a couple of months ago whilst bored & trinket hunting on ebay i happened across a Manta Ray shell up for auction & about to end.i pondered the idea of a long term buggy project & yes i admit i got giddy with the biddy.a week later & i was off to collect it with a trailer.

got it back to the workshop & tucked it away in the corner & that was as far as i thought it was going to get for sometime.
it`s only a couple of days before i start looking around for a donor vehicle.a fully restored beetle chassis with g`box,adjustable beam & all new steering,brakes & suspension turns up on ebay & after a few exchanged emails & another 150 mile round trip with the trailer later & i`ve got a great base to start from.a trip along the coast to portsmouth sorts a set of wheels & tyres & i`ve got a rolling chassis.
so it begins.............the long term project just got shorter............15.5 inches shorter.



floor pans reinforced with 2mm plates


good grind up & a few thick coats of shultz to seal it all up







good thick coating of stonechip on the inside



chassis built back up for dry build

body bolted on for the dry build.........................it sort of fits where it touches.the shell has seen it`s fair share of action & lash ups over the years so it`ll take some sorting.



so the next is to cut away all the mullered rear fibreglass bulkhead,make a steel frame for the back end support & rework the bulkhead to house the fuel tank etc.

looks like you had some good buys and saved prep and restoration of the running gear.
the shell lookspretty  good in the pictures.
keep thepictures coming.

AN OTHER MANTA HAPPY DAYS NICE WELDING 

so it begins.............the long term project just got shorter............15.5 inches shorter.

Looks good so far!! Lots of Manta Rays are reappearing recently, I like it   

got a bit further on this week.redone all the brake pipes as the previous owner had overtightened all the unions & mullered the flares.eventually i`ll replace the hoses for braided.




cut away all the damaged & lashed up rear bulkhead

started the construction of the rear body mounts,fuel tank mount & battery box mount.



just got to make some supports for the rear panel & then remake the bulkhead & add some more supports to the nose.
took the alloy dash fascia off to find the original fibreglass has been previously enjoyed so that`s on the cut out & redo list as well

after careful thought i`ve decided to remake the rear bulkhead from 2mm steel & mount the shell to this & the chassis perminently to make the whole structure more rigid.

That looks brilliant 

Hooray another Mantaray!!!

Indeed keep those photos coming

a steel rear end thats a novel idea and saves messing around trying to mold one and it gives you instant seat belt anchorage points if required.

cheers for the comments guys.the shell was in such a bad way at the back that it was easier to cut it all away & start again.i`m not planning on ever taking the shell back off & with my plans for the paintwork i want to get the shell fairly well planted on the chassis with as little flex as possible to avoid future cracking etc
i got a bit further today & waved the grinder at it for a bit.also welded in the centre mounts for the cage & finish the battery tray.



getting close to the point of fitting the shell perminently.hopefully within the next couple of weeks & then glass the back end in to meet the steel

cheers for the comments guys.the shell was in such a bad way at the back that it was easier to cut it all away & start again.i`m not planning on ever taking the shell back off & with my plans for the paintwork i want to get the shell fairly well planted on the chassis with as little flex as possible to avoid future cracking etc
i got a bit further today & waved the grinder at it for a bit.also welded in the centre mounts for the cage & finish the battery tray.



getting close to the point of fitting the shell perminently.hopefully within the next couple of weeks & then glass the back end in to meet the steel

cheers for the comments guys.the shell was in such a bad way at the back that it was easier to cut it all away & start again.i`m not planning on ever taking the shell back off & with my plans for the paintwork i want to get the shell fairly well planted on the chassis with as little flex as possible to avoid future cracking etc
i got a bit further today & waved the grinder at it for a bit.also welded in the centre mounts for the cage & finish the battery tray.



getting close to the point of fitting the shell perminently.hopefully within the next couple of weeks & then glass the back end in to meet the steel

well just looking back over the pics of the vet's manta ray build, and makes me realise how much great work Sean had done to this manta ray to get it to the stage he did before selling it to me,I would never have got it done if I had bought it in the state he did. All that rear steel work was an epic undertaking and it was done to a great standard. He had done the lions share of the work leaving me the manageable stuff such as steering column ,brake fluid reservoir and wiring and cosmetic metalwork on dash and rear light panel. It still took me a year fo finish  , again only with tons of help and advice from all on this epic forum, finally got it mot 'd and on the road, just sorting a few handling and harsh ride issues but it is turning heads everywhere it has been and I am loving it, thanks again to Sean, the vet for the insane for entrusting me to take over custody of this buggy and the guys on here for giving freely and with great patience their help and vast knowledge enabling me to complete the project . Thank you all 😀

Hi all,  a year and a half ago I was lucky enough to take custody of this manta ray project, and took up the task of contuinuing sean's great work with a view to getting it finished. As you can see by looking at seans previous build thread ,he had done the lion's share ,the big structural stuff, sourced and repaired body, found a pan ,shortened it and did massive amounts of steel work building rear bulkhead into what has to be one of the strongest buggies around, more updates to follow from when i took over.

Brilliant!  There's far too few Manta Rays out there in my opinion

I think I might recognise this one actually, would you mind if I swiped a couple of
pictures as time goes, as there are two Mk1 Manta Ray's on the go in here at the moment
and I haven't got many.

This is a great read 

Brilliant!  There's far too few Manta Rays out there in my opinion

I think I might recognise this one actually, would you mind if I swiped a couple of
pictures as time goes, as there are two Mk1 Manta Ray's on the go in here at the moment
and I haven't got many.

This is a great read 

yes prter , feel free, i will get some more up soon from when i took over👍

Thankyou,

I shall keep an eye out

Peter