Another addition to the addiction

[Manta c20xe]

Hello folks, just acquired a 1985 coupe after years of searching.  Its having its water pump and timing belt done before the rest of its tinkered with.  I'm in Co Leitrim in the Republic of Ireland, it's getting lots of attention wherever it goes.  There were quite a few here growing up, Central Motors of Mohill being a main dealer here  quite a few were in the forecourt over the years.

 

Cheers Dave 

[Trooker]

Welcome Dave!

What further tinkering are you planning?

cheers

Alex

[Manta c20xe]

New springs and shocks and superpro bushes all round for a start 😁.  I have great faith in superpro having fitted them in my other daily driver a defender 130.  Brake upgrades are on the cards too, I'll be tapping onto the collective here for that one for sure. Possibly a bit of polish too 😉 Oh and some sort of heating as the heater box was chopped with the redtop conversion 

Edited March 5, 2020 by Manta c20xe
Adding more info

[Trooker]

The quick solution for improved brakes is to connect with David at 

http://www.mantasport.co.uk he’s on here too. 

There are some members past & present that have been working with & rebuilding Manta’s for decades which gives a kind of  encyclopaedic knowledge, however, conversions lack an index so you sometimes need to trawl through it a bit for context.

Will you be starting a project thread?

[Manta c20xe]

Ideally I should have some sort of record of what's being done and have a thread but I invariably tear into a job and then remember the camera after it's done, I'll try and slow it down this time 😁.  Like you say there an encyclopedic amount of knowledge here from a lot of hands on experience, the best kind imo.  Thanks for that link, it'll  be studied intensely.  I can work my way around landrover having driven them over 20 years but I haven't had a car since my old kadetts in the 90s

[robah]

I definitely found the super pro bushes amazing when I did have my car on the road, they really tightened the ride. Hopefully back on very soon, just got to finish another car first.

I have discs upgrade on all four corners and Mantasrme on the forum (same guy as Trooker mentioned) is a great contact for this upgrade and other parts. A few people swear by the VW Polo heater (not sure on the mark/year) as a great cabin heater/fan upgrade.

I have the 16V conversion on my car but mine has the later electronic (M2.8) ignition. If you need coolant hoses, JS Performance (Lincoln) sell silicone hose kits, as my car was the template for them. There are a few places that may have stock as well like RetroPower.

I have the same problem as you in cataloguing the work for a thread project, as once I start I just want to complete the task. 

This is a great place for genuine information on Manta and variant cars, especially being an OMOC member, definitely worth the forum fee. I always get my moneys worth on here and I have been a member for close on 15 years (I think I missed a year sometime back). Welcome to the OMOC club.

[cam.in.head]

obviously it depends on what you want from the car but my own personal opinion on poly bushes is that i would never ever fit them to anything.

on a gte if you want to tighten up the handling the yes it will do that but at the expence of taking any comfort out of the ride. now as i say this is MY opinion. no offence intended to anyone but mine are pre gte standard cars and i personally love the supple ride that the original rubber bushes give. each to their own and some say thst it doesnt affect the comfort much but i can tell the difference comfort wise of two similar rubber bushed  cars in totally standard form and many years ago drove a manta (gte ) that was standard in every spec( springs and shocks ) but had poly bushes,medium grade. the car sure handled better but felt  like a totally different and not pleasant vehicle .

as i say this is just my view, others will no doubt disagree