Shopping for a Manta, but questions first!

[carolinatrophy]

First of all, greetings from a new member! My name is Paul and I live in the Charlotte, NC area.

I've always wanted a Manta, and now I think I'm going to find and buy one, and build it into an age-appropriate road rally car. Street legal, and looking very vintage throughout, but something that I can use on events like the Mountain Mille, Copperstate 1000, and my own event, The Carolina Trophy. (Shameless plug here - Carolina Trophy Vintage Road Rally.)

But before I buy one, I have some questions from the experts:

1) How is parts availability, and what are the sources in the USA for Manta parts? A quick google search didn't turn up much, and a couple of the cars I'm looking at need fairly substantial restoration...

2) In the same vein, is there anything that is nearly unobtainable that I should know about? I'd hate to buy a car with a bad exhaust manifold or something, only to find out later that Opel Manta exhaust manifolds have vanished from the earth. LOL

3) Since it's a road rally project, I'll be looking to fit period-appropriate wheels and suspension components, plus mild speed parts like exhaust and brakes and maybe some engine stuff like different carbs and camshaft. Is there anything I need to be aware of, like weird offset on the wheels that makes finding different wheels tricky, or good sources for performance of racing parts?

Anything at all you guys can tell me about the Manta that will help me avoid any pitfalls would be MOST appreciated, so thank you so much in advance!

And if anyone has a suitable Manta for sale, or knows of one, or bumps into one, please contact me!

Thank you,
Paul
(704) 351 2087
paul@carolinatrophy.com
The Carolina Trophy
America's Vintage Road Rally

[RallyBob]

Sheet metal is pretty much non-existant for these cars, that's the big concern. So get the most rust-free car you can afford, or get good at making patch panels!

Mechanically you're pretty much covered.

Although their name seems to suggest otherwise, Opel GT Source has all the mechanical parts you'd probably ever need. Trouble spots? Tranny parts, and rear differential parts are hard to come by. Easier to just swap out sub-assemblies to known good ones.

People on this forum have also been known to take things into their own hands, and place large orders for reproduction rubber parts direct from Germany.

Best of luck in your endeavor. Oh, and if you buy one Opel, you will end up owning more eventually.

[Phoenix]

Between OGTS and this sites ad board. You're pretty much covered. Like Bob said the window rubber pretty much has to come from Germany but there are people who can help you. This forum has a TON of info on it. Look into the 3.67 rear gear, 32/36, 38, SSD and DSD Carbs, ATS Classic wheels, and sprint manifold if not OGTS' new header. Pretty much anything Rallybob posts is like chapter and verse from his own Opel Bible. He knows his stuff. So look in his performance threads, I think half of them are sticky now.

Mantas are uncommon but not super rare. Finding one that's not too far gone maybe a little tough but they're out there just can take a little time and effort. Battery box is pretty much a given on them. Jack points go next.

This link should help. Not sure how far that you're willing to go to get one but there was a decnt looking one in Tuson on craigslist. Good luck. We love to see sorts of Opels so keep us posted and give us pics as work progresses.

[BMWonly]

There is a pretty decent Manta for sale in Northern CA:
1974 OPEL MANTA RALLEY 85K
I know it's a little far away from you (only about 1 1/2 hours from where I am), but might be a very good basis for what you are looking for.

Dieter

[knucklepanshovel]

there is a decent looking body Opel Manta for sale in VA shouldnt be but 150 to 200 miles away from you,

1971 Opel Manta 1900

here is most of the wording from the ad

$2000 This car has 6500 actual miles. car is from wisconsin so it has some rust under car. runs and drives like new
call 540-330-3961

I am new here myself, just bought a Kadette L wagon, I would probably look at that if I could afford it.

Later,
Randy

[carolinatrophy]

Thanks! I'm going to call on that Roanoke one tomorrow. I get nervous of rusty cars, but a good running a driving Rallye would be a cool place to start.

Thanks again for all the help!

[grslightng02]

Hey Carolina.... Welcome to Opel GT. COM!

Manta has the same 1.9 Liter motor and either 3speed auto, or 4 speed manual, or you can upgrade to 5speed Getrag. So the motor, transmissions, clutches, transaxles, brakes, radiators...etc are either interchangeable with other Opel models... or can be found through members online, or OpelGTSource.com. Keep in mind OGTS has an online catalog and CD catalog, but after having been to their warehouse I can tell you they also stock parts (new and used and reconditioned) that are not in the catalog.

I think the earlier answers from Rallybob and Phoenix were good advice. Make sure you find a sound clean bodied Manta. If it's not, you may consider buying it as a parts car, and keep looking for a cleaner one to restore.

I know it's far away, but my suggestion... take a look at this one in California. Looks very clean and the guy is asking a reasonable price. Many of our California cars have very little rust due to no snow and little rain. I know I'd buy this one real quick... I just don't have the cash right now.

1974 OPEL MANTA RALLEY 85K

http://www.opelgt.com/forums/general...raigslist.html

[BQS4]

Welcome to the Community, and as previously mentioned, once you start down this road there's no turning back... Seriously though, there is a REAL nice one owner in Kennesaw, GA. Other than some TLC, it needs a good motor. The original runs, but, has a problem. There's NO rust in this car, as I have checked it myself. Here's a thread on it with a few pictures:
http://www.opelgt.com/forums/general...rallye-ga.html

[Phoenix]

there is a decent looking body Opel Manta for sale in VA shouldnt be but 150 to 200 miles away from you,

1971 Opel Manta 1900

here is most of the wording from the ad

$2000 This car has 6500 actual miles. car is from wisconsin so it has some rust under car. runs and drives like new
call 540-330-3961

I am new here myself, just bought a Kadette L wagon, I would probably look at that if I could afford it.

Later,
Randy

Paint and fog lights make it look like a Manta Ralley but are the wheels correct? Is it a clone? Does it have the 3.67 rear end?

[RallyBob]

Paint and fog lights make it look like a Manta Ralley but are the wheels correct? Is it a clone? Does it have the 3.67 rear end?

Those wheels are correct for an early Rallye, yes.

[DennisGardiner]

there is a decent looking body Opel Manta for sale in VA shouldnt be but 150 to 200 miles away from you,

1971 Opel Manta 1900

here is most of the wording from the ad

$2000 This car has 6500 actual miles. car is from wisconsin so it has some rust under car. runs and drives like new
call 540-330-3961

I am new here myself, just bought a Kadette L wagon, I would probably look at that if I could afford it.

Later,
Randy

Hood should be a satin black (low-reflective) and the side stripes are incorrect (but easily corrected). Bumpers & bumperettes are correct. Rallye lamps appear also to be correct.

Some more info on the Manta Rallyes.
-4 speed rallyes came with the 3.67:1 rear differential
-automatic rallyes came with the 3.44:1 rear differential

[GoinManta]

If you get teh GA car, and need a motor I am in Richmond and have a good block and head.. it needs gaskets, rings and most of all bearings. It threw a bearing last year.. but overall looks rebuildable. I havent pulled the head to find out if its High compression or not. That said, it only had 30,000 miles when it spun the bearing (Rust and sat up too long). Best of all its free.. Was going to strip it and throw away the block. BTW.. thats true for anyone needing a motor contact me and its yours..

[AZManta]

First of all, greetings from a new member! My name is Paul and I live in the Charlotte, NC area.

I've always wanted a Manta, and now I think I'm going to find and buy one, and build it into an age-appropriate road rally car. Street legal, and looking very vintage throughout, but something that I can use on events like the Mountain Mille, Copperstate 1000, and my own event, The Carolina Trophy. (Shameless plug here - Carolina Trophy Vintage Road Rally.)

But before I buy one, I have some questions from the experts:

1) How is parts availability, and what are the sources in the USA for Manta parts? A quick google search didn't turn up much, and a couple of the cars I'm looking at need fairly substantial restoration...

2) In the same vein, is there anything that is nearly unobtainable that I should know about? I'd hate to buy a car with a bad exhaust manifold or something, only to find out later that Opel Manta exhaust manifolds have vanished from the earth. LOL

3) Since it's a road rally project, I'll be looking to fit period-appropriate wheels and suspension components, plus mild speed parts like exhaust and brakes and maybe some engine stuff like different carbs and camshaft. Is there anything I need to be aware of, like weird offset on the wheels that makes finding different wheels tricky, or good sources for performance of racing parts?

Anything at all you guys can tell me about the Manta that will help me avoid any pitfalls would be MOST appreciated, so thank you so much in advance!

And if anyone has a suitable Manta for sale, or knows of one, or bumps into one, please contact me!

Thank you,
Paul
(704) 351 2087
paul@carolinatrophy.com
The Carolina Trophy
America's Vintage Road Rally

You probably won't find one without a rusted battery tray, but check for collateral damage such as a rusted frame rail or badly damaged inner fender. There are repair kits available for the battery tray. Mantas through 1974 are very similar mechanically. 1975 Mantas come with larger front brakes, fan clutch, "sprint" exhaust manifold, wider wheels, and fuel injection. The fan clutch parts are hard but not impossible to get. My 1974 Manta has been upgraded to the '75 cooling set-up for quieter running and better cooling, but I must admit to keeping a spare water pump around.
High mileage Mantas are prone to cracks in key areas of the front suspension, for example: Lower control arms at the inner bushings and the crossmember in the same area. Also the bolt-on frame member to the rear of this assembly. The improvements to the 1975 Manta can be bolted on to the older Mantas quite easily, but be aware that these are one year only parts.
Tom

[hrcollinsjr]

Older Manta or 1900/Ascona with the smaller bumpers might be preferable to the later models with large bumpers due to weight. The smaller bumpers can be retrofitted for weight reduction if you find a good '74 or '75 car.

The battery box rusting was mentioned but I didn't notice if anyone mentioned that the fuse panel is just below it. This sometimes causes issues.

Ooooner is on this list and lives just a few minutes from Lowes Motor Speedway. He is a long time GT owner and more recently a Manta owner. Roy, aka. Ooooner, lives just off Hwy. 3 not far from Earnhart Lake Rd.

Harold