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Shugs increasingly solid Manta A project


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And good god its in some state! [:0]

Anything is fixable but, well, the pics speak for themselves:

back.JPG

badge_wing.JPG

battery_wing.JPG

boot_fuel.JPG

boot_suspension.JPG

carb.JPG

door_pin.JPG

driver_headlight_inner.JPG

driver_inner_wing.JPG

driver_sill.JPG

driver_wing.JPG

engine.JPG

engine_mount.JPG

engine_wheelarch.JPG

engine_wing_wide.JPG

front_shot.JPG

fuel_bottle.JPG

fuel_tank.JPG

interior.JPG

passenger_inner_wing.JPG

roof.JPG

rear_bumper.JPG

spare_wheel.JPG

suspension.JPG

under_engine.JPG

underbonnet.JPG

wheel_arch.JPG

Now some good points. Roof is solid. As is rear suspension tops in boot, around sunroof and transmission tunnel seems good. Axle and cross members took the weight of car when jacking with nothing giving way.

Bulhead looks good behind whats left of rubber stuff. Battery tray is savable.

Doors are held on with nails, not door pins. One door is solidish, and the drivers is possibly redeemable.

Only 34k miles! [:D]

Been offroad since 94.

I will sort it all, I will succeed, victory will be mine!!!! [:P]

(Your pity and accusations of insanity may now begin! [;)])

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Do you want a better shell ? seriously, lightly modified, already stripped, needs a few bits finishing but 100% better than that one, you could swop all the bits across from one to the other.

E-mail me for details, its not silly money either, in fact it a compete bargain because i need to get it gone as i have no storage space left.

I have always been here,

I have always looked out from behind these eyes.

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The panels alone to do the red shell up right would bankrupt you if you got them from DR manta.

If you tackle it sensibly though there is no reason why you cant have a really nice car at the end of it all, i decided to get two cars and make one good one, i had two reasonable shells though, the trim and glass was what i had problems with.

I have always been here,

I have always looked out from behind these eyes.

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The car is being kept at the missus's folks so storage isnt costing me.

I plan to completely strip it and see what it like. Theres a few local fabricators who will be able to help out I hope, and possibly even enlisting engineering department of local tech college!

I've been pondering modification of the whole front end to accomodate a larger engine.

I've got time, patience and a mate whose brother is a good welder and a mechanic and can be bribed with whisky!

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He'll be an alcoolic by the time he's finished. I've seen and owned a couuple of rough Mantas but that has to win some kind of award surely! Good luck!

79 SRB coupe - anyone know what a B230FT is?, 79 Cav saloon - 16v sleeper, 1986 GT/E hatch in red street camo colour scheme, 198? GT/E hatch - building from a bare shell to factory spec

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No guts, no glory! [:D]

When its restored, and it will be! (a good few years down the line) the sense of achievement will be immeasurable. My own personal everest [;)]

If i do get some stuff fabricated, might be able to get price down and help out others by getting a batch made.

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Where are you in the country ?

If you need any help or parts found then let me or one of the other A series lads (and ladette, hi Dawn) on here know, we can usually find most things but be warned A series stuff is a bit more expensive than b/c manta parts.

Good luck with the project, send me an e-mail with a phone number and i will give you a call about all the bits to look out for and suppliers, i am still doing mine so its all fresh in my head and note book !

I have always been here,

I have always looked out from behind these eyes.

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At the moment I'm comfortable with what needs done. More than enough I can get on with for a while anyway!

Its the parts supply I'll be needing the most help with!

Got an interesting folder with the car. It has parts/prices list for Manta A in this country. Its an old list so I'm not sure how many will still be about, but its worthy of investigation.

I'm sure I saw somewhere I could get 2 outer wings for around 150 quid in UK a wee while back. Of course, I cannae mind where I saw that!

I'm going to billing so I'll be over to bend some ears and catch a glimpse of what solid mantas look like!

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Just re-read my posts and want to say that i am not putting your new purchase down or saying it is not a good deal, just that having done a LOT of Manta re-builds on a semi pro basis i can see that you have a huge amount of work to get that right.

All the best with the mission, if you need tech help or help finding parts then you are in the right place.

I have always been here,

I have always looked out from behind these eyes.

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I knew I was in for a mission when I bought one. The scale of the mission was a little* surprising (*understatement!) but I didnt just buy one cos I wanted a Manta to drive, I wanted to build one. No doubt I'll have my moments of hating and cursing it.

To enjoy driving a car its not the destination, but the journey. I'm adopting the same attitude to the restoration. I'll appreciate it so much more at the end (or die trying! [:D])

Cheers for all the offers of help from ya all. You may come to regret it!

Any spares you spot, keep me in mind.

And one last thing, keep a close eye on your A series at billing! [;)]

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Give the manta fan a chance it may not be as bad as it looks? if he wants to spend the rest of his life restoring the car bit by bit then it's up to him......

All the best mate and hope it isnt so bad.

Gary

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  • 2 months later...

Been at it recently.

Plenty of pics but taken with my phone and the cable has been misplaced!

Suffice to say, I can guarantee the pics will provide a good wee chuckle!

I found clean pure solid metal as smooth as a babies bottom and not a hint of rust on passenger side sill.

There is a 2 foot section missing from the same side chassis leg tho!

Thought the accelerator peddle was wobbling a little before realising the part of body it was attached to was no longer solid. In fact, you can now see the front tyres from inside car since I removed the kick panels (made of cardboard)

Large chunks of filler have been torn out of what looked like solid body.

Transmission tunnel is flawless tho. Axles and fuel tank may well be savable.

I'd like to end up with more than just a few bits of glass and headlights!

Pics will follow when I find the cable for my phone!

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quote:Transmission tunnel is flawless tho. Axles and fuel tank may well be savable.


id="quote">id="quote">

If the fuel tank is savable its a miracle[:0], as far as I know they are meant to rot like stink!

I can fully understand where you are coming from with this project. Its the sort of madness I'd be at![:D]. To me the working at the car is more than half the hobby.

What standard do you hope to get the car back to? If you want a show winner you will need a fortune spent on it. If you want a usable, presentable car and can do a bit of fabrication yourself and have plenty of time you should be OK.

If only parts for these were as easy to get a hold of as MGs and Minis[V].

If what I say can be taken in 2 ways and one of those ways get you angry....I meant it the other way

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