Mirage Registry

Owner Dave Withers
Location Pennsylvania, USA
email drdavewithers@yahoo.com
Web Page n/a
Year 1982
Car Mirage
Color Red
Builder unknown
Chassis Type tube
Chassis Number -
Engine Make Chevrolet
Displacement 327
Transmission/Transaxle Corvair
HP 400
Front Suspension Mustang II
Rear Suspension Corvair
Steering Mustang II
Interior Vinyl
Notes 1982 red manta mirage, 327 chevy, corvair 4 speed and trailing arms, extra spider gears in the diff, silky smooth shift linkage with teflon guides on the original manta linkage (which should be a nightmare otherwise from the way it looks), mustang ll front suspension, coil overs on all 4 corners, 4 wheel disk brakes, bump steer problem solved with spacers and custom adapters for 3/4" female aurora rod ends instead of ford tie rod ends on the rack and pinion. I drilled the tapers in the steering arms out with a 47/64" drill and then reamed to .749" before fitting 3/4" aircraft bolts (fairly long) I can not tell you how many times I measured and graphed the bump steer with different heigth spacers on top of the steering arms. I used drill jig bushings as spacers because of their dimentional accuracy and parallel top and bottom surfaces. I was terrified at the prospect of hitting a bump at 125 mph with the stock manta mustang ll rack placement and the tie rods angling down to the steering arms on the spindles. A bump should have made this thing nasty at speed as it was originally designed. I drilled the left front spindle with a 3/8" black and decker drill to fit a speedometer cable to be driven by a square hole filed in the bearing cap. I remember that taking a lot of time, a lot of cutting oil, a sharp 1/4" or 5/16" aircraft drill and my heart in my throat. Hit it dead nuts center by eye. (luck) Neal pedals with hydraulic throttle. Has been sitting 7 yrs or so. I got sidetracted with a 911 porsche restoration and a 15 yr fling at roadracing motorcycles. It is getting time to finish the manta. I probably have 20,000+ in the manta project. The engine came from the nascar boys down the mountain when I lived in NC. Nasty growl with crossover headers which were a pain to fit. I love the manta that is so beautifully done with the upside down porsche transaxel, corvette spindles and the twin turbos in this registry. True art.

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