Irmscher Man Posted April 14 Share Posted April 14 I have been reminded today that I probably ought to get a proper build thread going to document the progress on the Gold Hatch, especially as it has been taking up most of my spare time for the last 18 months. Some of you may remember that I bought Ian Virco's 1985 Gold Hatchback a couple of years ago and have been trying to sympathetically care for the old girl ever since. I certainly didn't want to rush into a full on restoration as that would not be sensible on a car that is 99% original and besides, it doesn't really need that. It currently has genuine 33k miles on the clock, so quite a rare beast and mechanically, it is sound. Ian took the car off the road in 2016 due to some corrosion on the rear sills and around the back arches....not uncommon for a car of its age. It sat in his storage barn for a number of years and as you may know, Ian sadly passed away during December of 2020 and his collection of 19 cars and other vehicles was sold off. This car was one of Mantas that we always associate with him, so I was pleased to be able to offer it a new home at the start of June '21. It’s in remarkably good condition but has suffered a bit from being laid up for a few years. I did some tidying up last year and managed to get out to a few shows. I'm continuing on with things this year. Anyway - some photos from the last couple of years. These are from when the car was removed from storage and brought out into the day light again. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Ian had started to strip the car down, ready for some work before he fell ill. It was all there but in boxes.....at least it was Hatch parts, so easy enough to tell the difference with glass etc. Note the new sills in the boot....now on the car. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Running fine but.......urgh....... 😞 Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. The reason for the MOT failure in 2016. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Usual Manta Battery tray horror show.....although at least this hadn't gone through and once cleaned up, was actually not too bad. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irmscher Man Posted April 17 Author Share Posted April 17 Next step, once I got the car home was to have a good clean up and see what state it was in. I obviously knew what work was required on first view but there were a few other problems that needed sorting out. There was a petrol leak and the front brakes were also not that good - usual sliding caliper problem from what I could tell. The brakes were okay at first but after a few uses, the car was pulling to one side and it just got worse with every mile. At one stage, I had to stop off and let the near side disk and caliper cool down......not had to do that for about 20 years! So, I knew that job was on the list too. So - here we are stripping things down for a good look at what needs to be done and also take the opportunity for a bit of a clean up. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Engine bay needs some elbow grease to clean it up - although everything is there and nice and original (including the cold start intake pipe which is in the boot). Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Floor looks pretty good, once it had a been attacked with the hoover. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. I took the interior out to give it a good clean and a bit of an airing. Only one slight bit of wear on the drivers side bolster - which goes to show how quickly these wore out! Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Hmmm......nasty surprise hiding underneath the front spoiler. In fact, it looks as though there has been some damage to the front end a very long time ago. You can see from the lower front valance that it has had a knock. Nothing too serious though and I have straightened it out again now. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. The usual front end stone chips to sort out. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Underneath the grime, it was actually starting to look quite good. A little bit of surface rust on the O/S inner wing, and the same on the Battery tray (standard for any Manta). Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. You can see on this photo that the front valance is a little out of whack.....hidden by the front spoiler of course, but I knew it was there! I'm not sure if the car has ever had a new front spoiler but the paintwork on it was really bad, so that got sent off to the Paintshop. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. The Rear bumper also had some damage and was cracked underneath the N/S lamp unit. I think this may have been from a famous incident when Ian's father was parking the car up and he reversed into another members car. Not one of the clubs finest moments but at least it was all sorted out amicably.....apart from the poor old Gold Hatch, which still wore the scars. Anyway - new rear hatch bumper sourced (thanks to Mick Maher) and that went off to the paintshop with the front spoiler/bumper. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irmscher Man Posted April 20 Author Share Posted April 20 Next instalment, a bit more cleaning up, especially the engine bay. There was nothing too serious to attend to other than some scabby looking paint in the usual places - behind the headlamps and the Battery tray area. Luckily, the washer bottle side was okay, so just a good clean up. At some point, the Servo will need to come off as it looks pretty bad but as I'm going to be renewing the brakes at some point, that can happen then as I will need to bleed the system. What is noticeable on this car is that the original paint under the bonnet is pretty awful. It has been put on quite thick in some areas (around where the earth wires for the headlamps connect to the inner wings on both sides) but in other areas, it looks like a single pass over with the spray gun, (inner wing rails.) If anyone has watched the Last Manta Video, this probably will come as no surprise. The exterior bodywork on the Manta was the only function that was Robotised during Manta Construction at the Antwerp factory but the interior and engine bay was still being done by hand, hence the inconsistencies! One of the issues with the car was that it had been standing for a few years, so every single bit of Ally had a fine layer of oxidation on it. There is only one way to deal with it and that is to take everything apart and gently clean it up. I went for the easy option with some larger parts and had them Vapour Blasted by a chap locally who does it for a bit of a hobby. Starting to look a bit better...... Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Cam cover looking rather tired Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. ....and after Vapour blasting. Still not perfect, so might try and find a better one. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Radiator was fine but hadn't seen any attention, so needed a tidy up. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Cleaning up the Battery tray area ready for some paint. I was pleased to see it was structurally okay. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Radiator all cleaned and painted. Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Cleaning up the Chassis Legs - actually under the grime, they were really nice. Just a little bit of surface rust to sort out but better than expected! Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member. Inner wings starting to look better. I was pleased that this one has the Brass type Brake proportioning valve, rather than the steel canister type (which can develop leaks). The brass ones always clean up nicely too. Onwards and upwards - next time, sorting out the fuel pipes and Brakes. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessopia74 Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 Vapour blasting gas done a great job bringing these parts back to life 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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