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Simon
Peckham - Opel Manta Series A
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HOW TO MODIFY: Opel Manta Series A Words Simon Charlesworth, Photos David Wigmore |
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Think
’70s blue-collar coupé and most people will jabber on about
the
Capri, but there is an alternative from the GM boys — the first Opel Manta. |
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Pros:
Affordable Euro version of the pony-car which out-handles the real thing.
Cons: Parts are getting rare and expensive, which is a pity because these cars rust. |
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What reason could General Motors have possibly had when they the decision to build the first Opel Manta in 1970? Simple: the Ford Capri. Indeed, looking at both cars' launch dates - 1969 for the Capri and 1970 for the Manta, it was for any manufacturer tocook up a car in just one year. However having seen the Capri's huge success there was no way they were going to miss out on the action by axing their 2 + 2 coupe project. Opel
denied it was a knee-jerk reaction to Project Colt, saying that their
own marketing brains had come to the same conclusions as Ford’s.
There was a hole in their range between the hum-drum saloon and the
sassy Opel GT. Just
before Chuck Jordan waved so-long to his buddies at Opel to join GM
in the US, he styled an attractive four-seat fastback which combined
the best of European GTs with American pony-cars. As far as styling
went, it wasn’t compromised. It was a completely new design which
owed nothing to any other production Opel. It was also decorated with
the minimum amount of trim to accentuate those slinky lines. Yep,
as far as ’70s man was concerned, it When the Manta hit the UK showrooms in 1970, punters could choose between Deluxe (L) and the Rallye (SR) — either the 68 bhp 1.6, the higher compression 80 bhp 1.6, or the 90 bhp 1.9-litre engine (which were all five-bearing, chain-driven OHV designs). The brakes, meanwhile, came from the Rekord, as did the four-speed’s gear ratios (well, the Sprint model anyway). Steering was by rack and pinion; the double wishbone coil-sprung front suspension was new; and the rear tolerated a live axle sprung by progressive coils, located by trailing arms and Panhard rod. On the Continent a 1.2-litre engine was available. Joining the L and SR models in 1972, the Berlinetta offered up some essential extras such as the 1.9-litre engine, a rev-counter, sports wheels, a vinyl roof, and also a choice of sunroof (steel or Webasto). Two years later, in 1974, the Luxus limited edition model was launched. It was similar to the Berlinetta but was only available in Signal red. Other interesting Manta evolutions included the fuel-injected GT/E model — left-hand drive only, and the TE2800 Manta, which was brewed up by Transeurop Engineering in Belgium. Under its fibreglass bonnet lurked Opel’s 2.8-litre straight sixcylinder engine which pumped out 142 bhp (a 230 bhp, triple carb’d engine was an option too). Suspension was uprated and stiffened, a ZF five speed gearbox was optional, a front spoiler assembly was fitted and extended wheelarches were among its list of features. However, just in case you thought that the UK market was not invited to the tuning party, a turbocharged model was launched, based on the 1.9-litre carb engine with a Holset turbo stuck on the end. It was developed and built by Broadspeed and the UK’s Dealer Opel Team. Sadly, only 28 of these black, bespoilered creatures were ever built. Although nearly five million Series A’s were built for markets all around the world, it’s a rare sight in the UK. This is a crying shame because, unlike many of GM’s current tinware, the original Manta is a goodlooking car which understands what good handling is all about. The only problem is that big engine bay. It certainly could do with some more power inside it. |
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Engine |
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| Brakes Aside from fitting twin brake servos, uprated fancy fluid, pads and braided brake hoses to the A’s stock disc and drum set-up, there are other ways to go about helping the Manta’s stopping power. Up front, you could either go for a set of Manta B callipers on the existing discs (or even go for vented discs from a GT/E), because they bolt straight on and offer a larger pad area. Alternatively, you can swap the discs for Carltonvented components and fit four-pot callipers from the Volvo 240 (it had to be useful for something). Meanwhile, astern, a rear conversion is relatively easy to do. You could either fit some Vectra four-stud front discs or Astra discs with a couple of Astra rear callipers putting the squeeze on. Oh and while we’rein the area, if you have gone for rear discs, then it’s probably wise to leave some cash aside for a set of 14 inch wheels, because 13 inch ones won’t clear the callipers. Anyway, they should be shown off and not hidden behind pokey 13 inch steels. |
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| Suspension Heavy-duty fiddling with the Manta’s suspension is a no-no because the castor and camber are set in, well, iron. This is because of the length of the wishbones — unless you’re a handy engineer who is not afraid of balljoints and a lot of work. Of course, by lowering the car (lowering springs are still available and a good move because the A is a bit tail-endy and loose at the rear) you will end up with a small increase in negative camber anyway. This should give you more front end grip, especially with larger wheels bolted under the arches, but this will eradicate all signs of understeer making it more of a point-and-go motor. Rear end’s not great, so this one features all-independent set-up. Uprated brakes available, but you need bigger rims. |
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| Although you may have a problem with getting a final-drive ratio which you are happy with, there’s a 3.67:1 or a 3.44:1. Opel used to do a 3.18:1 in the Kadett, but these are rare and can cost — particularly if you’re tempted by an LSD with a 3.18:1 crownwheel and pinion (they go for around £500 in Germany). Limited-slip diffs are available with the 3.44:1 axles from the later B/C Manta. It’s a straight swap, but the back axle casing is one inch wider than the A-Series so that will affect your rear wheels’ offset by half an inch either side. Of course, there is another way to avoid all these shenanigans, but it does take a lot of skill, balls and ingenuity. Perhaps you could just get hold of the owner of the Manta pictured here — Simon Peckham, because this man has fitted a limited-slip diff from a 24-valve Vauxhall Carlton. | |||
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Exterior |
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| Interior Things are normally left pretty stock in here because it’s such a great snapshot of the ’70s. Having said that, the one mod which is quite common (in particular with Berlinettas because their crushed velour trim falls to pieces), is to rip out those slidy front seats and fit a set of Recaros from a Manta C. These can then be retrimmed to match with the rest of the interior. As for the rear, things can’t be uprated from later Mantas because they are a wider car and no amount of effing and blinding is going to see them fit. Door-cards can be swapped, however, for Manta B and C items. If you want something that’s even more different — Vauxhall Carlton componentswill go in. |
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| Wheels
And Tyres Using 14 inch wheels is no problem, however, when you start sniffing around 15 inch or 16 inch rims then you are going to have to mess with the bodywork in one of two ways. The first is the age old technique of rolling the arches and the second is the more scary Continental approach of fitting wheel-arch extensions which, depending upon your view, could ruin the entire look of the car. |
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| This
One’s Mine You have to agree — doesn’t this car give you a big dose of the hubba-hubbas? A sort of Dodge Charger Mini-Me. Yet, if it weren’t for the efforts of Simon Peckham it would still be stuck in a field, doing nothing apart from providing the local birds with something to crap upon. “I tracked down the owner, struck a deal and then drove it home using an electric fuel pump off the washer bottle and the handbrake, while my friend drove behind me because the lights didn’t work. We had to drive the long way around through the countryside, just in case,” says Simon. “When my dad saw it he just said: ‘What you bought now boy? You won’t make any money on that.’ I told him I didn’t want to make any money out of it, it was my next project.” Next project? Clearly this wasn’t Simon’s first rebuild, although it was the first one which was watercooled because he was, and is, a bit of a Vee Dub addict. The bodywork was a pain and the floors, doors, valance, sills, inner wings and bulkhead were looking a bit terminal. One gander at the prices of parts from Germany was enough to persuade him to make up his own panels/repair sections for the valance, sills, inner wings and bulkhead. I won’t tell you what Simon does for a living, but I will tell you that he does have a talent for fabricating all sorts and there are plenty of opportunities to run things up at work. The finished shell was left more or less stock, and was painted by Simon’s mate, Terry White. Incredibly, this car lives outdoors and the paint was done three or four years ago. In fact, Terry’s already talking stripping down ’cos he reckons the Manta needs another coat. The man is clearly a perfectionist — I’m not a blind biffa and yet when I gave it the once over, it seemed hunky-dory to me. The original engine is long gone, but open the bonnet and the mintiness of this car keeps getting stronger. Sitting in here is a 2-litre 16-valve from a 1989 Astra GTE with one or two mods — mainly a lightened flywheel and SBD throttle bodykit which takes levels up to 208 bhp. Oh and should Simon need a little more juice, there’s a bottle of laughing gas in the boot too. “The Nitrous puts power up to about 250 bhp,” reveals Simon. Cogs, meanwhile, are sorted by a five-speed gearbox from a Manta B. The highlight of this car is underneath and to see it you’ve gotta get down and dirty. Simon has designed and fabricated his own independent rear suspension set-up which gives a good ride, a low stance and comprises double wishbones, a 24-valve Carlton limited-slip differential, lowered coil springs and Koni coil-overs. “I still think it’s a bit soft at the moment, but then it doesn’t spin, it just grips and goes like stink. I reckon 0 to 60 mph takes 6.5 seconds or just under 6 seconds with nitrous,” Simon explains, packing a cheeky grin. |
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Sources Thanks Club |
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SBD
Motorsport Ltd, Unit 15, Red Lion Business Park, Red Lion Road, Surbiton,
Surrey. KT6 7QD. Tel: 0208 391 0121.
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