I can’t ever resist stopping for a Manta, like this one just posted at the Cohort by William Oliver. Yes, they were based on the Opel 1900/Ascona sedan’s body, so they’re kind of the equivalent of the Barracuda to the Mustang, in terms of the Manta to the massively popular Ford Capri, which also had a completely new body like the Mustang. So they’re tall, and sit too high on their little wheels, but they have a certain charm that is irresistible, at least to me. And of course they had good underpinnings.
But the biggest reason is that I got to drive one for several hundred miles back in 1972, under somewhat unusual circumstances.
This is most likely a ’74, as it has the 5 mile bumpers, but not the fuel injection that came along in ’75. I’m all too aware that the Manta had a very different image in Europe, where it was the stereotypical “mullet-mobile”. In the US, it was almost the polar opposite: the discerning few drove a Manta, because they knew it handled as well as a BMW 2002 but was cheaper. And there were even fewer of them around.
This one’s an automatic, which is obviously not as ideal as the stick, to motivate the cam-in-head 1.9 L four, which although not quite in the BMW’s league, was a relatively smooth running four for the times. A paragon of refinement compared to the Vega, in any case.
There’s a ’74 that’s been hiding in a carport about ten blocks from my house. I shot it back in 2009, when it probably hadn’t moved in ten years or more, and I wrote it up at the old site. I never brought that CC over here, as it has elements that are irrelevant now. But I still see it sitting in that carport whenever I drive by, and now it’s even dustier and there’s a few cartons sitting on it. It’s an automatic too, otherwise I might have been tempted to talk to them about it.
About that drive in a Manta:
In 1972, I was returning from my four month-long hitchhiking sojourn from Iowa out to California and Oregon. I met some kids in Cheyenne, WY, and spent a couple days with them, including a memorable snowy night in the back of a Barracuda out in the mountains. When it came time to leave, they dropped me off in downtown Cheyenne, as I-80 did not yet bypass it. I stood a corner at a red light, and a single guy driving a red Manta stopped there. I gave him a friendly wave with my thumb, and he invited me in.
He was in the Navy, and driving to the East Coast to a new assignment. And he said he’d drop me off in Iowa City, a mere 742 miles away. One of my better rides ever.
He had been driving since very early that morning and was a bit tired, and asked if I’d be up to driving for a while. Umm, let me think about that a bit… He soon fell fast asleep, and I ended up driving the better part of the way. I-80 wasn’t exactly the best place to really test the Manta’s handling prowess, but it ran like a top at 80-90 mph. Very pleasant, smooth and stable. I could tell I’d like it on a mountain road.
Nine hours later, we were pulling into Iowa City, and he drove me right to the door of where I would be couch surfing, until the next adventure. So yes, I have a soft spot for the Manta. Wouldn’t you?
One of my great desires back in the day, but there was no chance in hell:
Upon graduation (much to my parent’s amazement) from college, dad decided to do the Very Proper Thing to reward his offspring for performing above and beyond parental expectations. A new car for graduation. And I got to pick it!
Unfortunately, under certain restrictions. 1. It HAD to be a Chevrolet. 2. A Corvette or Camaro was not in consideration.
Which is why my first modern (I already had that ’37 Buick Special which was making the rounds of the local AACA meets) car was a Vega GT. Dad was determined to steer me towards what he thought was a proper automobile (front engine, rear drive, bench seat, column shift). Meanwhile my dream cars were: TR-6’s, Fiat 124 Spyder’s, and the like.
As a last, desperate attempt to get something I actually wanted, I put a push on for an Opel Manta. After all, it’s a GM car, and dad was pretty good friends with the local Buick dealer (within 5 years his unbroken line of Chevy’s would be replaced with an equally unbroken line of Buick’s).
No ‘effing way was dad going to consider a ‘furrin car, and, to make it worse, a German car! This was only seven years after having turned down Volkswagen of America’s offer of a new dealership, because he couldn’t see selling cars to the same people who enabled him to get a Purple Heart at Cassino.
Thanks to dad, it was 1982 before I finally owned a car that was my first choice, not a compromise.
I feel your pain Syke. No Camaro or Corvette left some mighty slim pickens back then
How about a Chevelle or Nova SS, especially w/a 350?
I was definitely not into muscle cars, be they big block or small. And even a Nova was too big for autocross.
For that matter, I have no interest in muscle cars today.
Paul, I too have a soft spot for these. Back in 1984 I was working at a local junk yard during the summer. A green 71 with a stick came in with a blown head gasket for scrap. My boss who was always short on cash allowed me to have it instead of a weeks’ pay (about $75). A close friend who helped us young guys out allowed me to park it in his driveway and showed me how to pull the head / replace the gasket. Bill Baronowski was one the of the best diagnostic mechanics I’ve ever known. He was also very generous with his time and a patient teacher. I still retain those skills today and are passing them on to my son. Anywho, it was a great car that I later sold for $400. Wasn’t badged as a Manta, only as a 1900 if I recall. Neighbor also had a blue one with a black vinyl roof and a automatic. The parts manager at Gaylin Buick had a good laugh when I asked if he stocked the thermostat and head gaskets!
A friend had a blue Manta with a four speed, a wonderful and more than competent combination. I still look at the Manta, then the Vega, and think about how GM’s history could be radically different. I realize that the “not invented here” syndrome was strong, but taking ideas from the Manta and building it in the USA could have been a home run and set GM up as the small car leader.
But that fantasy is for an alternate universe…
And to think Fiat after merging with Chrysler had once eyed Opel as well in the late 2000s… Ironically thanks to PSA and FCA to form Stellantis, we could see one day some Chrysler and/or Dodge models having indirectly having some Opel’s DNA. 😉
This car had all the elements for a “young car guy”. Cheap, solid, good looking, and the thing that is missing from current cars for younger guys, the “blank canvas” to take the thing from garden variety to awesome.
Wheels, tires, drop the nose, add sway bars and good shocks, and a Weber carburetor and headers. Add an air dam, rear deck lid spoiler, roll bar, a few extra gauges, an aftermarket steering wheel, and a good driving seat, if you want to go whole hog. Maybe some auxiliary lights.
Your blank canvas becomes a nice ride, and the transformation is more complete and tasteful (mostly, the air dam, spoiler, and extra lights are “maybes” on the tastefulness front) than what can be done to new cars. The duckling gets turned into a swan.
Looked at another way, it is a matter of taking the drawing board elements of the car, and returning it to roughly what the designers and engineers intended, rather than the compromised car that was actually produced. The compromises that need fixing on new cars are not so great today.
Of all the cars up through the beginning of the malaise era, in which the starting points were generally not so good at all (perhaps because the designers’ visions were often not worthy of returning to), the Manta is one of them with the most potential, but least realized, in stock form. Contemporaries such as the Mazda RX2 and Toyota Corolla are others.
Always liked the Manta’s pleasing design, but something always seemed a bit off. It’s the wheels/tires. I think they were tiny 165/13’s on 4 lug 13 inch wheels. A moderately sized E70/14 on 14 inch wheels would have been far better.
It does like like it is up on its tippy-toes. Still like it.
I think the tires here have shorter sidewalls than the factory specs, which gives it a bit of a car-on-rollerskates look.
I think it’s the wheel openings, they look like they were cut too low on the body like a bathtub Nash
I had a ’75 Opel Sportwagon, it was a great vehicle-far superior to the .’72 Vega I traded in for it except for one huge problem. The electronic fuel injection was a constant problem; at one point the dealer had it for almost a month trying to get it to run properly and afterwards I lost count of the number of times I had to replace or clean the injectors. This was a real shame for in all other respects it was a great automobile.
A 1973 Manta was my first car, bought in 1978 after graduating college. I liked it but traded it after about 9 months, owing to collision damage that I failed to detect at purchase. It was followed by a ’74 1900 Sportwagon with only 24,000 miles, which I pretty much wore out by 160,000. Next was a ’75 Sportwagon bought for a song because the transmission was shot… remedied very cheaply by dropping in the one from the ’74 (I even sprang for a new clutch while things were opened up!). So, it was Opel 1900’s of one sort or another for me from 1978 to 1989, when we updated my wife to a new Taurus wagon and I got her 1985 Volvo 245.
I share your fondness for these cars, Paul, even after a much longer drive!
My first new car was a 1971 copper 1900 sedan with 4 speed and cream interior (classic bumpers). This was the Opel that was included in the SCCA Showroom Stock Sedan class (not the Manta). Once the bias ply whitewalls wore out and were replaced by the “radical” Firestone steel belt radials, it even looked almost as good as my brother’s BMW 2002 of the same era. Loved this car and wish I had it back.
Clark: If I recall correctly, the Manta was first used in Showroom Stock. It ran away with the series and was disallowed. The 1900 sedan which replaced it in the series was not as aerodynamic, but was a bit lighter and just as dominant.
One of the best descriptions of the reason for the Opels doing so well was their overall balance. They weren’t necessarily the fastest, or quickest, or best handling, or best braking… but they did well enough in all these categories that they had a hard-to-beat blend of attributes.
I guess my early Opel experience set my automotive tastes on a track. My current daily is a 2019 GTI, which provides similar well-balanced performance.
Jeff – Didn’t know that the Manta had that distinction in SSS. As I recall, the class had some losers from the start as well as these winners (e.g. VW Beetle). I always liked the pink slip rule that I seem to remember was used in the class to keep competitors honest with their mechanicals.
Those “5 mile” bumpers are hideous. I don’t remember these as having such a poor image, but of course the model that replaced it was in a different league.
I remember that these sold fairly well in the midwest, and it is easy to see why. I don’t feel the same tug that you do, but I have always had a respect for these.
Ah, one of the two cars I miss the most from the 70s hands down. If I could get my hands on a 73 Manta and a 73 Capri, both manuals, Capri possibly the V6, I would be at peace. In fact I’d promise God never to look at cars on Craigslist ever again. Well, I’d try hard that is….
Always ahead of the Capri in terms of capability if not style, though it’s pretty good and t some better. The successor was even better.
I have a hunch it’s either on smaller than original wheels or it’s been jacked up com[ared with European spec, MGB style to put the bumpers in the right place.
The angle the second photo is at shows the only view I have ever seen where any resemblance or link to the Ascona saloon can be seen.
Mine was a year or two older, a “Rallye” (which meant it had a flat-black panel on the hood), but blew the “sporty” thing by having an automatic, like this one. It was a good driver for the most part, but unlike the Fiat 128 that replaced it was completely clueless on Tennessee roads in the winter; snow was tough, ice was all but unnavigable.
A woman who ran errands for the studio where I worked had what I think was called a Luxus version, with silvery blue velvet upholstery and a deep blue paint job, very classy indeed. And a 4-speed. That was in California, where icy roads (in that part at least) were not an issue.
Put on some bigger wheels/tires and take off the body side molding and you’d have a pretty good looking car. Of course this must be a post-1973 model because of the big cow catcher bumpers.
Never mind the bumpers. What kills it for me is the slush box. Why oh why in such a sporty car, for its time?.
The long nose of the Capri never really did it for me, there’s a certain point I just find the long hood short deck thing ill proportioned and the Capri is it, it reminds me of the 71 Mustang coupes. The Manta proportions are almost more mini-intermediate coupe, which I prefer to ponycars anyway.
The rear end really sells it for me, there’s a period ferrariesque shape to it, driven home by the round taillights. I also love the way the front overhang tapers upward into the grille/headlight area, that’s such an exotic look and the 5mph bumpers actually manage to not spoil it. Everything in between is inoffensive but not particularly inspiring, it kind of reminds me of mid 70s Datsun bodies.
Long hood or not they were nice driving cars. I learned how to drive a stick on a 1972 Capri 2.0L. My sister had a 1974 with the V6 which I also drove many times. Oh, and while at it besides the Manta and Capri I would also throw in the Datsun 510 which I got to drive around Sears Point in 1973. Three really cool cars.
Great write-up Paul!
This is my Manta, I’ve had it since 2007 and would rather sell my wife than this baby.
*Edit* Oh yeah, please don’t tell my wife thank you
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Ach Du lieber Jerry an automatic in such a nice interior…
Hey I didn’t order it that way, i’m just the second owner and beggers can’t be choosers…
Love this front shot…
I tried to buy one in 1972 after a test drive, it was a very nice car for the money. I couldn’t get the Buick dealer to even discuss the options, price or availability, so…Driving a Manta and driving a Vega GT close to each other really underscored the waste of money, the Opel was already there!
Back in the ’70s my mother owned one of these “Manta SR”. Yes, a nice and cute car. But: Other cars in the family were Audi Fox and Audi 100 LS. In real snowy winters the Opel was in no way a match to the Audis on steep and icy roads. Even the heaters of the Audi were better. Somewhat later the Opel made room for a Dasher
My brother-in-law had one of these (he’s owned 10x the number of cars that I have, not exaggerating) briefly in the 1970’s, before he married my sister, and gave it to her for awhile after he acquired his next car (maybe a 240Z or Camero?) around 1979. It was kind of a purple color.
Interestingly, my Niece bought a new (2008) Saturn Astra (which she no longer has)…which of course is one of the Opel Astras. I rented an Opel Astra in Europe, as well as a Vectra, and they were nice cars to drive (I have a VW as my daily driver).
She had it up in Vermont (we live in Texas…as do her parents) and I never saw her actual car.
I’m sure these got expensive as the 70’s progressed, which is part of the reason we stopped seeing them…plus I doubt Buick knew much about them….maybe they sold better when gas was in short supply, but by then they were pretty expensive…and we didn’t see Opels here for awhile (unless rebadged as Saturn or Cadillac)
My first car was the 72 Manta in Green. it was 1978 and I was all of 15 and made my money as a morning paperboy and doing lawn care. Like mentioned in an earlier entry-beggars can’t be choosers- and I needed a car and my neighbor had it. He wanted $700 for it and I negotiated him to 650.00. Ran great only problem was the back seat top had dry rotted from the sun. he was an upholsterer and fixed it for $35.00. Rest of the car was great. drove that thing for a couple years till 1980 when I blew up the engine. Bought a used one for 175.00 at the junk yard with the automatic transmission. Wrecked it pretty good and junked it. What great memories though. Friend had a green GT and I always made fun of how little room he had for his dates.
Growing up in a muscle car family (4 Mustangs and a 72 Corvette), I was the odd one who liked European sports cars. When I stumbled upon classic Opels on eBay years ago, the GT and Manta instantly became some of my dream cars. I found myself in position to buy a Manta 3 years ago when I was 17 and just got my first job. I spent every dollar I had saved up (and my very supportive parents lent me a couple hundred bucks) to buy it and ship it out, and then saved up for the next few months to pay for the engine rebuild and new parts. It’s such a fun car to drive. It handles great, rides nice, and while it doesn’t have enough power to push you into your seat or get the tires spinning, it’s peppy enough to put a smile on your face every time you floor it. Also, it’s a serious attention grabber. People hover around and ask about it at gas stations, I have conversations with people at stop lights (usually along the lines of, “What is that? I’ve never seen one before!” or “I haven’t seen one of those since my friend owned one 30 years ago!”). I’ve even had cops pull into parking lots behind me to look at it.
Here are some pictures: It’s a 1974 Manta Rallye, originally white with red interior, an automatic, and a factory sunroof. Engine was rebuilt and bored to 2 liters.
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