Hi from WV

[Rick]

Hi Everyone, just found this site. I am the guy who has the car at mantaproject.com. I am doing stuff a bit different by building a Montage that gets great mileage and drives great first and then add power once I get a really nice reliable daily driver built.

I have not done any work to the car in a year or two while I accumulate the last parts I need. The last thing I need is a windshield so if anyone has a source that will actually sell me one please let me know. Also I would like to change over to the newer style side pods with the vent in it. I have the older flat style. Anyone have a source of them?

If anyone has questions about my car feel free to ask.

[Sulley]

Hello Rick and welcome to the site! Post up some pics of your Manta Montage when you get a chance would be great to see them. On your website you have done an amazing job chronicling everything! If you contact this person I think they have a Manta Montage windshield for sale: 573-768-9333 I don't have the name but I noted that this person had a windshield.

I don't have any suggestions on the side pods, maybe someone else on the site would.

Welcome again!

[Blueovalz]

Welcome to the site, and as Sulley wrote, photos are very helpful.

Terry

[Rick]

http://metroxfi.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/IMAG00342.jpg

http://metroxfi.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/IMG_20130316_152831.jpg

http://metroxfi.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/IMG_20130316_152909.jpg

http://metroxfi.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/IMAG0057.jpg

This will bascially be the third build of this car. First it was a VW pan with a 1600 bug engine. It wasn't much fun like that but at least it did get a lot of attention. After that I wanted something fast and when I managed to find a perfect running 76 Eldorado the problem solved itself. The 500 wasn't stock but listing crap bolted to an engine is not exciting to a build log so I never bothered. It had a 69 cam and some other year heads I can't remember. It also had a 450hp plate nitrous system and a 500hp fogger. I managed to drive the car around 500 miles in this configuration without being killed. Now I am going in a totally different direction. I got tired of going to the track and having idiots that don't know how to do anything but spend money to go fast show up. So the track wasn't much fun and the car was way too fast to go on the street at all. It got parked after I tore up the transmission pan pulling a wheelie at some ungodly speed.

Sometime after I parked this car I got a Geo Metro XFi, 45hp no sway bars and 12 inch tires. It can probably do 0-60 under 15 seconds and it sucked going around curves. But the thing was, it was probably the most fun car to drive I have ever had. It was so predictable on the road you could toss it into a curve that was way past what it wanted and you knew exactly what it was going to do. Driving most cars at their limits usually gets you lots of speeding tickets, not so with a Metro it was always just fun to drive. So I decided that I needed the Montage to be a Geo Metro at least in spirit. So that Geo is now being built into the Montage body. Mechanically the car is 100% a Metro with only custom parts in the front suspension being different. When it is done I can go anywhere and say it is a 93 Metro and get parts to fix it. The Metro before I put the hybrid drive system on it was getting around 75mpg so with this far more aerodynamic shape I figure I might be able to touch 100mpg if I can get the gearing right.

My plan is change some of what I think is bad design for a street car, like the door windows and the huge trunk lid. I am really thinking of cutting the center out of the trunk to open and have the rest fixed in place. It would give me a lot more space for batteries when I put the hybrid drive back in the car. With a reliable engine I don't really need that much access to the engine bay and it would be nice to not soak the engine every time it rains from the open wheel wells. The doors I am not sure about. I thought about making them bigger by adding a bit of the side pod to them. That would give the window enough room to actually roll down. I also thought about making them open out instead of up to make it easier to get out of the car. I haven't really done much to the doors to know what I am going to do to them though. All this is just random ideas until I take the saw to the doors and start building something.

[Sulley]

Thanks for the pics! I can't image how fast it must have been with that engine in it. I like the license plate! Keep us posted here as well on your ongoing progress. There are some good resources of people on this site!

[Gollum]

Hi, Probably not of too much help but the NZ Saker uses a Montage windscreen. Maybe they have an agent in the US? I know they do in Europe and Australia. http://www.sakercars.com/ Bruce from Saker might also remember where he sold the Montage (Mararn) moulds to. Apparently they went offshore.....

[Rick]

is it just me or is my second post invisible?

[Blueovalz]

is it just me or is my second post invisible?

It's just you Rick. I see your second post (above) just fine :)

[Rick]

Strange I can't see my second post and what should have been my 3rd post at #6 in this thread still shows as my second for me. But anyway, here is a picture of the 500 in the back of the car http://www.mantaproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/IMAGE00213.jpg

Like I said it sounded much better driving in theory than in real life.

[Rick]

I think I know what the problem is the two posts I made with the pictures in them are held for moderation or something. I noticed that when I made my last post yesterday. I guess they need approved or something before they are visible to everyone.

[Sulley]

Rick is that a V6 engine in this lasts pick?

[Rick]

It is of the 500 with the turbo 425 trans I had in the car for a while. Right after getting the exhaust fit to it and getting it able to move under it's own power.

[Jerry]

Cool car Rick. Keep us posted on how it's going.

[Andy Sheldon]

Rick

I may be able to help you out with a front screen and side pods.

Thanks

Andy

[Rick]

I managed to get a windshield from Pilkington glass already. But I am still looking for the newer style side pods. I don't even really need the full side pods just the outer part since my car has the inner part of the pods all cut up anyway to fit the frame. So if you can make them or know where some are that are for sale and can be shipped let me know.

If I can get the side pods I think I am getting nearly ready to start building on the car again. So far I have a new windshield in the car, I have the headlight covers, I have side windows, and I have tail lights to replace the broken one. I also have the wipers figured out and possibly the air conditioner figured out. The only real project left is to figure out the layout of the dash and do something with the doors. And both of those things can be dealt with later since I still have to actually build a working car before those things matter.

[Andy Sheldon]

Rick

I have an original McLaren M6 GT bodyshell and its not that good so I intend to sort it out and remould to make a quality job.

I will then have tooling for the original side pods with the air vents in them.

Thanks

Andy