Manta-A

`Opel Manta A-L SR with 6 syl 3 liters engine.`

This is orginal 1971 Opel Manta SR. When it rolled out from factory, it was installed with black vinyl roof, optional 1,6S engine( usually 1,9S in SR.) 45% differential slip, and black interior. Outside it was painted with yellow, with SR stripes, and black hood.

Owner of the car sold it 1988 to one opel dealer´s salesman, and a friend of mine, Toni, bought it from him in 1991.

That time a had Opel Ascona-A, which, "of course" was installed wit lots of tuning stuff, like 308 deg. camshaft from Enem, and bigger valves, 40 mm Weber carburettors..etc.

Anyway, I was tired of continuous fixing of the car. It didn´t have enough torgue and it wasnt anymore fun to drive, so I decided to change Ascona back to just slightly tuned..almost normal.

Instead Toni wanted more power to His Manta, and Manta was installed with tuned 1,9S engine, taken out of C-kadett...

Also Toni painted car red, and changed pretty good looking wheels and spokes to the car..

So, I lived just next to him, so while I was looking to that mysterious looking cool A-manta, I decided to have one of those to my self also..

Later Toni bought another manta, and it was in very bad shape, so we started to build it. Manta become very "familiar" to us, but -92 army stopped our reconstuction sessions and both car were left alone for a one year...after that we finished this "second" manta, and SR somehow was "forgotten" and started to show some marks of getting old..

Well, opels comes and goes, I had several short projects like Kadett-coupe -67, ascona-b and stuff, but SR was on my mind, and finally 1995 Toni askend if I wanted to by it? What do you think..after short discussion car changed owner and I started to build it back to streest..

So.. ... ....

Car was little rusty here and there, front seats was missing, engine was missing, gearbox was missing, but it didn´t slow me down while changin technic to my present(at the time..) Ascona B20E. After short period car was back on the streets again, and smile on my face didn´t go away for a long time..

I used car those times through the year (we have snow You know ) and december -95 alternator broke down, and I decided to fix old boys engine at the same time, so I lift the engine up, and looked what it has 'eaten'..

Engine was pretty poor shape, and because I had "extra" 2,2 engine laying aroud, it wasnt very difficult to guess what Im gonna do about it.

I changed every part to 2,2 engine and also head had litle modification, cam etc...but at the same time I was wondering would it be possible to change litle bit more exotic engine under the hood...Monza/Senator etc straigh six?

Little trip to local opel dealer´s carage, with measurement intruments in hand..I had that final vision..it will go..but oboy, it wont be easy..

I had being watched TE2800 engineroom to one mantabook, and engines location looked like car will propably gonna be too heavy at front and that I didn´t want. Also engine is about 30cm too long...

So I decided to start at easy point, and think about that engines location litle bit more...wise choise...car was litle rusty...

And then I started to do some space to the engine...First I made some room to cooler, then gearbox etc.

Difference between TE2800 model and my "opininion" you can see picture here ;)

Short description: I cut whole front away, and also upper transmission tunnel. I lift car up, put new engine at midle of frontaxle, and lowered body back down.

This way I had wery exillent weight balance, because engine didn´t went so front, and now I just welded everything back together, justa litle bit different place..

So, engineroom started to look pretty naturally, but lot was still to do...like transmission changes. Box become 240 Getrac, and it was purcached in Opel Rekord 2,2-86. There I had to shorten the gearselections "stick" place, so that it didn´t come too back. Also heater cover was modified little.

Finally interior parts become to almost orginal looking, but it neaded few hours to change consol "hole" position.

Also oilpan is made "by me", I had to use commodores frames, and everything else was nead to make some parts of straight steel parts.

Exhaust pipe is also hand made 2,5" pipe, with martelius first silencer and simons second silencer.

Same time car was painted red again.

This took time about 5 months, and finally it was time to start car and see if something was working incorrectly....

What a feeling it was when everything was working just fine, and I went to a test drive to a local closed road...windows were open and I sit at woodchair, without any interior parts fitted at this time, no hood, sensational straight six engine screaming at it´s best...aahh...feeling that never slips out of my mind..Iv done it. It worked. Still I had to show car to inspectors, and they are gonna give final solution either it´s leagal or not...and it WAS (you never believe how much butterflyes I had in my stomach at the time...)

I made car with 2,5E Senator-A engine and later I changed Monzas 30E engine(-98). Inspectors were pleased at this time also and after that it´s being like that. Now it has classic ATS spokes, but otherwise like pictures below. (Thanks Harri, for those ATS, looking good..!)

Short description.

Car: Manta A-L SR 1971 2d Coupe 59 1,6S
Chassis/Wheels etc. : ATS 13" GM Calssic Spokes, Lexmaul -40mm FrontSprings for manta-B 6-syl. Avon adjustable shocks (26-points) Rekord 246mm frontbrakes (ventilated) and rear orginal 230 drums and normal shocks+kilen orginal springs!
Getrag 240+3,67/45%+30E engine
Bosch L-jetronic

All modifications made by owner Jyrki

Special thanks to;