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1981 Manta Coupe Project.


Nivlek2525
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3 hours ago, H-400 said:

The head is of, so changing the valve stem seals is something I would do. They are still available from Reinz. 

These are like the ones I took off this head.

 

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These are like the ones I took off the exclusive in the past.

 

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

Edited by Nivlek2525
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11 minutes ago, H-400 said:

These are the ones of Reinz:

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

As you can see they have that spring also. I use a piece of plastic foil and oil so the seal is not damaged cause of the sharp edges.

Many thanks. I'll get them ordered. I have a couple of the more basic type from previous cylinder head gasket sets but as I recall I bought the ones you show separately and used them as they matched the ones on the car. Think I bought them directly from vauxhall, but that was 20+ years ago so could be wrong.

10 minutes ago, Nivlek2525 said:

Many thanks. I'll get them ordered. I have a couple of the more basic type from previous cylinder head gasket sets but as I recall I bought the ones you show separately and used them as they matched the ones on the car. Think I bought them directly from vauxhall, but that was 20+ years ago so could be wrong.

I've found 8 of these in a gasket set I've stored for 22 years....I think there should have only been 4 in the first place so I've accumulated 4 more from somewhere. 

 

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

I'll order the better ones you suggested anyway.

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Yes, it's just the inlet has these types of seal. I assume because it's trying to suck into the engine. The exhaust only has an o ring near the end of the valve. Again, as it's blowing out of the engine I guess it's less important. The ones I have will probably be fine but if the others are cheap enough I might just get some. I have a full gasket set from somewhere but no head gasket? I'm not sure how I've managed to use a head gasket but nothing else....

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With the underside in primer and awaiting warmer weather I've turned to the roof.

Today I removed the headlining. I'd peeled back the lining previously but I've stripped it out in one piece so I can get another made. East Kent lists them at £100ish.

Then I turned the car over to get a proper look at the roof.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rTevN4BCFtUiwkdk9

It's about how I remember. The passages side is pretty bad the driver's side has more localised holes.

I sanded back all the paint and then used a mini sandblaster to remove the rust from the pits to see how bad it really is. The rust doesn't go far around into the window opening and only really extends about an inch back. It looks terrible in the photos but there's a lot of strength there.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Wkt9pnjUzdEsc9738

The passager side is worse and clearly just needs cut out.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/kdcuttNe6wgXdd6b8

The lad I got the engine off was replacing his sunroof roof with a non-sunroof skin so saved me the front of the old roof. Great lad.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZjRdf8eyGPUJPQ8M8

So the question is do I remove a strip along the whole leading edge our do I remove the holes and leave the solid but pitted sections and blast them clean. The thought is why remove original material for the sake of a few pits which will help maintain the shape of the roof when I weld the sections in. As shown here.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/j82TkwxV2Ucc9xZRA

All thoughts appreciated.

 

 

 

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43 minutes ago, Jessopia74 said:

That great you have that roof front piece, will save hassle trying to firm the shape and  you can cut out nice sections to replace 👍

I know. Really pleased. It could have been a real headache. Should make things a bit easier. Just going to have a little think about exactly how I approached it. All good fun.

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Good idea. The lip on the new section of roof is a bit mangled so I was going to leave the spot welds and seam weld it along the window opening. But I think you are right. A lot less welding if I drill out the welds and reweld them. A lot less distortion as well I think.👍

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5 minutes ago, H-400 said:

Those spot welds were hand made in production (those days) , so you have the benefit you have a lot of drilled out holes that you can weld into fresh metal. 

Succes!

I've just sneaked back into the garage. The spot welds look really easy to see so should make the job a little easier. I think I'm going to do the roof in two halves. If I do the good side first I think I can keep the profile good by taking my time and using the surrounding area to keep the curve right. I can then use the repaired good side as a template when I start cutting out bigger section. 

Hopefully that makes some kind of sense.....

Have a good weekend.

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Just a little update. I sandblasted the 'good' half of the roof again. There are a few sections where tin worm has made some small holes but the surrounding area is still quite think.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Pwy6W4Jk9Stcqvyt9

So I decided to try to weld up the small holes and deposit some weld on the thinner material. My thoughts were if it didn't work I can cut it out anyway. Welder on lowest setting and....

https://photos.app.goo.gl/phDSrNbFWKQa7Wyx6

Using compressed air I managed to avoid any distortion. I then used a sharp file to flat them down flush with the shape of the roof to give this.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/FrP5SzT7pqQvLNFv6

And this

https://photos.app.goo.gl/UBZq7SDsTSbeCfdf8

So now I think I have to cut out about half as much as I thought.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/h2JmWBLXeTZ1tWBs8

I'm quite pleased with this. There's no rust in the sections I've repaired, they are strong and there's zero distortion. Once finished I'll blast it again and then a skim of P40 filler and it should last year's. Hopefully...

Edited by Nivlek2525
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  • 4 months later...

Time for my 6 monthly update. 

Hope everyone is surviving ok.

Since the last post it's been more of the same. Moving around the car, doing little jobs as time allows.  So this makes more sense I'll try to group the jobs together.

After priming the underside a used a time of brush on seam sealer on all the welds and panel joints.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/mFEqP3M2B2D1Np8i9

I then sprayed the whole underside black. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tL76MDjNov6w1VU26

The plan is to spray the car a dark colour eventually so I though I was save with black.

I then decided I didn't like the black as I there would be no contrast with the running gear which would also be black. And in also decided I wanted the final car to be starmist or similar so decided to paint it all again in dark grey.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/3qp4TmzVvDU9D6m79

So when the mot tester looks under once a year he'll really appreciate that the chassis and the running gear are different colours.......

You'll see in the last few pictures I noticed a few gaps that I thought I should seal up so I bought a tube of seal sealer and sealed those up and sprayed it again.  So in total I thing I've about 6 coats of paint on so should be ok for a few years.

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/w7FJcjGAynUeX3ft8

At the same time I was stripping the GTE engine down, cleaning it, ordering gaskets and generally getting bits together.  Some random photos below. I'll do a better update on the engine in due course.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/iyeZZxRFtTUt3BrGA

 

Engine bay stripped of everything except the loom which I tied up out of the way. Only rust here was under the battery. It looked a bit scabby but solid but as i cleaned it back it was very perforated and the rear clamp was almost nonexistent. I toyed with just putting a flat plate in and the building a battery tray to site the battery in as the shape here is very complicated. Anyway in the end I made up some patches and it looks ok. It will need a skim of something to smarten it up as there a bit of distortion but once the battery is in it will look ok.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8oxcSGzbEHJZQPSz6

I've also been progressing the roof which needed the leading edge replaced. This is looking ok as well.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/y9BrNzXBKgsQWg1bA

 

 

Edited by Nivlek2525
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Running gear. 

Axle was stripped and cleaned. 

Driver's side spring pan was corroded around the lip where the spring sits and where the panhard rod bolts on.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7xndQYJ1yCHD7PjZA

As the steel is so think here I found making a repair difficult so I did it in sections first by recreating the centre using the rubber a a guide and the by taking that in place and then reinforcing the whole area.

Hopefully it makes sense. It's not the prettiest but it's solid now.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/W4jCf6LcGnTUx3PP9

I then removed the reinforcing plate at the back of the panhard rod bolt by drilling out the 4 spot welds, cleaned up the area. Welded in a repair section. Sprayed the reinforcement with zinc primer and replaced the spot welds.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ARQRgAUJHtPHo9h76

I used the panhard bold and another smaller bold to hold everything in the right place.

The whole axle was the sprayed in zinc primer and then a couple of coats of black chassis paint.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7M7HKtrd7N2atfJD7

 

 

 

New seals and gaskets. Torque tube cleaned and all bolted up.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dHF563bmYCa6AkZDA

Edited by Nivlek2525
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And the car is of the spit and on its rear axle again.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hMdNYbeNgfYadMr26

The front subframe is partly back together but it's easy to work on the engine bay with that out.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EncbxLESFoWe8ARb8

 

The next job is to get a coat of epoxy primer on the engine bay once it is all cleaned up. It currently looks like this

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ALjAKbCi2mkEZ4d46

Then I'm going to work my way around the car preping and priming a panel or two at a time. 

That's all for now. Next update... December, like clockwork 😃.

Take care all.

Sorry about all the typos...it's late.

Edited by Nivlek2525
Typos
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Thanks all. It's coming along. I'm in no great rush. I don't have enough space or money for another project so might as well take my time with this. I could have done it much quicker if I'd bough swan necks and spring pans etc. and maybe paid someone to media blast the whole car but financially it just wasn't an option.  I'll end up painting it myself as well, I've been told I'd be better off savings to have it done 'properly' but I'll never be able to justify it and to be honest I'm quite keen to give it a go. What's the worst that can happen? At the end of the day, it's a toy. I'll hopefully never sell it so what does it matter. If I ever do sell it, someone will get an honest shell that hasn't been messed about with too much and is 90% original. 

I painted the floor yesterday and cleaned the engine bay, sanded it back and soaked everything in rust converter. I'll add a couple of photos later.

 

Edited by Nivlek2525
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Floors.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dV9Qki9rz3ejgnHg7

I've deliberately only done the front. The back is fine and original so I'm leaving it. The front was a bit scabby and I'd replaced the floor at the front of the foot wells so that needed painting anyway.

Engine bay.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/KF1s5DjCVAWG3k849

Still needs work as there is glue around the bulk head which is a paint to sand off and around the lights and radiator mount need more work.

That's it until next weekend so the rust converter will stop it from flashing over.

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  • 1 year later...

Can't believe the last update was June 2020. Why isn't this car finished. Some of these photos are very old now.

Here we go.

Some more holes as a result of the vinyl roof. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/J2ZZseVhDeoqNbr59

Loads of pictures of the drivers side rear wheel arch. This was a nightmare for me. As I just couldn't get the shape right. I ended up making profiles from the good side and using these to try to get everything lined up. Plus side is there's no rust now. Down side is I did warp it quite a lot and there's more filler work than I'd like. It's not thick but it is all over the panel. I used a step tool and I wish I hadn't. I think I could have got it back to shape better without the double thickness of steel there.

It is what it is.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GRSRn3aRKe2a2SRo7

Underside of bonnet prep

https://photos.app.goo.gl/y1juSQ4u99BSMxiPA

Nose prep. A small patch of filler, which I assumed was covering a repair, was actually a small dent which popped straight out. Sometimes you get lucky.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DeLBECZKGKhf3ubW6

Front wings and playing with front bumper options.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/x34pZYLjEtq1MiEw5

More front wings and new front panel. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ebWKhA2W49CeYFvN7

Rear panel.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/QixCm97Kqtpqhv2G7

Boot lid and spoiler test fit.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RakG95YNee5fenJ28

Various panels in epoxy and some in 2k high build as well.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JFeEF9JG1BVJm1iW7

Engine bay in epoxy and 2k HB.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/h7xMvuixr1qD1PkL6

And finally this weekends job. There was a small bulge on the 'good' rear wheel arch that I thought might.be hiding something.  And surprised surprised it was. The rust had thinned the metal from the inside so as soon as I got stuck in with the finger sander it opened up a hole which meant the inner arch needed a small repair as well. Once this is done I'm as sure as.i can be that all the rust is gone...probably....mostly....

https://photos.app.goo.gl/q6S429z68QvYnew18

Not much to show for 19 months. Need to get my finger out. 

 

 

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12 minutes ago, Nivlek2525 said:

Can't believe the last update was June 2020. Why isn't this car finished. Some of these photos are very old now.

Here we go.

Some more holes as a result of the vinyl roof. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/J2ZZseVhDeoqNbr59

Loads of pictures of the drivers side rear wheel arch. This was a nightmare for me. As I just couldn't get the shape right. I ended up making profiles from the good side and using these to try to get everything lined up. Plus side is there's no rust now. Down side is I did warp it quite a lot and there's more filler work than I'd like. It's not thick but it is all over the panel. I used a step tool and I wish I hadn't. I think I could have got it back to shape better without the double thickness of steel there.

It is what it is.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/GRSRn3aRKe2a2SRo7

Underside of bonnet prep

https://photos.app.goo.gl/y1juSQ4u99BSMxiPA

Nose prep. A small patch of filler, which I assumed was covering a repair, was actually a small dent which popped straight out. Sometimes you get lucky.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DeLBECZKGKhf3ubW6

Front wings and playing with front bumper options.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/x34pZYLjEtq1MiEw5

More front wings and new front panel. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ebWKhA2W49CeYFvN7

Rear panel.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/QixCm97Kqtpqhv2G7

Boot lid and spoiler test fit.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RakG95YNee5fenJ28

Various panels in epoxy and some in 2k high build as well.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JFeEF9JG1BVJm1iW7

Engine bay in epoxy and 2k HB.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/h7xMvuixr1qD1PkL6

And finally this weekends job. There was a small bulge on the 'good' rear wheel arch that I thought might.be hiding something.  And surprised surprised it was. The rust had thinned the metal from the inside so as soon as I got stuck in with the finger sander it opened up a hole which meant the inner arch needed a small repair as well. Once this is done I'm as sure as.i can be that all the rust is gone...probably....mostly....

https://photos.app.goo.gl/q6S429z68QvYnew18

Not much to show for 19 months. Need to get my finger out. 

 

 

19 months, that's nothing, mine took 15 years 🙂

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