Ian Arthur Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 Morning All Some of you will know my name from over 10 years ago as a ex Manta owner and club member, I have also been friends with Ian Virco for nearly 20 years! Has anyone heard from him of late? I have tried his mobile ending 505 and the txt's and voicemails have gone under answer. I need to reach him urgently and I am hoping some has heard from him? I plan to knock at his home later if anyone has any news on him , can they call me on 07923 037995? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny D114BCW Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 Hi Ian, i have not heard from Ian for ages but he did randomly post on here the other week. I have text him a few times and had no response. Let me know please once you have spoken to him and tell him to reply FFS! Danny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Arthur Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 Thanks Danny, being a moderator, can you see when he last logged in? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny D114BCW Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 29th June Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmanta Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 I do hope he is alright, he's been part of the Manta scene since the beginning ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Arthur Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 Communication channels open! He’s alive and kicking,panic over. 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robah Posted July 11, 2020 Share Posted July 11, 2020 12 hours ago, Ian Arthur said: Communication channels open! He’s alive and kicking,panic over. Great to hear, as I really like his injection of humour and insight on the this forum from time to time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Arthur Posted December 6, 2020 Author Share Posted December 6, 2020 It is with great sadness that Ian passed away today, I find comfort in the fact he called and I spent his last few hours with him at the hospital. He certainly was a character and spent most of his life enjoying his passions of driving trains and of course, Manta's. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickfrad Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 Sad news Rest in peace Mantaman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny D114BCW Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 Thank you for letting us know. The guy was and always will be a legend in the club. He was a real star and will be sadly missed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRealExile Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 Only had the pleasure of meeting him the once, a really nice fella who went out of his way to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toni Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 Very sad news RIP Ian 😔 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmanta Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 Sad news indeed, he was a big part of the manta scene and was always friendly and happy to chat. Goodbye Ian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian N Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 I had the privalige of knowing him for 17 years or so, he'd helped me through various issues on cars, he'd learnt some from me and after i returned from university, it became more of me helping him out with issues. So sad i never got to talk to him one last time, though hopefully now, he's at peace after all the health issues he struggled through. RIP Virco 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rapierdave Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 I first met Ian at Billing in 2009 & he was a character & always took time to visit our group which he called "The South Wales & West temperance society". RIP Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessopia74 Posted December 6, 2020 Share Posted December 6, 2020 R.I.P 🙏 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmanta Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 Thinking back, it was Ian who named my workshops "the Cornish Manta Sanctuary" during one of his visits. Possibly the one where he broke down on Bodmin moor with his father in an ancient Bedford CF with a Cih engine in it, I rescued him in my blue Astramax and we replaced the fuel pump (dizzy driven) at the side of the road. In an earlier version of the omoc forum he did a big write up on that trip with pics, I can't find it now so can't check my memory regarding what the fault was but I'm pretty sure it was pump. We were swapping mantas around, it probably involved other people in a kind of manta delivery relay around the south of England! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny D114BCW Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 His stories were funny. I remember he came over to our camp (North-West riff-raff) as he rightly named us. Anyway he came over for one drink and saw we were playing a drinking game..........one bottle of whiskey he had in about 2 hours. Safe to say he was a tad delicate the day after but my God we had a laugh......and he was well up on his dance music too which it turns out he loved. Then there was the time at Market Harborough when i told him a riddle on the Friday night and ALL weekend i just said it as he couldn't grasp it; There are thirty cows in a field and twenty eight chickens. How many didn't? By the end of the weekend i just got "oh piss off Ormerod!" but it was the fact that at 1am i could here him saying it trying to work it out. Great times. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian N Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 Been digging through a few pictures to find if i had any of Virco. Excuse my scruffyness, but this was around 2004? the poor manta being broken was refered to as BOJ, given the inner and outer sills had disolved, the foot wells gone, sections of the rear floor , roof and front end were all rusting away. It honestly was too far gone to save. The funniest bit was when i kicked the rear arch currently in the pictuer, and we discovered there was a full arch repair section stuck on with filler! We all couldn't stop laughing how bad this was as there was NO welding, just stuck there with filler. Ironically the repair section was still in reasonable condition ,so it was saved if i recall. Good times, and figured if anyone's got pictures, post them here. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisb Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 R.I.P. Ian, I joined the club in 1991 and left in 2008 and said to Ian, Thats my Manta owning days over, Then in 2015 i bought another and rejoined the club again. The first time i saw him again, he reminded me of what i said, and then he carried on reminding me every time we saw each other. He was a font of knowledge on the Manta and will be missed by many. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanMc Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 I never met Ian, but from everything I have seen written about him, I missed out. He sounds like an incredibly popular guy with a love for life, people and Manta’s. RIP Ian and sincere condolences to his family at this dreadfully sad time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
®evo03 Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 A true gent, i remember Ian advertised a car for an old guy he knew that had passed away, all this was explained in the advert, phoned Ian, and had a crack about the car, this was back in the day when a solid manta was a solid manta, anyway Ian passed on the contact details, i phoned the seller who was the old mans wife, evelyn if i remember correctly, any way introduced myself, had a chat, and asked her about the car, first question, whats the car like? Answer was, well, its white! Ok this is funny, i asked for photos and exchanged contact numbers, emails, addresses, three days later i got chemist developed 33mm photos in the post, this was around 2010, so to cut a long story short, bought the car in london not viewed, and picked up by a transport company based on Ians honest trustworthy recommendation, and a few photos of a white car. Verdict, not a wrong word, as honest as the days long, phoned Ian, and thanked him for his honesty. A great loss to the OMOC, Met him a few times at Billing, honest, trustworthy, friendly and very knowledgeable, and some storys! Isnt there a video of Ian being interviewed at NEC not so long ago. Wasnt there one time he had close to twenty mantas, aka, theres only one MANTAMAN, rip lad. Didnt he have names for his cars, young gold, old gold, thats taken me back about twenty years, reading manta magic, which was the omoc mag, before forums where forums, and face book was used for homework? He did own the oldest Manta b, id ever seen, think it was a orange 1976, so would have been one of the very first. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickfrad Posted December 7, 2020 Share Posted December 7, 2020 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irmscher Man Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 Very sad news about Ian Virco. One of the cornerstones of the OMOC has now passed. Ian had been around in the club for as long as I can remember. I think I first met him back in the early '90's and as a fairly local member to me, we had been friends ever since. He shared many interests with me - being into Music and Trains as well as Mantas. I lost count of the number of Railway events we had been to over the years.....I think the last one was a Diesel Loco Gala at the Severn Valley Railway in 2016 where we had a great Pie and Chips dinner. Some of you may know that Ian was involved in repairing some of the heritage diesel engines, (specifically Sulzer Class 45 Diesels) and was a dab hand at changing brakes and doing general maintenance on these beasts......certainly a lot more to them than a Manta! As well as singing in the local Choir and being mad keen on Ellie Goulding - there are probably quite a few things that would surprise folks about Ian.....he was one of a kind. Encyclopedic Knowledge, quick witted and funny, occasionally quite obstinate but always just and fair and I don't think I ever heard him say a bad word about anybody.....despite what he may have thought! There was nothing he wouldn't do to help someone in need and I'm glad that he had a friend with him when he passed. The last few years had been quite difficult for him and his health had certainly been quite variable. I must admit, I was really quite upset when I heard the news on Sunday and had a few sad moments reflecting on life and our friendships that we make as we go along. It is a real lesson that we should all live life to the full and be kind to one another, just as Ian tried to do.......you never know what is round the corner afterall. I've been in touch with the rest of the OMOC committee and we all agree that we shall try and make arrangements for some representation from the OMOC at his Funeral.....although with current restrictions, that may have to be a message and a wreath of flowers. Pic - Ian receiving his prize for "Old Gold" at Billing in 2010 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
®evo03 Posted December 8, 2020 Share Posted December 8, 2020 https://mantaclub.org/uploads/imageproxy/MovingMoonMonkeysCavalier0004.jpg.b3c14dd18215bb20087a3e8b0eaecbc3.jpg 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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