“It’s a great attraction,” said my friend Tim, “But I’m never getting on it again.” It might be a bit intense for the borderline adventurer. Manta is going to be a boon for coaster buffs. You’re surfacing right at the load station. And it’s all inside, away from the Florida sun.Įventually you reach a blue hallway with trippy aquatic lighting and a stairway. (The non-riders aquarium was not open for us Sunday). Some folks are so taken in by the scenery that the line can be a little stop and go. Meanwhile, back in the queue, folks are entertained by several windows that look into a water environment for rays and other sealife. Once everyone is parallel to the ground, it’s like everyone has a front seat with unimpeded view. What you don’t notice is other riders’ heads and feet. The blast/splash across the front of the park is even better on board, and the close encounter with the waterfall is disturbing even though from dry land, you can see how much distance is between H20 and feet.Įven the turn toward home is rattling as the scenery changes rapidly from sky to trees to waterfront to wall to blue metal landing zone. The second half of the ride is about the “near misses” with water and other structures. After that there’s knotting and threading and general chaos and screaming. You’re moving and twisting, sometimes seeing ground, then sky, then trees, then rail, then feeling your skin peel back from the G’s of the first big loop. OK, so the first half of the ride is very very intense and disorienting. On average, finished Manta Montages get near the upper $20,000s, which means this car is priced quite reasonably in my humble opinion.Actually, you’re going down head-freakin-first. The owner writes that the car runs and drives, and he’s asking $22,000 for it here on Los Angeles Craigslist. Also, who would have guessed that gold daisy mags could look so good on an exotic? it appears that the headlights need to be finished, but they're looking rad already. The exterior of the car isn’t quite complete yet, but there’s no denying that this one has the right look. The owner cites that all the components are either brand new or rebuilt. It’s powered by a 350 SBC topped by exotic Weber 48IDA carburetors and backed by a Porsche transaxle. It’s clear the builder was a meticulous fellow, evidenced by the thorough build quality and sanitary condition of the chassis and mechanicals. It’s a treat to find any Montage in reasonable condition today, but it’s the V8-powered cars that really get our gears spinning, and this small-block Chevy powered Montage project car on Los Angeles Craigslist is just about perfect in our eyes. The Montage made its largest contribution to pop culture in the first season of the 1983 TV show Hardcastle and McCormick. An affordable version of the Montage was designed on a VW air-cooled pan, while the Montage-T used a tubular spaceframe chassis. Manta’s Montage was no less exotic in appearance, having taken its shape from the rare McLaren M6GT Can-Am car. The Mirage sold well and was also seen on the big screen in the 1974 film Gone in 60 Seconds. The Mirage mirrored exotic looking Can-Am race cars of the 1970s, and was built on a steel tubular chassis and most often completed with Chevrolet small-block engines mated to a Corvair transaxle with a special adaptor. Manta had two main production models, the Mirage and Montage, sometimes referred to as the Can-Am and McLaren respectively. ![]() Opened by brothers Brad and Tim LoVette in 1974, Manta Cars operated in Costa Mesa and Santa Ana California until 1986, having built around 1,000 kit cars and turnkey vehicles. Not every kit car from the 1970s satisfies this list, but the Manta sure does. But most importantly, a good kit car has to have super car panache - something the neighbors see roll out of your garage and question how well they really knew you. ![]() First of all, it’s gotta be fun to drive, because that’s the whole point right? Secondly it has to be something you can build (or rebuild/maintain in this case) at home in your garage without going broke, so the availability of spares is something to keep in mind. A good kit car really ought to do a few key things.
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