30 Years Omcn 6-8 September 2013 Nl

[Mopar]

Invitation International Manta meeting Netherlands.

Stobbenhaarweg 2-A

7793 HT

Hoogenweg

http://www.mantaclub.nl/index.php/nieuws/clubnieuws/30-jaar-mantclub

[MANTAMAN]

I intend to be at this event, i haven't booked anything yet as i'm sorting out the fuel tank on my Manta hatch. ( started with investigating the smell of fuel, then off came the tank, became obvious that the 29 year old breather pipes needed replacing, whilst they were off i thought i'd brush off the rust, this has turned into sanding it back to bare metal to eliminate the corrosion prior to repainting to preserve it for years to come ! )

once i can be sure it will be back together i'll book the ferry etc, i plan to travel across the ENGLISH Channel by DFDS seaways from Dover to Dunkirk ( two hour crossing,just long enough for a decent brake and in-expensive ) Out on the 6am sailing on thursday the 5th Sept and home on an afternoon sailing on the 9th Sept

[Mopar]

@MANTAMAN,

Are there more members of the OMOC comming to the Int. Manta meeting event in Holland ?

Also invited are the owners of a TE2800,we hope to get 11 or more original 6 cyl. cars on the event.

Hope to see you all there !

Ben

Edited August 22, 2013 by Mopar

[MANTAMAN]

Hi Ben,

We have a thread running about this show in our members section of this forum and so far no one else has committed to coming to the show, so it looks like i could be the only one from the UK flying the flag ( which i will be doing, i have a union flag and flag pole ! )

Hopefully more will make up thier mind to come nearer the time.

The fuel tank restoration has made huge progress so it will be back in the Manta very soon and i will book my ferry tickets, really looking forward to a weekend with the Dutch Manta gang.

see you soon, Ian Virco.

[MANTAMAN]

I AM GOING TO HOLLAND !!! YES !!!

Just booked the ferry - Outward on the 06:00 Dover to Dunkirk, return on the 16:00 Dunkirk to Dover, DFDS Seaways.

Plenty to do still, like put the fuel tank back on ! fit a lefthand mirror, but these will get done and i'll enjoy another brialliant weekend in the company of the Dutch Manta Gang, i am all excited now !

[Mopar]

See ya next weekend !!

[MANTAMAN]

Well finally got my act together and sorted the heap of photo's in my camera and loaded them onto photobucket ( what a long 'faf' that is ) and i'm now in a position to report from my addventure to the OMON 30th Aniverary Rally, Hoogenweg, near Hardenberg, north Holland

First let me say that after reading this you may have a large green stripe of jealousy down you, because this was one of, if not the best weekends i have ever had at a car show, yes even better than last years Dutch Manta show ( even counting the antics of 'that' couple, who didn't appear this year ) and on a par with the best Billing weekends ( though to be fare it is difficult to compare the two shows as they are different in nature )

At just before 3am a Gold Manta hatch set off from Woburn Sands on an addventure that would take it further from home than it's been before, stiring up the mist round the M25 and scorching through Kent on the A2 Dover was made 5am, just at check-in time ( one odd effect on the A2 is the cats-eyes, they are the new type that light each other up, so when you crest a hill the whole road through the next vally is marked out, it looks like your coming into land at an Airport ! )

Onto the ferry and striaght to the restaurant for a cooked breakfast, then change some money and into the shop where i purchased a map of Holland ( yes i'm old school, cant stand these sat-navs, if i had one of them bleating at me it would be thrown out of the window after only a few miles )

This is a photo of a DFDS Seaways ferry, on one of which i crossed the ENGLISH Channel to Dunkirk, you can tell which way a ship is going because the seagulls always follow behind, unfortunately there are no seagulls in this shot so you'll have to work out which way it's pointing ! The sea was very calm, as was the return crossing so my cooked breakfast didn't have a return ticket ! in fact i was so hungry i went back and had another breakfast just before Dunkirk !

Off the ferry and onto the 'wrong' side of the road, now this year i had come more prepared, the Gold Hatch now fitted with a lefthand mirror which made driving, particulary on motorways so much easier and safer, France was soon despatched ( what do you mean good.... ) and on through Belgium toward my motoring nemisis, the ANTWERPEN RINGROAD, though i was more mentally prepared than last year i still hate it ! just to remind of how sh!* it is a lorry decide that for my Manta to be truely original it should only have one mirror, so it swerved into my lane squeezing me against a car in the next lane ! with releif i put the ANTWERPEN RINGROAD behind me and headed north, stopping near Breda in Holland for fuel i was making good progress along the motorways, infact it was only when i got to the last part of my route off the motorways i came unstuck. In the town of Ommen i got lost, they have pedestrianised the centre and built a new bypass, to make sure you use the bypass they didn't signpost Hardenberg in the town center, as i was doing my third lap of Ommen Roy rang me asking where i was, 'i dont know ! i'm lost ! ' but retracing my steps and consulting the map i found my way again.

I arrived at the campsite at just before 4pm, not without a further detour, the country road from Hardenberg to Hoogenweg was closed for putting down chippings, luckily just at the road closed was a house with Mana's lined up ready to go to the show, i stopped and introduced myself ( to my shame i cant remember the name of the house holder but he has a vast collection of Opels, not just at his house, which included a Senator A with a 24v 4.0L Irmscher,tasty,but other barns etc with thirty plus other Opels ! and you thought i'd got the Opel habit bad !!! ) Following my new found friends i got to the show site which is owned by one of the OMON members, there is a plant hire buiness and one of the barns is given over to the event as are two fields. They have it worked out in Holland,high quality portable toilet and shower blocks ( with water at the right temperature ) mains electricty laid out over the whole site so everyone could 'hook up' free, The main barn was equiped with a burger/hot dog/chips cooking and selling stall ( at rates to cover cost ) a sound system for the party and a fully functioning bar, OH YES !!! ( apart from the diggers etc the barn is used for Opel storage, with racks of cars one side and spares the other, great backdrop for a disco ! )

There will always be a corner of a foriegn field that will be forever England etc

Silvia and Roy looking at the Opel memorbelia in the display cases in the main barn, in the background the racks of Manta's and spares

getting the bar set-up, essential ! BTW, they even had an Icecream cabinate ! there was a Bouncy castle and other games for the Kids, so well organised.

Thursday evening Roy invited me to join him and others for a pancake dinner at members house in Hardenberg, now following Roy through the town has a problem ( well every town has the same problem ) they are full of Pretty girls riding Bicycles ! it's so hard to keep your eyes on the road! At Rik & Marije house we all sat round a table in the garden which was groaning under the wieght of a pile of pancakes ( they make thier pancakes thin with bacon in them then put syrup on them, sounds strange but taste great ) the rest of the night was just chilling out, sitting in Roy's big caravan awning with 'the gang' drinking,talking,drinking, you get the idea. i woke up at 2am, needed to let some of the drink out ! i was amazed at the stars, perhaps because i am near Milton Keynes with it's light polution but i don't remember seeing the stars so clearly, so i got my binoculars out and spent half hour star gazing, Milky Way, Jupiter and it's moons, what i believe to have been a satalite and two shooting stars (meteors) see even the stars are better in Holland !

The gang eyeing up a pile of pancakes, Roy, Silvia & myself on the right, back left is a heavly pregnant Marije, Baby Teun making his entry into the world sunday !

next morning i was revived by Roy's fresh coffee in my own mug, printed up with a picture of my Manta and my name, presented to me by Roy and Silvia, nice touch, thanks. latter i followed Roy and other Manta's on a mission over the nearby border into Germany, booze prices there are cheaper, now having Manta's means doing everything at speed which is alright burning past other cars when you can see whats coming, but sitting on the 'wrong' side of my Manta made overtaking hairy but we safely arrived at Aldi in Uelsen and stocked up for the weekend. back at the campsite a while was spent gawping at the mass of Manta's before enjoying Burger and chips in the main barn, this barn is a brilliant stroke of planning,all day it had been getting hotter till it was Billing 2013 hot, during the evening two thunder storms rattled through, but of course it didn't matter we could all gather together in the dry, as i have my new event shelter i have no need for the tesco's gazeebo's any more so as i promised at Billing i took one to Holland and donated it To Edwin & Bianca ( who is also pregnant with the next generation of Manta enthuiast,must be something in the water in Holland ! ) something they were glad of with the rain, retiring to Roy's awaning for another evening session of drinking.talking, drinking rounded out a good day.

again morning revival came in the form of Roy's fresh coffee ( having mains electricty means you can have a coffee machine,fridge for cold beer,proper lighting at night,did i tell you the Dutch are organised... ) soon after Roy said we are off in five minutes, 'to where?' Hardenberg' 'why?' 'the drive round' 'whats that?' 'you'll see just follow us' so we drove into the center of Hardenberg,right into the pedestrianised town square,we were the first there but Manta after Manta followed us till the square was wedged with over a HUNDRED MANTA'S !!! There was a podium and public address system and after various speaches were made, none of which i understood, it was all Dutch to me ! We all set off on a tour round the local countryside, i was following Roy as i had no chance of reading the route plan ! this didn't last though as Roy became ill ( no not the previous nights booze ) Silvia could drive him back to the campsite so arrangements were made for me to Follow Bianca in the red convertable GT/E and followed by Edwin in his Green Coupe ( seen at Billing this year ) as they could translate for me, we went down some very small back roads, at one point i saw large 'lump' in a woods, a hill in Holland ! Lunch was enjoyed at a restuarant with outside tables,very contiental, in Ommen, this time i didn't get lost !

Manta's assembling in Hardenberg town square

one of the members blagged his way up into an appartment to get this shot, many more Manta's were still to arrive till the square was full

Even the towns big cheese was there !!!

Back to the campsite and by now the place was heaving with Manta's of all types, 400's, TE 2800's, Broadspeed and all manner of A's, B's plus Ascona's and other associated Opels, the organisers told me that there was around three Hundred Manta's present, yes you read that right - THREE HUNDRED MANTA'S !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was in heaven, i have lots of photo's buit i will post them latter when i've loaded them onto photobucket ( that is a right 'faf' )

The evening comenced with Roy assembling his new BBQ followed by which we each took turns at incinerating various meats for our evening meal, suitably filled we headed to main barn for the 'fun' to begin. various speaches were made during which i was presented with a special bottle of beer as a guest of honour. A 'proper' Dj started the music through the sound system and the party kicked off, and what a party,everyone was getting well merry and dancing ( yes even i was, there is facebook footage to prove this ! ) one person i will remember is Tina a blonde girl taller than me, ( alot of the Dutch are tall, especially noticably amongst the women, where it seems that at least a third of them are over six foot tall, Tina explained that it was a trait of people from the northern district of Fryslan (friesland) to be tall, and there are certainly alot of strickingly buitiful, tall, blonde girls in Holland, I love Dutch Girls !! ) the party was still going strong at 2am ! finnally winding to a stop at 3am by which time we were all knackered but really happy, what an evening.

Me dancing ( well moving about ! ) dont be fooled by the coke, it is laced with one third rum !!! the hat was needed to nip back to the tent through the occaisional drizzle to re-stock with booze !

this is addmitedly a poor shot, but i couldn't work out the camera settings in the dark, i was getting bumped about and i was pissed !!! ( oh and the time record on the photo is wrong, the camera seems to addjust this all over the place to amuse itself ! )

I was woken up early sunday morning by rain hamering on the tent, oh no, i'm on a campsite, it's early morning and torents of rain are pooring down, not Billing 2012 again ! but because the soil was sandy and the Dutch know how to deal getting rid of water there was no problem, Even Roy's coffee couldn't bring life back into me so i retired back to my sleeping bag, finally emerging at midday, by now most people where leaving and to get the caravans out they were towed by a tractor/forklift type vehicle, the mud wasn't bad enough that cars were stuck but a Manta would not have pulled a caravan through the mud, they are good but there are a few things they cant excel at.

The evening meal was a take-away but different to how we know them, i beleave the outlet is called snack bar, There is a glass fronted counter with various meats etc displayed, you select which you'd like and they cook it for you, i had two long skewers of various sausages and chips, very nice they were to, I spent the first part of the evening packing away everything i didn't need in the morning as i had an early start, another session with Roy and the gang was enjoyed but not too late as i had a long drive the next day.

Monday morning at dawn saw me creep out of my tent trying not to wake anyone, i had to 'bung' my tent loose into the Manta as it was still wet, Silvia got up in time to say goodbye and take a shot of me leaving and i departed slightly sad wishing the weekend could have lasted for ever, a brief stop outside Hardenberg to get two photo's and i headed south with all haste.

My Manta pulling away from Roy & Silvia's caravan, in the background the main barn where saturday nights wild party took place

Apart from Windmills lifting bridges are the other thing that is typically Dutch

had to get a shot of this, as you leave Hardenberg ( and other dutch towns ) you can lob your cans out of the car window into this basket, presumably for re-cycling !

I made great time back Down through Holland and i even got round the ANTWERPEN RINGROAD without incident, i stopped just before Gent for fuel and pressed on, knowing if i made good time i could perhaps make an earlier sailing, all the way back to Dunkirk i passed Triumph after Triumph, I made it to Dunkirk by 1pm and was given a vacant space on the 2pm sailing instead of the 4pm ( which if i had booked the 2pm it would have cost me more, Result ! ) waiting for the ferry with me were the Triumph's i'd passed ( even TR 5/6/7's cant outpace a Manta ! ) they had been on a four day,ten country tour going as far as Italy, dinner on the ferry and like the outward crossing there was not even a swell,perfect conditions for the more fragile sailors. Also on the ferry where a coach load of German teenagers and when we got near Dover they crowded to the railing taking photo's of the White cliffe's, a view Germans crossing the ENGLISH CHANNEL haven't always been welcome to take in !

Manta amongst Triumphs at Dunkirk Ferry terminal

Back in Dover and Rain, it must be England ! for a while it seemed strange driving on the left having done so many miles on the right, after grinding round the M25 at rush hour i got home just short of 11 hours after setting off from Hoogenweg, 402 miles and a total distance for the weekend of 957 miles and worth every inch, this is one weekend i will remember with fondness for a very long time, last year was memorable for a certain couples antics ( Dennis and Natalia i shall not forget you as long as i'm drawing breath ! ) this year the Show was memorable for being an utterly brilliant time with more amazing Manta's than i'd ever seen before.

Bet you wish you had gone yourself, The show venue for next year will be decided at the OMON commitee in November, talk was that this show was such a success that it will probably return there next year, where ever it is i will, baring events conspiring against me, be there enjoying the feast of Manta's that is the OMON annual rally.

Edited September 15, 2013 by MANTAMAN

[GTREA]

Fantastic post, thanks for taking the time to do so, look forward to seeing all the cars

[MANTAMAN]

just thought i'd add a link to the relevant page of the OMON website with pictures of the weekend, there are even two video's the second one of which yours truely makes a brief appearance in -

http://www.mantaclub.nl/index.php/foto-s-en-video-s/jaarfoto-s/2010-nu/uit-2013/122-picasa-hoogenweg-2013

Here are the best of my Manta photo's taken over the weekend -

We'll start at A, and a very nice original A Series at that !

TE 2800, there were 11 of these at the show, a significant percentage of the number made

Deralict and unrestored TE 2800's, there is some despute about the one of these, there were 69 record TE 2800's built yet one of these appears to be authentic number 70, both have been like this for years with nothing happening with them, many Dutch Manta people would give up vital body parts to own one of these !

A TE 2800 next to a Broadspeed Turbo, WOW !!!

Very nice Manta A GT/E

If you like Manta A GT/E's why not have a matching pair?

This yellow two slot Hatch was one of my favourate Manta's of the show, it's clean lines show off the Manta's lovely shape to perfection.

Another nice Two Slot Hatch.

Very nice hatch, nothing extreem but keeping it plain and simple realy works.

Pristeen GT/E Coupe, not sure about the wheels, but each to thier own.

Onyx brown GT/E Coupe, i have an 1800 hatch in this rare original colour, think this is the first time i've seen a Coupe or GT/E in this colour.

Yellow, White, Grey and Purple GT/E Coupe's, was yellow an original colour in Europe? The 1/18 model is available in Yellow, you would think yellow would be just too much on a Manta Coupe but with the black trim and Exclusive wheels it works.

i200 and various Coupe's

Every milimeter of this Gold XE Coupe was presented to perfection, surely it would get a prize if it ventured to the Great Plains of Billing.

Edwin and Bianca ( who attended this years Billing in the bright green Coupe ) own this Manta Convertable, some attemps at this conversion fail but this one looks alright.

This Manta 24 valve convertable will divide opinion, you'll even go WOW or WTF !!!

There were so many great Manta's and it was such a well organised show that i would recommend a visit to the OMON annual rally.

Edited September 15, 2013 by MANTAMAN

[manta88]

Looks like it was a great show, were you the only one from the uk?

[Sutty2006]

Glad you had a good time Ian. Dissapointed I couldnt come, but you know the story! Definately going next year!

[MANTAMAN]

Yes i was the sole representative from the UK, Didn't pick up on how many other nationallities where there but the Belgium contingent were there in force, several of which come to Billing.

[MANTAMAN]

Here are some more Photo's from Holland, i have to post them seperately as there is a limit to the number of photo's you can put in one post and i couldn't do it straight away as photobucket started playing up !

Genuin Astro Silver 400 'Dear Santa.... '

Ascona 400 in black, sooooo nice !!!

I am sure this Belgium Manta has been to Billing, i think the body kit is a Lexmel item, anyone know for sure?

another Belgium Manta, i think this time with a Mantig kit.

Race/Rally inspired Manta

And mentioning Rallying - how about a 400 Rally car used in anger.

Specially decorated Bonnet of a Two Slot Hatch - several Manta's had this transfer on for the weekend

Nice Ascona next to a Kaddette C GT/E

Another nice Ascona on my favourite wheels which ( at one time ) are known as Revolation RFX in the UK

It was a long wait for the road run to begin !

She never complains about how much money you spend on your Manta and is happy to hold the flag all day ( though to be fair many of our female readers would argue they have dummies for husbands already ! )

Such a brilliant weekend, perfectly organised show with amazing Manta after amazing Manta, So who's joining me next year on a mission to the OMON show in Holland ?

[rutts]

yes really need to go to this one. some of the motors I saw at severnum show in august. wanted to go to this show also but left it too late for time off work. next year doing a good few European shows.

[bigcliff]

looks like you had a good time mate .

[Danny D114BCW]

great stuff

[MANTAMAN]

bumping this to the top because confimation has just come through that the OMON Annual Rally will be on the 5/6/7-9-2014 at Eurocamping vessem nrear Eindhoven, so re-read the report at the top to get a flavour of the Dutch weekend.

[smiffy220]

Looks great Ian, and well done for being the sole uk rep last year. I haven't a passport, but would be interested in this sometime.

What would a likely cost come in at all weekend, ferries, camping etc? Just as a rough guide?

[mantaray]

Personally I think you need to buggit around £500 for a good weekend.