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1978 Manta Sr Berlinetta - Australian Version!


GTREA
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So after lurking on this site for about 5 years I have finally bought a Manta!

You may have seen it on eBay, and its currently in Glasgow Scotland

$T2eC16ZHJGUFFhyt2sCNBRi6ODOnbw~~60_12.J$(KGrHqJHJE0FF1giFgv3BRi6OCGJ(!~~60_12.J

$T2eC16VHJHYFFkZ5VomnBRi6OJ3OjQ~~60_12.J$T2eC16RHJI!E9qSO8m0zBRi6OLcJv!~~60_12.J

The owner appears to be a man of few words, so all i really know is he has had it for the last 5 years, it has had a full brake overhaul and the Weber carby replaced, on his last MOT he also had an advisory item mentioning the nearside front coil spring was corroded

I figure if its passed its last MOT ok....the car should be 'relatively' ok........Right!? :)

Plans for the car include....

1. Getting it to Australia!

2. Fixing rust - respray (Hopefully not a strip to bare shell overhaul!)

3. Keep car original inside and out

4. neaten neaten neaten

5. Fit a late model efi auto V8

6. Uprate the suspension and brakes, whilst not effecting point #3

I grew up in the UK (Saltburn - Cleveland) and Dad bought a new 1978 Ascona SR Berlina which is the car I credit with my car addiction, so holds a very sentimental value....hence this purchase :)

The Mrs is not entirely happy with this as we do have a few cars at our house already (clicky) but she did come home with another Dog last week so fairs fair I reckon!

Edited by GTREA
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fair play to ya wounder is there many mantas down under now with the mass emegration down there .i think a friend of mine looked into getin a car shipped over think it was around 1500 euro

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I dont know but at this stage these are the ONLY Manta B's i know of in Australia.....and I have been on the look out on a very regular basis for many years

I understand this one is coming to Perth from Ireland atm
IMGP0007.jpg
This one is in Queensland already
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And I Saw this one advertised for sale with Rover V8 4 years ago in South Australia
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Other than that I know of NO other Manta B's in Australia
OPEL has only entered the Australian market this year for the 1st time ever...so it may bring a few more out of the woodwork?
Edited by GTREA
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There is one on the Gold Coast, he was on here a while back needing parts after being rear ended.

That's him above 86 GTE

I managed to send him over a boot lock.

According to him there is his car and one other he knows about

Both coupes.

Edited by opelmantagsi
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  • 3 weeks later...

The Orient Blue (petrol green!) GTE Coupe belongs to Andy Wheelan and there is a a Monaco Blue Coupe belonging to Steve Poulden, both of whom emigrated to Oz from Milton Keynes, must say something about Milton Keynes !

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ship has finally sailed....44 days though, damn, gunna miss my birthday by 3 days frown.gif

Click link and enter 'MAERSK' and container no: MSKU8842510

http://www.searates.com/container/tracking/

Looks like its currently in the english channel...the wonders of modern technology!

Also ordered 2 x Manta SR stickers for my boot lid (2 as I will no doubt mess the first attempt up!) from Thomas at http://www.edelschmiede.com/ who is a really nice and helpfull bloke ;)

249_eA.jpg

Edited by GTREA
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I have been looking at Number plate options for the last few weeks
These were my favourites.
download6_zps2fb51be0.pngdownload5_zps2da88eff.png
download1_zpsfaf0accf.pngdownload4_zpsc579aa6b.png
download2_zpsf741b9a3.pngdownload3_zps22a3f9c2.png
Then I realised I could have the plates from my Dads old Ascona, which I have never forgotten all these years
download9_zps923abc43.png
..................Then I realised today I can actually have the same number plate as what is on the car now
download7_zps5415545b.png
$T2eC16ZHJGUFFhyt2sCNBRi6ODOnbw~~60_12.J
I think its a no brainer really!
With number plates here we have a range of different styles you can have, you can design, choose, and see if available from the Government website here *Clicky*
Edited by GTREA
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  • 5 weeks later...

Strange the suspension and stickers arrived within an hour of each other today :)

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The car itself arrives on the 13th September, but will no doubt spend a week or so on the docks as they fanny arse about :(

Edited by GTREA
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  • 3 weeks later...

The eagle has landed!

Well, its in the Customs warehouse at least............

Bit rougher than I thought / was expecting....I think the photos the seller used in the eBay add were probably from when he first bought it.

But never mind, it is what it is and im pretty excited right now :)

I was a bit cheeky and even though customs have not cleared the car yet I asked to have a look inside the warehouse (which incidentally is only 5 minutes from my home!), guys here were very helpfull, and I got a few happy snaps, but he was going to lunch so did not want to mess him around or make him wait to much.

Here's the (dodgy) pics

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9911100586_fb15948927_b.jpg

9911133324_8e5b0028bb_b.jpg

9911025135_6f685e595d_b.jpg

So what do you reckon Manta experts!?

On a scale of 1 to Lancia Beta how rusty is it?

And where do you reckon its gone?

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Yeah.

I was hoping to tidy it up a little, get it licensed here in Perth first, maybe drive it a bit then get to work on it.....but I dont think thats going to happen, straight off the road with this one I reckon.

Soon as I get it home it will be covered in CRC and Penetrating oil thats for sure!

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Well Lindsay, looking at the front sub frame you just have to be realistic, it's a 1979 car.

I have a pretty good idea of where the areas of concern will be, and a quick romp through this site or Retropower or Mantasport web site, will give you an idea of where to start looking. I think there is only going to be one way to approach this and that's the right way....dare I say a bare shell rebuild? I know that might sound as nuts as it did the first time I considered it myself, but it ended being the reality of what I was looking at. And now it's all about moving forward rather than looking back. Not sure even now if I am sane in doing what I have done on this side of the world, but hey oh here we are, two and a bit years on for me and I am only now ending the repair stage.

Edited by opelmantagsi
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I think your right about the photos used on ebay. Check all the areas Mantas are known to rust in as the outside shots confirm the usual areas have already been got at. Maybe the floors will be better but unfortunately until you get her apart you will never know the full extent of the rot.

Good luck, look forward to watching the progress.

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It looks like your standard tired old Manta. If you were looking for a minter you could have held off and waited to ship a beauty out there, the cost of resto will probably be more than spending 4k on an excellent one (and I've no idea how much it cost to ship it out to you) unless you are like me, and the pleasure of doing the work is a big part of the fun!, If I was you I would tart it up with a massive clean, paint those wheels and get it running, brakes etc and roadworthy . Smoke it round for a year and enjoy it! It will still look the part on the road and I'm guessing the climate will be kind to it. Thing is, these old ones hang together pretty well and I bet there's plenty of life left in the old girl yet. I've saved far worse and had great fun in the finished product. If you can enjoy it a bit now before you pull it to bits you will have some memories to look forward to when the full on restoration is complete. Let us know how you get on it looks like it could be a really great car. Good luck on your mission.

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having a fair idea of what happens in NZ to get a used imported car registered for the road here I think you may have the same issues in AU as we get in NZ.

I recently saw a 3 year old Mazda 6 which was broken for spares after being imported to NZ and rust found at the jacking points and sills, any sign of rust or dodgy historic collision repairs at arrival and its a no go on our roads, its as harsh as that. Might be a bit easier in AU, hopefully it is. As stradacab suggests if you can get it through compliance and are able to use it that would be the best result before deciding what to do. Hopefully you remain positive about the car, I have some parts here in NZ if your stuck.

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