Sven Hinka Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Finally, my Manta arrived. My apologies, but I have no pictures at the moment. But I've noticed some problems:1. drivers door goes down. When you open the door, it feels like the door is going down WITH the A pillar. Kinda scared me to be honest2. right chassis leg kinda missing. Between the swan neck and the end of the door, there is a piece missing. Probably from rust.3. drivers side floor is almost gone. At the driver's side, the floor literally went down, from the drivers seat to the pedals. 4. VIN plate(I guess...from my memory, VIN plate looks different) is off the body. I have it, but I really don't know if it's gonna cause me problems. To be more specific, is the plate from the driver's front cornerAt the moment, this is what I've seen. Judging by those problems, is the shell salvageable or should I look for another one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantadoc Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Finally, my Manta arrived. My apologies, but I have no pictures at the moment. But I've noticed some problems:1. drivers door goes down. When you open the door, it feels like the door is going down WITH the A pillar. Kinda scared me to be honest2. right chassis leg kinda missing. Between the swan neck and the end of the door, there is a piece missing. Probably from rust.3. drivers side floor is almost gone. At the driver's side, the floor literally went down, from the drivers seat to the pedals. 4. VIN plate(I guess...from my memory, VIN plate looks different) is off the body. I have it, but I really don't know if it's gonna cause me problems. To be more specific, is the plate from the driver's front cornerAt the moment, this is what I've seen. Judging by those problems, is the shell salvageable or should I look for another one? 1) Door pins wear so doors drop, if the hinge is moving in the pillar this can be re-welded, if the whole pillar is moving this is bad. How bad I do not know. 2) Sounds like you mean the jacking point is missing that runs from the bottom of the door pillar to the chassis. They can be bought. 3) Most of the front floor sections can be bought. Ask TJM or Retro Power 4) Front panels are frequently changed, the alloy plates on the front panel can therefore frequently be wrong. However, they do not count. What counts is the chassis number stamped in the floor under the flap or carpet at the side of the drivers seat assuming RHD car. Historically if the number is there and the rest of the floor gone I save that bit and spot weld it on top of the new floor panel making no attempt to hide this. If I had had stamps last time I did this I would have also stamped the chassis no in the floor. Not saying that is the right thing to do or recommending it but has to be better than throwing the chassis no away (if saveable) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Hinka Posted October 5, 2015 Author Share Posted October 5, 2015 Seriously, it's the chassis leg. I have the jacking point, barely hanging to the rest of the car. I'll take a pic on daylight to show you. As for the door....it goes down at least 20 cm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wayne ingham Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Have have a look in Your Project,that will give you so info on the way to go.Some one has done major work in a small garage.If you do one area at a time it won't be so daunting.Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Like this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantadoc Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Seriously, it's the chassis leg. I have the jacking point, barely hanging to the rest of the car. I'll take a pic on daylight to show you. As for the door....it goes down at least 20 cm Ahh between swan neck and the door I thought you meant out from rail to door pillar, you mean from the double thickness section back to level with the rear of the door? If so that section is no big deal it is single skin and often missing to some degree Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Hinka Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 (edited) I took a pic from SCP's thread to show you exactly where is the chassis problem. My question is: should I put a jack there to support the weight of the car in that spot? Edited October 6, 2015 by Sven Hinka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Hinka Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 ...and the pictures of the driver's area And again, I ask: can she be saved? I'm mainly talking about the A pillar thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
si-north Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Holy crap!! Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Abbott Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 (edited) Whoa baby!! You need a full ' A ' post to do that and not just a cover. The hinge is rotted off completely You need a good part from another car as the part you need isn't available as a pattern. This is a picture of the inner structure you are missing as it's rotten, this I can repair by treating it all and painting with zinc rich paint then replacing the ' A' post cover with a new pattern part. The chassis is standard manta rot and can be replaced using good pattern parts or salvage parts From this To this using pattern parts from TJM that fit really well Edited October 6, 2015 by Kevin Abbott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berlinetta Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Very tidy work there Kevin! Did you replace the jacking points, or clean/weld them up in situ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikemanta Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 what about using this shell https://www.gumtree.com/p/opel/opel-manta-berlinetta/1136084566 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Hinka Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 It's too new. I'll fix this one...Now I'm looking for an A pillar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANTAMAN Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 what about using this shell It's too new. I'll fix this one. Good on you !! 'Two Slot' hatchs are a rare car in the UK, be great to see one restored to glory. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Hinka Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 Good on you !! 'Two Slot' hatchs are a rare car in the UK, be great to see one restored to glory. I could get that shell and replace the front end but...It would mean the death of a Manta. And I try to avoid that. If it can be repaired, then we'll do it. Time is irrelevant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Abbott Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) The shell on gumtree has been sold Very tidy work there Kevin! Did you replace the jacking points, or clean/weld them up in situ? I replaced the drivers side as the pass was very strong although I did tie them into the 3mm box section inner chassis as the standard way is to weld it to the 1.5 mm cover. Full build thread in projects section for members I could get that shell and replace the front end but...It would mean the death of a Manta. And I try to avoid that. If it can be repaired, then we'll do it. Time is irrelevant. I have a salvage drivers side full ' A ' post for sale. Edited October 7, 2015 by Kevin Abbott 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Hinka Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) Since I don't know the differences between Manta B and Cavalier MK1, I have to ask: is it from an Opel? If so, how much? LE: I've seen the price on the other thread. Can you keep it till the end of the month? Reason is that I've got the MOT for the VW in a week, so I have to focus a bit on it at the moment Edited October 7, 2015 by Sven Hinka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Abbott Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Yea no problem, I'll put it to one side for you. The ' A' posts from manta b and mk1 cav are the same. Ascona B the same too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANTAMAN Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Since I don't know the differences between Manta B and Cavalier MK1, I have to ask: is it from an Opel? The Vauxhall Cavalier MK 1 in both Coupe and Hatchback form were the same as a Manta B MK 1 except for the lack of the slots in the nose panel. The Cavalier MK 1 saloon, two and four door, where the same as an Ascona B except they had the same plain sloping nose panel as the Coupe and Hatch. All early Cavaliers where built in mainland Europe, later they where built in the UK as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Hinka Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 Ok, I've found another problem, this time at the other A pillar: between the door's hinges, there is that stopping bar which prevents the door to open way too much. Well, that part is broken directly from the pillar itself. I've knocked the pillar to see if it's rotten, but it doesn't seem to be. Now, my question is: the base of that stopping bar of the door is welded directly on the pillar or on the cover? Just to know if I have to buy both A pillars or just one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
®evo03 Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 Passanger side The piece of metal that holds the door strip is slotted in from behind the pillar if i remember correctly. Spot welded top and bottom. Think this can be done by removing the kick panel inside the car. You should be able to feel the ends.this could be fitted if your pillar is all ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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