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Don't forget Weber conversions were very popular on near new cars (only 1 year warranty then) and I believe some dealers offered them as an option anyway. Ford and GM "auto choke" carbs were temperamental and often the source of complaint. My grandad bought a new 1982 Fiesta and it was swapped with a Weber on its first service at Ford. I ran a Manta 1.8S as a daily driver for a few years, with a varijet 2. It was better than its predecessor, but would still stall cold and then idle at 2000 rpm the next minute, unless you kept tapping the throttle to readjust it--defeating the object of an auto choke.

I didn't notice your car had a missing mirror. I thought all the later Mantas had both mirrors and it was only optional on the earlier cars (how the hell did people reverse park back then?) but you learn something each day. As above, I've done a "mirror runner" swap before and it is an easy job. If you get the part, you can see where the bolts go. Plus you could sell on the blank one to someone who wants the Englemann style 400 mirrors (which could also be an option for you, but means blanking off the driver side). If it's a case of not wanting the bother, like I've done with my Cavalier, you can order a universal clamp-on mirror which won't match and you'd obviously take it off at shows, but makes driving and parking so much easier. This is the one I use. You just clamp it to the gutter and with the mirror bolt loose, then hold the mirror in position as you tighten it. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/175388908144

To my knowledge the 1.8 only cane with the Gym carb, but it was something to do with the auto stalls why Webers was fitted. But might have been a dealer option/fitment 🤔

Mine had a Weber on it but suspect had been upgraded by a past owner, now has a new Weber on it! The GM workshop manuals show a Varijet. First job on any car I bought in the 80’s/90’s was bin the Varijet/Solex/Pierburg and fit a Weber, although a mate of mine did fit a Nikki with a nice little window showing the fuel level in the float chamber - why? Gave us a few laughs though “hey Martin stop the car so we can check the fuel level” 😂