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1985 GTE Hatch restore / tidy


Spitandpolish
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After a year of looking out for a car, i finally took the plunge and bought my first Manta for over 25 years. Looks solid overall, but there are a few areas that will need some welding pretty soon. The car is very original and I plan to keep it that way, or at least so it can easily be returned to original.

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Yes, that's the one. It's been off the road for a long time and will need some mechanical work as well as some sections of the chassis rails welding. This is out of my league as a repair so I will need to find a local specialist. When it arrives next week, I will pop a few more photos up. Looking forward to getting started.

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You never know there are some talented Manta Owners in your neck of the woods who maybe able to point you in the right direction. ;)

Very nice and looking tidy car welcome back to Manta ownership.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Car finally arrived yesterday, now in its new home:

 

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Priority is to get the car through MOT, and having the chance to jack it up and have a better look, to worst looking areas are the front chassis rails, from the inner wing to the bumper

 

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The swan necks have some blistering, but don't look as bad as some I have seen:

 

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There are a couple of isolated blisters on the straight sections of the rails, but the floor looks good.

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The sills are OK except for the offside outer, which has a proper hole in it about 6" long

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There is also a hole in the inner wing that will need to be dealt with, that's roughly 2 inches across. So, it's another rusty Manta. But it's my rusty Manta!

Other than that the car is complete, very tidy and original, comes with about a dozen MOT cents to verify 33k miles from new with one owner. 

I need to get the welding done first, so any advice on whether the extent of rust here is repairable or whether new sections should go in would be welcome?

(Sorry about the photo quality, iPhone or iPad seems the easiest way to post here.)

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  • 4 weeks later...

A slow start to this project, partly due to the search for a local welder. Hopefully have that sorted now for early Sept.

a quick refurb of the inside of the new bonnet, before fitting.

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38 minutes ago, Spitandpolish said:

A slow start to this project, partly due to the search for a local welder. Hopefully have that sorted now for early Sept.

a quick refurb of the inside of the new bonnet, before fitting.

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Can I ask what materials you have used for the bonnet? as the heat shield and adhesive backing has come of mine and I was looking at tidying it up.

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I used the heat insulation below, it's thicker than Dynamat, with about 8mm of neoprene self adhesive backing. The backing is however a bit crap, and the surface metal needs to be very clean. I rust treated the surface rust with Bilt Hamber, primed with zinc and used a couple of rattle cans in Polar white. I then made paper templates as the 1m sheet is barely enough. I also used Evostik spray on both surfaces, let it tack for 5 mins then stuck it down. It's not going anywhere! 

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  • 3 weeks later...

So slow progress, but i have now found a welder / bodyshop and all booked in for first week of October. In the meantime lots of bits to tidy up

 

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Amazingly the car has the original cardboard radiator panels

 

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Edited by Spitandpolish
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  • 1 month later...

The car went off for a little welding today and a repaint of the inner o/s wing and battery tray. Before it went the carpets came out to reveal the condition of the floor:

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Very pleased with the condition, just one hole the size of a 2p coin, in the outer corner of the passenger footwell.

hopefully it should be back in a week, with its first MOT in years

Before sending it off, i needed to change the Thermo Time switch, which was faulty. So changed all of the sensors as a precaution

 

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The TTS was not easy to find. The reproduction part numbers are:

 

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The technical differences for the three types available seem limited, but presumably mean used ones can be taken from a range of other makes.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Good news and bad news at the same time does seem to be standard with old cars....

On the positive, the car pssed its first MOT for years, with no advisories and the welding work is to a high standard, photos to follow.

Even more positive, drove it home for the first time, dives really well, stopped to fill up with fuel on the way. 

Arrived home to find this:

 

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So, can these tanks be restored, or is it easier to replace it all together?

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Thanks Danny, i need to drop the tank when I can, and have a closer look. It turns out that the 5mm breather line has fallen away completely around most of the  tank, this is what I currently have left:

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When the tank comes out I will know if I need a refurbished one on exchange. Can you give me an idea of cost?

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  • 3 weeks later...

So, managed to get the tank out of the car, after a bit of a battle with it and syphoning several gallons of fuel out.

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Just looks like every hose is perished to nothing.

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The major problem seems to be the sender, which was working fine, but the wiring tag broke off during removal.

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Does anyone know if these are still available?

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 If the little brazed on 'L' shape pipes have not rusted off and the there is no other corrsion, particulary where the tank straps go under the tank then you can give your tank a clean up and paint it then put new breather pipes on it. The sender can be repaired with it removed from the tank, the tag that broke off is the earth so another could be welded on or even make a tag that is bolted on by one of the bolts that holds the sender in.

 I did the same for my Gold hatch tank a few years ago -

 

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