gt/e paul Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 After a long period of non manta ownership ive acquired this surperb hatch. Ive know the car for a few years now as ,ive known the last two owners so always knew it was a good one. It remained totally untouched apart from the quad conversion which i quite like ive also added a few personal touchs from my collection of opel bits and bobs ive collected over the years plus ive borrowed a few from my other hatch thats been resting in a garage for a few years now. when i got it it was covered in dust, and was amazed how it come up with a little soap and water, my friend who i got it from had slightly fallen on hard times so it had to go. he listed it on e bay earlier in the year but didnt sell as was out of mot and didnt make the money he required for it. I took it for a pre-arranged mot a week ago and to my surprise she passed with the only advisery that it required new brake pads! Since then ive just been fettling her ,gave the engine bay a quick makeover fitted a new backbox as although not holed the original was tatty brake pads and disks sorted today. Plan is to use her for the summer season ,and do some general tidying and look at the long term during the winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymanc Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 copy from the img code box the one at the very bottom,then paste it on then its best to press enter so the pictures go underneath one another Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt/e paul Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 Cheers mate thanks a lot, finally got them on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt/e paul Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 Progress so far ! sat/sun remove rad and fan to remove waterpump as the was a broken bolt that needed to be drilled out as pump was leaking . fit new brake pads and disks. tonight after work i removed both door cards to attend to loose bolts on the window winder mechanisms, also got rid of some of that black gunk that holds the sheet in place. the black stuff had run out all over the door rubbers looked loke they had used a pot of the stuff just to hold a piece of plastic sheet in place. Generally am just tidying/fettling for now going to tax it begining of july which six months will take me to december by then i wont want to be using her in the winter anyway which will give me chance to do more in depth stuff. paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smiffy220 Posted June 30, 2009 Share Posted June 30, 2009 Looking good Paul, I look forward to seeing it soon on the road. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt/e paul Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 Looking good Paul, I look forward to seeing it soon on the road. Dave cheers dave its going on the road in about half an hour while the sun is still out, just got the road tax today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smiffy220 Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 cheers dave its going on the road in about half an hour while the sun is still out, just got the road tax today Hope you had a good drive the other night Paul? Have you seen the post about an Essex/Herts/London meet sometime soon? No dates sorted yet, but do you reckon you might make a meet? Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt/e paul Posted July 4, 2009 Author Share Posted July 4, 2009 hi,dave yes please keep me posted im def interested! my drive was great thanks i so enjoyed it and i realised what i had been missing since being without a manta. exhaust was knocking on the panhard rod which was annoying,sorted now thanks to some new 79p rubbers from halfords! paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANTAMAN Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 WOW another Manta in Steel Grey, i've got an 1800 hatch in this colour (currently waiting to move on to other pastures) this is a rare colour on a Manta, Vauxhall/Opel only used this colour from autumn 1986 to late spring 1987 and not many of their cars got painted in it,even fewer Manta's. Are you bringing this Manta to Billing on the 11th & 12th of july? By the way where are you from? a rough location always helps,you never know you may have another 'Manta Nut' just round the corner from you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt/e paul Posted July 5, 2009 Author Share Posted July 5, 2009 hi,yes indeed i am taking her to billing i thought it was an unusual colour as i have only seen one other one the same. i was so pleased when i got her condition wise id say good for an unrestored manta,a definate credit to the last owners. im from sunny southend on sea essex. paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt/e paul Posted July 8, 2009 Author Share Posted July 8, 2009 Next job to date,as going to billing was to have a look at the fuel tank and pump area ,over the last week ive been basically checking the car over for the trip to billing. as its been sat for a while before the mot i thought it best to tackle a few jobs. so at least i can have some sort of reliability.(Hopefully) I ventured under the car to check out the petrol hoses to and from the tank, and while there ended up removing the pump/filter assembley dismantled it and painted all the bracketry, and fitted a new filter replaced all the pipes and also fitted a new fuel pressure damper. i know im going to have to take it all down again when i have the tank out as i want to clean and paint all the underside. Also over the weekend i decided id better go to my lock up garage and get my red hatch out as im planning on selling it it been in storage since 2005 ,and simply too many projects and steep council garage rent dictate this. its a shame as i have just worked out ive owned it for 13 years have really just been hanging on to it in the hope that i may resurect it again. I really only got the grey hatch as i was fed up of not having a manta that i can actually drive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt/e paul Posted July 26, 2009 Author Share Posted July 26, 2009 Hi all ,just a little update exhaust started to blow last week,after much phoning round for a new middle section, that had gone right on the seam of the silencer. the silencer itself was sound. all i got on the other end of the phone was "no mate we aint kept anyfing for mantas for ages" type of thing . (we have all heard it). i had a look on e bay and ended up buying a sportex system for £219.00 . after waiting for what seemed like ages i phoned them,asking if they had recieved my order? i was told yes but when it came to them from sportex it was for a coupe! ( the reason for this was due to young warehouse staff not knowing what a manta was ! anyway i fitted it today,all i can say is it sounds awesome , then i am easily pleased . i shall have take a picture to show how it looks on the car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith1200 Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 Very nice Paul You can't get the original front/middle bits now. Had a similer exhaust on my old hatch (think it was a Ashley) looks very similar as yours. Very America Muscle Car sound Still playing with the idea of geting one for my coupe Cheers, Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt/e paul Posted August 5, 2009 Author Share Posted August 5, 2009 Further to my past post about refurbing the fuel pump bracket, which i painted the original one . I thought how about i make a stainless steel one! i had a very rusty spare one to use as a pattern for size. once marked out i cut it using a 1mm thick cutting wheel in the grinder.(these cutting wheels are great for cutting out bodywork) . i have a small hand folder to make the folds ,for the fixings i tack welded some nuts where they would be originally for fixing the rubber mounts and the fuel damper. all in all i was pleased with the outcome so being in the "fabrication mood" i decieded to make the bracket for the throttle cable and the horn bracket. all cut and folded the same way as i had cut the fuel pump bracket. one other thing i made was somthing that i had been after for a while on one of my previous mantas . but couldnt find the right material. a heat sheild for the manifold to protect the fuel pipes from splitting due to becoming hard and pouring fuel over the hot manifold. a mate gave me some real proper heat sheild material that is two skins with a kind of fireproof material layer in between. here are some pics of the finished articles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt/e paul Posted April 22, 2010 Author Share Posted April 22, 2010 here goes with an update on my car,id been meaning to get on with it long before now but other jobs during the winter kind of took priority...also after working out in the cold all day during the winter i was a little reluctant to go out in the garage to get on with it although it was niggleing me to get on with it.... so ive started a scaled down version of what i had planned ...but i somehow now think it isnt going to be as scaled down as i wanted ... but hey ho thats mantas for you.. i cant seen to get a hold of downloading pics on here and always seen to make a balls up of it lol. my plan was to remove the wings ,for the first time since they were put on and do some remedial work there as the pics show it isnt that bad really ive certainly tackled a lot worse.<a href="http://s808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/?action=view¤t=Picture526.jpg" target=_blank"><img src="http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/Picture526.jpg" border=0" alt="Photobucket"></a><a href="http://s808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/?action=view¤t=Picture527.jpg" target=_blank"><img src="http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/Picture527.jpg" border=0" alt="Photobucket"></a><a href="http://s808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/?action=view¤t=Picture314.jpg" target=_blank"><img src="http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/Picture314.jpg" border=0" alt="Photobucket"></a><a href="http://s808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/?action=view¤t=Picture315.jpg" target=_blank"><img src="http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/Picture315.jpg" border=0" alt="Photobucket"></a><a href="http://s808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/?action=view¤t=Picture315.jpg" target=_blank"><img src="http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/Picture315.jpg" border=0" alt="Photobucket"></a><a href="http://s808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/?action=view¤t=Picture319.jpg" target=_blank"><img src="http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/Picture319.jpg" border=0" alt="Photobucket"></a><a href="http://s808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/?action=view¤t=Picture320.jpg" target=_blank"><img src="http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/Picture320.jpg" border=0" alt="Photobucket"></a><a href="http://s808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/?action=view¤t=Picture323.jpg" target=_blank"><img src="http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/Picture323.jpg" border=0" alt="Photobucket"></a><a href="http://s808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/?action=view¤t=Picture325.jpg" target=_blank"><img src="http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/Picture325.jpg" border=0" alt="Photobucket"></a><a href="http://s808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/?action=view¤t=Picture326.jpg" target=_blank"><img src="http://i808.photobucket.com/albums/zz4/mantagte2009/Picture326.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> oops sorry folks i didnt intend the piccys to come out like that... i guess i should just stick to the spanners! hopefully what ive tried to show is the rusty bits and hwe ive tackled them so far .ive still got the other side to do but today i found i small hole around the jacking point so out came the seats and carpet. im glad i did as the sponge padding under the carpet was soaking wet hell knows how long its been like that but could have made a lot more work. floor not to bad just a bit of scabbing on top of the jacking point, all seams seem ok at the mo will keep progress updated just hope now ive started i can get done in time for billing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt/e paul Posted April 24, 2010 Author Share Posted April 24, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quarter-Life-Crisis Posted May 15, 2010 Share Posted May 15, 2010 What on earth made you buy a steel grey hatch? cannot imagine a worse car. I would absolutely not have one in a million years. No way. Never. Id also never ever fit an exhaust like that to it! it'll sound absolutely bloody awesome! No i would never ever do that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt/e paul Posted May 17, 2010 Author Share Posted May 17, 2010 nice car i love the exclusive wheels on it,really goes well! i dont think ive ever seen another the same colour be great to get some piccys of the two of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt/e paul Posted June 28, 2010 Author Share Posted June 28, 2010 (edited) hi all since i last posted to this topic i have been busy , i thought id gone this far so may as well tackle the swan neck area although the outside skin appeared ok the inner was rotten what a surprise! we all know once you start it opens up a whole host of other jobs my original idea was to just remove the wings for a bit of a tidy up ,instead ive ended up rebuilding it all ive still got the other side to do but as i wanted to get some use again this summer ive decided to shelve that until next winter. i work as a welder/maintenance engineer for a large local steel stockholders so getting a few sheet offcuts is never a problem. once id made a pattern i fabricated some chassis sections from some 1.6mm zintec sheet ,as with many of us i just have the most basic of equipment and have to work with whats available . whilst i had it all apart i stripped all the suspention componants and painted them, i had some brand new springs that were originally intended for my old red hatch but never made it on there . the old springs were tired so was pleased to give these a new home. unfortunately due to time factor (to get to billing was my deadline) ive now got one corner of the car all shiny and new and the other three all in need of refurbishment but with new springs and shocks. i also thought it prudent to change the ageing fuel lines as they were quite rusty when i removed them .for the replacement i used some 8mm od from vauxhall one once i had heated it with some boiling water i was able to get it to a good shape. the wing i have just repaired for now as need to find suitable replacements and get them painted,the ones on there are as old as the car and never had been removed so i didnt think that bad for 23 years old. all i have left to do for now is refit the twin headlamps as i have been modifying some irmscher bezels ,the lamps i had came with cheap bezels which never fitted quite right . although they had decent headlamps themselves and quite a robust adjustment system. then its off for an mot which is booked for fri morn! Edited June 28, 2010 by gt/e paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith1200 Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Looking braw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smiffy220 Posted June 29, 2010 Share Posted June 29, 2010 Nice one Paul, best of luck for the MOT friday, hope it's ok and we can drive up in convoy to Billing on the Sunday!! Did send you an email, but looks like you've bin busy mate!! Well done and see you soon. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt/e paul Posted June 29, 2010 Author Share Posted June 29, 2010 Cheers dave nice one ,indeed mate i have been busy,what with work and that. i did get your e mail appologies i havent replied . yes id love to meet up with you and val , i intend to make an earlier start than i usually do i shall speak to val nearer the time and make some arrangements. paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smiffy220 Posted July 1, 2010 Share Posted July 1, 2010 Cheers dave nice one ,indeed mate i have been busy,what with work and that. i did get your e mail appologies i havent replied . yes id love to meet up with you and val , i intend to make an earlier start than i usually do i shall speak to val nearer the time and make some arrangements. paul Paul, reckon we'll need to leave about 7am ish, I've started a thread re a convoy under the public events notices, can sort it out on there if you like. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gt/e paul Posted July 4, 2010 Author Share Posted July 4, 2010 Passed mot on fri,though the horn decided to play up. when i returned to the garage the guy who done the mot said the horn does not work i thought typical it worked when i tryed it at home thats mantas for ya! turned out to be the fuse ,which i replaced with a spare out of the spares i carry. i then had a fresh mot cert and a grin from ear to ear . on the way home i spotted the rev counter and clock had stopped working ( i hadnt noticed if they were working before the mot). when i got home i took out the dash and had a fiddle with the rev counter it must have kick started it back into life because it works again now. as for the clock the power was there but the clock totally dead so i plugged in the new one i won on e bay for 99p ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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