HPN 363L - 1973 Manta A 1900 SR

 

Owner: Dennis Battrick

Dennis Battrick's, first vehicle was a Vespa scooter, his first car was a Renault Dauphine. But in 1973, after owning two VW Beetles, he saw the car for him, a 2nd hand Flame Red Manta A 1900SR in the showroom of Tates of Portslade. Unfortunately, the car in question had already been sold but, as luck would have it, a brand new car was due to arrive in the same colour.

Dennis part exchanged his Beetle in March '73 for "Glow Worm", paying £2000, which today would be the equivalent of £14k. At the time he never expected to keep it more than a few years, yet he owns it to this day.

Over its life, the car has covered a mere 60k miles, and is the equivalent of only 2,400 miles a year! Yet this is no dry days only classic, this is everyday round-town transport with three or four longer journies per year from Lancing to Oxford when Dennis visits his son. In earlier days the car made two trips to the south of France following part of the Monte Carlo circuit, returning via Essen in Germany.

Incredibly, all the paintwork is original except for the bonnet, which needed a respray a couple of years ago. So what does Dennis attribute the commendable longevity of the vehicle's finish? "Glow Worm" was given the Ziebart treatment when new and the underside has been regularly sprayed with a special brew of sump oil & diesel. Dennis has paid special attention to get this mixture sprayed in through all the drainage holes. This meticulous attention to detail has paid off, the paint finish is still bright and lustrous after all these years.

Some items on the car have been "improved" over the years to help the car cope with challenging driving conditions.

Fog lamps hung off the rear bumper and a high level brake light in the rear windscreen catch the eye. A tow bar, fitted when Dennis developed a passion for water skiing, remains installed.
But most of the changes are under the bonnet where a chromed rocker cover tops an engine fitted with electronic ignition and a fuel system pressure regulator. A header tank boosts the water system's capacity. The cylinder head was recently converted to run on unleaded fuel, the gases removed by a stainless steel exhaust system fitted at a cost of £330.

Because of these "custom" features, the car has appeared at the OMOC concours in the non-standard class, a category which, because of the poor turnout in recent years, Dennis feels that he has won by default. Yet, outside of the club, the car still collects prizes at events such as WSCT '95 where it achieved the overall winner prize against the usual MG & Triumph classic show fare.
And what of the next 25 years for "Glow Worm"? Dennis let slip that the car is bequeathed to his son, yet wants to continue driving this well preserved vehicle as long as possible, maybe for another 25 years! I'll drink to that!