waveydavey Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I am just trying to clarify the facts as there are so many versions of this. After reading so much about the job, I embarked on what I thought would be a quick turnaround, at this point I must mention I am 45 and have been a mechanic and MOTer all my working life. I will just list what is fact and what is myth (in my humble opinion) and also mention the problems I have come across. The main problem nowadays as we all know is that there are very few good scrap yards and any there are only have recent stuff so I try to have everything before I start, not enough though.. I actually swapped the engines in a day with no stress or fuss, I unbolted the 1.8, lifted it and dropped on the floor in little over an hour without breaking sweat. swapped the sump and pickup, flywheel and engine mounts. Sump and engine mounts to red top, no problems. Manta flywheel 6 bolt, redtop flywheel 8 bolt...luckily the boltholes line up for the manta clutch on the redtop flywheel, I had already bought a new spigot bearing so that end done. The 1.8 clutch is 1" less in diameter than the red top so I'll wait to see what happens under load!! engine in. Absolutely no room at all for original early dizzy without cutting up the heater box, no way. cant speak for later style pickup. Not bothered anyway, had already made a blanking plug for dizzy hole. At this point I'll mention I'm old school, it's getting a conventional dizzy and twin 40's. "Just use the bracket and dizzy off the 1.8" absolute tosh. where the bracket is supposed to fit I don't really know, I've seen them advertised for this purpose on ebay and always wondered, anyway I got to find out when I removed mine off the 1.8 and held it to the redtop. MYTH. There is nowhere to bolt it there are 4 boltholes on the bracket and nothing in the redtop head, not only that but there is not enough space between the back of the pulley and head, even if you where to start drilling and tapping. and if somehow you did 2 of them would be going into the cam cover. I am currently cutting the dizzy bracket down and making a bracket to fit it into situ, will keep you posted and show photos.. "Use the top pulley of the 1.8 to drive the dizzy" Yes it fits!!! and the belt is the same profile...unfortunately the 1.8 pulley is narrower and so the cam belt will be over hanging the edges. Maybe (in my opinion) this will cause premature wear by digging into the belt, cam belt problems make me uneasy as I have seen many cambelt failures and some have been totally catastrophic. My solution to this is, I'm going to stick it in the lathe and machine the small gear out of the pulley and flatten the seat out where it sits on the camshaft. thus it can just be bolted onto the original redtop pulley through the original bolthole, using the existing bolt too, it's plenty long enough. I will add to as I go along The twin 40's and manifold seem to just clear the servo, will let you know. The standard redtop 4 branch and 1.8 downpipe seem as though they might match up with a little work, I want to use a standard exhaust to keep the noise down (I'm not 19 any more) will let you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymanc Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 http://www.opelmanta16v.4mg.com/ plenty of other info in projects section and members section Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickappy Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 1800 clutch wont last 200 yards.. its poxy. i use the c20let clutch on both mine.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rutts Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 (edited) don't forget to put a blank in exhaust cam oil delivery for dizzy. MUST DO NOT MYTH use an astra gte mk1 dizzy in it which is best for carbs route. DEFINATLY NOT MYTH (unless you go mapable ignition then it could look like a myth) brackets are available from bigcliff I have one. FUCKIN BEUTIFUL NOT MYTH made of dogs do dahs aircraft grade alloy. 1.8 dizzy just fits perfect when used. DEFINATLY BEUTIFUL NOT MYTH I have killed animals for a living for 32 years and know what works and not myth. Edited May 31, 2014 by rutts 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rutts Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 (edited) twin forties will power the 16v but could restrict top end flow. use 36-38mm chokes. if you get a copy of the weber and dellorto carb tuning book it gives you a very good starting point for jets for either of the make of carb mentioned above. I think I have a spinner plate for the 16v to manta box unless its too late? Edited June 1, 2014 by rutts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waveydavey Posted May 31, 2014 Author Share Posted May 31, 2014 Read fully, then comment, this reminds me of youtube! Just waiting for an American to tell me how he saved our asses during the war now. Why they looked after the donkeys I don't know we had more pressing problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantadoc Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 "Just use the bracket and dizzy off the 1.8" absolute tosh. where the bracket is supposed to fit I don't really know, I've seen them advertised for this purpose on ebay and always wondered, anyway I got to find out when I removed mine off the 1.8 and held it to the redtop. MYTH. There is nowhere to bolt it there are 4 boltholes on the bracket and nothing in the redtop head, not only that but there is not enough space between the back of the pulley and head, even if you where to start drilling and tapping. and if somehow you did 2 of them would be going into the cam cover. I am currently cutting the dizzy bracket down and making a bracket to fit it into situ, will keep you posted and show photos... I've seen plenty of cars over the years using the modified 1.8 mounting bracket, unfortunately a lot of the older knowledge on how to do this stuff no longer exists on the forum, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mantadoc Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Just waiting for an American to tell me how he saved our asses during the war now.Erm they did mate. You have seen churches with all the railings cut off? That was because there was no metal left in this country to use to make anything to fight with without the US helping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicsManta Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Sorry for my possible lack of knowlege but how are twin 38s have better flow than twin 40s. I would accept that the 38s would have better low down torque but in the end of the day larger intake diamiter and choke diamiter (of course not silly sizes) the better higher up the rev range, and the shorter the inlet manifold the better the power higher up the rev range but if you want torque I would stay with longer inlet manifold and the 40s (or the common favourate 45s) and then sort out the jetting later. Im normaly a fan of more torque because as long a the torque covers enough of the rev range then its more usable and you can use higher gears and get good performance if you are on a longer journey, but on the other hand it wll have good acceleration off theline. If I was going to do compitition races then I would defenatly go for a higher (in the rev range) power. but like anything its personal choises and opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rutts Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 where does it say use 38mm carbs ?. my reply says use chokes 36-38mm. 40s are good for a road car, as the original post says he is trying to do a good conversion exploring the truth and myth on way things get portrayed on "how to do" a 16v conversion. clutches 1.8 no good ? depends how much hassle you give it. turbo plate good? I had one in mine and had problems. used an uprated GTE plate and 16v uprated cover. eventually settled on a five pad competition clutch which never let me down. ( C+G clutches in Leeds). jetting I always try to find a good starting point just so I can have a little drive round to test everything is ok so opt for rich side. unless you have a local rolling road with all the jets/emulsion tubes/pump jets in stock. if you have an old computer running windows XP Dave Andrews has a program that will give you a starting point for jets and emulsion tubes and choke recommended sizes. I used it three times now and its been very close to the finished set up at RE performance centre bury. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicsManta Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 sorry for any misundersanding rutts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waveydavey Posted June 1, 2014 Author Share Posted June 1, 2014 As I said I'm 45 I've done with lighting up tyres and handbrake turns. I just want a bit more poke than either of the standard options. I did fast cars in my 20's. How would cutting railings down help donkeys during a war? unless you are trying to free them that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick-Manta Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 I didn't jerk off last night MYTH 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nosmanta Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Guys, I'm in the process of using a type9 bell for my Xe conversion. I seem to be missing a plastic thingy at the pivot pin end of the release fork. What do you call it and where can I get one? I seem to have misplaced mine. Cheers! Kind regards, Mario Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkysmanta Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 If you want to keep the look of the engine by using the dizzy at the back of the engine I've gone down the route if a polo heater much smaller and compact and gives you the room at the back of the engine, check my build thread for pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waveydavey Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 I have now finished it and it runs fine, I made my own dizzy bracket and used the 1800 dizzy, I have later pulleys on the engine and have machined the manta centre pulley to fit. the manta one is too narrow for the belt (in my opinion) I modified the FWD exhaust manifold, it took a day and a half as I had to make it 2 pieces to mate to the standard system. the standard radiator is running a fan off a vectra and is coping well. The standard 1800 clutch is coping fine, I have spun the wheels up a couple of times and no probs. the 40's only just clear the servo, when I get some more enthusiasm I will make an air box to deaden the induction noise a bit. It is possible to do without spending a fortune if you have patience and aren't trying to win any competitions. I will post some pics and more details later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony g Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Looking forward to seeing the pics WD Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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