Anybody ever seen, driven, or owned a Manta?

here's the original series race car (mclaren m8a & d) that the mirage is based on

IMO a replica with intake stacks and mclaren orange would be a sweet ride!
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for me personally, i would luv to build a replica m6gt (mclaren's own personal road car project) utilizing a lightweight chassis (aluminum) , latest materials (carbon-fiber bodywork) and the latest LS series engine (LS7 or a LS9?), air-con, etc
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Nice one (it appears) for sale on e-bay- replicar catagory. Sorry can't seem to copy link.

 

This is the Manta, it was the first car designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro after he opened Italdesign in 1968.
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That one is currently owned by Rick Dobbertin, the guy who practically invented the billet-laden pro-street show car category with a Pontiac J-2000 he built in 1985-1986. He also built a radical (for the time) Nova with twin turbos AND a roots-type supercharger. Then went on to build an amphibious vehicle out of an old milk tank trailer and attempted to circumnavigate the globe with it!

 

i recall that J2000......yellow, multicolor graphics, chrome centerline mags, twin-turbo engine (if i remember right) .....amazing machine

 

Can anyone here shed any light on this car? Is it a Manta or a different type of reproduction? This was spotted in Nashville, TN, this summer and the build quality seemed really high. The only thing that visually suggests a kit of some sort is the wheels.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59324714@N06/sets/72157627210276582/with/5943962599/

 

I that a Dedion rear end? It looks like one from an Alfa Romeo GTV6.....

 

Manta for sale
http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/cto/2723783862.html

 

It is getting there. I plan to run it in 2015.

Regards, Neil
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Stumbled across some info that might justify reviving this old thread ... It is now Aug 2017 and it appears that Ferrarichat member Manta22 did indeed make it to the Bonneville salt flats with his race Manta. Unfortunately I have not been able to find any Bonneville results for this car ... hopefully the owner (Neil Albaugh) will see this and chime in as I'd love to know what it ran. Pictures of the car at Bonneville can be seen on the site link shown below. If you scroll through the pics you will find several of the Manta on a trailer. Hopefully it passed tech and some results will be found shortly. I absolutely LOVE this car

(sorry, I was unable to borrow and post a pic from the SCTA site)


https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPUH4bI-R8TkqAV373tl1PVyJeLSeqs2wp0g12SwBj9T0rIcmDr5dcNe2JpROFk4w?key=NGtLMF9vNl9idGFLM2hQTXNDQWctUV81clRmdzZB

 

Thank you, Halibrand. I finally did make it to Speed Week this year but I ran into a few problems in Tech Inspection (need to extend firewall, etc) so I did not run. Also see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnU8BhHG-iM

Regards, Neil Tucson, AZ ex- 250GTE 2+2 # 4209
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Wow, thanks for the quick reply. Sorry to read you weren't able to run it. I have already viewed your Youtube vids. Wow, that sure sounds healthy.

Just curious, any idea what your car weighs and what HP you're putting out?

The first set of pics I saw showed your car on a trailer at Bonneville. The second set (a couple of which you've posted above) show the car in the pits with salt on the tires so I was hopeful you'd made a run or two. For some reason the SCTA site doesn't not show any daily results for either the long or short course for Aug 15th so I wasn't able to verify that you'd been able to make a run. Thanks for letting me/us know.

Great looking car ...

 

My car weighs about 1950 lbs. I made up a spreadsheet with the weights of all the component parts as I was building it. The 383 aluminum block Donovan is about 520 BHP.

Regards, Neil

 

Beastly noise it makes

 

Manta22, Just curious, can your car be raced at other events/venues such as el Mirage, a Maxton Mile type event, a "lapping" day at a road race course, or the Nevada Open (for examples) or was it built strictly for Bonneville?

I know some Bonneville cars only have third and fourth gears and need a push up to 50mph or so ... with your car having a Porsche trans (assuming all gearing is still functioning), I'm guessing there must be other events your car would fit in at.

Jeeze, I wish the SCTA would update the Aug 15th results ...

 

I just did some poking around on the internet and it appears the SCTA's "Chief Automobile Inspector" is located in southern California (the general area of Anaheim). I understand you are in Arizona so it might be a good idea to have him "tech" your car "locally" before next years event.

[email protected] Steve Davies

 

Read this thread a few months ago and low and behold my brother comes across a partially completed kit with a glass windshield custom headers and a lot of the key parts-un- Image Unavailable, Please Login touched for over 30 years. It is now posted in other cars for sale here on Fchat:

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/1974-manta-mirage-partially-completed-kit-many-rare-parts-5500.562858/

 

Me, too.

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Looks like Bonneville 2018 will be up and running soon (also read that the salt is in great shape this year too) ... here's hoping Manta22 will post details of how they fared at this years event. Would love some pics too

 

Well this isn't looking too promising ... one day left of racing (Bonneville Speed Week 2018) and I have not been able to find any results for Manta22 on the SCTA website. Hope everything is Ok with Neil A. and the team.

 

Bueller ... Bueller ... Bueller ....

 

Found an answer to my question ... if anyone is interested

 

Thanks for the interest. Yes, I ran my car at Bonneville during World of Speed in September 2021 in the "150 Club" class since it was the first time out with its rebuilt engine. The object is to achieve 150 mph but not 160 or higher. A 160+ speed gets you disqualified in this class so I took it very easy and used only 1st, 2nd, and 5th gear. I was surprised to receive a timing slip showing 157.458 mph- I thought I was going slower than that. Based on this, I feel certain that I can top 200 using full power. Regards, Neil
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