Jump to content

Manta Chassis Repairs


SCP
 Share

Recommended Posts

I thought it was about time to sort out my bulging chassis rails so first I made up a jig to keep the front mounting points etc

SC5872.jpg

I removed most of the double skin section

SC5410.jpg

Then I removed the inner rail front part( sub frame mounting area) cleaned it up an made out of 2mm steel a insert welded them together

SC5491.jpg

As I wanted to keep the original look I decided to use GM new rails but could only get driver side ones so had to modify it ,rather than try to bend the middle section to fit I made from 2mm steel the curved part bellow

SC5501.jpg

SC5514.jpg

then I fitted the front inner part of rail and the main new straight rear part

SC5881.jpg

now it was time to fit the middle inner part to join it all together

SC5887.jpg

Then I modified the new driver side outer rail parts to fit

SC6136.jpg

after a bit of welding an grinding this is the end result

SC6164.jpg

Edited by SCP
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi thanks all for comments on my project, I have been known to be a bit fussy with work on my car thats why I do the work myself and take my time then if its not right I know who to blame, dont think I could take on another as its a job to find the time for mine sorry Dave.I have got the driver side to do next at least it should be easier as I have the correct side rail this time thanks to Kev .Its definitely worth being a OMOC member as thats where I sourced the parts that are getting very hard to find now, also the friends made from all over UK and of course Billing still enjoyed even though this year I had started stripping down the Manta so had to bring the Vectra :huh: .

Edited by SCP
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I thought it was time for the other side rail so I drilled out all the spot welds and removed the rail from rear to the upper sub frame mounting point then cleaned up the floor and painted ready for new rail, this side will be much more straight forward as I have the correct rail and wont have to fabricate parts as before :rolleyes:

SC6171.jpg

SC6173.jpg

Then I cut to the required length with a staggered front( to help with strength) cleaned and painted the new rail

SC6178.jpg

SC6177.jpg

After aligning up the rail with my jig I welded it to the car through the old spot weld holes to keep the original look,here is the end result after grinding cleaning and painting

SC6243.jpg

I now have two new rails fitted

SC6255.jpg

My next job will be check and repair the jacking points and sills

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very good work, and the jig that you made is a very good ideia :thumbup

Work like yours and from another members made me to buy a mig welder, now i'm practice and hope to improve to do some work in my manta.

This is a link from another site (retrorides" http://retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=usetharch&action=display&thread=70135 this was post from another member and this help me a lot to try to do the work

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You just removed the pride I had on the work I did on my own chassis :lol:

Did you use shrinker/stretcher on any of the bits you made yourself or is it welded plates?

I am quite pleased how it has turned out,I welded plates together to make the bends etc

Cheers Simon

Very good work, and the jig that you made is a very good ideia :thumbup

Work like yours and from another members made me to buy a mig welder, now i'm practice and hope to improve to do some work in my manta.

This is a link from another site (retrorides" http://retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=usetharch&action=display&thread=70135 this was post from another member and this help me a lot to try to do the work

Yes I had a good look on forums etc to see how other people were doing repairs for ideas before I started on my project

Cheers Simon

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I removed jacking points by drilling out welds then cleaned up the floor area above them just surface rust so not much to deal with I just couldn't reach it with Jacking points in place

SC6260.jpg

SC6258.jpg

as I had a pair of new jacking points I fitted them to save cleaning the others up

SC6276.jpg

SC6278.jpg

Edited by SCP
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On to my sills with rust bulges now ,I cut out rusty double skin area above rear jacking points then a bit larger area to make sure all rust was gone, in between the two skins was well rotten though most of sill is in very good condition

SC6285.jpg

SC6283.jpg

then cleaned up the surrounding area welded in a new piece to join inner part to lower middle so I dont have a double skin at the bottom as this had caused my rust problems in the sill, then painted

SC6290.jpg

SC6261.jpg

from a new sill panel cut out the section needed adjusted it with a hammer and drilled holes ready for welding, applied weld through primer

SC6294.jpg

welded it on ground off high spots and primed

SC6298.jpg

Edited by SCP
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice work, if you are coming to Billing join us at Bristol for the convoy on the Friday!

Hi stradacab yep I definitely will be going Billing looking forward to it don't like to mis the event of the year, sadly not in my Manta as it will still be in lots of pieces I will be going up earlier in the week so will see you at Billing

Cheers Simon

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...