RE: Opel Considers Return Of The Manta
Discussion
defblade said:
s m said:
Not that much cladding on the GTE/GSi iirc - just the sill extensions that went onto the rear arches plus the wraparound front air dam. The rear spoiler was flexible rubber
And, as the Exclusive kit was taken straight off the rally car, it noticably worked. Above about 90mph. I didn't have the balls to say to the nice officer "Actually, it's more stable at 95-100 than 80ish, the aerodynamics kick in" and accepted my 3 points with (I hope) reasonably good grace....
I toyed with idea of the Exclusive kit on mine.........but there always seemed to be some mechanical upgrade I wanted to try. A mate had a Monaco Blue Exclusive and it did seem a bit more tied down at big speeds though - fabric trim was more modern as wells m said:
defblade said:
s m said:
Not that much cladding on the GTE/GSi iirc - just the sill extensions that went onto the rear arches plus the wraparound front air dam. The rear spoiler was flexible rubber
And, as the Exclusive kit was taken straight off the rally car, it noticably worked. Above about 90mph. I didn't have the balls to say to the nice officer "Actually, it's more stable at 95-100 than 80ish, the aerodynamics kick in" and accepted my 3 points with (I hope) reasonably good grace....
I toyed with idea of the Exclusive kit on mine.........but there always seemed to be some mechanical upgrade I wanted to try. A mate had a Monaco Blue Exclusive and it did seem a bit more tied down at big speeds though - fabric trim was more modern as wellI loved my Cavalier Coupe, but honestly the Exclusive was just so old fashioned by the late 80s that it wasn't funny.
I know, I tried one and walked away...
The coupes do look good in blue though and that 400 body-kitted car is really nice
Trying to find a picture of one in Sapphire Blue (like mine) I was reminded of the Centaur
351 Vauxhall Cavalier Mk.1 Coupe Centaur Convertible (1979) by robertknight16, on Flickr
M.
Edited by marcosgt on Wednesday 9th November 22:47
marcosgt said:
The rear wing was 400 style, but that was it.
I loved my Cavalier Coupe, but honestly the Exclusive was just so old fashioned by the late 80s that it wasn't funny.
I know, I tried one and walked away...
For a car that spanned 14 years in production in the same basic format it's not surprising - that's the same as 2 average 3-series BM lifespans back to back. It was certainly far from cutting edge at the end of its life.........but on a good B-road, somehow it never mattered much I loved my Cavalier Coupe, but honestly the Exclusive was just so old fashioned by the late 80s that it wasn't funny.
I know, I tried one and walked away...
........and a modern take is what people are getting excited about with the forthcoming FT86 Toyota/Subaru.
What goes around......
LuS1fer said:
KDIcarmad said:
Never liked the old Manta's, always saw it as a cheap craper Capri.
Of the two, the Manta was the better car save for the Capri 2.8iS which was a price class above it. The lower Capris were fairly dire and earned their title "Crapi". 
when comparing the Mark 3 with thew Mondeo how long was the Cav3 competing against the Sierra rather than the Mk 1 Mondeo ?... Mondeo launched in late 1992 4 years after the Cav mk 3 ...
arguable the 2.8 and 3 litre capris were trying to compete with the Monza ...
Alfa numeric said:
Triumph Man said:
The isignia wouldn't support a RWD configuration, for a start it's got a transverse engine.
The Insignia VXR is 4WD, so surely a rear drive conversion wouldn't be that hard?You would have to do what Rover did with the 75 when it made the 260 V8 cars, assuming the engine could accomodate a longitudinal engine.
If they do this, it will be as mentioned above, and be based on USA/Aussie market rwd platform.
mph1977 said:
LuS1fer said:
KDIcarmad said:
Never liked the old Manta's, always saw it as a cheap craper Capri.
Of the two, the Manta was the better car save for the Capri 2.8iS which was a price class above it. The lower Capris were fairly dire and earned their title "Crapi". when comparing the Mark 3 with thew Mondeo how long was the Cav3 competing against the Sierra rather than the Mk 1 Mondeo ?... Mondeo launched in late 1992 4 years after the Cav mk 3 ...
arguable the 2.8 and 3 litre capris were trying to compete with the Monza ...
loudlashadjuster said:
GBB said:
The Cavalier MK3 upon which it was based was a very well sorted car, fast for it's day and good handling relative to most stuff on the market at the time - the Calibra was just a nicer looking one. The Vectra was a retrograde step in virtually all areas (especially quality of materials).
Eh? The various Mk3 Cavaliers I racked up many miles in don't bear much resemblance to your description. The 2.0 GLS I had was swift-ish I guess, but other than that they had a ride quality best described as 'crashy', transmission that would've felt at home in a Massey Ferguson and had handling that could charitably be considered 'challenging'. I much preferred the Sierra, never mind the first generation Mondeo which became available towards end of the Mk3's life and showed the poor Cav the way home in almost every respect.I find it very funny that my dislike of the Manta has got more postings than, the idea of Lotus building a mid-engine Vauxhall coupe. Does this tell us something about the people in this forum?
Yes the Capri was crap! Yes the Opel Manta's was as good a car, they are both crap! Does stop them being fun! Or classics that should be kept or new version created. Most sport-coupe were really bad cars in the 70's-80's, we just remember them as great car. I wonder how in 20-30 years we will view today's cars.
Yes the Capri was crap! Yes the Opel Manta's was as good a car, they are both crap! Does stop them being fun! Or classics that should be kept or new version created. Most sport-coupe were really bad cars in the 70's-80's, we just remember them as great car. I wonder how in 20-30 years we will view today's cars.
Edited by KDIcarmad on Thursday 10th November 15:56
KDIcarmad said:
I find it very funny that my dislike of the Manta has got more postings than, the idea of Lotus building a mid-engine Vauxhall coupe. Does this tell us something about the people in this forum?
Probably because more people on here will have some experience/chat about a popular car that has been built rather than some new hardtop version of the VX220 that is yet to be made? s m said:
KDIcarmad said:
I find it very funny that my dislike of the Manta has got more postings than, the idea of Lotus building a mid-engine Vauxhall coupe. Does this tell us something about the people in this forum?
Probably because more people on here will have some experience/chat about a popular car that has been built rather than some new hardtop version of the VX220 that is yet to be made? 
M.
defblade said:
And, as the Exclusive kit was taken straight off the rally car, it noticably worked. Above about 90mph.
I didn't have the balls to say to the nice officer "Actually, it's more stable at 95-100 than 80ish, the aerodynamics kick in" and accepted my 3 points with (I hope) reasonably good grace....
Err, yes. I had a secondhand Monaco Blue Manta GTE with a Peter Maiden Stage 2/3 cam and other tweaks. I paid for the 'Exclusive' body kit to be fitted and painted professionally, then added the recommended Bilstein shocks and Peter Maiden uprated springs. Which meant it went like stink and handled very well - the aerodynamics certainly worked at the natural cruising speed of around 150 kph on the autobahn when the engine was nicely on the cam in top gear. I never tried it above 200 kph, but that seemed to be more or less the maximum speed it would do.I didn't have the balls to say to the nice officer "Actually, it's more stable at 95-100 than 80ish, the aerodynamics kick in" and accepted my 3 points with (I hope) reasonably good grace....
D125ONM if it's still alive!
nickwilcock said:
Err, yes. I had a secondhand Monaco Blue Manta GTE with a Peter Maiden Stage 2/3 cam and other tweaks. I paid for the 'Exclusive' body kit to be fitted and painted professionally, then added the recommended Bilstein shocks and Peter Maiden uprated springs. Which meant it went like stink and handled very well - the aerodynamics certainly worked at the natural cruising speed of around 150 kph on the autobahn when the engine was nicely on the cam in top gear. I never tried it above 200 kph, but that seemed to be more or less the maximum speed it would do.
D125ONM if it's still alive!
IIRC, the upgraded Bilsteins were the Chevette HS2300 ones - much fatter body than the Manta GTE onesD125ONM if it's still alive!
nickwilcock said:
Err, yes. I had a secondhand Monaco Blue Manta GTE with a Peter Maiden Stage 2/3 cam and other tweaks. I paid for the 'Exclusive' body kit to be fitted and painted professionally, then added the recommended Bilstein shocks and Peter Maiden uprated springs. Which meant it went like stink and handled very well - the aerodynamics certainly worked at the natural cruising speed of around 150 kph on the autobahn when the engine was nicely on the cam in top gear. I never tried it above 200 kph, but that seemed to be more or less the maximum speed it would do.
D125ONM if it's still alive!
I had a short engine from Peter Maiden in my Manta... D125ONM if it's still alive!
chevy-stu said:
nickwilcock said:
Err, yes. I had a secondhand Monaco Blue Manta GTE with a Peter Maiden Stage 2/3 cam and other tweaks. I paid for the 'Exclusive' body kit to be fitted and painted professionally, then added the recommended Bilstein shocks and Peter Maiden uprated springs. Which meant it went like stink and handled very well - the aerodynamics certainly worked at the natural cruising speed of around 150 kph on the autobahn when the engine was nicely on the cam in top gear. I never tried it above 200 kph, but that seemed to be more or less the maximum speed it would do.
D125ONM if it's still alive!
I had a short engine from Peter Maiden in my Manta... D125ONM if it's still alive!
ok, coming out of the closet here.
I have a 1980 Opel Ascona B, a 1986 Manta GTE coupe with a 2.2 Carlton engine fitted, a 1987 Manta GTE with a 3.9 Rover V8 fitted, a 1972 Opel manta A series with a 2.4 Frontra Engine fitted (along with a BMW M5 Dogleg gearbox, hence the username) Also in the garage is a 1977 mk1 Cavalier 4 door, and couple of GTE mantas for spares.
So, I am interested in the news the bosses are thinking about Mantas again but they will never be what I want them to be, rear drive, tail happy fun cars that give good steering feedback.
I have a 1980 Opel Ascona B, a 1986 Manta GTE coupe with a 2.2 Carlton engine fitted, a 1987 Manta GTE with a 3.9 Rover V8 fitted, a 1972 Opel manta A series with a 2.4 Frontra Engine fitted (along with a BMW M5 Dogleg gearbox, hence the username) Also in the garage is a 1977 mk1 Cavalier 4 door, and couple of GTE mantas for spares.
So, I am interested in the news the bosses are thinking about Mantas again but they will never be what I want them to be, rear drive, tail happy fun cars that give good steering feedback.
Getragdogleg said:
ok, coming out of the closet here.
I have a 1980 Opel Ascona B, a 1986 Manta GTE coupe with a 2.2 Carlton engine fitted, a 1987 Manta GTE with a 3.9 Rover V8 fitted, a 1972 Opel manta A series with a 2.4 Frontra Engine fitted (along with a BMW M5 Dogleg gearbox, hence the username) Also in the garage is a 1977 mk1 Cavalier 4 door, and couple of GTE mantas for spares.
So, I am interested in the news the bosses are thinking about Mantas again but they will never be what I want them to be, rear drive, tail happy fun cars that give good steering feedback.
Nice collection!I have a 1980 Opel Ascona B, a 1986 Manta GTE coupe with a 2.2 Carlton engine fitted, a 1987 Manta GTE with a 3.9 Rover V8 fitted, a 1972 Opel manta A series with a 2.4 Frontra Engine fitted (along with a BMW M5 Dogleg gearbox, hence the username) Also in the garage is a 1977 mk1 Cavalier 4 door, and couple of GTE mantas for spares.
So, I am interested in the news the bosses are thinking about Mantas again but they will never be what I want them to be, rear drive, tail happy fun cars that give good steering feedback.
A new Manta would be nice if it was like that forthcoming Toyota FT86 - a 4-seat, simplistic rwd coupe with fun handling/not over-tyred.......like the old GTE
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