Project Domes shonky autos - Manta progress!

[Crusty Sills]

18 hours ago, dome said:

Hit a small* pothole with the Kangoo. Was doing under 40mph but it was a helluva bang. 

Bother.

I'll try and claim it through the council buy I expect they'll do everything the can to avoid paying out. 

 

I've only had 1 modern Renault in my life. But I mangled 3 wheels at various times in different pot holes. Never in any other car!

 

 General consensus Renault alloys are made from chocolate! Love the Manta btw. 

[dome]

Did a bit more stripping down today. 

Battery tray. 

Not too bad

Under the washer bottle-a known bad spot. 

Not pretty but there's seems to be mostly metal there. 

Into the boot and I started removing the wiring loom. Bumper off to get the number plate light wiring out

And onto some more interior stripping. Most of its in pretty good nick. This helps explain why

One non smoking owner from new M9.

Plan is remove the full loom and dash to sort the bulkhead/A pillar. It'll also need modified for the new engine and whatever other changes I make along the way. 

Rotisserie arrives tomorrow in kit form-welding it together will give me some practice. I'll carry on stripping and get ready to drop the drivetrain out. 

I'm getting my covid jab tomorrow so we'll see how that affects me for making progress.

Plan is to take the Jag to get my jag

[dome]

Did a wee bit of work on the MR2 this afternoon. It needed a new manifold to downpipe gasket as the one that was on there was blowing. The OEM Toyota ones are very meaty and the replacement we got from the factors when I built this never sealed properly. 

With its new paintjob some protection had to be employed before working on it.

 

New gasket fitted  and a test drive was in order. Duncan had complained about iffy handling on the new coil overs, this was traced to one of the rears being set to fully stiff and the other to fully soft 🙈 By him I should add!

A quick test drive ensued which confirmed it was quieter and handled better with the suspension on the same settings...

 

[Dick Longbridge]

25 minutes ago, dome said:

Did a wee bit of work on the MR2 this afternoon. It needed a new manifold to downpipe gasket as the one that was on there was blowing. The OEM Toyota ones are very meaty and the replacement we got from the factors when I built this never sealed properly. 

With its new paintjob some protection had to be employed before working on it.

 

New gasket fitted  and a test drive was in order. Duncan had complained about iffy handling on the new coil overs, this was traced to one of the rears being set to fully stiff and the other to fully soft 🙈 By him I should add!

A quick test drive ensued which confirmed it was quieter and handled better with the suspension on the same settings...

 

Facelift rear lights - did you fit them? They look surprisingly condensation-free!

[dome]

18 minutes ago, Dick Longbridge said:

Facelift rear lights - did you fit them? They look surprisingly condensation-free!

Aye, we got lucky in a scrappy and picked them up cheap. They do look a bit fresher than the pre facelifts.

[Dick Longbridge]

7 minutes ago, dome said:

Aye, we got lucky in a scrappy and picked them up cheap. They do look a bit fresher than the pre facelifts.

Agreed. You did well to source them cheaply as they tend to sell for strong money. Could do with a cheap spare set for mine!

[dome]

I set out yesterday to see how far I could get toward getting the engine and box out of the Manta. 

I decided to drop the front subframe out of it with the engine and box attached, this made sense as the subframe needs to come off to weld the chassis rails, also I'll be refreshing everything at the front. And rear. And middle. Anyway...

I started in the engine bay and removed everything I could  to be able to drop it out, taking photos and marking connectors as I went. Fluids also were dropped and pretty soon it was looking like this.

Onto the underside and I made a list

Again all fairly easily achieved and everything that came off came off in a way where it can be either reused or sold on if not required for the future.

Off to my lockup and I picked up my engine crane, in storage since the MR2 engine swap.

Hello old friend.

There are essentially 6 bolts holding the subframe on and engine and box in

Two near the shock turrets-loosened off ok

Two at the gearbox crossmember-not part of the subframe but required obviously.

And 2 main ones at the rear of the front wishbones. I'd removed the nuts from these leaving just the bolts to withdraw.

The passenger side one came out no bother, the drivers side one wasn't playing. I ground the head off with a view to hammering it through but no joy-it had seized into the bush sleeve on the subframe. 

 

Bother.

I sacked it off last night to save my sanity and go and get beer/curry.

Back at it today after cycling and I had another go. I managed to get the grinder in to the shaft of the bolt between the chassis rail and subframe. Success!

So, we're now at this stage.

Entire subframe is resting on the trolley ready to be pulled out. 

I need to get the front of the car high enough to make this happen. This could be interesting, but it's not my first rodeo. Plan is to get the back of the car as high as possible and then raise the front to slide the whole lot out. Should be fun...

Before removing the engine from the subframe I'll get the measuring tape out to get dimensions of the existing engine, I can then compare that to the proposed donor to make sure it'll work. 

 

[jaypee]

Some good progress dude! 😎. 

It'll be on the road in no* time... 👍

[DodgyBastard]

If you're thinking about selling the engine, gearbox and diff I would be interested in buying it for my chevette as it'll be a relatively straightforward swap and would be infinitely better than the standard 1256 engine I have in there at the moment.

Sent from my moto g( power using Tapatalk

[sutty2006]

And I might need to refer to your wiring loom as the masking tape labels I made on mine had faded 😂

[dome]

7 hours ago, DodgyBastard said:

If you're thinking about selling the engine, gearbox and diff I would be interested in buying it for my chevette as it'll be a relatively straightforward swap and would be infinitely better than the standard 1256 engine I have in there at the moment.

Sent from my moto g( power using Tapatalk
 

Engine and box will definitely be getting sold, not til I'm a bit further forward with getting a donor engine sorted out though. 

Back axle will likely need to stay, there's not a lot I can replace it with that's not bloody expensive!

[dome]

15 minutes ago, sutty2006 said:

And I might need to refer to your wiring loom as the masking tape labels I made on mine had faded 😂

Yep, no worries. If you're needing any parts let me know.

[big_al_granvia]

get a forky truck/telehandler to lift car off subframe, otherwise jacks, axle stands, wooden packing and repeat several times

[dome]

1 minute ago, big_al_granvia said:

get a forky truck/telehandler to lift car off subframe, otherwise jacks, axle stands, wooden packing and repeat several times

I admire your optimism but it's under a car port and our bedroom is above it 😆

[big_al_granvia]

1 minute ago, dome said:

I admire your optimism but it's under a car port and our bedroom is above it 😆

so access not great then, nae crane access... better go and borrow some widden pallets for packing

[gm]

1 hour ago, dome said:

I admire your optimism but it's under a car port and our bedroom is above it 😆

stop messing about, man, where's your sense of adventure ?  

 

[Supernaut]

Hey, there's an idea.

Just* bolt the Manta body onto an MX-5 drivetrain / frame.

[dave j]

13 hours ago, dome said:

I set out yesterday to see how far I could get toward getting the engine and box out of the Manta. 

I decided to drop the front subframe out of it with the engine and box attached, this made sense as the subframe needs to come off to weld the chassis rails, also I'll be refreshing everything at the front. And rear. And middle. Anyway...

I started in the engine bay and removed everything I could  to be able to drop it out, taking photos and marking connectors as I went. Fluids also were dropped and pretty soon it was looking like this.

Onto the underside and I made a list

Again all fairly easily achieved and everything that came off came off in a way where it can be either reused or sold on if not required for the future.

Off to my lockup and I picked up my engine crane, in storage since the MR2 engine swap.

Hello old friend.

There are essentially 6 bolts holding the subframe on and engine and box in

Two near the shock turrets-loosened off ok

Two at the gearbox crossmember-not part of the subframe but required obviously.

And 2 main ones at the rear of the front wishbones. I'd removed the nuts from these leaving just the bolts to withdraw.

The passenger side one came out no bother, the drivers side one wasn't playing. I ground the head off with a view to hammering it through but no joy-it had seized into the bush sleeve on the subframe. 

 

Bother.

I sacked it off last night to save my sanity and go and get beer/curry.

Back at it today after cycling and I had another go. I managed to get the grinder in to the shaft of the bolt between the chassis rail and subframe. Success!

So, we're now at this stage.

Entire subframe is resting on the trolley ready to be pulled out. 

I need to get the front of the car high enough to make this happen. This could be interesting, but it's not my first rodeo. Plan is to get the back of the car as high as possible and then raise the front to slide the whole lot out. Should be fun...

Before removing the engine from the subframe I'll get the measuring tape out to get dimensions of the existing engine, I can then compare that to the proposed donor to make sure it'll work. 

 

Spot the evil face looking at you from the wheel arch! 

[sutty2006]

Just now, sutty2006 said:

5 hours ago, dome said:

Yep, no worries. If you're needing any parts let me know.

Any parts left over let me know. I’ll save them for a rainy day! Don’t bin anything lol. 

[Fraz]

1 hour ago, Supernaut said:

Hey, there's an idea.

Just* bolt the Manta body onto an MX-5 drivetrain / frame.

I like the cut of this mans jib.

[dome]

17 minutes ago, Fraz said:

I like the cut of this mans jib.

Right idea but @Supernaut spelled S2000 wrong.

[gm]

here you go - someone's already done the hard work

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/942602949903954/?ref=saved&referral_code=null

 

 

[dome]

1 hour ago, gm said:

here you go - someone's already done the hard work

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/942602949903954/?ref=saved&referral_code=null

 

 

Nah, needs to be an NC for MZR/Duratec engine!

[Barry Cade]

That pic makes my eyes water.. many many years ago,3 cars up in Tam Muirs yard, I was in the back seat of a Manta, nose broken and blood all over my  Fido Dido T shirt.. 

That was before I learned when you are removing a steering wheel,  leave the nut on a few threads..

Oooya.

[dome]

1 hour ago, Barry Cade said:

That pic makes my eyes water.. many many years ago,3 cars up in Tam Muirs yard, I was in the back seat of a Manta, nose broken and blood all over my  Fido Dido T shirt.. 

That was before I learned when you are removing a steering wheel,  leave the nut on a few threads..

Oooya.

Sorry, shouldn't have laughed. I'm going to hell🙈

[Snake Charmer]

@dome Is this car sat on original SR springs or has it been lowered? With the springs out or the arms compressed you would not need to lift the body so much. I posted on @sutty2006 thread about his Manta, I did exactly what you are doing but used two scaffold poles (may have been gas pipe) down the chassis rails to lift the car over the engine like a wheelbarrow. 

[dome]

52 minutes ago, Snake Charmer said:

@dome Is this car sat on original SR springs or has it been lowered? With the springs out or the arms compressed you would not need to lift the body so much. I posted on @sutty2006 thread about his Manta, I did exactly what you are doing but used two scaffold poles (may have been gas pipe) down the chassis rails to lift the car over the engine like a wheelbarrow. 

I saw that, that's a great idea! 

I'm not sure about springs but i'd guess they are standard SR. As the engine is still in the subframe the highest point for me is the rocker cover. I'm tight for space so the plan is get the back as high as possible on axle stands and then use the engine crane to lift the front, that way I should be able to slide the subframe out to the side and then remove the engine from the subframe. 

Pics to show the space I'm working with.

Christ I'd love a workshop to do this shit in!

[Snake Charmer]

The radiator support is the killer for needing height to go forward with the engine or back with the car. I only did it that way at the time as I had no hoist and gave me the idea to fit the V8 that way to cut the minimum out of the sump pan. 

If the springs are SR pack originals they are really long and need care to remove them. First one I removed was on my '80 Ascona SR, I undid the bottom balljoint and lowered the arm expecting the spring to come out easily and it stayed put. I had no spring compressors so I tied a rope to it and pulled from a distance, the bloody thing came out and chased me up the road! A friend borrowed the correct Vauxhall tool to do his and the chap explained carefully how to use it safely as he had lost his thumb doing one. Most I did after that I would jack the car under the wishbone to load the spring up then hit the coils with Oxy-Acetylene to soften them, the uprated and lowered springs are much shorter and come out easily. From memory they were 400lb fronts and 170/200lb rears for road cars, still rode quite nicely too.

1 hour ago, dome said:

Christ I'd love a workshop to do this shit in!

You have the luxury of block paving and a cover, I built all my cars up until this century on an uneven cinder driveway in all weathers!!   I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you with the vinyl roof around the front and rear screen tops, I have taken a couple off and found them rotten. 

[dome]

38 minutes ago, Snake Charmer said:

The radiator support is the killer for needing height to go forward with the engine or back with the car. I only did it that way at the time as I had no hoist and gave me the idea to fit the V8 that way to cut the minimum out of the sump pan. 

If the springs are SR pack originals they are really long and need care to remove them. First one I removed was on my '80 Ascona SR, I undid the bottom balljoint and lowered the arm expecting the spring to come out easily and it stayed put. I had no spring compressors so I tied a rope to it and pulled from a distance, the bloody thing came out and chased me up the road! A friend borrowed the correct Vauxhall tool to do his and the chap explained carefully how to use it safely as he had lost his thumb doing one. Most I did after that I would jack the car under the wishbone to load the spring up then hit the coils with Oxy-Acetylene to soften them, the uprated and lowered springs are much shorter and come out easily. From memory they were 400lb fronts and 170/200lb rears for road cars, still rode quite nicely too.

You have the luxury of block paving and a cover, I built all my cars up until this century on an uneven cinder driveway in all weathers!!   I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you with the vinyl roof around the front and rear screen tops, I have taken a couple off and found them rotten. 

Good knowledge, thanks!

You made me go and rip the rest of the roof off, as much as I can without taking the screens out.

There's a tiny hole here at the top of the rear screen, the only one I could find so far...

The screens will need to come out  anyway, I'm not looking forward to doing that 🙈

[Snake Charmer]

I still have my fingers crossed! Screens are relatively easy once you remove the silver trim, last time I used a trim tool to push the rubber inner lip back over the body flange then apply even pressure to push the screen and rubber out. Trick is not to twist or push in the corners and take your time.