Hi John! German forum Classic-Opel-Forum is a great forum and US based Opel GT Source forum is great but I am not as active there due to lack of time. Both of this and germans "hetriebler forum" are a great source of information, especially with google translate or translating the webpage tool, it is great. Cheers!
For anyone trying to do the roofliner/headliner, I just found this one as well, very thorough tutorial which should also apply to the Manta: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xP0qLdma65k.html
hey Metod! Somewhere the coming year I want to place new roofliner (unfortunately I didn't take the opportunity when my windows were already out, something with which your comment tremendously helped btw). I already have the roofliner but unfortunately, I don't have those metal rods that keep the roofliner in place and that you - presumably - stick into the holes on the sides. Any idea where one could find these? Otherwise I'll try manufacturing them myself... And once again, a massive thanks for these videos and showing exactly the details needed whilst still keeping the videos compact! Funnily enough, I have exactly the same rims, I love to see the potential of my car in yours.
I think these could be remade but it would be nice to have originals to take shape off but I think that they are not available but could be made at home. Try forums and Manta related Facebook groups if anyone has some spares from parting cars. Thanks for kind words, I am glad you like videos and find them useful! :)
Appreciate all the detailed documentation of what you do and try around the Opel Manta A with all these videos, even if for example a carburetor isn't relevant for me!
Hello Metod, Used to run 40DCOE carburetors on my 1973 1.9L Manta. I was running soft-mount gaskets with 0-rings. It was almost impossible to keep the carburetors (front & rear) synchronized. I would get them set just right, and after a drive they would no longer be set right. I finally made a bracket to hold the DCOEs together, with a rod rubber mounted to the engine mount. This bracket allowed me to set the DCOE carburetors. My old boss used to run foam air filters as you have, and they made his Manta 400 engine with DCOE50 carburetor run rich. When he went to K&N air filters his problems disappeared. Hope this helps. Dennis
Huhh those are some valid points Dennis, thanks! I will test with and without foam filters and I will go with a proper air box at some point as well. The vibrations might have an effect on the setting, I might do some bracket to test if that makes a difference. Thanks for the comment, have a nice day! :)
I had a 1974 Opel Sports Wagon in the States with dual Weber carbs, headers and hotter camshaft. Took some time dialing in the carbs and it was worth the effort. Keep up the good work and keep posting about your beautiful Opel Manta. I've enjoyed this. Opels are awesome.
Thanks Steve! I will surely keep up with the content, many interesting thing to come as well. For now, I enjoy driving it and trying not to get too deep into the details. :)
Finally have my manta a finished to take my daughter to prom next week, like yourself im having little problems I’m working through, but the joy you feel finally driving a car that has taken years to build is priceless.
Good stuff Metod! Glad to see you out enjoying the car now. That gathering looked really cool - lots of nice Opels I'd want to check out. Also good timing on the carb tuning... I just got my dual DCOE 40's in the mail, so that will be an interesting process to figure out. The seller also included the official Weber tuning manual, so that will be very handy. I know your carbs are different but I think we're both going to get an education on dual carbs this year :)
Super, I am glad you made that purchase! We will loose some hair this year but the sound makes it worth it. Hopefully yours will go more smoothly but the knowledge you gain along the way is also cool. Thanks for following the build and watching the videos man! :)
Thank you so much Anthony! I will get some gray hair but we will get there in time. I will post the process as it might come handy to someone going in my footsteps. Have a good one! :)
The bottom bolt on the diffcover is the drain on the differential if I remember correctly. Maybe try with a copper washer to stop the seeping? Do you have to drop the gastank to change the fillerneckhose?
Thanks! You have some nice shows with Opels as well, and a strong Opel community with Opel GT Source. We still have some way to go with mine so more content is coming for sure :) Have a nice day!
You, my man, are a star! Absolutely impressive what you have achieved! Be proud and enjoy those beautiful wheels! When you are done, you can come to Germany to assemble my Manta A which I don't find the time to do... :(
Hehe thank you! I will stick to my own as there are still things need doing and I also struggle with finding time. Hope to work on the car this weekend! :)
Great job Metod! Awesome to see the car on the road, and the big smile on your face. The dual carbs sound fantastic. I'm still dreaming of doing something similar. I like your Recaro seats as well, probably a lot more supportive than the stock seats. It's interesting to me that you installed an AFR gauge, I've been considering the same thing to help with carb tuning. Also I was interested to see you tape off the C-pillar vents to wash the car. I never thought to do that, but probably a good idea! We had to patch those areas on my Manta during restoration ~15 years ago, and they are bubbling again underneath... maybe from car washes! Anyway big congratulations and I hope you have a lot of fun with the car this summer. Will look forward to whatever updates you have in the future.
Thanks man! Yeah as you know the gills on C pillar are not the best when it comes to water so I figured I rather spent 2 min and tape them. AFR gauge was I think money well spent as it really helps for tuning the carb. Thanks for following the project, more content is to come 🙌
@12:44 That was EXACTLY the view on the dashboard of my Ascona A, during the winter! The Autoteile Haslop "to-do list". Oh, and congratulations on a job well done! Now starts the constant tinkering, and fussing about with this and that. It's fun though!
Congratulations!! That first engine start is always scary. Do I have oil pressure, what is leaking, is my engine timing correct. All that will be sorted. I did hear some coughing from the DCOE Webers. That can be from being slightly lean of fuel, but it can also be from the throttle synchronization, between the front and rear DCOE. Years ago I ran dual DCOE, and had a similar issue. I finally made a plate that connected both DCOE bodies together via the air horn studs. From there the bracket had a tongue that an adjustable rod fastened to the engine mount bolt. The upper half of that rod went through a 8mm hole in the DCOE tongue, using two rubber shock absorber washers. This finally stabilized the DCOE carburetors, allowing me to keep the throttles synchronized. By the way,...I love the sound DCOE carburetors make. Great job Metod!
Thank you Dennis! You couldn't describe it more perfectly - those are all the emotions and questions that run through the mind at startup. Dual carb setup will require some fine work and I keep improving it and it rund way better than it did but still not good enough by my standards. I will probably post another video on that topic when I get them running nicely. :) Thanks for kind words and have a nice day!
I had a metallic green Manta A back the mid 1980s. I still think about that car now and wish I still had it. Great to see one getting restored. Well done.
I was just thinking of you Friday, May 10th. I was very pleased to see your new post. Your car sounds very nice coming up the hill. So glad for you to be able to drive it. You will fix the "bugs" in time. You and your dad have come a long way with that car. I wanted to tell you the bolt on battery clamps can cause problems with corrosion and for that reason you need to keep an eye where the positive cable bolts to the battery clamp. One other thing. Battery powered leaf blowers are the newest thing to blow the water off of your car when you wash it. It will dry spot free. Something to think about down the road. May you have many safe and trouble free miles with your car. Thanks for posting your restoration.
Thanks man! I agree on leaf blower idea, I have used compressed air before but the air patters is probably a lot more suiting with leaf blower . Also thanks for the tip regarding claps. More videos will follow, make sure to swing by the channel :) Have a nice day!
Ah, continued determination, huge help (father?) and now the enjoyment begins!! May you have many years of payback for all the effort, and drop us videos when you can. Be great if you could mount a camera in passenger head rest for some drives so we can see as if your passenger. One tip you might already know, when storing battery outside of car, always place it on a block of wood and not on ground. Exceptional restoration Metod, looks SUPER! Go MANTA
Thank you so much, it means a lot to me that you are still following the project as I know you are s long time companion of this channel. Thanks for the tip - will keep in mind. The videos will definitely keep going, we have meets to go to, drives on beautiful back roads of Slovenia, Austria, Italy and Croatia, even other places. Thanks for kind words- glad to have you! :)
Haha tako nekako, poslušaš kot srna vsaki zvok in petnajstkrat vse preveriš ampak se še bo vsekakor kaj našlo za popravit ali izboljšati. Sej to še ni konec :D Hvala!
It is safe to say that this Opel is now a level of magnitude better than when it came out of the factory. What you and your helpers have achieved is admirable, enjoy it it in good health, be happy!
Wonderful! Glad for you! That feeling is hard to beat, great work and great content! 😊💪 Have a great holiday Opel brother! 😎 Btw, what seats are those?