Opel Manta V8 Project

[stagcar]

Thanks mate your a star

The problem is between the sump and the crosmember

Even with all the bolts out the rear end of the gearbox will not drop becuse the heads are hitting the fire wall and the sump is up tight to the crosmember.

I will try and lower the front member lower by whipping the front wheels of if not I think the only way is to take the body of the engine and the member. Did you do your own sump? I hae a feeling this was built from a v8 fitting kit that was around many years ago so would have crap headers and a big sump.

Thanks again for the number mate i will have to get the first round in one day at a show or somthing

Cheers
Derek

[gelmonkey]

Hi Derek
The bolts through the chassis rails are the ones that go up vertically into the engine bay and not the rear ones which i should have made clearer to you in my previous post.
By undoing these and the anti roll bar mounts the front clip should more than enough drop.
If this still does not work then you can place stands under the chassis rails by the jacking points and then drop the whole clip out.
This will give you more than enough clearance at the front to pull the motor out.
Please remember to disconnect the battery and chock the wheels before proceeding

I made my own sump for my application and also whilst I was at it I made a skid plate to get over exactly the problem you are facing now.
The skid plate is welded to the back upper edge of the crossmember and the lower return section of the crossmember at the back.
This creates a ramp and helps the motor slide up and out rather than forward and locking.
Hope this helps you out.
Cheers
P

[stagcar]

Thanks mr monkey;)

I managed to get the soding thing out in the end

I had to disconnect the steering so to get it to drop real low.

It will be easy on the way back in becuse it's going to have a grinder banded about around the fire wall also going to cut the rear lip on the clip

So it's on with the 3.9 build after I have moded and painted the engine bay still will never look as clean as yours mate it's a work of art..

I like the rat look mate well thats my excuse..

Cheers again for the help
Derek

[gelmonkey]

Hey Mate
Please do not think that I am trying to teach my grandmother how to suck eggs but I think cutting the back lip off is a BAD idea.
This return is structural and the skid plate will get rid of your problem.
You may well still have to lower the clip to get the motor in and out but it's your car and you must build it the way you see fit.

As for the tunnel throat I would cut this out and roll a new wider section and weld that back in to give the clearance you require.
By doing this you can give yourself loads of room to the bell housing bolts and make life a whole lot easier.
You can go outboard a fair way on the drivers side without causing pedal clearance problems.

As I say, not preaching to you about how to build your own car but I have done or been involved with quite a few conversions on this car over the years and have come across all the problems you are now meeting.

Cheers
P

[stagcar]

Hey Mate
Please do not think that I am trying to teach my grandmother how to suck eggs but I think cutting the back lip off is a BAD idea.
This return is structural and the skid plate will get rid of your problem.
You may well still have to lower the clip to get the motor in and out but it's your car and you must build it the way you see fit.

As for the tunnel throat I would cut this out and roll a new wider section and weld that back in to give the clearance you require.
By doing this you can give yourself loads of room to the bell housing bolts and make life a whole lot easier.
You can go outboard a fair way on the drivers side without causing pedal clearance problems.

As I say, not preaching to you about how to build your own car but I have done or been involved with quite a few conversions on this car over the years and have come across all the problems you are now meeting.

Cheers
P

Hi,

Thanks for letting me know that i will leave the clip be then

Thanks for all the good info i will grab the grinder and chop a little bit out of the bulkhead and make the slide up like you discribed just to make the job easy if i come to do it again.

I have also got to tidy the engine bay up a bit as it looks a real mess at the moment

Thanks again mate
Derek

[gelmonkey]

Hi Mate

One of the easiest ways of sorting out the engine bay( in my opinion) is to run all of the wires up under the wing flanges and then down to the indivdiual items.
My singular biggest bug bear is messy wiring because you can have a bitchin motor installed and then spoil it with the final appearance.

I worked on a Manta Elegance some years ago and it looked fantastic until my friend ran the loom and I gave him stacks about it

All of my wiring apart from 5 wires at the back of the engine are run through conduit up under the front wings so there is virtually nothing visible.
If you want to go this anal then I can send you some of this up along with the clips to hold it in position.
I know I should get out more

Cheers
P

[stagcar]

Hi Mate

One of the easiest ways of sorting out the engine bay( in my opinion) is to run all of the wires up under the wing flanges and then down to the indivdiual items.
My singular biggest bug bear is messy wiring because you can have a bitchin motor installed and then spoil it with the final appearance.

I worked on a Manta Elegance some years ago and it looked fantastic until my friend ran the loom and I gave him stacks about it

All of my wiring apart from 5 wires at the back of the engine are run through conduit up under the front wings so there is virtually nothing visible.
If you want to go this anal then I can send you some of this up along with the clips to hold it in position.
I know I should get out more

Cheers
P

Hi Mate,

Not sure i am that anal TBH. I like it to be neat ish but i am happy for a few wires to be running aroun the engine bay so long as there all tied back from hot exhausts and spining pulleys

Thanks for the offer tho mate its very good of you

For me the car will never be a show car as sutch and its more for the fun of spazzing around in a manta v8 than going to a show and sticking mirrors under it. I have never seen the point in this TBH i love looking at them and there cool but i want a car i can drive and not be to botherd if it gets the odd ding in it or gets coverd in seagull crap


Like i have said before mate you engine bay is a work of art and looks the Bizz

Do you still have fans and heaters in yours?


think i will just have to keep my hood closed mate its got to be quickest option:)

Cheers
Derek

[gelmonkey]

Hi Derek
Yeah the fans and the heater are still in there but hidden behind the bulkhead cover.
Whilst it would not be overly chuffed if someone dinked my car I am with you not putting mirrors under a car and all that balls.
I'm not into trophy hunting and spending hours and hours polishing suspension bits (what a load of ol ballocks that is).
Build it, drive it ,love it that is what it's all about.
Thanks again for the very kind words about how my engine bay looks.

Have just made a new instrument panel for some Auto Meter guages and they will be going in over the winter when the car is off the road.
Will post some pictures up of that if you are interested?
Will also be starting Mrs Gelmonkeys V8 Cavalier project soon.
I must be insane

Cheers
P

[stagcar]

Hi Mate,,

Pleased you agree on the mirror crew like you say its a load of crap TBH

Any way i would love to see some picks of your dash mate so please do post em up

Speak soon

Cheers
Derek

[gelmonkey]

Hi Derek
As requested here are a few pics of the new dash pod panel I have made.

1 Made a fibreglass panel moulded from a bit of rubber floor matt.



2 Then modified the original guage housing.



3 Chucked in some Auto Meter Guages.



4 Took some photos and sent em to the Forum





The small holes are for some tiny LED warning lights which have yet to go in .
I think these guages look much better than the originals and will be so much more accurate as well.
They also match the two out on the scuttle panel.

Cheers
Paul

[stagcar]

Hi Mate,

Very nice i like the gauges they look the bizz mate

Looks like it supposed to be there two

What are the to gauges on the scuttle for?

And was the speedometer easy to calibrate?

This is somthing i was looking to do at some point as the speedey was a mile out any way and the revcounter was still set up for a 4 banger so reads twice what it should

I put one of them stupid plasma gauges of ebay in a wile back it is suposed to do temp and rev but the rev part is so slow to update its unreal and it looks poop TBH

The temp bit is good tho

Cheers
Derek

[gelmonkey]

Hi Derek
The guages are not fully fitted yet as this is an over the winter project.
The speedo is a self calibrating unit which means you push the button,drive a measured mile,push the button again ,drive back the measured mile push for a final time and hey presto ...calibrated.
The units on the scuttle are for fuel pressure and oil pressure.
I did not want either of these fluids inside the car for obvious reasons but need to keep an eye on both for obvious reasons so they went outside .
How is your build coming along?

If I can find it someone on here gave a link to a do it yourself bit of pee rev counter modification to divde the pulses by two which gives an accurate rev reading,cost a few pounds at most.

Talk soon
cheers
P