Six Cylinders Motoring Notes - Test Driving Something New!

[sutty2006]

On 07/12/2025 at 19:14, Six-cylinder said:

Look what happened to us today!

Back in 2020 I became aware of a 1976 Opel Manta 1.9 Auto coupe who's owner was not very well. Both Mrs6C and I liked the car and we made enquires, but unfortunately the owner was to ill too deal with them. Eventually the owner passed away and his sister inherited the collection of 9 cars including the Manta Coupe we liked. We made enquires of the sister and were told the cars were not a priority. Time went on and through a contact I made an offer for the 8 remaining cars including the Manta Coupe we liked so much and it was accepted. We took delivery of our prized Manta on 5th August 2021.

In April 2023 some friends from the Triumph Club freed off the brakes and it was transported to my favourite garage. While not a wreck it had been off the road for a long time and needed a bit of welding, a mechanical inspection and generally some love.

Back in the summer I was informed it was ready for collection, but I delayed as it was being stored under cover. Eventually I was given the Christmas 2025 deadline and today he took the view he knew where I lived and dropped it on my drive using his own transporter! He has been so good to us and wouldn't even take any fuel money.

I had to go out this afternoon and it was dark when I got home so this week before we put it away for winter I will give it a drive.  

@sutty2006

That manta is pure gorgeous. Puts mine to shame! 
 

first dibs if you sell it please. Not that I’ve got room or even a desire for another one (apart from a local red exclusive) but that car is just love at first sight 🥰

[Bear]

On 07/12/2025 at 19:14, Six-cylinder said:

Look what happened to us today!

Back in 2020 I became aware of a 1976 Opel Manta 1.9 Auto coupe who's owner was not very well. Both Mrs6C and I liked the car and we made enquires, but unfortunately the owner was to ill too deal with them. Eventually the owner passed away and his sister inherited the collection of 9 cars including the Manta Coupe we liked. We made enquires of the sister and were told the cars were not a priority. Time went on and through a contact I made an offer for the 8 remaining cars including the Manta Coupe we liked so much and it was accepted. We took delivery of our prized Manta on 5th August 2021.

In April 2023 some friends from the Triumph Club freed off the brakes and it was transported to my favourite garage. While not a wreck it had been off the road for a long time and needed a bit of welding, a mechanical inspection and generally some love.

Back in the summer I was informed it was ready for collection, but I delayed as it was being stored under cover. Eventually I was given the Christmas 2025 deadline and today he took the view he knew where I lived and dropped it on my drive using his own transporter! He has been so good to us and wouldn't even take any fuel money.

I had to go out this afternoon and it was dark when I got home so this week before we put it away for winter I will give it a drive.  

@sutty2006

It is beautiful

[Six-cylinder]

16 hours ago, sutty2006 said:

That manta is pure gorgeous. Puts mine to shame! 
 

first dibs if you sell it please. Not that I’ve got room or even a desire for another one (apart from a local red exclusive) but that car is just love at first sight 🥰

Thank you.

I had forgotten how much work Mark and his late father had done on this car welding jacking point, the front valance, sill and the odd hole including the boot floor. It has been dented behind both doors when a forklift truck moved it, Mark has pushed the dents out but really it needs doing properly. I can't imagine that it will be fault free when we start using it in the spring.

[Six-cylinder]

I could not see the end of damp, cold and rainy conditions so today I put the Morris away in storage. I had been using it as a daily when the weather was dry as well as attending classic events.

To supplement the Mazda 323 as a winter errands car I have got the Fiat Seicento back out of storage.  @Slowsilver makes me implement best practise when putting cars into storage and disconnect the batteries. Works well I just reconnected the battery and it fired up almost instantly.

I am all excited to drive the Manta, but it is drizzly wet. I thought I might just do a petrol station run this afternoon, but Mrs6C was out so I thought better of it as no rescue on hand. I did start it and move it on the drive and it all worked fine.

I did check the Manta mileage and it seems it has done 24 test miles with my favourite garage.

The radio switches on to make a crackling noise but does not light up. It is obviously old , but a brand I have never heard of "Motoradio". I have just seen the arial is pushed down so I need to try again and pull the arial up to see if I get Radio Caroline on medium wave, but it is dark now.

The weather forecast is better for tomorrow so I am hopeful I will get to take it out.

[richardmorris]

Had our usual Eastern European chap do our PAT testing this morning. He was asking about my x1/9 and 2cv posters in my lab. He said his first car was a 1981 Mazda 323! Didn’t believe me when I said I know an eccentric collector using one as his winter daily and a vintage roller as a summer car! 
He’s just bought a Jaeco ! 

[richardmorris]

3 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

Thank you.

I had forgotten how much work Mark and his late father had done on this car welding jacking point, the front valance, sill and the odd hole including the boot floor. It has been dented behind both doors when a forklift truck moved it, Mark has pushed the dents out but really it needs doing properly. I can't imagine that it will be fault free when we start using it in the spring.

It’s not on metric tyres is it?

[MAF260]

2 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

I could not see the end of damp, cold and rainy conditions so today I put the Morris away in storage. I had been using it as a daily when the weather was dry as well as attending classic events.

To supplement the Mazda 323 as a winter errands car I have got the Fiat Seicento back out of storage.  @Slowsilver makes me implement best practise when putting cars into storage and disconnect the batteries. Works well I just reconnected the battery and it fired up almost instantly.

I am all excited to drive the Manta, but it is drizzly wet. I thought I might just do a petrol station run this afternoon, but Mrs6C was out so I thought better of it as no rescue on hand. I did start it and move it on the drive and it all worked fine.

I did check the Manta mileage and it seems it has done 24 test miles with my favourite garage.

The radio switches on to make a crackling noise but does not light up. It is obviously old , but a brand I have never heard of "Motoradio". I have just seen the arial is pushed down so I need to try again and pull the arial up to see if I get Radio Caroline on medium wave, but it is dark now.

The weather forecast is better for tomorrow so I am hopeful I will get to take it out.

I'll keep my eyes out for you - should be easy to spot you with a big grin behind the wheel!

[Six-cylinder]

49 minutes ago, richardmorris said:

It’s not on metric tyres is it?

No, I don't think Mantas ever suffered from that problem.

[hairnet]

mantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamanta

MANTA! MANTA!!

mantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamanta

MANTA! MANTA!!

[Momentary Lapse Of Reason]

12 minutes ago, hairnet said:

mantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamanta

MANTA! MANTA!!

mantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamantamanta

MANTA! MANTA!!

Could some kind person please supply a mop and bucket to Hairnet...

[hairnet]

2 hours ago, richardmorris said:

It’s not on metric tyres is it?

return badge now

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 29/11/2025 at 13:59, Six-cylinder said:

You need to wash and vac YOUR car then!

brave or stupid 🤔

[Six-cylinder]

5 hours ago, richardmorris said:

Had our usual Eastern European chap do our PAT testing this morning. He was asking about my x1/9 and 2cv posters in my lab. He said his first car was a 1981 Mazda 323! Didn’t believe me when I said I know an eccentric collector using one as his winter daily and a vintage roller as a summer car! 
He’s just bought a Jaeco ! 

But our Mazda is only 36 years old!

Jaecoo seems like a highly efficient way to loose a lot of money!

[hairnet]

can you get ed stewart or fluff on that

 

[sutty2006]

15 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

I could not see the end of damp, cold and rainy conditions so today I put the Morris away in storage. I had been using it as a daily when the weather was dry as well as attending classic events.

To supplement the Mazda 323 as a winter errands car I have got the Fiat Seicento back out of storage.  @Slowsilver makes me implement best practise when putting cars into storage and disconnect the batteries. Works well I just reconnected the battery and it fired up almost instantly.

I am all excited to drive the Manta, but it is drizzly wet. I thought I might just do a petrol station run this afternoon, but Mrs6C was out so I thought better of it as no rescue on hand. I did start it and move it on the drive and it all worked fine.

I did check the Manta mileage and it seems it has done 24 test miles with my favourite garage.

The radio switches on to make a crackling noise but does not light up. It is obviously old , but a brand I have never heard of "Motoradio". I have just seen the arial is pushed down so I need to try again and pull the arial up to see if I get Radio Caroline on medium wave, but it is dark now.

The weather forecast is better for tomorrow so I am hopeful I will get to take it out.

That’s odd that it’s got 3 gauge clocks not 6 gauge. My manta S should originally have those gauges but the originals wouldn’t work on a Berlinetta wiring loom, as the plugs are different. Probably got what ever was in the bucket on a Friday afternoon 😄

[Six-cylinder]

2 hours ago, sutty2006 said:

That’s odd that it’s got 3 gauge clocks not 6 gauge. My manta S should originally have those gauges but the originals wouldn’t work on a Berlinetta wiring loom, as the plugs are different. Probably got what ever was in the bucket on a Friday afternoon 😄

I had noticed that and think it is because it is an Automatic.

[sutty2006]

2 hours ago, Six-cylinder said:

I had noticed that and think it is because it is an Automatic.

I’m not so sure. The loom and clocks I had came from a 1.9 berlinetta auto but a 78. From recollection the deeper headlights came in at the start (late 75 to early 77 ish. So maybe it’s because yours is a 77 the early clocks were fitted to early cars. I’m gonna have to research this more! 

[Six-cylinder]

6 minutes ago, sutty2006 said:

I’m not so sure. The loom and clocks I had came from a 1.9 berlinetta auto but a 78. From recollection the deeper headlights came in at the start (late 75 to early 77 ish. So maybe it’s because yours is a 77 the early clocks were fitted to early cars. I’m gonna have to research this more! 

It was registered 7th Aug  1976.

If you can tell from the chassis number I could PM you that.

[MAF260]

I owned an early S in 1987 - ORO 847P. It was a manual car and had 3 dial clocks. I remember as I changed them to 6.

[hairnet]

3 hours ago, sutty2006 said:

I’m not so sure. The loom and clocks I had came from a 1.9 berlinetta auto but a 78. From recollection the deeper headlights came in at the start (late 75 to early 77 ish. So maybe it’s because yours is a 77 the early clocks were fitted to early cars. I’m gonna have to research this more! 

lend some of your nerd to richard

 

[richardmorris]

20 hours ago, hairnet said:

return badge now

It’s gone rusty.

[sutty2006]

On 10/12/2025 at 13:33, Six-cylinder said:

It was registered 7th Aug  1976.

If you can tell from the chassis number I could PM you that.

I thought it was a 77 being an R plate. Mine is April 76 on a P. 
 

spoken to someone in the club who’s currently restoring a 1975 B coupe SR berlinetta that’s got 6 dial clocks. My heads mashed haha

[ianbmw]

I remember Mr Virco being incredibly excited about the headlamps on that gold coupe…

 

I just looked down on it as it wasn’t a GTE

[Snake Charmer]

On 10/12/2025 at 08:19, sutty2006 said:

That’s odd that it’s got 3 gauge clocks not 6 gauge. My manta S should originally have those gauges but the originals wouldn’t work on a Berlinetta wiring loom, as the plugs are different. Probably got what ever was in the bucket on a Friday afternoon 😄

You can swap the pins to fit a 6 dial dash but have to add the extra plug and wires for tge tacho to work.

Long time since started those cars at the FOD Chris, it looked fairly original. Is it badged  Manta S or S/R on the bootlid? Hard to see on the photos. The S/R pack from memory was suspension and the 6 dial dash etc over the S. Cavalier Coupes were GL and GLS for similar trim.

[sutty2006]

39 minutes ago, Snake Charmer said:

You can swap the pins to fit a 6 dial dash but have to add the extra plug and wires for tge tacho to work.

Long time since started those cars at the FOD Chris, it looked fairly original. Is it badged  Manta S or S/R on the bootlid? Hard to see on the photos. The S/R pack from memory was suspension and the 6 dial dash etc over the S. Cavalier Coupes were GL and GLS for similar trim.

Yes I was told about that while I was trying to get my original loom working but didn’t fancy throwing too many brain cells at it at the time. Luckily I had the matching parts to make it all work with the right bits 

[Six-cylinder]

Today was my first chance to drive the Manta. 

It had been sat all week on the drive and was covered in condensation inside and out. It started on its own battery with some churning, if rather lumpy. I let it warm a bit and the heater started blowing warm air with enough hot air to stop the wiped windscreen fogging up again. 

Out on the road it drives true and straight, but was a bit spluttery. The brakes feel good, but it does have rebuilt callipers and lots of new bits. When I turned onto the A road the right indicators flashed very fast so I knew one must have stopped working, but decided to push on for petrol. 30 Litres of E5 petrol added it felt a bit spluttery again in the 30mph limit. Back on the open road it comfortably cruised at 60 mph and got home fine. At home I found the rear indicator bulb with holder had fallen out so I put it back and I have right hand indicators again.

Unfortunately Mrs6C needed to go out and I did not want to take it out again without a rescue party on hand. I may have a chance to try again tomorrow.

This is the obligatory petrol station shot.

[sutty2006]

3 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

Today was my first chance to drive the Manta. 

It had been sat all week on the drive and was covered in condensation inside and out. It started on its own battery with some churning, if rather lumpy. I let it warm a bit and the heater started blowing warm air with enough hot air to stop the wiped windscreen fogging up again. 

Out on the road it drives true and straight, but was a bit spluttery. The brakes feel good, but it does have rebuilt callipers and lots of new bits. When I turned onto the A road the right indicators flashed very fast so I knew one must have stopped working, but decided to push on for petrol. 30 Litres of E5 petrol added it felt a bit spluttery again in the 30mph limit. Back on the open road it comfortably cruised at 60 mph and got home fine. At home I found the rear indicator bulb with holder had fallen out so I put it back and I have right hand indicators again.

Unfortunately Mrs6C needed to go out and I did not want to take it out again without a rescue party on hand. I may have a chance to try again tomorrow.

This is the obligatory petrol station shot.

Chuffed for ya. Are you putting any lead additive in it or does it have a converted head? 

[Stinkwheel]

7 minutes ago, Six-cylinder said:

Today was my first chance to drive the Manta. 

It had been sat all week on the drive and was covered in condensation inside and out. It started on its own battery with some churning, if rather lumpy. I let it warm a bit and the heater started blowing warm air with enough hot air to stop the wiped windscreen fogging up again. 

Out on the road it drives true and straight, but was a bit spluttery. The brakes feel good, but it does have rebuilt callipers and lots of new bits. When I turned onto the A road the right indicators flashed very fast so I knew one must have stopped working, but decided to push on for petrol. 30 Litres of E5 petrol added it felt a bit spluttery again in the 30mph limit. Back on the open road it comfortably cruised at 60 mph and got home fine. At home I found the rear indicator bulb with holder had fallen out so I put it back and I have right hand indicators again.

Unfortunately Mrs6C needed to go out and I did not want to take it out again without a rescue party on hand. I may have a chance to try again tomorrow.

This is the obligatory petrol station shot.

They are blooming good looking cars these, you forget as you so rarely see them about these days.  Well saved @Six-cylinder👍
 

[Six-cylinder]

1 minute ago, sutty2006 said:

Chuffed for ya. Are you putting any lead additive in it or does it have a converted head? 

I doubt it has been converted, but for the small leisure mileage I will do I will take my chances.

[Six-cylinder]

23 hours ago, ianbmw said:

I remember Mr Virco being incredibly excited about the headlamps on that gold coupe…

 

I just looked down on it as it wasn’t a GTE

You have always looked down on my cars, Japanese Mazda, Australian Sigma, junk to you. Then you want to save an under nourished, basic Mk3 Carlton saloon with DIY gearbox!