Belkits Opel Manta 400 .

[Windy37]

After my successful and enjoyable Metro 6R4 build , this is going to be my next project . I bought some Andrews Heat For Hire decals from Spotmodels  , so this will be a test of my masking and painting skills , the famous white , yellow , red and blue colour scheme  . I think the Manta 400 of Russell Brookes and the sister AC Delco car of Jimmy McRae were what got me into rallying , the ITV World of Sport coverage of the British Championship back in the 80s featuring their battles was something I always looked forward to . Back then magazine reports and the TV footage was all a 13 year me had to keep myself up to speed with the exotic and exciting world of rallying ! 
 The Manta won’t be as technical to assemble as the Metro was , but the box contains plenty of detail parts and even parts to make right and left hand drive versions . The kit provides decals to build Jimmy McRae’s 1984 Ypres Rally car . I have made a start on the painting , but due to the weather being so cold here in the UK  , spray painting will have to wait until the shed is a decent temperature . 
 Like the Metro I’ll be posting regular updates , so feel free to have a look . 
 Thanks , Gary . 
 

      Contents of the box , with parts painted .  Is it me or is the box photo rubbish !? Out of focus and too shaded . 
 

[keefr22]

I'll definitely be following Gary - got the Manta and the Andrews decals so shall be looking for tips as you go. Have you decided what paint you'll be using for the main scheme?

 

I've recently been binge watching 70's, 80's and 90's rally videos on Youtube - great days!

 

Keith

[keefr22]

20 minutes ago, Windy37 said:

Is it me or is the box photo rubbish !?

 

Not just you - totally uninspiring, almost as if they don't want to sell the kit!

 

Keith

[Windy37]

24 minutes ago, keefr22 said:

I'll definitely be following Gary - got the Manta and the Andrews decals so shall be looking for tips as you go. Have you decided what paint you'll be using for the main scheme?

 

I've recently been binge watching 70's, 80's and 90's rally videos on Youtube - great days!

 

Keith

I will be using rattle cans , Tamiya TS34 camel yellow I think will be a good match for the yellow ,as it's more of a golden yellow  . Then Tamiya red and I think for the blue I'm going to try some Tamiya Briliant Blue,  leftover from the Metro.  Might be too bright a  blue though , we'll see . 

  VHS rallies on you tube is a good source of old rally fun . All the old Top Gear rally reports are on there.  

  Gary . 

[Mike]

I've got one of these.  Should be fun

[Hamden]

 

Loved watching the Manta's back in the day so will follow along if I may?

 

   Stay safe             Roger

[Windy37]

31 minutes ago, Hamden said:

 

Loved watching the Manta's back in the day so will follow along if I may?

 

   Stay safe             Roger

You may , Roger  ! 

 Gary . 

[keefr22]

2 hours ago, Windy37 said:

as it's more of a golden yellow 

 

I agree, one of the reasons I'm hesitant to buy the Zero paints set as on screen their yellow looks too lemony (if that's a word!)

 

Also agree on VHS's channel, I'm subscribed to that.

 

Keith

[Windy37]

1 hour ago, keefr22 said:

 

I agree, one of the reasons I'm hesitant to buy the Zero paints set as on screen their yellow looks too lemony (if that's a word!)

 

Also agree on VHS's channel, I'm subscribed to that.

 

Keith

I’m not an air brusher  , Keith , so I’ll stick to rattle cans . 
Gary . 

[keefr22]

10 hours ago, Windy37 said:

so I’ll stick to rattle cans . 

 

And with the finishes you get Gary, there's no reason to change! 

 

Keith

[Vesa Jussila]

Good project and seeing your Metro this definitely will be worth of following. I drove one of these one season, sadly that we sold it to Sweden

[Windy37]

3 hours ago, Vesa Jussila said:

Good project and seeing your Metro this definitely will be worth of following. I drove one of these one season, sadly that we sold it to Sweden

Thanks,  Vesa. Mantas are not a common sight ,  even on historic rallies in the UK . 

 Gary. 

[Harry Callahan]

Nice to see an Opel Manta 400, my dream car in the 80th, i have owned a Manta GTE 1987 to 1990, ohhh man how proud i was. Even though we were 3 friends we were also competitors, one owned a Ford Capri III, and the other friend a VW Scirocco, we had so many heated debates about which car is better.🙂

[Windy37]

12 hours ago, Harry Callahan said:

Nice to see an Opel Manta 400, my dream car in the 80th, i have owned a Manta GTE 1987 to 1990, ohhh man how proud i was. Even though we were 3 friends we were also competitors, one owned a Ford Capri III, and the other friend a VW Scirocco, we had so many heated debates about which car is better.🙂

At a recent auction in the UK , a 40,000 miler Manta GTE made £19500 !  

 

Gary . 

[Harry Callahan]

Looks like in best condition, as new. My one was white and later red.

[Davie]

Watching this and would like to try my hand at a road version once my skills improve.

[bzn20]

1 hour ago, Windy37 said:

Manta GTE made £19500 !

Blimey .had one of those on C reg  cost £7200 new .Before that bought a 1.8 GTS Carmine Red

Manta B after I came out the RAF £6,000 new in 1984. 

Edited February 17, 2021 by bzn20

[keefr22]

2 hours ago, bzn20 said:

Blimey .had one of those on C reg  cost £7200 new

 

Seems to me that means the one sold in the auction was quite cheap if you paid that much 36 years ago!

 

Have to say though that a year or so ago I was sorely tempted by a couple of Manta's that came up on Autotrader for around 2500-3 grand. If I hadn't had the Mini stuck in the garage I'd probably have gone for one.

 

Keith

[bzn20]

7 minutes ago, keefr22 said:

Keith

GTE was good but £1900 ? 0-60 8.3 ish which was quick before the hot hatch 80s kicked in  . Astra Mk2 GTE 8 valve was 8.4 , SRI could beat it. 16 valve Astra was 7 secs dead . Renault GT 5 Turbo in 7.8 secs . Maestro Turbo kill 'em all with 6.7 secs . Forget the hype . Golf Mk1 and 2 GTI 8 valves were fun but Peugeot 205 1,6 or 1900 was the 8 valve benchmark . So now in 2021 I have a 220i BMW MPV  , 0-60 7.8 secs carry a small Swedish wall unit or 7 humans or empty 140 up a runway ,any runway ! 1980s were not so hot . Neither were the Aston DBs and E types of the 60s for the cost of a few houses near London .

 

[keefr22]

0-60 isn't everything though. I had a brand new Astra GTE that kept getting nicked so traded it in for a second hand Belmont SRi (Astra with a boot) which was slower, but had better handling due to better balance with the boot And no-one ever tried to steal it! But I even more preferred the brand new Mk2 Fiesta XR2 that I had that was no rocket ship but was totally fun to drive!

 

But this is seriously drifting away from Gary's build of an iconic 80's rally car....

 

Keith

[bzn20]

10 hours ago, keefr22 said:

Belmont SRi (Astra with a boot) which was slower,

It really wasn't slower than an 8 valve Mk 2 Astra GTE . Only faster by a fraction done properly but not slower . Mid acceleration 50-70 , yours would leave an 8 and 16 valve behind  . It's the same as my Astra SRI with the Family 2 engine ,more torque . I drove both . Even the 16 valve , although quicker 0-60 and top speed but not by much and rev limited could be beaten by an 8 valve  Astra with Family 2 engine due to the increased mid range torque to around 80 ish (IIRC) . Astra 2 and Belmont SRI were Q cars . The Belmont GLSI ,the exact same Family 2 1800 cc ,115 BHP engine but a real sleeper , nothing sporty looking about it ,really boring looking and a  bit OAP ,a bit like a Van Den Plas Allegro. 

 

Edited February 18, 2021 by bzn20

[johnlambert]

12 hours ago, bzn20 said:

It really wasn't slower than an 8 valve Mk 2 Astra GTE . Only faster by a fraction done properly but not slower . Mid acceleration 50-70 , yours would leave an 8 and 16 valve behind  . It's the same as my Astra SRI with the Family 2 engine ,more torque . I drove both . Even the 16 valve , although quicker 0-60 and top speed but not by much and rev limited could be beaten by an 8 valve  Astra with Family 2 engine due to the increased mid range torque to around 80 ish (IIRC) . Astra 2 and Belmont SRI were Q cars . The Belmont GLSI ,the exact same Family 2 1800 cc ,115 BHP engine but a real sleeper , nothing sporty looking about it ,really boring looking and a  bit OAP ,a bit like a Van Den Plas Allegro. 

 

One of my school friends back in 1992 had a Belmont GLSi as his first car.  I suspect all sorts of tall tales were told to the insurance company to get him covered (fronting, I believe they call it now) and it was probably the fastest car in the sixth-form car park.  I seem to recall that it had very nice, comfortable velour seats and didn't handle worth a damn.  The latter point was probably a factor when youthful exuberance saw the car driven through some railings lining the local ring-road.  The car was repaired but it never seemed quite as nice afterwards.

[Windy37]

Loving this talk of 80s hot hatches and saloon counterparts !  Back then i drive a Nova GTE , my brother a Mk2 XR2 .  Mine was faster flat out , but his slightly quicker acceleration  . As a grew older I always fancied a Ford Orion Injection (XR3i with a boot) , but ended up with a turbo diesel Peugeot 205 , same spec as a GTi and quick.  Now I drive a mk7 Golf GTD  . Quick and 60mpg !! 

   The Manta was auctioned at Mathewsons of Bangers and Cash TV show fame BTW .  

  Gary.   

[keefr22]

2 hours ago, Windy37 said:

my brother a Mk2 XR2

 

I loved mine as it wasn't particularly fast but was just fantastic fun on twisty roads - almost as good as my last rally Mk2 Escort built as a pure tarmac rally car. I'd absolutely love another one, but like all 'classic' Fords they now fetch stupid money. 

 

Keith

[bzn20]

11 hours ago, johnlambert said:

didn't handle worth a damn

No it didn't have the harder suspension or the P600 tyres

 

6 hours ago, Windy37 said:

Ford Orion

 Yeah Orion 1.6 i  Ghia was a sought after car

 

XR3 and XR3i was a bit of a joke .Looked good but wasn't fast , Ford's idea to promise something then have it on cheaper insurance because it wasn't the"it" that the brochures said...Didn't work as they got stolen anyway .

Next up the Mk 1 RS Turbo 1600i white only  .that was a car. RS Turbo that came later was a shadow of the Mk1 version

Orion 1600i Ghia was the Cortina 1600E of the 1980s . Cool ,smooth, refined not loud , not a hair dressers' car.  Sade, not Tina Turner . Not fast either tbh .

How about the RS1700T Group B ?

 

In your dreams !