Ascona 400 replica build
Discussion
Right! In the absence of the right photos, I'll make this thread the detail of ascona 400R build no. 2 (of the 4 we've been doing)
The starting point for this one was a VERY rare 2 door RHD ascona, there are only a handful of these in existence now, there are a few futher cars that have been built from mk1 cavalier 2 door shells with ascona front ends grafted on, plenty made from LHD cars (the 4th one we're doing is one of these) and certainly one I know of built from a 4 door shell fitted with 2 door complete body sides!
Lots of Rot, the usual for a '70's Opel!!
and oh dear, bodged vinyl roof remnants together with a horrid aftermarket sunroof...that needs to go!
first step, get it stripped down to a bare shell, every last nut and bolt gone...
more rust!
Next step, burn off the underseal and seam sealer then fire up the blaster and get it to bare metal and see what's left!
The starting point for this one was a VERY rare 2 door RHD ascona, there are only a handful of these in existence now, there are a few futher cars that have been built from mk1 cavalier 2 door shells with ascona front ends grafted on, plenty made from LHD cars (the 4th one we're doing is one of these) and certainly one I know of built from a 4 door shell fitted with 2 door complete body sides!
Lots of Rot, the usual for a '70's Opel!!
and oh dear, bodged vinyl roof remnants together with a horrid aftermarket sunroof...that needs to go!
first step, get it stripped down to a bare shell, every last nut and bolt gone...
more rust!
Next step, burn off the underseal and seam sealer then fire up the blaster and get it to bare metal and see what's left!
Edited by retropower on Sunday 22 December 20:09
This brings us nearly up to date on this one (it gets complicated in terms of timelines, we are working on upwards of 20 cars at any one time!)
Now we get to the interesting bit, and the bit where we could be either brave or foolish!
My own background is development/prototype/production engineering, and the owner of this ascona wanted serious power output, but dislikes turbo type power delivery (as I do)
We decided that a positive displacement supercharger fitted to the ever reliable vauxhall XE 16v engine would provide comfortably over 300hp with instant throttle response and no lag.
not something available off the shelf, so time to fire up the milling machine and TIG welder!
This was my last little project on the run up to christmas!
Following acid dipping of the bare cylinder block, it is rebored honed and decked, in one machine to keep tolerances as good as they can be.
Its then treated to a coat of tough polyurethane paint and then fitted with new core plugs
following crank polishing and dynamic balancing, its dummy built, piston to head clearances checked, pistons weight matched, rods weighed and balanced end to end, then main bearings plastigauge checked and crank installed, obviously after brushing out ALL oil galleries following removal of every item from the bare cylinder block so no dirt traps remain.
then I swap onto dummy building the supercharger setup on an old spare block and head
milling off chopped down stock inlet manifold
Eaton M90 supercharger from Jaguar 4.0 XJR6
chargecooler from XJR too
milling off jag inlet manifold
milling out alloy block to couple cooler to inlet manifold
blending complete on rear of flange block to form inlet trumpets
inlet clamped in ready for the TIG
mounting flange milled out for hanging top of charger from inlet manifold flange studs
skimming off welded up inlet
fabrication complete and glass bead blasted ready to weld to charge cooler
Now we get to the interesting bit, and the bit where we could be either brave or foolish!
My own background is development/prototype/production engineering, and the owner of this ascona wanted serious power output, but dislikes turbo type power delivery (as I do)
We decided that a positive displacement supercharger fitted to the ever reliable vauxhall XE 16v engine would provide comfortably over 300hp with instant throttle response and no lag.
not something available off the shelf, so time to fire up the milling machine and TIG welder!
This was my last little project on the run up to christmas!
Following acid dipping of the bare cylinder block, it is rebored honed and decked, in one machine to keep tolerances as good as they can be.
Its then treated to a coat of tough polyurethane paint and then fitted with new core plugs
following crank polishing and dynamic balancing, its dummy built, piston to head clearances checked, pistons weight matched, rods weighed and balanced end to end, then main bearings plastigauge checked and crank installed, obviously after brushing out ALL oil galleries following removal of every item from the bare cylinder block so no dirt traps remain.
then I swap onto dummy building the supercharger setup on an old spare block and head
milling off chopped down stock inlet manifold
Eaton M90 supercharger from Jaguar 4.0 XJR6
chargecooler from XJR too
milling off jag inlet manifold
milling out alloy block to couple cooler to inlet manifold
blending complete on rear of flange block to form inlet trumpets
inlet clamped in ready for the TIG
mounting flange milled out for hanging top of charger from inlet manifold flange studs
skimming off welded up inlet
fabrication complete and glass bead blasted ready to weld to charge cooler
fttm said:
oh yes this is looking good . how about some pics/details on the white manta 400 or the orange Mk2 ?
Can post some stuff on these soon.The mk2 is being built with vauxhall xe power too, and the manta is completely rebuilt, the floorpan completely refabricated to take nissan skyline rear iRS setup and skyline engine and gearbox.........
Our hourly rate is pretty low by industry standards (£25/hr + vat) which helps, though I think we may need to review this next year, following our latest expansion our overheads are getting pretty heavy! (7500 sq ft isn't cheap!)
Myself and my brother take very little out of the business currently, money goes back into expansion and widening capacity. Next year's shopping list starts with engine dyno and updated paint booth...........
Myself and my brother take very little out of the business currently, money goes back into expansion and widening capacity. Next year's shopping list starts with engine dyno and updated paint booth...........
Fantastic thread, thank you for sharing it, brilliant work.
As a youngster my friends were always split between liking Fords and Vauxhall/Opels. I was always in the GM camp, from my first car ( a Chevette) I always lusted after a Manta. The closest I got was as a student owning a 2.0/SR Ascona Berlinetta, in tangerine, the same as you've painted this car.
Big nostalgia trip
As a youngster my friends were always split between liking Fords and Vauxhall/Opels. I was always in the GM camp, from my first car ( a Chevette) I always lusted after a Manta. The closest I got was as a student owning a 2.0/SR Ascona Berlinetta, in tangerine, the same as you've painted this car.
Big nostalgia trip
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