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My everlasting GT/E hatch restoration


jonayres
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...
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Hi, thank you. Yes, please let it be completed in 2018!!:rolleyes:

It always feels like it's getting close to completion. It still needs new fuel pipes to be fitted, the radiator and remaining hoses, the wiring will be examined and replaced if neccessary. It's got a brand new, exact original spec, stainless exhaust pipe to be fitted. The throttle cable housing and injectors, inlet manifold to go back on.

All of the fluids and oils to be put back, new spark plugs, leads etc. Finally, the new number plates which have been made with the original supplier's logo on them and a new set of tyres. I expect there's a few other things I've forgotten but not too much left now. It's been a very long process and much more expensive than I'd ever imagined. I've got photos of all the work completed - over 600 so far. The ours that have gone into this are amazing. It'll hopefully be as close to when it first left the factory as we can get it.

What are you driving? I guess a monaco blue exclusive?

 

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11 hours ago, jonayres said:

Hi, thank you. Yes, please let it be completed in 2018!!:rolleyes:

It always feels like it's getting close to completion. It still needs new fuel pipes to be fitted, the radiator and remaining hoses, the wiring will be examined and replaced if neccessary. It's got a brand new, exact original spec, stainless exhaust pipe to be fitted. The throttle cable housing and injectors, inlet manifold to go back on.

All of the fluids and oils to be put back, new spark plugs, leads etc. Finally, the new number plates which have been made with the original supplier's logo on them and a new set of tyres. I expect there's a few other things I've forgotten but not too much left now. It's been a very long process and much more expensive than I'd ever imagined. I've got photos of all the work completed - over 600 so far. The hours that have gone into this are amazing. It'll hopefully be as close to when it first left the factory as we can get it.

What are you driving? I guess a monaco blue exclusive?

 

That little lot shouldn't take too long. It's obviously a labour of love! I suppose it's finding the time to do it.

No, no Manta for me at the moment, but if I come in to a windfall that will change! I did run the attached Monaco Blue GTE for 12 years and 170K miles. Had it from cradle to grave. Couldn't afford to have the dreaded tinworm fixed as it was going to cost more than the car was worth at that time (1999). If only I had had the foresight! Sold for £75. I suspect it was reduced to parts thereafter.

 

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  • 2 months later...

As March passes us by, the painfully slow progress with this manta plods along. It'll be 4 years soon since this started. On inspection, the radiator had a small section of brass that had come loose. It was sent over to a radiator specialist for repair and texting before refitting it, Guess what? Upon pressure testing it was found to have a leak, so needed to be recored. Oh well, I was running out of excuses to spend some more money on this project, It is now refitted and looks very smart. With the manifolds fitted, that's another small step........

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Years ago when i had a car with the 5 speed box it had a receipt in it saying gearbox oil replaced.they said they had used dexron2 fluid in it. Didnt question it at the time as i wasnt intending keeping it for long but it did perform ok in the time i had it (9month)

i afterwards asked my local garage about this and they said it would have been perfectly fine as the dexron was a high quality oil ? 

How much longer would yhis have lasted or would it have been fine for ever ? 

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1 hour ago, cam.in.head said:

Years ago when i had a car with the 5 speed box it had a receipt in it saying gearbox oil replaced.they said they had used dexron2 fluid in it. Didnt question it at the time as i wasnt intending keeping it for long but it did perform ok in the time i had it (9month)

i afterwards asked my local garage about this and they said it would have been perfectly fine as the dexron was a high quality oil ? 

How much longer would yhis have lasted or would it have been fine for ever ? 

Hi, good question, I searched for the correct oil based on advice from Ian Virco, a very well established manta owner. It's one of those things. If I don't use it, it's damned sure to go bang and I can hear those immortal words....."I told you so." 

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9 hours ago, jonayres said:
10 hours ago, cam.in.head said:

Years ago when i had a car with the 5 speed box it had a receipt in it saying gearbox oil replaced.they said they had used dexron2 fluid in it. Didnt question it at the time as i wasnt intending keeping it for long but it did perform ok in the time i had it (9month)

i afterwards asked my local garage about this and they said it would have been perfectly fine as the dexron was a high quality oil ? 

How much longer would yhis have lasted or would it have been fine for ever ? 

Hi, good question, I searched for the correct oil based on advice from Ian Virco, a very well established manta owner. It's one of those things. If I don't use it, it's damned sure to go bang and I can hear those immortal words....."I told you so."

 My red hatch had all the oils replaced not long before i aquired it, the gearbox had a quality brand oil ( the previous owner was a garage mechanic before retiring ), it did about 5k miles before the grearbox started making occasional odd noises in second gear, going to the south Yorkshire OMOC AGM it made a sudden terrible noise and then i'd only got 4th gear ( dirrect drive ) by the time i'd limped it home the gearbox was destroyed.

 Another Local owner did an XE conversion, put fresh quality brand oil in the gearbox at the time, that lasted about 5k before chewing it's cogs, he couldn't get another 1800 gearbox so i sold him a CIH gearbox and he had the front castings swopped over by a gearbox specialist, this time he used the correct Getrag Oil.

 Getrag gearbox oil is very different to normal gearbox oil, it's pink, relatively thin and smells of cherry aid ! if this is correct for Getrag boxes normal gearbox oil can't be right.

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Get the original stuff. It' not expensive, in fact its about £8 for a litre. I bought mine from the dealer. I will see if I can pull out the part number. It does smell like cherry aid. The other thing is don't top up with other fluids as it doesn't mix. I always have a litre kicking around, but if your gearbox don't leak then you will prob never need it.

GM 93165290

Getrag 5 speed fluid

Edited by The General
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On 9/9/2017 at 00:03, MANTAMAN said:

There is bound to be someone read this and come on here saying don't worry i put ordinary gearbox oil in mine and its OK, there might be some Getrag boxes that for reasons unknown will tolerate normal gearbox oil but ask yourself, are you going to chance it that yours is one of them ?

Good morning, here's a picture of it.

IMG_0790.JPG

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  • 3 months later...
On 9/9/2017 at 00:03, MANTAMAN said:

There is bound to be someone read this and come on here saying don't worry i put ordinary gearbox oil in mine and its OK, there might be some Getrag boxes that for reasons unknown will tolerate normal gearbox oil but ask yourself, are you going to chance it that yours is one of them ?

It now drives..... at last. Just a few finishing touches. Hopefully not long now!

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  • 5 months later...

And finally back on the road!!

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On 27/09/2017 at 15:11, The General said:

We are going to have to get our Mantas together for a Photo at some point

She's back on the road at long last!!

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  • 5 months later...
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Hey Jon

Looking very nice. 5 years is quite quick, mine is going on 14 years now 🙂

I will look out for you as you are just up the road from me (well sort of!) im in Boscomebe.

Just dropping the engine in mine this weekend and might be on the road for the summer!! (i hope!)

 

Andy

Edited by 611
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Thanks guys. It's been a long journey to get it this far. Expensive too as I've paid for all of the work to be done at a garage and a body shop.  Getting the genuine parts were interesting, the inner wings being genuine GM parts from Greece!! The brief was to go through the whole car and remove any rust by either replacing the panels or replicate a replacement section. Once welded, each section was covered with a zinc spray to protect it from rusting again. Once it was resprayed the whole underside was pumped full of protective wax. I've included only a small fraction of photos of parts and sections that were replaced. I've ended up with over 600 photos over the whole restoration.

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

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dont shoot! ..........but could you have mixed up springs, front in rears, and rears in front?

or been sold fronts for rears, cause that is one ramped up car?  never seen a car sit so high! ....

but great work, well done, alot of work, cars looks well, nice change being a hatch. 

Edited by ®evo03
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its hard to tell by photos but....... think standard rear springs should be flat at the top and bottom....dont have any... i run 60mm lowered.

cant tell what that is in above photo, is it a petrol pipe with wires hanging loose for the pump? or is it a metal bar? 

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Hmm, I'm not sure, it might be part of the old petrol pipe? That was all replaced with copper pipes towards the end of putting it all back together. I've put the car up for sale on the owners club website now.

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Standard front springs for (cav mk1anyway) don't have flattened end but they are 9.5 turns .top locates in rubber damper with steel reinforcement.bottom just sits on arm in location channel.

standard rear springs again don't have flattened ends but the last turn of each end is a thinner cross section .top locates in non reinforced rubber damper,bottom sits on thin rubber pad in location channel in axle.

if you had got the spring wrong front to back then yes the back would be too high up the front would also be way way too low. Sounds like maybee the rears are wrong only ?

i don't think all after markets  springs wil have the progressive thinner end turns ? 

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