Peak Kit Car: 1969 Manta Montage
Manta was a custom car company based out of Southern Calfornia (run by brothers Brad and Tim LoVette) in the 1970s/1980s that built swoopy looking fiberglass supercars using donor parts from Vettes and Beetles. The Montage was one of their later offerings and used a Volkswagen Type 1 donor engine/transmission to underpin a fancy looking shell. Find this 1969 Manta Montage offered for an undisclosed price, located in Norfolk, VA via craigslist.
Unlike previous Manta that were festooned with masking tape signs declaring the car “almost done”, this one is totally done. The paint shines nicely, the engine is just getting broken in, and the interior looks good…the big question is — what does the seller want for it?
The seller says it has a Skat motor, dual carbs, hurst 4 spd shifter, Griffin clutch, & racing exhaust — which means it should go like stink. If you run into any problems (or need to replace the Pinto steering knuckles) you can head to mantacars.com and checkout a copy of the original assembly instructions here.
See a better piece of forgotten fiberglass for a reasonable price? tips@dailyturismo.com
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The famed Pastiche GT:
Must have sold quickly because it was less onerous than most of the "homage" specials. I genuinely feel sorry for the goof who may have ever been fooled by one of these.
Aren't some of these V8 powered? Do those have a different chassis or just a Toronado drive train welded in?
Jefe and other regulars- I have a real (not sarcastic) question for all of you:
What do you see as the difference between a "hot rod" and a "kit car"?
Do you see any critical differences in build quality? If yes, can you go into a bit of detail?
My reason for asking: Back in the 80s, building a car from scratch was popular, and was probably the "golden age" of kit cars, for this reason.
Hot rods have a long and illustrious past, going all the way back to Ford Model T speedsters and earlier.
I see both as fun projects, built by and for car nuts.
What do you all see them as?
ford speedsters
He wants 12K for it as of 1-4-17