If I were to mention that we’re going to show a rear-wheel-drive German coupe from the mid-1970s, what’s the first thing that would come to your mind? Other than, “Why didn’t I buy a BMW 2002 when they were $2,000?” That’s the first one I would have thought about, too. This 1975 Open Manta is a beautiful design and the seller has it posted here on craigslist in Orlando, Florida. They’re asking $12,200. Here is the original listing.
Bumpers notwithstanding, the Manta from this era was a knockout. Russ showed us a similar car last summer here on Barn Finds, very similar, but with only 20,000 miles on it. And I thought that a 52,524-mile Manta was unusual to see. The “Manta A” came out in the fall of 1970 for the 1971 model year and in the US they were known as the Opel 1900 for their 1.9L engines.
By 1973, the Opel 1900 Manta evolved into Opel Manta until they went away in 1975. German imports were unusual partners for Buick dealerships but the company needed small and fuel-efficient vehicles and GM already was a player with Opel in Europe. This particular car looks outstanding in most of the photos but there is a spot with rust showing on the bottom of the left quarter panel and the seller doesn’t mention rust in the listing. The interior of the trunk looks great.
The seats have been reupholstered and look great but I’m guessing they should be the color of the door panels. I don’t know if I would change a thing, they’re beautiful whether they’re an exact match or not. One thing I would change if I could: the GM THM180 three-speed automatic with a console shifter. A 4-speed manual would be much nicer for driving pleasure. Some of the simulated wood grain on the instrument panel appears to be fading or wearing off which brings me to a question: how do you redo that? I have a vehicle with similar fading wood grain on the dash that I’d like to redo.
The engine is Opel’s 1.9L inline-four cam-in-head engine which had fuel injection and around 80 horsepower. The injectors have recently been replaced as well as a few other items and although there isn’t one word on how it functions, I’m assuming that everything works as it should. A 2,300-pound car doesn’t need 500 hp but a manual transmission would help this one scoot around a little better than the automatic would. It looks like a nice one if the rust isn’t any worse than the left quarter panel. Any thoughts on this Manta?
It’s a pretty cool car in pretty phenomenal shape for what it is. Tragic that it has an auto box on it but would probably still be a bit of fun to toss around. Like the saying goes, it’s more fun to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slow
My late godfather was a Pontiac-Buick dealer (my dad was also part-owner) when these were new. They were not “bad” cars, but “foreign” cars were not widely accepted at the time. They were frankly a hard-sell, and dealership staff including most sales, parts, and mechanics often tried to avoid dealing with them.
Generous Motors, however wanted to move them, and basically forced them upon the dealers. They were often sold at deep discount just to get rid of them.
I will always remember my dad and godfather saying they were going to have a contest at the dealership: “The First Prize is a New Opel. The Second Prize is 2 New Opels”.
@Cam W, I wouldn’t say foreign cars were not widely accepted…Datsun, Honda and Toyota were deep in the American market by this time. Same with VW. But yeah, Opels were hard sells and the dealer network/support was “flimsy” at best
I think foreign car penetration varies a lot geographically. They were much more accepted on the coasts but much more rare in the middle of the nation. Where I grew up in the upper midwest we really didnt see much of anything foreign until the late 70s.
Opel was GM´s step child since 1929. At that time, Opel was THE powerhouse of innovation, what with producing a rocket-engined airplanes and a gorgeous rocket powered motorcycle, THE technical marvel of the 2-wheeled world at the time. They also originated the 24.hours races on their own track, especially built for the purpose of testing their products for reliability. They were reduced to just another car company by GM. Despite that, they built a great truck, the Opel Blitz and a line of very attractive, American inbspired cars .After the war, GM abused them as a cash cow. The Opel bank account was regularly drained to benefit GM operations. Then they installed a Mexican CEO. His first act was to prohibilt the German language in the board room (in a German company, in Germany)! This outrage was followed by his pressuring the supply companies to deliver at cut-rate prices, ringinig in a decline in quality, which in turn resulted in Opel losing its leading position in Europe and in fact resulting in inferior quality vehicles in the 21st.Century. The beautuiful Opel Omega turned into a poor quality disaster. So much for the Mexican genius´s performance, Opel finally being completely drained of reserves and the once proud esprit de corps of its work force having been thrashed, was sold, much like scrap metal, to Peugeot, which turned it into a joke of its former self. Good job GM!
I was at a Chevy Buick dealership and we too had a hard timie selling them. They were a nice driving car and well made.
I learned to drive and took my drivers license exam with a 1974 Opel Manta. Had one to drive while in college. My family went through a bunch of Opels. We even had a station wagon for a while. Never had a GT though. I can say these were great in the snow as I would pass people in the hammer lane with no one else in that lane and 6 inches of snow. Sure footed as a mountain goat. 4 speed is definitely the way to go with one of these.
Drove one with the four speed, it was..peppy. I like it,but not enough to buy it. At the time I was getting great deals on old muscle cars,as owners were getting mini vans or just didn’t care about them anymore.
The last time I saw a ’75 Opel that looked that good was in 1976.
Yup. Same here Rick. I got to borrow a neighbours’ 74′ to take a lady friend home in one exactly this canary yellow. The car looked good from a distance but the ride down the twisty roads in my town had me wondering if it had been in some catastrophic accident. The front end was all over the road and the steering felt like it was connected with rubber bands.
Had to keep two hands on the wheel which rather distracted my attention from the ravishing lady in the passenger seat. Grateful to get home in one piece and return the car to its’ owner.
Would kill to own a decent one though. A very attractive car nevertheless.
I remember seeing quite a few of these, and the Capri, back then.
Now, they have all disappeared.
For context/clarification: According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, import car sales represented 25.47% of the U.S. market in 1975.
At that time, most import dealerships were much smaller than typical domestic stores. Many Honda, Datsun, and even BMW dealers were actually established at former gas stations. I bought my first new BMW in 1980 at dealership that had been a gas station. It had a 2-car showroom.
What the Vega should have been – but, yikes, those bumpers!
Yeah, those bumpers just take over all the rest of the rest of the cars beautiful design appeal. I owned two Opels back in the 70’s but never one of these. Mine were Kadets and had the 1.1 Liter engine with 4 speed manual. I loved them, they were great commuters for the 25 mile drive to work and back getting 40 mpg. Had no problem keeping up with freeway speed either.
God Bless America
I always wanted one of these,but the Rallye (to me)
was the only one to have.Got to drive a friend’s brother’s
Rallye,& it had super-quick steering with a tight turning
radius.
Years later,a kid I worked with offered me his Yellow-
Rallye for $75.I passed on it.
Just pictured an early Rally in that bright Orange with the multi slot steelies and those round, amber fog lamps under the bumper.
Old guy who looked like Charles Kuralt drove one identical but with original paint on the wheels for years. Was as nice as this one. Then all of the sudden it showed a few blocks from where I was working and was completely trashed in just a matter of months.
No mention of a Capri in the write up on the subject of German rear drive two doors!
Had a ‘74 Manta, white with a red “Tex” interior. Originally had a black top before I had it. Would’ve looked like a one of the cars in the illustration on on a Kibri HO scale structure box. Neat well made car. Mercedes and Chevy gave birth!
First destination once bought: A German Opel forum for leads on European bumpers!
That motor was used in the GMH LH Torana Sunbird in about 1974 although with a carburettor didn’t last long on the market not a nice thing a lot were tried as taxis but was replaced by a cutdown 4 cyl Starfire from a 6cyl 186 ci which was just as unloved and also used by Toyota in the Corona
You know, for a car you rarely see today, a lot of people sure have enough stories about them, and I’m no exception. To be clear, Asian cars were just coming on the scene, and peoples initial response was they were cheap, tinny death traps, that threatened our very way of life. Buicks timing was perfect. Like the Capri, it was sold at dealers we trusted, and the Manta was a quality German car. I liked the ones I had, and several friends had Mantas, with good results. It didn’t feel like a small car, like the Asian “roller skates”,,my old man called them. The F.I. was a welcome improvement, and the old Solex 2 barrel was junk. I replaced several with a Pinto ( Autolite ?) 2 barrel, with much better results. Like most, they rusted terribly, the front stubs that held the front suspension on, rusted, deeming the car junk. Dealers too. At the time, Buick dealers always said, the Opel sucked sales away from Buicks, and service was a nightmare,,,just like the Capri. Outstanding find, it still looks great 50 years later. THAT’S a good design.
its a holley/weber 32/36, same holley 2300, ora weber. All basiclly same carb (swap L & R, etc)
No stick – no value. Always liked the look of these-never had one.
This car with a two speed auto box was an absolute disaster which couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding.
See that battery in the engine compartment shot? Right under that, in the passenger compartment above the drivers left foot is the fuse box. The ’76 Manta Sport I bought as a daily years ago had corroded to the point where any leaking battery acid dripped directly into the fuse panel. Electrical nightmare, but a fun car to flog thru the gears.
75 was last year for German Opels in USA. After that they were Japanese Isuzus badged as Opels.
Beautiful looking car. IMHO, it’s the best looking car Opel produced. I’d pay $10,000 for a car like this. I hope whoever buys it enjoys it.
Gaggg… those fugly bumpers!!!
But what is really disappointing is the fact that it’s automatic.
I remember when I was young , there was this big rivalry between vw golf gti and those Manta.
I had a ’73 with an automatic trans. At the time Opels were winning everything in showroom stock racing. Knowing that my wife could not learn to drive a stick, I wanted the best performing car with an auto trans. I really liked the Manta ‘Luxas” I installed A/C. Yes, the carburetor had issues, and yes, the fabric of the interior was not U/V protected and disintegrated well before it should have. I found (well, the upholstery shop did) a Burgundy corduroy material (Mercury material) that nearly matched the original and the seats were done in that. Buick had no idea what they were selling, they just wanted a little car in the corner that someone might buy instead of a Vega or Pinto. Performance and handling were top notch.
Worked on a few of these engines in our automotive machine shop in the 70’s. I believe I remember some bearing in the block that came as blanks and once installed had to be bored to size? A shaft that drove the oil pump???
Owned a1972 Opel Manta GT with the 4 speed. I bought it used in Savanah, GA with less than 20,000 in 1974. I hauled my wife/two sons all over GA, including Road Atlanta several times. Brought it to So CAL in the late 70’s and drove it until 1984. I never experienced any mechanical issues and I drove it hard. One of my favorite cars over the past 60 years of driving!!
Should have just badged it as a Buick. That’s what the last Buick Regal and Verano are. I have 2015 Verano, it’s a great little car. Only complaint is the pretty tight back seat, but I’m single, so rarely a problem.
My mom had a new 1972 Opel Manta Rallye to replace a 71 Maverick Grabber with the V8! She said the Opel wasn’t as fast but, handled so much better than the Maverick. Not mentioning the savings in gas! I still liked both the Grabber and the Opel equally. The Opel was nicknamed the great pumpkin by us kids as it was an orange with the black hood and stripes.
I had a 74 version of this car with a four speed. It was really an excellent little car. It got excellent milage, 30s mostly, in a day when 15 mpg was considered very good. It had some metallurgy issues and rust was hard to stay ahead of. But what I remember most about it was its ride quality. It was a little bitty car with the ride of a large sedan. It handled well and the suspension was dead silent over almost anything (I lived in a railroad town). I traded it for a GT coupe. I missed it almost immediately. But the price on this one is a bit optimistic, especially for an automatic. As an aside, we found that many of the chassis components of the car found their way into the Chevy Chevette.
I had a 73 manta rallye 4-speed
White flat black hood red interior full
Gauges
Had a 71GT 4 speed too, manta was more fun to toss around to be honest!
Drove it hard in the mountains handled well my buddy had a 240z he could pull away in the straights but get in the twisties
And I could take him!
Handled as well as a BMW 2002 AND MERCEDES 250 all 4speeds.
These were all a blast to chase around the mountains!
I once had a 2 speed hondamatic for a couple days that had no 1st gear .no.risk of a neck injury taking off too fast in that. Was the only 2 speed econocar I’ve ever seen . Didn’t know you could get a 2 speed opel till now either
great cars had a few in uk 1900SR,not sure what is going on with that rear quarter looks like if you do some digging you will be in world of pain and that rear window with the vinyl roof looks like trouble,no photos of floor pans so its a nice car but you could soon have 15000 20000 grand in it to bring it back, i would be a player at 7800 so you are in the right ballpark to end up with a really nice car,auto also kills it they are shockers with no speed bad gas mileage and getting it repaired these days,that’s probably why it got low mileage you better not break it,give me a 1972-74 Toyota celica St any-day against an Opel
Would be an awesome ride with an engine,tranny,suspension and bumper swap. Anybody got 30 grand that needs a new home? Love the taillights! Oh yeah… fatter tyres.
reminded me of the bemmer Bavaria (proceeded it by 2 yrs) but seen plenty of them in different models up here in the NE. Boston may have as much car cultrue as SoCo. We’d seen the Kadette L, wagons and others. Were 90% of the Mantas painted yellow? and 90% of them had the black roof?
My family went through a bunch of Opels back in the late 70’s into the early mid 80’s. I had a neon green Manta in college. Paid $50 for a driving running car. just needed tires. Yeah it had some bumps and surface rust, but made for reliable transportation for a college student. I compounded and waxed the paint at school one evening in the parking lot. The car really stood out in the parking lot from my dorm room window. My brother had a burnt orange Manta with black racing stripes, Mom had a red Manta with a white ‘Starsky and Hutch’ stripe, then she had a blue Manta with blue cloth interior. All of them were manual trans cars. There was a light blue Opel wagon at one time if memory serves. We never had a yellow one though.
There was a place just NE of Seattle that sold parts
for these in the ’70’s – MORE OPEL.
Wonder whatever happened to them?
This Opel is now running through the Manheim dealer auction in Tampa. VIN 0L77N55069838 with 52,577miles.