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Oriental blue hatch restoration


markyspark
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The prospect of a retro project was too much to resist after several years of my lads & me egging each other on and cooing at Manta B's... the blind purchase was made, I stode in awe as the hatchback span off trailer with front brakes binding, Shit i thought this is going to be interesting...

This is my 86 GTE, bought in January 2018 having been off the road since about 2001 starts & runs having 100k miles on the clock the Manta seems to have been well maintained during its time but despite this the last 17 or so static years since have made things crusty. The guy had enjoyed years of ownership and she certainly gave as good as she got in the trading paint stakes, overall a straight Manta with a bit of rust here & there, very original & complete,  just a few dodgy mot patches, should look the part one day...

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Some high lights of last years progress with engine removal(enlisted my dad), stripping of shell, fabrication of rotisserie/ & elevating.

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In hindsight should really have got the underside grit blasted in November but ive kind of got wrapped up in honing welding & fabrication technique! so need to get some areas underside blasted back as its going to be a while before the underside is ready,  also would have removed/compressed front springs while suspension was under cars weight as the removal of these was tricky and have read this is the way to do it.

 

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Framework constructed to hang the back, links thro to underside  with 10mm stud.:D

 

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Having a busy start to this year didnt really get as much done on the shell as i wanted,

got decorating at home done (box ticked) & lads moto engine top end rebuild sorted, then..back to the manta, some progress on other bits ..this is after session in the electrolysis tank/bin.....

 

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And now after more time and then a dunk in citric acid as below

 

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left in the sun so tree debris also mixed in !

Then a coat of hydrate 80 just in case. though there is no sign of corrosion left, im going to enamel them when ball joints changed. The de rust process is working while you get on with other stuff 😧so thats a definate plus right?

 

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  • 1 month later...

Hi all,  

Progress i feel has been slow..  blind sided by the extent of this job really, but trying to remain focused on small areas is difficult...

Decided to tackle two floor patches early in the year..first needs revisiting when i do the sills, the second was better as welding "routine" such as cleaning, degreasing &  tweaking become "usual prep". 

I decided to head forwards from rear n/s floor towards the front where lots of corrosion was chilling around the jacking point, this journey was going to meander down the A post  behind the corner wheel arch corner"joiner" part then drag me into inner wing repair and small patch behind the headlight area.I am not going any further forward at the moment althought the nose cone needs work....

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yes maybe the underseal should be stripped first but she has rested for 17 years so any undersurface rust would be visible, stripped back gave bilt hammer until a larger area can be epoxy primered in one go? as its quite slow progress this seemed to be a way to protect small areas short term from flash rust?? or maybe 1k can etch primer is ok??

Nice repair panel from Retro power anyhow!

Thanks, 

 

 

 

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  • 7 months later...

busy autumn but some areas progressed ,ok its not ideal but the footwell blob looks strong, felt lie giving up at times but i may have enjoyed doing this bit i admit getting that corner together was a triumph, but im just a rookie. im totally endebted to club build threads & everyone here back.

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some derust on tank                                                                                          

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cleaning & hydrated 80 D and now looking better think its really pretty good overall,

Got box section from work before lock down so need to start the swan necks , built a jig..after instruction, thank you Carl also for chassis rails & lots other parts , nose cone will now be fixed easier off shell.

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now to get the n/schassis leg off & hopefully holes all still good alinment im happy,    2 years ago i bought my Manta in February off the road since 2001 lets see if she is back in use  by the 21st anniversary?

 

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  • 3 months later...

 

 

Lots of cutting etc done since last post, started on n/s removing the corrosion

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gotta love unpicking welds

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preloved legs!    & swan necks are great fit (i couldnt make them as well!)

Once n/s leg was in place i stalled cos the Arb mount was slightly different to the original so consulted my manta sage and then removed o/s cos that one seemed further off the mark,

so...as i had accidently  bought chassis leg covers last year decided to cut back some more & have a good derust internal forward leg & retain original arb mount with a bit of jiggle and plenty swear words rebuild the forward leg looking sweeter

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So now to get some time on her again ..cos 3 weeks since last session im afraid, going to return to n?s once have the jacking point in place & leg is tied into the cross centre menber,

any thoughts on the need to seam weld all these rebuilt areas? 🤔

 

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Looking good! I would spotweld it, if you are going to use the car as a normal street car. I used inox-spray where the overlay is of the metal seem. It conducs the electricity 

of the mig and is used on projects as ours, and protecs the hidden parts where no paint can go. Looks you used the same rails as I did from Eckhart?

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12 hours ago, H-400 said:

Looking good! I would spotweld it, if you are going to use the car as a normal street car. I used inox-spray where the overlay is of the metal seem. It conducs the electricity 

of the mig and is used on projects as ours, and protecs the hidden parts where no paint can go. Looks you used the same rails as I did from Eckhart?

Thankyou Herman, you are correct the eckhard swan necks are big help here, thought having these would bring me help with all front alignment and a definate asset to the car,  

 

Upol is  probably similar weld trough zinc primer will dismantle n/s & treat before welding up :thumbup Cheers   think im going to need another can!

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  • 2 years later...

yes this is the key.works for me either way.

you can spend whole days doing bits and gets lots acheived but sometimes get a little disheartened by the scale of work to do or you can break everything down into half hour jobs eachday. 

nipping in the garage after work when you come home to cut out a rustysection for example. 

the day after clean the area toshiny metal.

theday after make a template.

theday after make a section.

the day after weld it in.

the day after grund it smooth. 

etc etc . all smallish jobs as such in small time sections but at the end of a week you have another area repaired !

all adds up and moves you forward. 

ive been watching a youtube channel called yorkshire car restoration.watching them work is fascinating and gets you realy into it.sometimes a little too much and makes you want to redo some stuff again !. one lesson i learned is not to try to make a repair piece in one go if its not practical and to make sections that will fit together. maybee thats how you all do it anyway but i used to try to make full repairs from one piece of sheet.

another trick ive now got that i wish i had done years ago is to use a small sandblasting gun on any rust which will be a permanent fix rather than the various rust killers which arnt.  also (as were all recently discovering) dont be tempted to replace perfectly good original parts that are still ok with "new" spurious aftermarket stuff which tends not to last especially rubber components.

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yes i totally agree, am chipping away at the tasks, just slowed up recently and need to "put some gas under it". My plan is to finish the fuel lines on O/S and then turn the Manta around to access N/S, going to spray the engine bat first when the weather warms up to give some jobs to do in the winter. Next big task is the rear cill and arch area, hoping my son is going to be able to lend a hand welding as ive developed a tremor in my right hand which hinders welding,(i hate welding upside down too!)

the next big bit...

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Cheers Guys.

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