Tomanyte Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Hi guys, My dad has asked me to sign up to this in order to help find him a 400 bonnet! Two years ago he took on an Opel Manta which literally was nothing but a shroud of rust. Roof collapsed in and all sorts. Since he has restored a good 80% of the bodywork on the car and due to not being able to source decent enough parts sadly it has to stay at 80% perfect bodywork. It's only one jacking point and the front valance that let it down everything else is like new. He's adamant to keep it original and has sourced the Monaco Blue paint from South Africa and has had it fully resprayed. He has also resprayed and reconditioned the wheels to match the original GTE Executive. Recently he has had the seats refurbished to match the original standard, and sourced himself an Irmscher steering wheel. The last jobs are the engine bay and the electrics, unfortunately due to the fact he is limited to spare time to work on this he was unable to strip out the engine and have it powder coated and the bay resprayed. But it is all coming together now and the lights only need wiring before it'll be on the road. So far though, I think it looks the f**king part! He's been on at me to source a genuine 400 bonnet for months and i'm going to make this happen for his Christmas present! So any help would be most appreciated in sourcing one of these. A picture of the car can be seen in the thumbnail that is my profile photo, I hope you all like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Hi Tom, Welcome to the Manta Club. Your dads Manta sounds like a truly amazing one. My Godfather's last Manta was a Monaco Blue Exclusive and when I went to Billing that has just gone I was reunited with it! About the 400 bonnet I know my friend has just sold one and that would have been a good christmas present for your dad but he has literally just let it go. I'm sure someone on the Manta Club has got a 400 bonnet for you and it's always worth checking on Ebay as well because it can be a good source of parts. Regards, Jack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomanyte Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 Thanks Jack And that sucks! I've been searching the internet for months on ebay and come to no avail only fibreglass kits and such is all i've come across. He's adamant he wants a genuine steel one. Any idea how much they go for? Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Hi guys, My dad has asked me to sign up to this in order to help find him a 400 bonnet! Two years ago he took on an Opel Manta which literally was nothing but a shroud of rust. Roof collapsed in and all sorts. Since he has restored a good 80% of the bodywork on the car and due to not being able to source decent enough parts sadly it has to stay at 80% perfect bodywork. It's only one jacking point and the front valance that let it down everything else is like new. He's adamant to keep it original and has sourced the Monaco Blue paint from South Africa and has had it fully resprayed. He has also resprayed and reconditioned the wheels to match the original GTE Executive. Recently he has had the seats refurbished to match the original standard, and sourced himself an Irmscher steering wheel. The last jobs are the engine bay and the electrics, unfortunately due to the fact he is limited to spare time to work on this he was unable to strip out the engine and have it powder coated and the bay resprayed. But it is all coming together now and the lights only need wiring before it'll be on the road. So far though, I think it looks the f**king part! He's been on at me to source a genuine 400 bonnet for months and i'm going to make this happen for his Christmas present! So any help would be most appreciated in sourcing one of these. A picture of the car can be seen in the thumbnail that is my profile photo, I hope you all like it! Come on Tom, that's not good enough, one thumbnail!! get some proper photos up, I bet I'm not the only one wanting to see them either! Oh and by the way Welcome to the club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiney_norman Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Front jacking points and valances are still available, pattern parts but new. Get in touch with Retro Power. Didn't think there ever was a steel 400 bonnet but I might be wrong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomanyte Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 How do I go about uploading some pictures? I can't see an option to browse my pictures to upload them? I could just be being silly but can someone explain this for me Then you'll have your pictures! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomanyte Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 Here's a link to my instagram, there's a lot of random stuff on there but the pictures are there! http://instagram.com/tomzombiee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANTAMAN Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Hi Tom, welcome to the Manta Club ! to put pictures on this forum they need to first be hosted on a site like photobucket, then link them to this site by clicking above on the image icon. as for the 400 bonnet, i think they were all composite ( fibreglass ? ) and a genuine 400 one would be very hard to find and very expensive if you did, your best bet would be a good replica, look on the projects section to see what other people have used / done. one thing though, if the Manta has been meticulously restored to original why are you putting a 400 bonnet on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick-Manta Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Likewise about the 'original' condition as a 400 bonnet wasn't even an option, the ones people put on their exclusives (you said 'executive' which is what the DVLA mistakenly put on some of the logbooks/V5) are fibreglass aftermarket ones. There are some about mind, still a few 400 replicas being built. The car sounds like a beaut, personally I'd concentrate on the jacking point and valence. Did you get the red exclusive, manta, GTE, and Opel blitz decals? I have a full kit for sale and they're spot on to the original size and don't have the pointy edges that some of the repros have, except the 'exclusive' sticker is a bit smaller than the original for some reason.. drop me a line if you're interested, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manta78 Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Think The 400 Bonnets Only Came In Fibreglass But Not 100% Sure . On My Dads Manta That He Put The 400 Kit On , He Got Fibreglass Air Vents And Cut Out A Hole In A Steel Bonnet And Moulded Them In . But He Couldnt Get The Triangles At The Front ( It Was The 90's ) So He Just Cut Them Out With A Hacksaw Blade .Hope This May Help ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymanc Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 hi and welcome , have a read of this http://forums.mantaclub.org/topic/23539-manta-b-project-underway/page-8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomanyte Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 Thanks for the great responses guys! My dad wanted the 400 bonnet I believe just because he liked how it looked. It has been maticulously restored and he's more than happy to keep the standard bonnet - it was more of his own personal preference but he would not like one that is fibreglass. That's one composite he detests. Does anyone on here off the top of their head know someone with a valance on good condition and a jacking point and a rough price? I'd like to get them for him. And he already has some silver decals. I'm pretty sure they're legitimate too but no idea where he got them, what are the blitz decals? Because all he got was the badges and the manta gte stickers for the doors and bootlid. Again thanks for all the guidance and help guys really do appreciate it, I am a rookie here he's the man with the knowledge - but he is a bit of a technophobe so he wouldn't know how to navigate websites and whatnot hence why I'm doing it for him Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymanc Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 he needs red decals to be correct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Hi Tom, No problem but it has crossed my mind as well that I think all the Genuine 400 bonnets are originally fibreglass. So your dad might be forced to go with the original steel one anyway since he hates fibreglass. Tried to click on your link twice and it won'l load although this will be my computer as it is on it's last legs really so shame I can't see the Manta. Jack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANTAMAN Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 the front Valance might be available from Midland Classic parts, think these are the people who come to Billing, if so they had a front Valance - http://www.midlandclassicparts.co.uk/ the correct Decals are availbe from the Manta Club, look in the regalia section and/or contact Paul Brennecker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick-Manta Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 And he already has some silver decals. I'm pretty sure they're legitimate too but no idea where he got them, what are the blitz decals? Because all he got was the badges and the manta gte stickers for the doors and bootlid. As Gary said, all exclusive's have red decals (apart from the red cars, which were black decals). The blitz logo is the opel logo that goes on the cars nose/grill badge.. Not meaning to sound rude here, if you've gone to the trouble to import paint from South Africa (?) which I assume to get a spot on colour match, to then stick the wrong colour decals on would be an epic fail in terms of originality. Not that you have to have it original, but it seemed to be the intention. I'm sticking GTE badges on a 1.8S Berlinetta so don't think I'm having a pop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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