My 1980 Sr Berlinetta Coupe

[Rapierdave]

Well i agreed to buy SGH 71V off James (Stradacab) back in March but only took delivery on Friday 18th May due to some welding repairs that James had offered to carry out before i took ownership.

It needed a small patch in the front of the nearside sill, small patch in bootfloor, larger patch in drivers footwell, nearside front jacking point replaced & a small patch in the nearside swaneck.

My welding skills are crap so having someone selling you a car with Jame's welding skills is a bonus.

As some of you will know SGH was originally an auto but now sports a 5 speed box (apologies to the purists out there)

Although the car is in good condition it has been off the road for the last two & half years so needed a good clean.

Heres a few pics i took today after a good polish.

This is the worst bit of rust on the car, i have treated it with Furtram rust treatment to stop it rusting further.

The rest of the door is in pretty good nick. At least you cant see it when the door is closed

I fitted an Accuspark electronic ignition today,it works & seems to improve the performance of the car.

Gave the engine bay a good clean & degrease, painted the rocker cover & air filter box as they had gone rusty whilst in storage.

Next job is to paint the block with black engine enamel.

Longer term jobs include replacing the nearside wheel arch & sill as there is some minor bubbling coming through on an older restoration carried out some time ago.

Hopefully SGH will take part in the great SW Billing convoy in July for the first time since 2009.

One question for all you knowlegable Manta people out there.

On the engine number it says 2.0 S followed by an asterisk, anyone know what the asterisk means?

I believe the engine was a replacement GM engine fitted sometime in the mid nineties (correct me if i am wrong James)

Anyway to conclude.

Thank you James for selling me a great car

[Paul Barrett]

very nice, looks to be a sound machine

[andyc]

The * means nothing it is just a spacer between the engine type "20S" and the engine serial number. By the looks of the pic it is indeed a GM Exchange unit as they were always painted blue, may also mean that there is no engine serial number on the block just 20*

Looks like a very nice, clean motor and a good starting place to make a top car

Cheers

Andy

[Rapierdave]

Well after a long think during this Spring i have sold SGH to fellow club member Chris Thomas (entwistlecymru).

Chris will be picking up SGH on Thursday & towing her back to Ammanford South Wales as the MOT ran out in March & she has been on Sorn since July 2013.

I am hopeful Chris will get her MOT'd & taxed & bring her to Billing i believe then he intends to give her the tlc she needs.

Did the big swap round tonight as SGH was towards the back of the garage, took a couple of pics with both Manta's outside on a nice sunny evening.

Bye Bye SGH

[Jack]

Hi Dave,

Both of the Mantas look great sat there by the side of each other, enjoying each others company. Sad to hear that you have decided to sell your Bronze one, I am sure it wasn't an easy decision!

Hopefully I will see your White one at Billing?

Jack.

[GTREA]

Yeah must have been a hard decision both are fine examples!

Any reason you sold the 1980 model over the 78?

[Rapierdave]

Yeah must have been a hard decision both are fine examples!

Any reason you sold the 1980 model over the 78?

I prefer chrome bumper models to the later plastic bumpers, also the white one is a time warp unrestored example with just 40,000 miles on the clock its not in perfect condition with a few age related body marks but i love it

[Rapierdave]

Took this final pic of SGH being towed away tonight appropriately by Chris Thomas's immaculate 1986 Vauxhall Carlton estate.

I can confirm Chris plans to MOT her tomorrow & tax her on the 1st July & bring her to Billing