Opel Manta SR Berlinetta- need help

[eddy678]

Hello!

Someone on another forum told me to come here to ask these types of questions, and I am asking because this car holds a lot of sentimental value since it was my Dad's.

So this link will take you to the Opel Manta Club forum, basically I would just like to know where the car might be or whether it still exists, hope it does.

http://forums.mantaclub.org/topic/35167-if-anyone-...


NOTE: I did make a silly mistake of mistaking the number 1 for the letter I but I think most people will think that when you see the picture attached in the link above.

Help or your opinion on the current state of the car would be much appreciated.

Regards,
Edward.

Edited by eddy678 on Saturday 21st December 01:37

[deltashad]

My dad had one the same colour, with a black vinyl roof, his Capri before it also had a black vinyl roof. Never saw the appeal...

Nice car though, good luck with finding it. My only memories of the car are of him smoking (all the time) with the windows up.

[eddy678]

deltashad said:

My dad had one the same colour, with a black vinyl roof, his Capri before it also had a black vinyl roof. Never saw the appeal...

Nice car though, good luck with finding it. My only memories of the car are of him smoking (all the time) with the windows up.

Good choice of cars your Dad had and thanks, the DVLA gave me these details:


Date of Liability 01 08 1993
Date of First Registration 15 06 1979
Year of Manufacture 1979
Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1979cc
CO₂ Emissions Not Available
Fuel Type PETROL
Export Marker N
Vehicle Status Unlicensed
Vehicle Colour RED
Vehicle Type Approval Not Available


Not sure whether this means the car might be scrapped , I've emailed Opel to see if they have any info, tried the opel manta club forum, I don't really know what to do next..

[davepoth]

That means it's not currently taxed, and not on SORN. All isn't lost because the last tax date is before SORN started in 1998, but it's likely it is beer cans now. Sorry.

[eddy678]

davepoth said:

That means it's not currently taxed, and not on SORN. All isn't lost because the last tax date is before SORN started in 1998, but it's likely it is beer cans now. Sorry.

Turns out the car was scrapped by a company called Jordans back in 1993

[strummerville]

What a shame. I had two in the 80s.

[oliverb205]

Great to see a photo of a Manta B,I owned URN80V in the early 1990s. It had been owned by 3 old ladies from new (yes, really!) and ran like a bag of spanners until we put some Redex in and floored it down the M1 and back for 50 miles - think it was the longest journey it had ever had and first time over 2000rpm. It ran much nicer afterwards, though the Varijet carb was a pig to keep in tune, luckily I knew an ex GM Dealersport mechanic who could sort it. Originally silver, but after replacing the wings (I don't think they had ever washed it either) I had it resprayed white, think it's long gone now.

Good fun in a 1970s rear drive way, but had a blue velour interior once memorably described as resembling a "Berlin Bordello".

Oliver.

[V8 Fettler]

Varijet 2 was an awful carb, icing was an ever-present risk. Best solved with a 38 DGAS (I've still got my 38 DGAS somewhere, rescued from the wreckage of a Manta)

[eddy678]

Found another one, same colour online for £10,000. I don't think the insurance will be cheap since I am only 17 , Would love to own that car though if I could afford to run it.

[smiffy220]

Saw the post on the Manta forum. My guess is the cars gone, sorry. I couldn't get the link to work, what colour was it?

For those that haven't seen one in ages, here's mine - complete with vinyl roof which I love:-


Mine has the original Varijet II carb, has been running fine with no problems. My old car never had any problems with the Varijet carb either. Hear of lots of problems with these, but I've always had good ones.

I think £10k is too steep for one of these. A good one should be £4k - £5k, an exceptional one with low mileage maybe towards the £7k - £8k mark, but can't see them worth £10k yet. If they are, might sell mine!! Lol.

[oliverb205]

Great to see a photo of one again, I always thought it was a much purer shape than the C with it big plastic bumpers. Will have to look out some photos of URN80V.

But, good grief didn't cars have little wheels then...

Oliver.

[eddy678]

Colour was red. Yeah I also think 10k is a bit steep...maybe when I turn 22 when the insurance will be cheaper, I could maybe knock a couple of £ off the price

[Cooper Green]

Wow this thread has brought back great memories from my teenage years. Armed with a £2000 bank loan from Barclays I bought a gold manta berlinetta SR in 1988. 18 years old and driving PKH 400W up and down Bridlington sea front until I almost ran out of fuel. Loved and polished that car, treated it to a webber 42 Dgas carb, ITG foam filter, and a full straight through peco exhaust, spax lowered suspension kit and carlos fandango wheel spacers in the three years I owned it. That car turned more heads than my mates dads GTE, got me the girls and made me feel like a Monaco playboy.

Happy Days, more pics please.

[retropower]

smiffy220 said:

Saw the post on the Manta forum. My guess is the cars gone, sorry. I couldn't get the link to work, what colour was it?

For those that haven't seen one in ages, here's mine - complete with vinyl roof which I love:-


Mine has the original Varijet II carb, has been running fine with no problems. My old car never had any problems with the Varijet carb either. Hear of lots of problems with these, but I've always had good ones.

I think £10k is too steep for one of these. A good one should be £4k - £5k, an exceptional one with low mileage maybe towards the £7k - £8k mark, but can't see them worth £10k yet. If they are, might sell mine!! Lol.

Value of mantas is all in structural condition.

they DO NOT exist in perfect condition, even cars which have been dry garaged all their lives, had one owner and done less than 20k miles will have rot lurking in the chassis rails, jacking points etc etc. Our main business always seems to revolve around these Opels and we're pretty well versed in them.

A "good" manta that is on the road, has had some reasonably nice rot repairs, doesn't need paint and is mechanically sound is around £4k

Most have had ugly rot repairs underneath, and are not perfect in many other respects, these are in the 2-4k range

At the top of the tree, properly, fully restored cars, with some nice modifications like 16v or turbo 16v engines, proper running gear upgrades and underside metalwork restored to factory condition with no visible repairs are worth a considerable amount more, really more in line with a little less than they cost to restore. To do this properly will be in the region of £20k..............

We were cajoled and offered upwards of £25k for one of the ascona replicas that we had built, which was NOT for sale! In fact the owner was on the brink of crumbling when the offer got to £32k......

[Spottedlaurel]

An early Manta B is one of my favourite cars, I'd love one with the chrome bumpers. Haven't yet owned one, with the prices mentioned above it sounds like I might not be able to! However in 1991-92 I did have this Manta A:


1971 Opel Manta A 1.9 Rallye by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr


1971 Opel Manta A 1.9SR Rallye by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

As far as I am concerned these are one of the best-looking cars, ever. Mine was a rusty old thing, it's registration lives on (but not much of the rest of it). it was a nice thing to drive, despite the faults this one had.

Stepdad had this A-reg Manta when it was new:


1983 Opel Manta 1.8 Berlinetta c.1983/84 by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

Which worked pretty well as family transport, even with a couple of growing teenagers.

I've never been quite sure if this was a Manta B or the Cavalier equivalent, I'm inclined to think Opel due to the plastic bumper. Slots on the front panel are confusing, the top one at least is painted on. Saw it in Cambridge back in 1992-93.


Opel Manta B/Vauxhall Cavalier Coupe by Spottedlaurel, on Flickr

[retropower]

You can get one for less than those prices, but you'll need to be handy with the welder, that's all!