Manic 108 rebuild onto new R8 /10 platform

rubyalpine said:
The Manic GT reminds me of the Puma GT which is also a 2 door coupe, but built on a VW floor pan.
Do you have the moulds for the Manic body? I was thinking that this might just be an attractive alternative for R8/R10 owners who have rusty (car) bodies, but good (or restorable) mechanicles.

Cheers, Henry
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RubyAlpine I only have the tail section mould which came with all the parts I bought in bulk buys ! I do have 2 unfinished cars which do not have vin tags or paint . The bodies have still the seam marks of were the mould would have clamped together . Manic_Sherbrooke_Quebec_001.jpgManic_Sherbrooke_Quebec_006.jpg

This is one of the unfinished cars with out a vin number plate . Notice the signal lights have been changed to being above the bumper but still is the R8 light , this was done so that it would meet the USA market. The dash was also changed but it still used the same R8G gauge clusters . There were sales on the books to the USA but everything came to a halt because they where not able to get enough parts to keep things rolling . From what I been told no cars where imported to the USA to be sold at their Renault dealer ships .

There was a couple of mid engine proto types that where also made for the future demand . They must have realized the R8/10 platforms production was coming to an end . A tubing frame was used and a larger power plant and suspension from the R12 or 16 . I did see one back in 1976 and looked it over . From memory it appeared to me that they used a 2x2 inch box tubing with the R16 torsion bar arrangement front and back so that the suspension could be adjusted easily for The different track configurations . The rear sales had remained so the car looked the same from the sides , but the deck area was extended with the rear window going strait down to allow for the mid engine engine compartment . I have since located another one and chatted with the owner the car had been used on the race track and apparently it did quite well ! I have not been able to visit the gentleman who owns it to inspect it to see if it really was the same car I had seen so many years ago .


This unfinished car above came with a 689 engine and the 330 4 speed .


RubyAlpine the R8 car would be the ideal candidate for a Manic shell because it has the most parts to fit the shell .


grey_Manic_Toronto_#3.jpg

This is a picture of the remains of a Manic shell that I picked at the beginning of my hunt for parts . The shell had been cut up and placed on a Volkswagen bug platform Apparently the shop that had it was suppose to complete the process but for what ever reasons it fell into disarray , the front windshield and door glass had been broken out of it and wheel wheels hacked away to alow for the different wheel base and wheel size . Each of the cars I collected I also tried to get the story behind it it is always a part of the intrigue of the hunt and rebuild process.

Here I go rambling again I guess the answer to your question is for the most part no! But I do have shells that can be taken apart to build molds ! For me at this point I have enough stuff to do what I want to do .

Manic gt
 
manicgt said:
John This is a project I started for my own enjoyment I may consider selling a couple but I have not even figured out what this one is going to run me ! I suppose it will also depend on the final power plant that ends up in the car ! I plan on leaving this one fairly stock with maybe a stroked engine with a wedge head and the stock 4 speed 330 transmission .
Eventually will probably build one with the 336 R16 trans upgrade and the R16 TS 807 style motor with the cross flow head .
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And of course I was joking. But having several of these rarities is quite amazing. Lots of us will follow this with great interest.

Cheers and thanks.
 
Hi,

It looks great and I love the coulor. I have noticed that many modified Yank tanks like to do it in a bright orange and it looks good to me.

Being tall and uncomfortable in an A110, what is the legroom in like in the Manic?

Frans
 
Franz the manic uses the R8/10 platform and places the seats in the foot well of the rear seats which means you are sitting on the floor with your legs strait out ! I am 5'10" and have no problem but I would think a 6'5" person may if they like the seat in a fairly up right position ??

Manic gt
 
Fantastic!

Manic GT said:
Franz the manic uses the R8/10 platform and places the seats in the foot well of the rear seats which means you are sitting on the floor with your legs strait out ! I am 5'10" and have no problem but I would think a 6'5" person may if they like the seat in a fairly up right position ??

Manic gt
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Hello,
i'm very impress by the quality of your job! As a pround canadian from Québec city, i dream of having a Manic. Is that possible? Keep the good job!
 
Hello Manic GT,
I bought the Manic GT #138 two month ago in Canada.
Today the Manic GT arrived at my home. I'm from Austria (neighbour country of Germany).
I'm collecting sportcars of the 60/70s made of glassfibre and produced in small seriers. Renault-based I have a Rene Bonnet Djet and a Sovam 1100 and now the Manic GT.

What I have read, it seems you are the world-best specialist for Manic GT. So I hope you will help me in answering some of my questions.
Maybe you know #138?
Today I have seen that my Manic GT has a nice welded frame with tubes under the car--but on your pictures I have seen that there is no frame with tubes on the bottom of the car!
It's seems to be a good work but in my point of view its not good because its not original.

In the neighbourhood a man offered two R10 (he said one nearly without rust). So I want to ask you if it make sense to buy it to build a new platform for the Manic GT. Could you help me with detailed information and pictures?
Of course welding is no problem for me.

Thanks in advance
Looking forward to your answer
Robert from Austria
(Please excuse my bad English)
 
Robert36
If you want original you probably should pick up the R10 platform there are a lot of fiberglass shells that have a rusted platform so rather than redoing your car it may be easier to just start over If your tube car is in good shape it may bring a good value in a re- sale ! Send me some pictures of your frame setup and maybe I can see if how much it has been modified and if it is even possible to re-body your tube frame Manic body easily or if it has been highly modified to fit onto the tube frame . I still have a number of extra shells around and have noticed 2 others for sale over the last 6 months that would make good candidates .


Manic gt
 
Hi Manic GT,
thanks for your prompt reply!
The transport of the Manic from Toronto to Austria (Vienna) was not so cheap. Including taxes and custom duty the price was approx. 4000CAD (of course without the car). But the custom was only 7% because of a "collector car". For parts of a car, eg a Manic-shell, tax and duty is much higher, I think around 30%.
Not only of this reason I think I would prefer the "original" solution with a "new" R8/R10 platform.
I have seen that the tube-frame looks not so good in the area of the axles. No good work here.
Today I have seen these two R8 the man in the neighborhood will sell.
One is rusty but one is quite good. For the better one the price is around 1100CAD. I think that's OK.
My Manic is in the moment in a hall here at my company. So I'm sorry, it's not possible to take good picture of the bottom here. We have no car-lift here. The pictures I have taken you will see at the end.

In your tread I have seen some pictures with the R8/R10 modified Manic platform.

Maybe you have some more pictures were I could see:
X) more of the "Manic-converted-platform" on the frontside
X) the part from the R8/R10 rear seat. Is it higher (like on the R8/R10) or is it different to R8/R10--is it straight?
X)the connection between the shell and the plattform


In my Manic the engine is a 810-03, do you know if this is this a correct engine?

Is it better to send you a "private message"?

Thanks in advance for your help
Looking forward to your answer
Robert






 
I have just re-read the whole thread from the beginning. It is a great thread. I have a Floride with a completely rusted floor pan and have saved an R10 pan so as to rebuild it. Well may be if I live long enough. For Australia people would say I am mad but I would see it as a challenge and a way of saving another Floride. Perhaps it will prove to be beyond my abilities. Please both of you keep this thread going. I do enjoy it.
 
floor pan replacement

Sunroof said:
I have just re-read the whole thread from the beginning. It is a great thread. I have a Floride with a completely rusted floor pan and have saved an R10 pan so as to rebuild it. Well may be if I live long enough. For Australia people would say I am mad but I would see it as a challenge and a way of saving another Floride. Perhaps it will prove to be beyond my abilities. Please both of you keep this thread going. I do enjoy it.
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Sun roof the good part of the fiberglass cars is the fiber does not rust so the more rusted the easier to remove the body ! If you are planning on replacing a floor pan on the Floride it would mean a lot of drilling out the plug welds and than trying to separate the pieces with out destroying the stuff you wanted to keep . I must admit drilling out the plug welds actually was easier than I expected compared to the newer high strength modern car bodies .

Are you talking just replacing the floor pans or the complete uni-body frame rails as well ?

Manic Gt
 
Some parts of the frame plus outer sill and most of the floor pans. One of the problems will be keeping it all straight and square so I'll turn it upside down on a heavy steel frame I have and do a piece at a time. The Floride is wider than a 10 as they had extra wide sills. I'll have to fabricate the additional width. They were actually based on the Dauphine but it is almost identical to the 10 frame. Particularly if I separate only the bits I need to replace. Most of the body it self is not rusted at all. The thing is I have other cars to complete before I start on the Floride. My current progress on them is very slow.
 
Sunroof I would think that a complete lower frame and floor pan replacement to easier than a section at a time ? I would stiffen the car by making all the gaps correct and possibly welding small pieces across the door gaps to hold things together plus some other cross bracing above floor rails than remove all old material getting it ready for the new replacement pan and frame . I would start with the replacement frame and pan first by again just removing all the donor upper structure and slowly cutting away at the the pinch welds so as to prepare them for the Floride pan and frame .
The advantage of doing a complete build like this is you can fine tune everything to fit perfect and add a little extra support in areas that are know to be week .
Sounds like a fun type project .

Manic GT
 
You may be right about a complete change but there are a few differences. For example 4 door to 2 door. I have already removed the donor top off the 10 I only have the floor pan and frame. The Floride does have some original structure that is ok. Once it is up side down I will have a better idea of what has to be replaced. However I do expect it will be most of it once I start probing with a screwdriver and cutting out bits. I will strengthen the sills as Florides are always a bit flexible. I already have put door stays in place to move it to my place. I have an engine transmission unit in very good original condition. It doesn't even need painting. Thanks so much for the input. It makes me want to start on it right away but I do still have three or four half finished projects to tackle first.
 
Manicx 108 assembling 1.jpgManicx 108 assembling 2.jpgManicx 108 assembling 3.jpgManicx 108 assembling 4.jpgIt has been a fair amount of time that has past and very little progress to show for it but I have not abandoned the project !
I had a little time so I installed the front end , Master cylinder from a VW bug and started on the bumpers and lights .
I have been soldering ground leads to all the light sockets to make sure I will have no grounding issues .

I do have a couple questions on the lights used on the Manic the rear tail lights for the R8 and alpine cars seem to have used different styles some are a total red lenses and some have orange reflectors as part of the light . If some one could tell me what cars used what taillight lenses it would be of great interest to me.

The car that the front signal lenses and back up lights in my picture are from would also be of interest to me .

Renault left Canada shortly after the Manic GT was built which probably was the mid seventies so searching my memory is not a very reliable source . I was thinking the front signal lights are off the R16 and possibly the back up lights as well ?

Not sure when I will get a chance to install more on the car.
The transmission has already been taken apart inspected and has been resealed with new seals installed .
I have several options for power plants ranging from a modified 810 block with 77mm 807 pistons and a 1108 crank to a 1255 cc 812 block or a 1397 engine . All choices will have to use a rear rad because at this point I do not want to cut up the front for a front mount rad .
If some one is interested in more details of the build just ask and I will go into more detail of the specific parts of the build .

Thanks to all that have helped and inspired me in the build so far !!

Manic GT
 
Manic GT said:
View attachment 104573

I do have a couple questions on the lights used on the Manic the rear tail lights for the R8 and alpine cars seem to have used different styles some are a total red lenses and some have orange reflectors as part of the light . If some one could tell me what cars used what taillight lenses it would be of great interest to me.

The car that the front signal lenses and back up lights in my picture are from would also be of interest to me .
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The tail lights you have are the standard Canada/USA spec PK-LMP (concentric ring) lenses with the red blinker lens. The PK-LMP (concentric ring) lenses with orange blinkers and chrome trimming were fitted to certain market Renault 8s and certain era Alpine A110s, amongst other low volume or one-of cars. There are also the Seima brand (orange/red) lenses that were also used on certain market Renault 8s and Alpine A110s. These seem to be the more common type, with both red and chrome trimming, as both original Seima, and aftermarket (of varying quality).

If you are looking for red/red PK-LMP replacement lenses, try Jacques Rear Engine Renault Parts, given they were only used in Canada and the States. For the orange/red PK-LMP type, they seem to be rarer in good condition, it is more just being lucky to be in the right place at the right time and grabbing them. They don’t appear to have been reproduced, although I’m guessing there could be a shedload of them in the States from a misdirected consignment :)

Also note that the Seima and PK-LMP lights use different bases, so a Seima lens will not fit a PK-LMP base.

The front blinkers were fitted to the 16 and rectangular front headlight Renault 10s. These seem to be reasonably common, so likely also available from Jacques.

The reversing light looks aftermarket, rather than a Renault part. Perhaps because Renault were not fitting reversing lights as a common feature in the early 1970’s. It doesn’t look like the Bosch or Cibie types that were fitted to certain upmarket 12 and 16 models.
 
Its been a while since I have had a chance to get back at my Manic build so now finally I have some time set aside to proceed a little further . I am trying to deal with the lights again ! I have moved residences and now I am starting to gather up all the pieces to see how much may have been stored in that safe spot that I cannot remember where place ? This is a picture of my old ordinal car's front signal and rear back up lights plus the licence plate light . The reason I am saying original to my car is because some of the Manic cars I collected had a different version but I would at least like to know what my original lenses where from.
manic 108 rebuild.jpgmanic 108 rebuild.jpg
Thanks for your help
Manic GT
 
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