1974 Opel Manta 1900 - 4 speed w/ dealership installed AC

1974 Opel Manta Description

Always a southern California car, my Grandparents bought this 1974 Manta from the original owner (a “little old lady”) in 1977. As a kid in the late 1980s I remember riding in the passenger seat as my Grandpa drove the Manta to pack down the fresh asphalt patches in his long driveway. It was one of four cars they had, so they drove it sparingly, and maintained it well (their daily, a 1979 Mercedes 300SD made it to 500k miles before they decided to replace the diesel engine. They still drive it today). In the late 1990s it was repainted and reupholstered, the fuel tank was cleaned and resealed and a Weber 32/36 carburetor was installed. Years passed and it was being driven less and less.

I was gifted the car around 2008/2009 and started preparing it for use as a daily driver: The radiator was cleaned, rodded and repainted. Koni red adjustable shocks were installed in the rear. KYB shocks were fitted to the front, along with new ball joints and polyurethane control bushings. The alternator was upgraded to a modern, modified GM unit from MechMan Alternators in Tennessee. I think it is rated around 135 amperes. The low beam (outer) headlights were upgraded to a high quality, DOT approved, glass H4 lenses and bulbs (made in Germany, too). The starter was rebuilt, an ANSA sport exhaust /muffler was installed and there’s probably more that I’m forgetting. It was a daily driver for a few months, until the clutch started slipping and I parked it in 2012. It sat until the beginning of this year when I had the clutch, pressure plate, bearings and cable replaced and tried to fire it up again. The fuel pump was found to have gone bad. When I replaced the fuel pump, I found the bad unit is serviceable, so that comes with the car. In fact, a lot of parts come with the car, which brings us to the next section.

Parts that come with the car:

I am including everything I have that is Opel related: A thick file of receipts and paperwork going back to the 1970s, a 1974 Opel factory service manual, an Autobooks manual for Manta A & Ascona A, a spare cylinder head (bare), Pace Setter intake manifold for dual side-draft carbs, Cam Techniques P275-12 cam shaft for solid lifters (0.275” lobe lift, 240 degrees @ 0.050”), 8x titanium valve spring retainers, FelPro gasket set, new timing chain, Pertronix electronic ignition kit and another similar unit of an unknown brand, exhaust flange and 4x weldable steel mandrel bent pipes w/ 180 degree bends (3" radius). New Old Stock QH brand upper ball joints (pair), MagneCor 8.5mm spark plug wires w/ 2 different style coil wires, pair of black “bullet shaped” side mirrors, rear passenger-side marker light and lens, thermostat, cap, rotor, rear wheel cylinders and rear brake lines are included along with other miscellaneous OE and aftermarket parts. Stock Solex carburetor, stock alternator and all five stock wheels are also included.

The ugly truths: