Dave Ward Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Hello Time to introduce myself. My name is Dave Ward and I am lucky enough to own most of an A series 1.9SR. I bought the car in 2016 with the engine removed, partially dismantled, some pieces missing and a distributor made entirely of corrosion. I rejoined the OMOC in November 2016, rejoined as I have previously owned an A series back in the 90’s. I had to sell that one to help fund my first house but always wanted another. (“Nothing is worse than an itch you can’t scratch” to quote Blade Runner.) Anyway this one seems to be in quite good shape for its age, some rot in the sills, rear arches, front wings, scuttle panel and L/H floor pan. Also when I bought it the vinyl roof was bubbling and the roof would crunch under your thumb when pressed so I knew areas of the roof were rotten. The plan at the moment is to sort the shell out and then decide which way to go regarding power and drive train. My first choice is to use a 2.5/2.6 Omega as a donor car. I know that this will not be straight forward but I’m no stranger to an angle grinder and welder. I know I can’t use the Omegas front suspension as the Mantas inner wings aren’t strong enough for Mcpherson struts without a whole lot of shell strengthening but I think I’ve read somewhere that Carlton vented discs and calipers will fit onto the original hubs. I want to keep the original wheels. Together with potentially uprated front springs this should sort out the major front end issues. I’m hoping to use the Omegas rear suspension and drive narrowed down and adapting the Manta to suit. I should point out that this plan is at a very early stage and I will be buying a donor car and doing a lot of measuring before any decision is made. I just like the idea of opening the bonnet and there still being a G.M. engine and drivetrain in place. The car is currently stripped out to a shell and up on stands ready for the rust to be cut out. I’d be interested to know if anyone has tried anything like this before and what you think. I have seen pictures of a V6 in an A series but I think that came out of a Vectra. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cam.in.head Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 I think carlton /rekord 2.2 discs and calipers will be a direct fit to existing set up .(not sure about later mk3 carlton? ) and maybee even senator 'A' or monza types too. They did all have 14" wheels thou so not sure about clearance if you plan to use 13" ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
®evo03 Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Rostyles wont fit if you use 2.2 disk, with a mk3 cav gsi caliper. But 8 x 13 inch ats classics will! Not sure if another caliper will fit this disk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cam.in.head Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 what if you use carlton 2.2 caliper ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robah Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 The best person to talk to is Mantaray on the forum, he is the one with the V6 in the A Series. The Omega and Vectra V6 engines are the same, just different air inlet system. Vectra inlet system I think is a lower profile, but I could be wrong. Best going for 2.5 as 2.6 is fully electronic unless you understand all those electrical things. If you get the equivalent Vectra GSi engine (cams different) it produces around 197BHP (standard 170BHP). The 3.0 and 3.2 Litre engines are also the same size with the latter being electronic, they push out around 220BHP for 3.2 litre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
®evo03 Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 (edited) Not sure about 2.2 caliper, will it bolt to and manta? Without mods. Basically the back of the rostyle has ribs in it, the ats classic doesnt. I tried the rostyle on a standard manta, 2.2 disk, gsi caliper, inside of the rim fouls the caliper, i cant imagine the 2.2 caliper being any slimmer, but as said, not sure. Below is same setup 2.2 disk and gsi cav caliper Ats classic wheels look better Edited February 25, 2018 by ®evo03 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sutty2006 Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 On 23/02/2018 at 11:09, cam.in.head said: I think carlton /rekord 2.2 discs and calipers will be a direct fit to existing set up .(not sure about later mk3 carlton? ) and maybee even senator 'A' or monza types too. They did all have 14" wheels thou so not sure about clearance if you plan to use 13" ? The mk3 carlton is 5 stud so they wont work. Im pretty sure the 2.2 mk2 caliper bolt pattern is the same as the manta bolt pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANTAMAN Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Bigger front calipers throws up another issue, they have bigger pistons meaning the master cylinder needs to be bigger with some form of restriction to the rear brake cylinders, the ideal three outlet ( a rare type ) master cylinder is from a Monza / Royale / Senator A, something that is very hard to find these days. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
®evo03 Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 If you could find a relatively flat rim without the rostyle ribs, you could make rims, the whole centre can be removed from the rostyle or flat bands put in to remove ribs, you gonna have to get hold of a 2.2 caliper, if u can find 1! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Ward Posted February 26, 2018 Author Share Posted February 26, 2018 Thanks to all for the information and knowledge given, this stuff is like gold dust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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