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Bought first Manta


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Hi,I have fancied a Manta for a long time,saw one not too far away and viewed it a few days ago,thought about it for a week then went ahead,it is a Berlinetta SR in white 79 t reg. automatic,but I bought a getrag box from the seller plus prop shaft and pedal box,tunnel top,now I need a cable,complete clutch and a flywheel,any suggestions at to where I can obtain them would be helpful.

Edited by Malcolm Cliff
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Welcome to the Omoc forum. Parts are obtainable, just about. There are folk that break them and there are members that help members out. You should find everything you need around here somewhere. Do you have any pics of your new found love?

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hi there. welcome.

clutch cables freely available on ebay .

actual clutches still available although getting less around. always bearings and pressure plates on ebay .discs slightly less so .

someone nearto you will no doubt have a flywheel for you .i have some here but theyre heavy so postage would be expensive.

you will also  need a spigot bearing but again plenty on ebay. 

enjoy.....

 

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1 hour ago, Malcolm Cliff said:

Hi,I have fancied a Manta for a long time,saw one not too far away and viiewed it a few days ago,thought about it for a week then went ahead,it is a Berlinetta SR in white 79 t reg. automatic,but I bought a getrag box from the seller plus prop shaft and pedal box,tunnel top,now I need a cable,complete clutch and a flywheel,any suggestions at to where I can obtain them would be helpful.

Welcome 👍

Get the club joined, even as web member is worth while as there is a lot of content, old and new that you will not see if you don’t. Think it’s £20 but we’ll worth it.

for parts, get a WANTED thread started on what you need. There a couple of guys on here that have a lot of parts from broken up cars that should be able to help.

 

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As mentioned above get the club joined and also book to come to Sywell. You never know what might be available on site via a trade stand or even arrange to collect parts off other members attending.

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On 04/04/2022 at 09:12, Malcolm Cliff said:

Hi,I have fancied a Manta for a long time,saw one not too far away and viewed it a few days ago,thought about it for a week then went ahead,it is a Berlinetta SR in white 79 t reg. automatic,but I bought a getrag box from the seller plus prop shaft and pedal box,tunnel top,now I need a cable,complete clutch and a flywheel,any suggestions at to where I can obtain them would be helpful.

 

I am trying to get all the parts to make the change from auto to manual,got prop,tunneltop,box,cable,flywheel,clutch kit,pedal,box,manual console,just need gear knob and a gaiter.I am getting on with the smaller jobs on the car,rear seats are away for a tidy up,had a look at rear brakes as it has a lot of travel on the pedal and as I suspected the near side  brake cylinder is leaking and adjusters were seized,will check out the offside today.I am going to make a cover for  the petrol tank in boot and one in the car behind the seats to cut down noise. I was surprised to see it has a twin coke Weber fitted,seems ok so I will leave well alone.

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other parts you will need(if not already got/know about)

clutch cable mounting block( large cylindrical damper with rubbers and washers at bulkhead end)

crankshaft rear spigot bearing

gearbox rear mount / crossmember( also you may need to move/add/adjust the body mount points you do on a 4 speed but not done it on a 5 speed so may already be there)

engine side brackets and lower tin cover.(again may be same on a 5 speed but worth checking)

also a support bracket to hold cable away from steering rubber joint and one that fits on end of brake servo to keep it away from carb/ manifolds.

you mentioned pedal box ( rather than just a clutch pedal on its own )

other than that some slight wiring mods to bypass gearlever inhibitor switch and to lenghten reverse lamp switch wires.

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it will but just be sure you will be happy with the 5 speed. i know its all personal preferance and your car but the 4 speed with the long throw gearchange is one of the nicest around and relevant to the age of the car too.i changed mine to 5 speed a few years back and soon changed it back to 4. maybee drive a version of each first ? .

but as i say its all personal choice. there are many owners on here who think the 5 speed is great and plenty who prefer the 4.

thats life. 

mind you after i built my 2.2 i drove it for 2 years as manual and then did the opposite.converted it to auto. !

were all different.

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2 hours ago, cam.in.head said:

it will but just be sure you will be happy with the 5 speed. i know its all personal preferance and your car but the 4 speed with the long throw gearchange is one of the nicest around and relevant to the age of the car too.i changed mine to 5 speed a few years back and soon changed it back to 4. maybee drive a version of each first ? .

but as i say its all personal choice. there are many owners on here who think the 5 speed is great and plenty who prefer the 4.

thats life. 

mind you after i built my 2.2 i drove it for 2 years as manual and then did the opposite.converted it to auto. !

were all different.

It’s a dog of a box, don’t know why you all rave about it 😂

 

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Congrats on buying your first Manta 👏 

Do put up some pics of it if you can 🙂

 

Interesting discussion!

I never read negative comments about the 5-speed box until now?!🤔

I own a '78 SRB auto and I've toyed with the idea of changing it to a 5-speed manual.

I'm still unsure due to -

A. Keeping the car in its original spec

B. The difficulty of locating a 5-speed box and associated parts

C. The novelty / rarity of an auto

D. The possibility of fitting lots of sound deadening / insulation similar to a Monza (makes for a much more enjoyable driving. I owned a couple of Monzas in the past)

On the other hand, a 5-speed would mean -

A. More "relaxed" driving (especially on motorways)

B. Better driving experience / performance

C. Better fuel economy

D. Car would be appear to be more "desirable" to car spotters or potential buyers (not that I have any plans to sell)

What do you guys think?? 🤔

 

Edited by Berlinetta
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i suppose its either a case of personal preference or what you have driven . ive had a few senators and carltons and a coiple of mantas with the 5 speed box and find it to be nothing special if a little notchy and clunky. 

wheras ive owned over 30 mk1 cavs with the 4 speed and aside from wear issues with the linkage making a bit more movement for and aft always found it to be a smooth change and the long angled lever to suit the driving position of the mk1 perfectly.  possible more to do with the lever itself rather than the actual box as i wasnt as keen on the early carltons with the same identical box but the short stubby lever.

having said that i love the little viva gearchange lever too and thats definately not a slick box !

the 5 speed will fit and work in the cav / manta perfectly well and do its intended job even to helping on motorway driving too but just not a choice for me ! but it does change the driving feel of one and also changes the actual noise.(as does non standard exhaust systems) that may sound weird but all engine gearbox exhaust combinations have a distinct sound. way back when i was young you could nearly always tell what car was coming before you saw it just by its sound. (engine ,gears,exhaust) nowadays most things sound the same !

forgive me im just an old git stuck in a timewarp. groundhog day 1980 for me ! !

2 minutes ago, Berlinetta said:

Interesting discussion!

I never read negative comments about the 5-speed box until now?!🤔

I own a '78 SRB auto and I've toyed with the idea of changing it to a 5-speed manual.

I'm still unsure due to -

A. Keeping the car in its original spec

B. The difficulty of locating a 5-speed box and associated parts

C. The novelty / rarity of an auto

D. The possibility of fitting lots of sound deadening / insulation similar to a Monza (makes for a much more enjoyable driving. I owned a couple of Monzas in the past)

On the other hand, a 5-speed would mean -

A. More "relaxed" driving (especially on motorways)

B. Better driving experience / performance

C. Better fuel economy

D. Car would be appear to be more "desirable" to car spotters or potential buyers (not that I have any plans to sell)

What do you guys think?? 🤔

 

again its matter of opinion.  an original car is always better than one thats been chopped up to fit a non standard engine or box.

insurance issues for modified cars

economy gains will be minimal if at all ? but definately quieter on motorway ,cannot disagree with that not that a 4 speed car or auto is drastically noisy. (its not a series land rover)

performance gains depend on if the 5 speed ratios are drastically different otherwise its just an overdrive gear realy.

over the years ive driven many many different cars and approaching 60 now i know what feels good to me. 

anyone considering an engine or gearbox change should realy drive a version of their car first to see what they think.i did a 5 speed conversion on mine many moons ago and quickly changed it back. never regretted it !

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I need a clutch cable damper which apparently damps out vibrations,I think it is two pieces of steel that slide on to the cable and have a top hat shaped rubber bush and a thin rubber washer and it fits up near the bulkhead,I found the rubber parts for sale but not the steel parts. Where do owners buy their clutch kits from ? My car is a 79 2.0 coupe auto at the moment but hopefully soon to be a manual.

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hi. if you have got the rubbers then thats the hardest part. its 2 rubbers and large bore washer. sometimes a washer on the end of the cable too.the block should be available s/h on here from somebody. the only part of it that can wear eventually is the inner cable can put a groove in the lower sleeve but thats easily rectified by turning it 180 degrees.

never been sure of what it actually does ,wether it is an actual damper of sorts or just an adapter for the hole, mounting ,spacer or whatever.obviously without it the cable would be too long and too small for the hole.

gm made it for some reason so you are right its probably a damper ? ?

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1 hour ago, Malcolm Cliff said:

I need a clutch cable damper which apparently damps out vibrations,I think it is two pieces of steel that slide on to the cable and have a top hat shaped rubber bush and a thin rubber washer and it fits up near the bulkhead,I found the rubber parts for sale but not the steel parts. Where do owners buy their clutch kits from ? My car is a 79 2.0 coupe auto at the moment but hopefully soon to be a manual.

Let me have a rummage as i swapped mine for a hydraulic clutch so that metal part might be in my big box of spare bits 🙂 I can have a look tonight. Do you have the clutch cable? as i have one knocking about somewhere.

Andy

 

ps. Love the 5 speed in mine and i did drive it with the old 4 speed, much better for longer driving.

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  • 2 months later...
2 hours ago, Malcolm Cliff said:

I have my Manta b sr back,all fine with 5 speed box and brakes but it is sitting too high on new springs,any advice ? Asked for standard ride height have a bout 4 inches between rear tyre and arches and more at the front.

Seen a few like this now, the “std” springs that are about seem to be raising the cars 🙈

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