Author Topic: Mid- Engine Modified Sports  (Read 784796 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline manta22

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4137
  • What, me worry?
Re: Mid- Engine Modified Sports
« Reply #1665 on: May 18, 2019, 01:37:30 PM »
Thread hijack:

I found a 1974 photo of me driving the Sabel but it was before the body was mounted. It was the first car that I built, a steel tube chassis with a body designed and built by John Sabel of Rockville, MD. It was powered by a 140 hp Corvair driving a Porsche 914 transaxle. It weighed only about 950 lbs so driving it in an autocross was really fun. I sold the car to a fellow in Md who is doing a full restoration. It will be great to see it back on the road again.

Regards, Neil

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline ggl205

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 956
  • G/FL 218.282 since 1995. G/FL record since 1993.
Re: Mid- Engine Modified Sports
« Reply #1666 on: May 18, 2019, 02:42:08 PM »
You know, Neil, I have always wanted to build a road going Sports Racer for the street using much of the small bore stuff I still have laying around. I believe you did something like it with your road going Manta? What primarily held me back was finding the right body. Not sure if that condition has improved over the years.

John

Offline robfrey

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1206
    • carbinitelsr
Re: Mid- Engine Modified Sports
« Reply #1667 on: May 18, 2019, 04:03:15 PM »
Neil,
You just continue to get better looking!


Rob Freyvogel
#496
AA/BFS
496 BGS
carbinitelsr.com
carbiniteracing.com
carbinite.com

Offline gray63

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 116
Re: Mid- Engine Modified Sports
« Reply #1668 on: May 18, 2019, 04:22:32 PM »
Thread hijack:

I found a 1974 photo of me driving the Sabel but it was before the body was mounted. It was the first car that I built, a steel tube chassis with a body designed and built by John Sabel of Rockville, MD. It was powered by a 140 hp Corvair driving a Porsche 914 transaxle. It weighed only about 950 lbs so driving it in an autocross was really fun. I sold the car to a fellow in Md who is doing a full restoration. It will be great to see it back on the road again.

Regards, Neil


Neil,  I will show this photo to John Sabel.  He will get a kick out of it.
Dave

Offline manta22

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4137
  • What, me worry?
Re: Mid- Engine Modified Sports
« Reply #1669 on: May 18, 2019, 05:12:45 PM »
Please do, Dave. I think he knows Dick Morel, who is doing the restoration.


Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline manta22

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4137
  • What, me worry?
Re: Mid- Engine Modified Sports
« Reply #1670 on: May 18, 2019, 05:16:00 PM »
Neil,
You just continue to get better looking!


Rob Freyvogel
#496
AA/BFS

Awww shucks, Rob! blush....   :-D

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline manta22

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4137
  • What, me worry?
Re: Mid- Engine Modified Sports
« Reply #1671 on: May 18, 2019, 05:27:40 PM »
You know, Neil, I have always wanted to build a road going Sports Racer for the street using much of the small bore stuff I still have laying around. I believe you did something like it with your road going Manta? What primarily held me back was finding the right body. Not sure if that condition has improved over the years.

John

John;

The road-going (street) Manta Mirage that I have was originally built by Manta Cars in Santa Ana, CA. It was their showroom car until they went out of business. It has a 350 Chevy for power. I do have a spare body (no glass though) if you are interested.

I don't know if John Sabel still has his oroginal body molds (moulds?) for his Sabel Mark III but if he does, it would make a nice little street car. A Subaru engine would be a nice choice for that lightweight chassis & body.

Kit car bodies turn up now and then on eBay & CraigsList but most designs are ugly as sin.  :-(

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline ggl205

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 956
  • G/FL 218.282 since 1995. G/FL record since 1993.
Re: Mid- Engine Modified Sports
« Reply #1672 on: May 18, 2019, 06:22:27 PM »
"Kit car bodies turn up now and then on eBay & CraigsList but most designs are ugly as sin."

Therein lies the problem.

I lived in Santa Ana when Manta Cars was in business. I had a shop next to Bill Jongbloed about the time he started making wheels. Bill was good at recruiting free labor so I volunteered a few hours forming wheel hats on a big lathe he had. That's also the time Graham McRae converted his GM2 into a single seat Can-Am car (in Bill's shop). I got to know Graham pretty well and even towed his car to Road America. That was also my first encounter with "brats". Anyway, Bill had this Lola F5000 chassis and wanted to rebody it with original Mclaren CAN-AM. He had the body but never finished the car. I became interested but no way I could handle the $5000 Bill wanted for everything on a teachers salary. That is when I looked at the Mirage.

John
« Last Edit: May 18, 2019, 06:27:32 PM by ggl205 »

Offline manta22

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4137
  • What, me worry?
Re: Mid- Engine Modified Sports
« Reply #1673 on: June 18, 2019, 09:26:10 PM »
John;

I met Bill Jongbloed quite a while ago at his Chino airport facility and bought a set of his wheels for my street Mirage. Maybe they were ones that you made!

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline manta22

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4137
  • What, me worry?
Re: Mid- Engine Modified Sports
« Reply #1674 on: June 18, 2019, 09:35:45 PM »
An aggravating day  :-P For some reason my transaxle input shaft is not mating up with my clutch. Try as I might, it just won't slip into place. I've tried turning the crank, turning the axle CV, juggling, pushing, swearing, nothing works. It goes on but there is about 3/4" until it is seated properly. I installed the clutch & pressure plate with an alignment tool so they should line up. I am beginning to suspect that the nose of the input shaft is not going into the flywheel pilot bearing. Strange, it did before.

Next I'll unbolt the pressure plate and remove the whole clutch. If it won't seat properly this time then it is not seating into the pilot bearing- a ball bearing. Arrggghhh.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Online jacksoni

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1507
Re: Mid- Engine Modified Sports
« Reply #1675 on: June 18, 2019, 09:51:45 PM »
If you didn't change the pilot bearing or damage it somehow, it has to be an alignment problem. I have had that often even using an alignment tool (some are better than others). Even a very minor misalignment of the clutch disc or the input shaft on slight angle will prevent slipping into place. Can you use long bolts as guide pins to help align? A lot of wiggling and such. But just loosen the clutch bolts so can slide the disc with your tool and try again. Frustrating I know.   
Jack Iliff
 G/BGS-250.235 1987
 G/GC- 193.550 2021
  G/FAlt- 193.934 2021 (196.033 best)
 G/GMS-182.144 2019

Offline manta22

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4137
  • What, me worry?
Re: Mid- Engine Modified Sports
« Reply #1676 on: June 18, 2019, 10:48:47 PM »
Jack;
My Porsche G50 transaxle slides on to two studs that are in the aluminum adapter so the alignment can't be too far off. I've tried to get the transaxle as level as I can and aligned with the crank. I think checking the pilot bearing fit on to the input shaft will tell me whether it is that or something else. The clutch alignment tool slides in but it isn't a loose fit into the pilot. I suppose the clutch disk could be out of alignment but only slightly.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline Dynoroom

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 2192
Re: Mid- Engine Modified Sports
« Reply #1677 on: June 19, 2019, 01:01:38 AM »
You might try pushing the clutch pedal with the input shaft as far into the disks as you can get it. I've done this on my car for the same reason you discribe.
Michael LeFevers
Kugel and LeFevers Pontiac Firebird

Without Data You're Just Another Guy With An Opinion!

Racing is just a series of "Problem Solving" events that allow you to spend money & make noise...

Offline manta22

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 4137
  • What, me worry?
Re: Mid- Engine Modified Sports
« Reply #1678 on: June 19, 2019, 12:27:31 PM »
Sorry, Michael, that is not possible with a Porsche G50 transaxle. The clutch fork is a pull-type that gets hooked up after the trans is bolted up to the adapter. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline jl222

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2955
Re: Mid- Engine Modified Sports
« Reply #1679 on: June 19, 2019, 12:35:34 PM »

  We had the same problem. The new alignment tool snout was smaller than the flywheel bearing :x

               JL222