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opel manta 400 ADZ4575


33019
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hi i thought i would put some pictures of my latest project as some of you know this has been rallied by simon crook untill  he rolled it earlier this year he had stripped it for repair but the regs changed so wouldnt be eligible for next year.

ive bought the car,and have started to straighten the shell out, the damage is quite extensive and if it wasnt for the fact that it had been prepared by gerry johnson who founded safety devices and every single panel has been seam welded together with large tunnel and group 4 5 linked it probably would have been easier to reshell.

a brief list includes;roof badly kinked above windscreen rear roof pillar flattened one front pillar flattened o/s rear wing badly crushed and top edge rolled over  o/s front inner wing rolled over n/s front inner wing bent down and when i measured the n/s front inner chassis rail there was a nearly a inch differance between the height

even the front suspension crossmember is badly twisted 

first job was to put the full cage back in to keep the  shell rigid especially as it ties in with the front suspension pick up points.

then cut off the entire front panel off back to  the inner wings then i removed the front suspension and bolted a 6x2 lenght of box accross the front then welded another lenght of box  to this which was also bolted to the rear suspension points this gave me a good point to jack up the front chassis once is was within a 1mm of its correct height i gave the kinks on the inner chassis rail  some gentle smacks with a hammer they dissapeared with it under tension. released the jack and all remained within a 1mm.used the same rig to jack the inner wing back in place.

ive put a few pictures up after the crash and strip down and will post some more as the rebuild continues

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thanks simon powell

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Nice to see you giving the car a new lease of life.

What are your plans for the car? Road, Rally, fast sprint?

I did a year on circuit with the Crookboys (2014) and Ian (Mechanic) and the car wanted for nothing and Ian was fantastic as the go to guy for anything to rebuild the car.

The car was quick and was on par with most of the Escort boys. It was beginning to show what it was capable off, just a pity it ended this way and then the regulations changed.

I have a write up off the car in rallying (2014) and some history of the car if you want a copy?

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plans for the car are a bit fluid i used to build/prepare/ service rally cars in the BTRDA in the late 80s early 90s so always wanted a 400 but only a proper rally car.

once the shell is sorted im planning various upgrades and only last week spent the day with chris birkbeck who owns WIA 5958 photographing and  measureing various bits.

i have managed to obtain a full set of rose jointed  ex works bilsteins off the guy who rebuilt the 2 ex works safari cars  so am modifying the front inner wings to works spec which are more robust and a bit more travel.

replacing all the front suspension crossmember/top and bottom wishbones to works tarmac spec which will be lighter and stronger as when i stripped the car both upper wishbones were cracked the crossmember was cracked and twisted .

400 spec dash also looking at getting some 8 inch 5 stud ronals made by cnc 

if youve got any history or photos i would be very interested thanks

 

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Nice project you have there, will be nice when finished. Am currently restoring a proper Ascona 400 rally car myself - some difference between a standard shell and proper historic shell in fairness.

Wondering what were the changes to the regulations that made it not eligible for next year for the previous owner ??

Edited by ascona400r
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plans for the car are a bit fluid i used to build/prepare/ service rally cars in the BTRDA in the late 80s early 90s so always wanted a 400 but only a proper rally car.

once the shell is sorted im planning various upgrades and only last week spent the day with chris birkbeck who owns WIA 5958 photographing and  measureing various bits.

i have managed to obtain a full set of rose jointed  ex works bilsteins off the guy who rebuilt the 2 ex works safari cars  so am modifying the front inner wings to works spec which are more robust and a bit more travel.

replacing all the front suspension crossmember/top and bottom wishbones to works tarmac spec which will be lighter and stronger as when i stripped the car both upper wishbones were cracked the crossmember was cracked and twisted .

400 spec dash also looking at getting some 8 inch 5 stud ronals made by cnc 

if youve got any history or photos i would be very interested thanks

 

I will PM you some info later on when I locate it on my computer.

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On ‎02‎/‎01‎/‎2016 at 9:57 PM, 33019 said:

 it probably would have been easier to reshell.

Though that would ruin the authenticity and mean a Q plate in the UK unless could buy a new "unmodified shell"

 

You can do a lot with some ingenuity and a "car spanner" I used to end up blocking cars up level and welding box section to the Opel jacks, one in each point and bolted to the floor and another on the front of the rails to jack them up or pull them down.  Or a long length of box with some brackets on to walk the front across a few inches, then take the tension off and re-measure in 24 hours

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hoping to have got a bit further on but still building garage as well any way some more pictures 

first is with the front panel removed.

second is after i set the car up on axle stands and had squared the four corners of the car so that the car was level to within a 1 mm thats when i discovered that the n/s chassis rail was low by an inch i bolted the girder accross the suspension points and then welded the girders to it  i also put a length or allthread  through both sides of the rear chassis pick up points and put a small amount of pressure with the bottle and then kept gently tapping the creases on the chassis rail when they went released the jack and it stayed there.moved all the girders further over and jacked the inner wing to match trial fitted the wing at this stage 

i have also started to roll the o/s inner wing back over using the same girder and a rachet puller. ill will take some more pictues next weekend 

all a bit heath robinson but it works

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Project images are available to Club Members Only, Click to become an OMOC Member.

Edited by 33019
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Good to see ADZ4575 is getting another chance! Saw her out driven by the Crooks last couple years, and boy did she go, driven properly too. Are you planning on restoring to FIA 400 Homoligation Regs in order to use in Historics? Or Clubman/BTRDA?

On 03/01/2016 at 11:32 AM, ascona400r said:

Nice project you have there, will be nice when finished. Am currently restoring a proper Ascona 400 rally car myself - some difference between a standard shell and proper historic shell in fairness.

Wondering what were the changes to the regulations that made it not eligible for next year for the previous owner ??

The changes made were that there is no longer a gravel championship for Pre '87 cars with an 'Open Class' formerly the RAC Rally Championship. Although the same organizers have now setup the RAC Historic Tarmac Championship which caters for 'FIA Homologated' 2WD cars upto '92.

Here's a photo of her before her accidents last season. Think there is an old thread with history of this car before Simon Crook bought it on here somewhere, will post link when I find it.

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Edited by Chappers11050
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  • 4 weeks later...

another update the o/s inner wing took a lot longer to get straight than i thought 

 

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the inner wing strenghtener was totally crumpelled and so drilled all the spotwelds and removed

thanks to the guys at retropower for allowing me accsess to a scrap shell and removed a good strengthener together with a roof /pillars and a o/s rear wing

on inspection of the front suspension which was fitted when crashed it was all scrap crossmember twisted and lower wishbones hole egg shape/both upper wishbones cracked

the bottom arms when crack detected with die penitrent also flawed.

a trip up to yorkshire to measure and photo a ex jimmy mcrae(matter shell}  car has also been done and im in the process of building completly new front suspension to proper group b spec including turreted rose jointed front shocks 

the guy who rebuilt the two safari cars a couple of years ago sold me a complete set of works rose jointed front and rear shocks and the guy who has the matter shell was getting the some new turetts manufacted for a customer in switzland so tagged on to the order 

 

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  • 1 month later...
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                         another update having got front end straight deccided to tackle roof next spent two weekends removing all the spotwelds and excess metal off the new roof and then started on the old roof good job retropower had done this on my other manta E100 OMM as i refer to the way they had done it

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roof in place still a bit of welding on the inner roof at the rear but will have to remove the rear cage so will have to leave that bit for now.

n/s rear wing had only a couple of dents in so knocked as much as i could out and put the arch on

o/s rear wing is another matter

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19 hours ago, 33019 said:

roof in place still a bit of welding on the inner roof at the rear but will have to remove the rear cage so will have to leave that bit for now.

n/s rear wing had only a couple of dents in so knocked as much as i could out and put the arch on

o/s rear wing is another matter

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Great work, it looks almost ready to paint!

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not quite ready for paint the offside rear wing had been in the wars before this latest crash some of the filler was 10mm thick the door shut wasnt in he right place it was creased down from the pillar and the rear light area had been folded over

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  • 1 month later...

the rear wing was a pain it took a lot of head scratching to get it to line up even now the door gap isnt right but i will have to live with that 

the rear spoiler sides were a very poor fit and the rear bumper was no were near started to think i had got the rear fit wrong so i took the rear bumper off my standard manta and it was just as bad not happy with it now but have to keep reminding myself it is a rally car

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  • 1 month later...

trip up north to pick up a huge amount of genuine works spares including a phase 3 back axle, complete front hubs with massive tarmac spec discs and calipers wheels and tyres including a full set of original tarmac split rims still with there original 1986 michelin tyres still on them 

8 full sets of rose jointed shock absorbers of which some are marked with scottish/sweden/cyprus/circuit of irleland 

15 sets of springs 

a lot of it is brand new but has suffered with being in a container since the 80s

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