Mike's Manta.

[Mike.]

Irschmer quad surrounds in for paint,

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Bonnet was in good shape when I got it, very little rust on the inside, slight scratch and indentation over on drivers side, no sign of rust or bubbling on front edge which was a bonus, the small issues all repaired at this stage, the mottled effect is guidecoat before blocking and sanding,

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Boot lid in good condition, as mentioned before, only adjustment on the hinges required, and the holes in the boot lid mig welded up where the exclusive spoiler was fitted, im intending to re fit the original lip spoiler, sourced from a club member in Shetland, I like the subtle look,

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Both front wings were in decent condition, inside and out, they required a small amount of work, mig welded up holes where front arch skirt sections were bolted through ( I think this was rear arch skirt sections adapted to suit the front, in my opinion looked shocking ) and mig welded up the holes for early b chrome bumper as I don’t need it, just another hole to rust later on in years, so it’s gone,

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im keen to see paint on.

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Drivers door needed lower door skin and lower door frame, this repair sections came from Retropower, looking at it now you would never know a repair had been carried out, passenger door was in good order.

Edited May 26, 2018 by Mike.
Edited.

[Mike.]

I’m running out of small jobs to do while waiting to get my manta back from the bodyshop, easy job this weekend, I want to keep standard spec for the gte so I got the fuel pump bracket powder coated, fuel pump is working so I cleaned it up, sourced a new fuel pressure regulator/ diaphragm damper, and a new fuel filter. I bought new 7mm fuel injection hoses along with 13-14mm stainless steel fuel clips and new rubber padded p clips. This will be fitted in its original mounting location under the car. I have sent the ATE brake servo and master cylinder off to past parts to get refurbished, I’ll post pictures when I get them back.

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There was a question on here recently about the makers of the manta wheels, Ronal and the lighter make Lemmers, just checked I have a full set of  the heavier Ronal wheel. Here they are powder coated and painted polar white 452 and the Opel blitz badge hand painted in, wrapped with Yokohama tyres ready  to go.......although it will be a while yet,

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Edited May 20, 2018 by Mike.
Edited.

[The General]

Looking the Mutts nuts matey 

[IanMc]

Stunning!

[Monaco Blue]

On 11/05/2018 at 21:37, Mike. said:

I'm keen to see paint on.

So are we! Given the attention to detail, it's going to be a cracker! 

 

On 11/05/2018 at 21:37, Mike. said:

I'm intending to re fit the original lip spoiler, sourced from a club member in Shetland, I like the subtle look,

No clues there then! 

[®evo03]

Have to say em ronals look great, so the whole rim was powder coted then painted? Did you prep the powder coat? 

Would you have a pic of the repair panel for lower door, retropower supplied? 

Also your new fuel press. Reg. Where? How much? 

Ta! 

Edited May 21, 2018 by ®evo03
tnks!

[Mike.]

The Bosch fuel pressure regulator/ diaphragm damper is the same one used on the calibra, same part number and it was sourced from a trader on e bay, Vauxhall-car-parts. Just checked he still has some for sale but they have rocketed in price in the space of 6 weeks!!

Vauxhall part number is 90019987bosch is 0280161006

The Ronals were professionally done from RimTech in Ellon, completely stripped and powder coated in white, then sprayed polar white 452 along with the center caps, he also fitted and balanced the tyres, I must admit they look factory fresh, I’m well pleased with them,

The half doorskin came with a lower half door frame as well but again it was way beyond my skills to repair so the body shop did this as well,

from this,

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Only got outside pictures from bodyshop lads,

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To this,

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I never opened the package to look at the door skin panel and frame, but I wish I had done and taken pictures.

Edited May 22, 2018 by Mike.
Edited.

[®evo03]

Much appreciated, for all, so the door was cut in half, essentially and joined. Is that right? 

[bris jas]

Great job to join the doors like that, do you know if they had a lot of distortion from the heat (welding wise)?

[Mike.]

These lads were given the opportunity of a replacement drivers door, it also required work all be it in different areas, two holes where engelmann mirrors had been fitted and it had a slight dent on top right corner just up beside A pillar but the door frame at the bottom was good, or the door skin and frame repair panel. They chose the repair panel suggesting it’s better to keep original door plus they could eliminate any remaining rust in the door skin fold along bottom return edge by fitting the new panel, I see where they are coming from there, so yes the door must have been cut in half, frame as well. As with the rear arches they must have taken their time to spot weld allowing the welds to cool and keep heat to a minimum to stop the metal distorting, I know it was mig they used. I’m now keen to see her in paint and I’m expecting flawless, straight body panels and no signs of welding or joints. When I have been through to the workshop I always take a look in and maybe spend 30mins looking at it from all different angles to try and catch the light differently, but so far all good, I’m happy with progress, but I’m keen to get her back home. I did all the welding to the floorpans, spare wheel well, swan necks, chassis rails, A Panels forward of door hinges, inner wings, jacking points, battery tray, washer bottle area etc but I then tried a back arch and was way out of my league so that’s why I opted for the bodyshop lads to do this work. Credit to the lads on this forum who can do it all themselves, wish I could. I’m learning along the way and I know I’ll need help with the build back up but I’ll do as much of it as I can, there is a few local lads, mechanics among them who have offered help if I need it so hopefully see her back in my garage and some more progress soon.

Edited May 22, 2018 by Mike.

[®evo03]

5 hours ago, bris jas said:

Great job to join the doors like that, do you know if they had a lot of distortion from the heat (welding wise)?

You can use, cold compressed air, a compressor air fan, cold clothes, even cold water spray bottles, seen a guy welding through a constant stream of water from a garden hose,  wont try this myself

Ive two doors to try and save myself, reason, as they are original, i will be joggling a repair section, and hand beating the lower fold over lip, ah the joys, why? To try and save the original doors. 

Looks like they are stitched, maybe they seamed later, was gonna try lead filling myself after stitching

[Mike.]

I have been looking the the vast collection of photos taken during the restoration so far, this one shows the old rusty door frame section has been cut just about where the door card stops on the inside then cut across the frame half way up the rounded edge. Going by this photo the original  door skin was cut in half but the door frame realistically just had the bottom frame cut out and replaced.

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[®evo03]

Cool! Great repair..

[Mike.]

Spent the weekend dismantling both wing mirrors. I ended up with only the alloy triangles of which I used 275 grit emery paper to sand smooth again removing the paint blisters and oxidisation on the old paint. I gave both triangles a coat with etch primer and at least four coats of black, allowing 15mins in between coats. When dry I fully assembled both wing mirrors again, both with top rubber glass guides, drivers side adjustment lever with rubber seal, passenger mirror attached to the triangle with the screw and concealed with the plastic gromet and small rubber seal, both attached to the pivot part with a screw and small spring underneath, then fitted the long internal door glass guides, then I glued the small rubber seals back on, these seal the joint between door and mirror. It most certainly has transformed their appearance, looking quite good again. 

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on Thursday when I was working my phone was continuously ringing, I went outside and answered it, one of my friends was phoning me to tell me that the bodyshop where my manta is in was on fire, my WhatsApp was busy with people sending photos of the paint shop on fire. Instant panic! I phoned the bodyshop manager straight away to ask him where my manta was to be told don’t worry it’s in a different spray booth and not in the vacinity of the fire.......what a relief!!

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[TheRealExile]

Phew, good job yours was okay.....What was left of the shell of my XR2 made the Manchester Evening news in around 1993 when it set fire at Garth and Horne in Old Trafford putting a huge plume of smoke in to the sky as the whole place went up....set fire  whilst they were welding it, me and my mate had welded from the inside only to be told the rules had changed and the welds needed to be done on the outside.... was gutted at the time as I'd just painted it and had period Zebra stripes fitted  

[Mike.]

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Brake master cylinder and brake servo refurbished from past parts as the seals were leaking brake fluid. Master cylinder re sleeved with stainless steel, new seal kits and resivoir grommets fitted and a new powder coat finish. Brake servo vacuum tested and new hose fitted both sides of the non return valve.

Edited June 22, 2018 by Mike.

[The General]

That looks like a good result.

[Mike.]

It’s just like a new one, I would definitely use these lads again, great service and decent price. It will give me peace of mind that my newly painted bulkhead will remain that way for a long time and not be effected by leaking brake fluid. The only progress I can make at the moment is the small jobs that either I can do or I have to get professionally done but I’m running out of these, most of my parts are now refurbished, cleaned and painted, boxed up waiting for the build back up.

[bris jas]

Mike, how much did they charge for the refurb? I bought a new one (master cylinder) from Germany and to hand i think it cost £120 delivered. Would be good to know for next time if your guys are much cheaper as you had both done.

[Mike.]

The master cylinder refurbishment,  machine bore the cylinder larger, re sleeve with stainless steel to original size, new seals, powder coat and test came in at £96. It comes with a 50,000 mile or two year guarantee. All the ATE master cylinders I could find were for left hand drive and I didn’t want to take the chance or the hassle of sending back and refunds etc.The refurb is as good as a new one and keeps as much original parts as possible. The servo work came in at £25. All in all given the work that has went in I don’t grudge that.

[Mike.]

Im trying to keep my build as close to original spec as possible but “period mods” that I would have done back in the 80’s still tempt me all these years later. I couldn’t resist the Irmscher Raid1 leather steering wheel, I’ve always admired these on other mantas, I’ll still keep the original just incase I want to revert back.

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the wheel, boss and Opel push button horn looks good on their own, the irschmer foam pad I think I will leave off.

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the modifications I am making are now building up but that’s the lot, they are:

1. Passenger door mirror, I had a blanking plate installed from the factory spec but after putting new paint on her I feel the passenger door mirror will be a welcome addition when parking.

2. The irschmer quad lights, again for me a must. These came along with some spares when I bought the manta so I didn’t need to source them, as you have seen I have allready trial fitted these.

3. The aluminium satin black trim closing up the bumper to four slot grill gap. I was unsure about this but when I seen it on, what a difference so it will be staying.

4. The Raid1 steering wheel, my latest edition.

oh and lastly, if you keep something for long enough you will find a use for it, back in 1993, I was into my music just being a young lad with no ties, worry’s or bills, just a car to keep on the road. I bought an Alpine CD player and a Dennon Amp, I had these moved from car to car but as things get more modern cars started having built in or integrated systems, sat nav, alarms etc so it wasn’t so easy to change. I have stored these in a cupboard and now I’m intending fitting them again.

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I know the CD player will stick out a little from the dash but I can put up with that.

[®evo03]

Nice manta mods, always think about that myself. Am in the process of thinking about a deeper dish steering wheel for 400r, needs to be retro ish. But the original hard to find opel retro 80 wheel will be handed down to anorher car, totally understand, it has to be period, modern alloys look rubbish, modern hand device buckets just dont work. 

Always think about finishing touches, only keep original ariels if needed, where they fit em is just wrong, drivers wing! Rear quarter, roof is better! 

You can get radio extensions for the dash, covers the area over by the clock. Also you can get slimmer modern radios. 

[Mike.]

Just been in past the bodyshop to push them on a bit and see if progress is being made, true to their word they are now making good progress, most of the blocking and sanding including shell and panels has been done. Hopefully I will get it back in the next few weeks.

the back quarters and arches look true again, all signs of welding  and lead loading are gone,

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I put a lot of importance on the rear quarters and arches, they need to be right. with the available light in the workshop they are looking spot on,

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The klockerholm front jacking points, have had their jacking pipe that came with them removed as the original jack would not fit the hole and the pipe was cut square at the end, so new pipes were fabricated and angled at the sills to replicate as close to original spec as possible and now the jack fits both front and back points,

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 I’ll only need to carry one jack now not two! I can’t see why klockerholm don’t use the correct size of tube? The rear jacking points have been repaired with new steel including the inner back sill section that the rear jacking points are welded to, the original pipes were in good condition so were retained,

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3mm steel plates were used to give strength into this area,

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The front jacking points were altered months ago, here you see them being altered and new pipes being fabricated,

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The floor of this shell has had most of the work, but now looks all the better for it, solid once again,

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How time flies, originally the manta went into the bodyshop for both sills and back arches and the work was estimated at one week. That’s one year and two weeks in the bodyshop alone to get her to this stage, I was just over a year welding in my garage before hand, but saying that a lot more work than was originally asked for has been done, I’m patient because I know the bodyshop lads will make a great job. I don’t want to push them and they rush it through. One bonus with taking so long is I’ve had time to concentrate on the little details and small jobs I would otherwise missed,

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realistically I prefer the job done right than rush it through.

Edited July 12, 2018 by Mike.

[Mike.]

Manta back into the spray booth, this is after guidecoat and block sanding completed,

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2k primer applied to complete shell including underside,

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Also 2k primer applied to engine bay,

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apparently the 2k primer highlights the guidecoat imperfections as seen below,

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The shell is now ready to be dry sanded, boot and engine bay ready for wet on wet primer then gloss top coat engine bay and semi mat black for boot. Underside ready for sealing then stonechip.

Edited July 29, 2018 by Mike.

[Mike.]

Masking up whole shell to prevent overspray. shell interior, engine bay, chassis and underside painted and finished in polar white 452,

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small amount of masking on the inside,

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Engine bay now finished,

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Underside, rear arches, front inner arches, chassis and floor has been stone chipped prior to being painted and now finished in polar white,

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boot finished in semi gloss black,

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Top side of shell given only one coat of polar white at the moment to give a seal, so I can build her back up and return it to the bodyshop as a rolling shell for final paint, and at this stage the bonnet, boot, doors and wings will be fitted and all painted at one pass so as to get a good paint match, they are all prepped and ready to go,

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im at the stage of getting her home now to start running brake and fuel lines, master cylinder and brake servo fitted, then sub frames, engine, gearbox, exhaust, radiator, hoses, steering rack, suspension  etc,

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A good place to be, the long wait has been worth it, 15 months in the bodyshop, they were doing it between jobs and that was the understanding and arrangement, this way I was able to keep a lid on costs and make the project feasible.