New to site and looking for C887 RSA

[Guest]

Hi folks,

I'm new to the site but not new to Mantas as I've owned five in the past including 2 GTE hatches.

Now at the age of 34 I feel it's time to relive those days of 10 years ago (when my insurance was worth more than the cars sometimes!) and buy a bloody good Manta. However, does anyone know the fate of C887RSA. She was my GTE hatch in white and came with aircon and black lower side decals plus the small but unique rear wraps below the back bumper. Any info gratefully received. Tim

Find me an exclusive please!

[Guest]

DVLA can provid history IIRC

[Guest]

According to the RAC site (http://www.rac.co.uk - you'll need to register), you car doesn't exist any more I'm afraid.

Please remember in your search for a Manta that the Exclusives do have a bit of a reputation for "dissolving" (sorry Clive!)

Cheers,

Joe.

Well. Oil. Beef. Hooked.

[1900SR]

Remember that the RAC site only checks cars that are taxed or SORN, any vehicle that has been off the road since before the days of SORN will not appear.

Still the owner of an A and a B.

omoc 5660

[Guest]

Thanks folks - I did try the RAC site some weeks back. 3 other mantas I owned were:

CYM 127 V - 2.0SR hatch Auto in metallic blue (this went for resto back in 1994).

XUG 61 X - 2.0 SR hatch in red (scrapped I think).

RUM 851 W - 1.6 SR Coupe in black which I unfortunately wrote off.

My other GTE hatch on a B plate was sold but later found in a scrap yard. Regarding the Exclusives. Do they really suffer the rot as bad as the early mantas?

Find me an exclusive please!

[Guest]

Later cars suffer more than earlier models from what I've been told.

[Guest]

I've got a well deserved reputation for posting stuff about rust on here, which is probably understandable as it's THE factor affecting all Mantas today. Mechanically they're really tough, the old CIH engine just goes on and on, and the main suspension assemblies etc are easy to rebuild.

Body panels can be hard to come by or quite expensive (ie as much as bits for a modern car) and certain parts such as chassis rails are really scarce.

Apparently the later 1980s cars were made of eastern European steel which contained a lot of inclusions (ie crud in the molecular structure of the metal). Dissimilar metals in contact with one another and in the presence of an electrolyte (ie water) will corrode. The inclusions are a dissimilar metal to the steel.

Unfortunately, this means there are a lot of really poor Exclusives about, and those that are genuinely excellent are correspondingly rare and expensive. Bear in mind that there are some beautifully shiny specimens out there with coachwork by "Isopon of Milan", so do be careful.

Your best bet is to try a search on here for 'chassis rails' and 'sunroof'. The holy grail is a car with the rails filled with Waxoyl from new and no sunroof. (It helps if it says '400' on the back too....)

Manta ownership goes hand in hand with the ownership of a MIG welder (is that why MIGWeb is so called...?) but despite all the above, they're such great cars that it's worth persevering to find a decent one. They are out there.

If you want an Exclusive, buy an early non- sunroof 1983 GT/E Coupe in good nick and a scrap Exclusive and swap the bits!

Go on chaps. Tell me off.

Cheers,

Joe.

Well. Oil. Beef. Hooked.

[Guest]

Thanks Joe.

I'm actually a Senior Manager in the automotive industry. Your findings about rust dont surprise me one bit as a previous MD was ex Austin Rover (Montego, Maestro) and he said Rover stored the body panels outside! No wonder then that ferrous oxide quickly ate those models away.

My own experience of Mantas were mixed. A siezed heater fan, a knackered heater matrix, an appetite for ignition switches (although I believe it was common on Vaux/Opels from the 80's), a radio not fitted correctly, a non functional fuel gauge, a clutch release bearing giving up the ghost rather unsuspectingly, wipers fusing, headlamp surround rubbers detaching, door handles breaking, poor seals between glass and posts, back wipers non functional. Yep I had the lot. But bloody great GTE's in the dry (and fun in the wet).

I await for the mint Manta to appear. Got to get rid of CDXi Carlton estate first. Anyone out there looking for a mint J reg?

Find me an exclusive please!