RE: SOTW: Opel Manta

Friday 21st November 2008

SOTW: Opel Manta

The Opel Manta: As eighties as a Rubik Cube, but a lot more simple...



We’ve all seen Gene Hunt barking ‘fire up the Quattro!’ before he jumps into his Audi in the BBC’s Ashes to Ashes. This always bugged me slightly, because if I had my way this gritty TV cop wouldn’t be hooning around in a tech-fest Audi, he’d be driving an Opel Manta. This is a coupe that is far more down to earth, a no-nonsense ride for a no-nonsense copper.

The second generation of the Manta arrived in 1975 and lasted all the way to 1988. It kept its ‘Opel’ badge even in the UK and engines ranged from a titchy 1.2-litre OHV unit all the way up to 2.0-litres as seen in the later GTE/GSi. It gained an instant following for its good looks and fun rear-drive handling. A finely judged coil and spring setup, incorporating anti-roll bars, meant that the Manta had a good blend of comfort and grip, and this was joined by a decent amount of feel through the rack and pinion steering.

Somewhere in the middle of the range sat the manta CC Series Berlinetta. This car was designed to be the comfort model, with plush trim and extra soundproofing, and Vauxhall sold it on its refinement rather than all-out sporting credentials. It came with both coupe and hatchback body styles and featured 6J alloys as standard.


This model arrived in 1981 and remained until 1987, when it was replaced by the Exclusive as the only 1.8-litre Manta. Other standard features on the car were Lyon Velour Cloth Trim and none other than colour coded carpets. You got other technical innovations such as headlamp wash/wipe and head restraints. Interestingly the car also came fitted with ‘bronze tinted glass’, which is more than could be said for other cars in this segment (or in any segment for that matter).

The car may have had just 90bhp and 105.5lb ft of torque, but performance was sprightly and the Berlinetta could be hustled along at a reasonable lick. It’s a shame that Mantas aren’t seen much on our roads anymore. It’s the kind of car that couldn’t be more eighties if it was wearing neon socks, and I for one think it still looks sharp today.

The example we have found on Autotrader has full service history and has been family owned since new. 103,000 miles shouldn’t be too much of a problem and the car seems to be well looked after. There’s even tax and MOT thrown in too – all for less than a grand. It has to be well worth a look and as the ad says, all you have to do is ‘PHONE BARRY’. I’m not saying anything…

Ad says: '1985 C Reg OPEL Manta 1.8 S Berlinetta. 103,000 miles. FAMILY OWNED FROM NEW, FULL SERVICE HISTORY, ALL RECEIPTS AND MOT'S, RED, SPORTS CLOTH INTERIOR, ALLOYS, RADIO CASSETT, MOT AND TAX, EXCELLNT ORIGINAL CONDITION.PHONE BARRY. 07760153271. £995'



 

 

Author
Discussion

SS HSV

Original Poster:

9,643 posts

264 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
I bought the Opel Monza shed of the week six months ago which was the big brother to the Manata, Having owned several Manta's including two tasty 'A's I was looking for another Opel fix. These cars are exceptionally well built, no rattle or creaks, a very cool retro interior with Recaro seats, and still plenty of tuning parts with the help of Blydenstein etc.

I would prefer a Coupe to a Hatch becuase cabin noise is slightly greater, but when I've finished dropping an LS6 into the Opel I might go looking for one of these.

Loads of happy memories driving in these thumbup

LooseCannon

288 posts

233 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
Best kept as a memory now, they are rusty as hell, I bought one as a project and soon wished I'd married a welder.

smele

1,284 posts

290 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
Memories of duct tape, cold spanners and damp concrete spring to mind.

I wish them to remain memories thank you.

jeremyc

24,443 posts

290 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
Buy it and dream ... cloud9


williamp

19,525 posts

279 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
As a boy, loved these cars. I even had a brochure on one. Always preferred the looks of the boot to the hatchback.

Stigmundfreud

22,454 posts

216 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
Ah at the time I had a Capri 2.8 and my cousin had a 2.0 Manata, it was a source of arguments. I look back now and have fond memories of the Manta and I think the car is aging slightly better. Still it was a shame they never did a decent engine but their suspension set up was a leap in front of the capri's

Nicholas Blair

4,109 posts

290 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
Loved mine.

Black GTE from 87, C289 CVS. Would be good to know if it's still on the go.

Nick

ewenm

28,506 posts

251 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
A friend of mine rallies one of these and loves it. Ok, so it's not entirely standard... hehedriving

SleeperCell

5,591 posts

248 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
So you want a cheap, light, reasonable handling car, there it is, now go and buy it and stop complaining that AE86s or Mk2 Escorts are too expensive hehe

pSyCoSiS

3,712 posts

211 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
Good SOTW - something different!

Did the Manta GTEs have the digital dash? Or, was that only on the Astras?

I remember the Senator having one, but the Carlton was analogue...


tr7v8

7,287 posts

234 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
I ran an 85 B Plated GTE Hatch as a Co. Car. It was fantastic fun very quick & would pull 122 leptons on the speedo with ease. I put 42K on it a year & apart from the crappy dealers who were dire it was great. Actually had decent brakes which was unusual for the time as well.

SystemParanoia

14,343 posts

204 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
the 1.8 is the perfect one to have.

the gearbox mates up perfectly to the c20xe.

poooooower! ( well not really lol )

LHDisbest

17,001 posts

193 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
Stigmundfreud said:
Ah at the time I had a Capri 2.8 and my cousin had a 2.0 Manata, it was a source of arguments. I look back now and have fond memories of the Manta and I think the car is aging slightly better. Still it was a shame they never did a decent engine but their suspension set up was a leap in front of the capri's
You could get a Courtney turbo conversion for the 2.0 Manta, was meant to be ruddy quick. I would agree the Manta has aged much better than the Capri, but not in hatchback form.

Good shed, but really white sock.

Garlick if your reading this, i think i may have found you a Granada Ghia X. A lovely white one... wink

dern

14,055 posts

285 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
I had a 1.8S Berlinetta about 14 years ago as my first sporty car. Absolutely loved it. Mine was a coupe though which I think look much much better.

z_chromozone

1,436 posts

255 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
I had the Vauxhall version of the 2.0L Berlinetta Coupe, I think it was call a Cavalier something (3 door), but essentially the same car. It looked like this http://www.apgraphx.co.uk/ebay-manta/cav-coupe-JML...


People used to laugh at me at time, the guideless windows were hopeless and sagged outwards allowing easy access with no key. The colour was a dubious rusty gold and the interior had corduroy seats in brown and yellow. The carpet was orange with yellow flecks and the comedy gear stick must have been stolen from a Luton van. The sunroof leaked, the suspension was crap. The stty Piebourge (spelling ???) carb’ used to have two chokes, one of which used to fall to pieces every now and again, giving a full on / full off throttle. It drank fuel, especially as the tank leaked where the securing belts caused it to rust. It leaked so much water through the windows and sunroof that toadstools grew in the carpets.

I can’t believe the Manta had much better build quality, so pretty crap shed really.

That said it was by far the most amusing car I have ever owned, if I wanted a “clown car” for the circus it would be top of my list.

Z

Stigmundfreud

22,454 posts

216 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
LHDisbest said:
Stigmundfreud said:
Ah at the time I had a Capri 2.8 and my cousin had a 2.0 Manata, it was a source of arguments. I look back now and have fond memories of the Manta and I think the car is aging slightly better. Still it was a shame they never did a decent engine but their suspension set up was a leap in front of the capri's
You could get a Courtney turbo conversion for the 2.0 Manta, was meant to be ruddy quick. I would agree the Manta has aged much better than the Capri, but not in hatchback form.

Good shed, but really white sock.

Garlick if your reading this, i think i may have found you a Granada Ghia X. A lovely white one... wink
Cousin had a gold one (remember when that was the premium colour option on cars!??!). Thing is, 90bhp doesnt sound like much but these cars are not heavy it was approx 1 ton so thats 90bhp/ton hardly poor. My first 1.6 capri chucked out 65bhp and was quite spritely. I am sure there was a large engined Manta shaped car (was it the Monza) in the previous MK1 guise and Datsun had a very similar looking car.

Mentioning Courtney brings it all back now!

Stigmundfreud

22,454 posts

216 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
z_chromozone said:
I had the Vauxhall version of the 2.0L Berlinetta Coupe, I think it was call a Cavalier something (3 door), but essentially the same car. It looked like this http://www.apgraphx.co.uk/ebay-manta/cav-coupe-JML...


People used to laugh at me at time, the guideless windows were hopeless and sagged outwards allowing easy access with no key. The colour was a dubious rusty gold and the interior had corduroy seats in brown and yellow. The carpet was orange with yellow flecks and the comedy gear stick must have been stolen from a Luton van. The sunroof leaked, the suspension was crap. The stty Piebourge (spelling ???) carb’ used to have two chokes, one of which used to fall to pieces every now and again, giving a full on / full off throttle. It drank fuel, especially as the tank leaked where the securing belts caused it to rust. It leaked so much water through the windows and sunroof that toadstools grew in the carpets.

I can’t believe the Manta had much better build quality, so pretty crap shed really.

That said it was by far the most amusing car I have ever owned, if I wanted a “clown car” for the circus it would be top of my list.

Z
completely different cars! And tbh you shouldnt have admitted to buying it, I'm only surprised more than you didnt have a MK1 Cavalier chocolate brown convertible with the plastic interior from a Leyland bus

chunkymonkey71

13,015 posts

204 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
Friend of mine had one of these... it was hilarious!

The front wings weren't welded right and used to flap on the motorway!

It had an oel gauge. We could never find a shop that sold oel.

The engine was tiny and the bay was huge! You could sit inside the bay when working on the engine.

And it looked well mean! It just lurked...!


Erijaso

505 posts

261 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
This is my manta from 20 years ago, I wonder where it is now. Probably the scrap yard.




Edited by Erijaso on Friday 21st November 13:59

iRoll

2,335 posts

237 months

Friday 21st November 2008
quotequote all
SOTW Article said:
and I for one still looks sharp today.
Bit full of yourself, aren't you?

I love Mantas, but I've never seen one in the spec I desire. Namely an anthracite GT/E with Recaro trim and none of the bodykit that the later cars had.