hatch with the knackerd interior?

TBH Sam this aint ever gonna be anything like the Junker of a V8 I glued together, especially when the GF's cat seems to be taking too much of an interest in the car, as per piccie below.

Actually he's a pretty cool cat.

Anyway, had a bit n bob day, been looking at the water elbow, pic below is the FWD water elbow that comes off the block at the rear of the water pump.

I need the water elbow to point towards the rad not the bulkhead so I tried fitting a piece of 1 1/4" pipe into the elbow after cutting down the hose, I now need to get hold of or make an alternator bracket, and fan belt to see just how much room I have to feed the steel pipe out to the rad.

Then went and got stuck into the loom, pretty much got the connections sorted for the live feed, coil switched live feed, fuel pump, rev counter etc. I do seem to have a couple of connectors missing though, one for the idle speed control valve being one of them.

Also it seems that the loom is going to be happier ran on the outside of the plenum, I did try running it beneath but it seems a bit too tight, also need to be extending the loom to site ecu nicely behind the drivers kick panel.

Also need to figure out where the lead for the water temp sensor and water temp sender unit was originally ran, got a feeling it may have been behind the timing belt backplate

[blueosis1]

hi clive ,can i ask how you conected your oil temp switch up.the xe only has 1 wire ,i got 2 on my 1.8 loom

mark

[Mick]

Just spent a long time reading through all the pages of this build. The ups and downs are there, the enthusiasm and the £"^% it moments.

Its another quality build from you Clive good to see, wish I had the patience and ability to do this sort of thig to your standard

[mantasrme]

Looking good there Clive

When i did my 16v i didn't want the loom running forwards from the injection manifold.

So i untaped the whole loom, then removed the top from the plastic case above the fuel injectors

I then folded the loom back through so it was coming out the rear end (there's loads of room in there)

I do have a small loop sticking out the front of the rail which is taped up, if i'd spent longer working on it i think i could have got it all tucked in.

On mine it then goes straight through the bulkhead where the heater box used to be and into the car.

My ecu is located on top of the transmission tunnel, but then i don't have much interior to speak of to get in the way.

With a little work it could also go through the normal bulkhead hole and to the drivers footwell.