JDoors Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 ... was a German Opel Manta. I found a YouTube video where the owner of a Manta put in an engine with nearly 600 horsepower ... Holy Cripes! It's a sure bet I would've killed myself if I had had that car (I came close enough too many times with just a 2.5 L four!):Opel Manta Magic Quote Link to post Share on other sites
garmanma Posted January 2, 2007 Report Share Posted January 2, 2007 When were those made? I remember a Buick Opel made in Japan in the late '60'sMark Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bearskin Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 my first car was a 1929 model A ford. paid $25 for it. top speed 40mph.had to crank to start it so I got in the habit of parking on a steep hill. carried my brother in law's moonshine under the frony seat. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
garmanma Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 my first car was a 1929 model A ford. paid $25 for it. top speed 40mph.had to crank to start it so I got in the habit of parking on a steep hill. carried my brother in law's moonshine under the frony seat.Got me beat. Mine was an old '49 Ford flathead. Boy I wish I still had that car. Or my '32 Dodge Powerwagon, "69 Merc. Cyclone GT, plus my old '46 Indian. Why oh why did I ever sell them? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
isteve Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 The japan made opel "Isuzu I believe" came out in the mid 70's. The opel Manta and GT were made in Germany. I'll see if I can dig up some pictures of my old Manta. I somehow now am just developing a soft spot for it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hitest Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 That is a very sweet car!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
robroy Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 My first car was a 1960 Ford Anglia, made in U.K. It was a nice little 2 door sporty predecessor to the Escort. In fact my second car was another Anglia.At one time I also owned a Russian built Moskvitch. Felt like driving a tank at about 45 mph Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Honda_Boy Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Man the thing is wicked. Got a turbo'd Volvo motor in it. Nice. Whoulda been cooler if was a Honda F22A1 motor instead. (S2000 motor)My first car:1985 Pontiac Sunbird FastHatch. Ha, you thought it was a Honda. 4 options away from being the cheapest crappiest POS Sunbird you could get. It had AC (broken when I had it), Power Steering, Alloy wheels (yes, they were factory and rare at that), and an Automatic transmission. The SE version of it (mine was base plus a couple extra options as I've said) had a turbo and when I still had that car, I wanted to find one in the junkyard and jack the turbo from it.My second car was the 1995 Honda Civic EX 2-Door Notchback coupe. This car had everything available except 4-wheel disc ABS (I had drums in the rear), fog lights, and the factory wing. My third and current car is the beater pictured in my signature, the B16A2 swapped, 1996 Honda Civic CX 3-Door Hatchback. The bottomest of bottom end with the highest end motor of 1996-2000 (96-97 Civic DelSol VTEC or 99-00 Civic Si coupe) swapped into it. This car out of the factory didn't even have a radio. It has one now but it does not (and never did) have power steering. Everything other than the brakes is not powered. Manual everything plus no rear windshield wiper. it does have AC but there is a leak in a hose so it doesn't work.Whoops rambled. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
blim Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Bearskin, I don't know whether to believe you or not! I'm jealous. My first car was a jalopey. A 1967 buick skylark that was what my Dad called s***-brickle brown and broke constantly. Oh, how I hated that ugly unreliable car! But the advantage of it always breaking was that my Mom had a 1965?? 67?? Mustang that was cute and boxy and red that I could borrow!Liz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JDoors Posted January 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 (edited) When were those made? I remember a Buick Opel made in Japan in the late '60'sMark GM tried various times to sell Opels here, from around 1970-1975 they sold German Opels through Buick dealers. Buick didn't appear to want to sell them, didn't promote them, didn't learn to service them, and by 1975 the German Duetchmark made Opels too expensive compared to comparible American iron (not that anything America made, or makes, can directly compare to German cars -- The Manta, for example, was comparible to -- get this -- the Chevy Vega and Ford Pinto). I don't know the exact dates but sometime in the 80's Isuzu used the German design to assemble an inexpensive version of the Opel model below the Manta (forget it's name). All the car magazine reviews were vicious -- they hated it, especially when compared to the German cars. When I first bought it my sister was aghast. She had spent years in Germany with her husband while he was in the military and she had terrible memories of Opels. She told me she went to open their car door and the handle came off in her hand. By the time I was ready to buy a car, however, Opels were known as the poor-man's BMW (and over here, as I said, they became too expensive to sell as "economy" cars -- Cadillac sold a larger Opel a while back to give you an example of their reputation for higher quality -- not that that car was successful though).------ HondaBoy, how'd you like to get your car SMOKED by a THIRTY YEAR OLD Opel? ------ If you want to see the ORIGINAL advertisement for the Manta (in German), it's Those Germans, what a sense of humor. Edited January 3, 2007 by JDoors Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Honda_Boy Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 despite the fact I don't know German, I understood that commercial. Of course both Deutsch (German) and English are Germanic languages with much of English being derived from Deutsch. Let's just say that this was far easier to understand than much of the subtitled anime I'm watching. I'd be entirely lost without subtitles but that Opel ad, I picked much of it out.Doesn't seem like a bad little car but I wouldn't really be smoked by a 30 year old Opel. It has a newer turbocharged Volvo motor in it. A turbo'd F22A1 can get some wicked horse power too (upwards to 450HP or more to the wheels on a small boost). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bearskin Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 Bearskin, I don't know whether to believe you or not! well I think I was about 12 years old. it was a flat bed truck. my brother in law used it to work the saw mill. he needed a bigger truck to haul lumber so I work for him long enough to pay off the little truck. about a month I think. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Honda_Boy Posted January 4, 2007 Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 Whoops I just realized a mistake. I put F22A1 as the engine code. Actually that is an old transversely mounted SOHC accord (or maybe prelude) motor. I meant F22C. 2.2L DOHC VTEC that powers the rear wheels. 240 stock ponies naturally aspirated. Throw in some performance parts and some boost (turbo or supercharger) and then you got one rockin 4 banger that can easily match that Volvo motor. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JDoors Posted January 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2007 As long as you put that engine in an early 70's Honda body, yeah, you have basically the same thing: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
macmarauder Posted January 5, 2007 Report Share Posted January 5, 2007 mine was an 89 buick century with that horrid retched 4-Tec engine. it was a chick magnet, but sadly it's polarity was reversed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
cherokeechief Posted January 6, 2007 Report Share Posted January 6, 2007 well lets see, from start, a '63 chevy biscayne, 4-d, w/ 230 6 cyl.then a 70 pontiac lemans, 4-dr, with a 350a 63 chevy 1/2 ton p/u with a 283 and a 3 on the treea 74 chevy vega hatchback with a 4 spd. fun car72 chevy g10 van with a 6 cyl, and a 3 on the tree78 chevy g20 with a 4 bolt main 350 heavy suspension, and made in canada. had to have reg leaded fuel.(still have the engine)80 chevy monte carlo w/ a turbo v686 chevy s1094 gmc c1500 extended cab w/tow package94 cadillac sedan deville.still have the last two.oh and my work truck, 2007 peterbilt 387 with a cat c-13 and a 13 speed trans. with built in am/fm/cd/mp3/sirius sat radio. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JDoors Posted January 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 mine was an 89 buick century with that horrid retched 4-Tec engine. it was a chick magnet, but sadly it's polarity was reversed. I wasn't even aware they put fours in the Century. Yeah, that'd be one hot ride. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JDoors Posted January 7, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2007 (edited) well lets see, from start, ... My list from over thirty years of car ownership, each driven well over 100,000 miles: 1975 Opel Manta (bought new off the dealer's lot) 1981 Ford Mustang Cobra (ordered from the factory) 1986 Jeep Comanche (ordered from the factory) 19-something Dodge Spirit (bought with proceeds from insurance settlement when the Jeep was totaled) 1997 Ford Explorer Sport (bought used from CarMax when the Dodge had to be put out to pasture) Edited January 7, 2007 by JDoors Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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