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Opel Manta 2.0L Injection (GT/E Spec) £3800 ovno


The General
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Sale of Opel Manta 2.0 Injection (GT/E Specification)

 

PRICE: £3800 ovno

 

All images of the car and spares/restored parts at: http://www.marlinfishing.co.uk/manta

Contact : Bill on :07554434151 or use messaging system

 

Welcome to a very reluctant sale of my Opel manta 2.0L Injection. Notice I don’t call it a GT/E as this car started life out as a 1.8S Berlinetta.

 

I have Known all but the first two owners of this vehicle, and I even by chance know the original salesman of the car as he remembers the first owner purchasing the vehicle back in 84 .. He has a better memory than me!

 

I remember my dads friend showing me the car in Widows motors of Cheltenham showroom window. After He purchased the car and run it for 4 years he offered it to my father for sale. My father was the previous owner and although the V5 shows former keepers as 5, I am one of these keepers as a change of address for some reason increased the keeper number by mistake as can been seen on the V5 document!

 

In 1994 When my dad retired he gave me the car because he could not afford to run two vehicles. I ran the car for 6 months and then put it in for MOT and it failed on N/S outer passenger sill. After closer inspection the sill was the least of the problems and in 1995 a full body restoration was undertaken by Bristol Street Motors of Cheltenham. Only original GM body parts were used and the parts list are as follow:

 

  • New front Wings

  • New inner wing edges

  • New inner and outer door skins

  • New sills

  • Jetex Exhaust system

  • New Quad Headlamp Conversion

  • New Irmscher 3 piece boot spoiler

  • Astra GT/E Bonnet vents flush fitted to the manta bonnet (my father did these to perfection)

  • 15” TSW Evo's with 195 – 55 R15 Avon Turbospeed's (Which are still on the car)!!!

  • Yamex uprated Lowering kit -50mm

 

The bill for all this work including a total respray was about £3500. The car was run for about 18 months and then I decided to do a mechanical restoration on the vehicle and in 1997 it was garaged. I purchased a 'E' registered manta GT/E removed the Engine Etc. from the car and uprated the car to its current specification. At the time I was running a business dismantling Opels so parts were plentiful (hence the spares I have with the car). The mechanical restoration was cut short due to my parents having to sell the house where the garage was, but the engine was stripped and rebuilt with new parts including:

 

  • GM piston rings (standard size)

  • GM duplex cam chain

  • GM cam chain tensioner

  • OEM approved stem oil seals

     

It was also found that the under body repairs done by Bristol Street Motors was not that fantastic It was always my intention to strip the car down again when my own garage was complete and when time allowed to complete the job started back in 1997. Nevertheless the car was MOT'd and taxed but was only run for 400ish miles.

 

The car remained garaged and in 2012 I started to plan the restoration, although not essential to respray I found a sprayer that would do a full respray including inside and under body for £2000. I completely stripped the car ready for this, but now I have been diagnosed with sciatica and I find it hurts to scrabble around on hard floors. Yes im gutted and as much as I would like to I can't see me finishing the restoration on this car.

 

 

 

The Bodywork

 

The body is in fantastic order and given a professional polish would be as good as a respray! The front valance (See Images) is original and completely rust free. The front lighting bulkhead is rust free. The car was under sealed when the car was sprayed in 1996, and it has saved it. The swan necks are in very good order (See Images). The doors are completely rust free I’m sure there are no doors like it anywhere in the world! the undersides of doors are like new (see images). The boot floor has very very light surface corrosion in places but is very solid. The battery tray and washer bottle areas are solid, but with very light surface corrosion.

 

 

Bodywork Bad Bits

 

  • welding needs finishing in the passenger foot well

  • N/S possible jacking point, but might get away with a repair

  • finishing N/S rear quarter

  • O/S Rear quarter needs bottom edge repair Panel. (obtainable on Ebay)

  • O/S drivers foot well needs very light repair (see images)

 

Mechanical

 

The car ran until I took it apart in 2012. I started it every couple of months and moved it in and out of the garage to keep things moving and working. The Engine had approximately 75000 miles on it before the strip and rebuild. My intention was to once again rebuild the engine, but to bore it and put in new valve seats and guides (although not necessary). The car does not have hardened valve seats, I used fuel additives. The Rear engine oil seal needs replacing, these are about £15. I would also buy a bearing sleeve for from a local supplier for the new seal to run on, but that would be up to you. The engine makes good compression, and revs very fast and freely due to the flowed head.

 

The gearbox was in fine order with no clicking syncros. Back axle and torque tube and prop shaft were fine when I last drove the car in the year 2000!

 

The front bushes on the suspension system were upgraded to nylon. I found these to hard for road use. I have included in the sale a complete set of wishbones with standard bushes in to replace them with.

 

Interior

 

The Interior is an ‘Exclusive interior and very very high quality with no collapsed bolsters. When you sit in the Recaros they hold you like new seats. The complete interior has been stored since 2012 indoors. It is the one you want, Chicago grey with red piping. Irmscher 3 Spoke steering wheel which has been recovered finish the interior off nicely.

 

 

 

Spares / Restored Parts

 

I have quite a few restored and new parts which all will be sold with the vehicle. Included in the sale is an unmolested Manta 400 bonnet, exclusive rear bumper (see images on site). Restored Brake callipers with new seal kit, unused 3 core Re-cored radiator. See the Gallery images site for full information.

 

 

Summary

 

So what are you getting? Well you not buying a load of rubbish that needs lots of work. To see what this car looked like before the strip-down look at the “Before Stripdown” album on the gallery site. The car is stripped down but 99.9% complete so its not a £1500 heap that needs £5000 spent on it with 25 years of mud to clean off!

 

It needs some mild repair work, and then rebuilding and its nearly all there with no rare bits to find. It will need a new exhaust and tyres as the side walls have perished on them, but they still hold air. I also junked the under carpet insulation as this started to disintegrate and it holds water like a sponge, but the fibre alternative costs about £30 on Ebay to replace it with. I would replace the clutch plate while in this dissembled state, but it does have a good clutch plate if you wanted to use it! The water pump developed a leek, but I have a new one ready to go on. And also the afore mentioned rear engine oil seal (this can be done without dismantling the engine).

 

Please look at the images at the link given at the top of the page as they say more about the car than the text! If you are interested in a looking at the car with a view to purchase or would like some more info please contact me through the messaging system or on 07554434151 and ask for “Bill”. The car is located in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire.

 

Obtaining a Manta project in this condition is rare, and these cars a starting to appreciate nicely and I have priced this car accordingly being mindful of condition and state of disassembly. Saying that I am open to offers, but please nothing silly ;-) ..

 

N.B: The car is sold as a restoration project which needs assembly and all parts and the car will be sold as seen. I would consider shipping the car abroad and would be willing to prepare the car and parts for collection by an international logistics agent on completion of payment.

Edited by The General
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  • 4 weeks later...

I Have removed this car from sale at the moment. I Have decided at this time to try and complete the project( I am on mega pain killers)!!! Thank-you all for all the kind messages. I will be selling the car once complete so watch this space!!

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Pleased that you have decided to keep her (at least for the time being). Is it has such a great family history. Good write up too, wish everyone took that care and attention! Good luck with it and I hope you are on the mend soon. 

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