Project Suttys 1976 Opel Manta S coupe long term* project

[sutty2006]

Thought I’d started a thread about this but hadn’t. So here goes. I was looking for an engine for my red hatchback when Fordperv called the bat phone and told me about a car for sale in some arsehole end of stoke in a garden. I’ve lost a lot of early photos but we went over with my Mondeo, an A frame and a couple of spare wheels. Prized £80 out of my wallet and pulled it out of the guys garden. Or was it £60? I can’t remember. But it only needed 1 tyre swapping. The 1600 engine and 4 spd box was missing, haha, ironic, so it was hooked up and hauled away.

 

I’ve had it since 2008. Started welding it myself in 2009 then came into some money and payed someone to finish it off.... well the main stuff. New rear panel, inner and outer sills, front nose, battery try, rear lower quarters, front foot wells plus other bits n bobs. Then it sat it in my unit for ever. Over the last ten years I’ve been collecting parts ready to rebuild it and I recon I’ve got 90% of bits to finish, just need time to do it.

 

This first pic is of it in the shed where some guys did the welding.

 

 

Then it came home back to my unit, where it still is.

 

 

WHY SO SIDEWAYS? Bloody uploads them right then flips them over! Grrr. More incoming.

[sutty2006]

Another sideways photo of some of the welding to chassis

[sutty2006]

So. Skip forward a few years and now it’s tax exempt I want to get it on the road so I can take the hatch off and restore that. I wanted to paint the engine bay, then fit the front axle, engine, wiring loom etc in that order.

 

First coat reacted. Sanded down, retry, reacted again. Sanded it back to bear metal almost then painted a third time. Not so bad this time.

 

 

And some laquer

 

 

I’m happy with it for now. So everything that isn’t seen is going chassis black.

[sutty2006]

Front axle is at home being rebuilt.

[Spottedlaurel]

Looking forward to seeing this progress - I like the early B very much, almost as much as the A. They look good and drive nicely.

[holbeck]

Love it. I hooned around in a blue one of these back when it was acceptable to have a highlighted mullet.

[Dick Cheeseburger]

Lovely. Munter B’s are definitely from the era of pretty Vauxhalls. Good man for sticking with it, too.

Looking forward to seeing the finished paint job!

 

Love it. I hooned around in a blue one of these back when it was acceptable to have a highlighted mullet.

No. Despite what your friends may have told you, it was never acceptable. Even Pat had to kid himself.

 

[sutty2006]

A side angle shot hopefully not flipped 90 by the forum

 

 

Once the paint was dry, I fitted a bonnet catch given to me by a club member that had been powder coated, and the new bonnet cable I bought a few months before Xmas as the old one snapped, no surprise there. Temporary bonnet fitted (old one off the hatc). For now. It’s buggered so I’ll need a replacement anyway. But it all works which is great.

 

 

It’s not been on the road since 1990. With 70k up it. No history or paperwork, only a logbook. MRM 22P will hit the tarmac again. Maybe not this year, but hopefully soon.

 

Original engine would have been a 1.6 cam in head, I’ve got a 2.0 sat waiting for rebuild and 1.6 engines are fairly hard to come by as they are usually chucked away . So that’s where I’ll go regards engine.

[Bren]

70's vauxhalls are ace.

 

Somebody on here please buy a royale saloon.

[dome]

Ooft

 

I have a very, very unhealthy love for Mantas. The Locost will hopefully be replaced by one. Carry on, and don't mind me. I'll be the one in the corner frothing mildly

[Sudsprint]

Lovely. 

 

Just lovely.

[bangernomics]

I have access to very many spares if you need anything weird just shout. BiL will have about 20 cars worth in a week or two

[Matty]

Oohh loved my GTE. Lovely revvy engine and just good clean fun

[Tadhg Tiogar]

....a car for sale in some arsehole end of stoke in a garden. ...

Stoke seems to have all sorts of interesting oul shite hidden away in it. Two of my cars came from Stoke. Maybe all the engineers live there.

[wuvvum]

Every day's a school day - never knew the Manta B came with a 1.6, always thought the 1.8 was the smallest.  You say CIH so presumably a completely different unit to the 1.6 in the Mk1 Cav?

[sutty2006]

Every day's a school day - never knew the Manta B came with a 1.6, always thought the 1.8 was the smallest. You say CIH so presumably a completely different unit to the 1.6 in the Mk1 Cav?

Smallest available engine in the B in later years was a 1.3 ohv engine but don’t see them over here. I know of 1, ex Belgium car. The 1.6 in the MK1 cav is the same cam in head engine. The 1.3,1.8 are both ohv engines.

[Snipes]

Smallest available engine in the B in later years was a 1.3 ohv engine but don’t see them over here. I know of 1, ex Belgium car. The 1.6 in the MK1 cav is the same cam in head engine. The 1.3,1.8 are both ohv engines.

Not to be confused with the 1.8 OHC they fitted to later Mantas!

[sutty2006]

Not to be confused with the 1.8 OHC they fitted to later Mantas!

The 1.8 they fitted to manta’s never changed. From the early to late ones. Same engine basics to the mk2 cavalier etc etc

[Snipes]

But you said 1.8 ohv? Or was that a typo?

[holbeck]

Mine was a 1.9 CIH (just to confuse things).

[sutty2006]

But you said 1.8 ohv? Or was that a typo?

Apologies, yes meant to be ohc (over head cam)

[Uncle Jimmy]

This is look you need to rock if you're a Mantaman.

[Snipes]

Apologies, yes meant to be ohc (over head cam)

Ah I see. I'm not so familiar with Manta As/early Bs!

[wuvvum]

A Manta B 1.8S is the only car I've ever crashed.  Lost the back end coming off a greasy roundabout - probably didn't help that I was trying to turn up the demister at the time.

[sutty2006]

This is look you need to rock if you're a Mantaman.

Why do I wish I could grow hair like that

[andy18s]

Loved my Mantas,hence the 18s on my username...

Lost the love after my last got stolen and then recovered a year later,just wasn't the same ....

Actively looking for 1 over here now though

Found a few Asconas but the Mantas seemed to have dried up

[sutty2006]

Loved my Mantas,hence the 18s on my username...

Lost the love after my last got stolen and then recovered a year later,just wasn't the same ....

Actively looking for 1 over here now though

Found a few Asconas but the Mantas seemed to have dried up

I remember when that got nicked, didn’t you find it in a scrap yard? Where are you living now?

[tooSavvy]

This is look you need to rock if you're a Mantaman.

..... Sleeping with the Enemy ..... Got the eyes 100% looking!

[Joey spud]

Here is my old Manta B that i owned in the mid 90's.

MOY 136P was a 1900 auto in pastel de turquoise and was originally owned from new by What Car magazine and was a long term staff car that regularly featured in the mags pages.

The previous owner to me had fitted a 3 litre essex and auto box to her that necessitated a Capri bonnet bulge grafting into the Manta hood to allow it to clear the carb and k+n air filter.

I ended up selling the heavy breathing Essex to a banger racer and broke a 2 litre Cavalier for its engine and 4 speed box to return it back to standard.

I wish i still had it today.

[Joey spud]

Sorry for the pants images but i owned these GTE's (one manual,one auto) at the same time around 2002,back then they were peanuts to buy.

KLA the manual one was a great car,again should of kept it but i sold them both to buy this one owner Datsun 120a coupe.