Opel Ascona B & Manta – Find Discontinued Parts
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For anyone working on an Opel Ascona B or Manta B, the reality is often the same: original parts stopped being manufactured decades ago, and what remains on the secondhand market is either worn out, poorly painted, or priced like gold. Grilles crack, headlights turn yellow, and turn signal mounts become brittle with age. At the same time, interest in these cars is growing in both street use and motorsport, making the shortage of parts a real problem rather than just a nostalgic concern.
\n\nThat is exactly the gap Race3D is built to fill. By digitizing original or reference parts and manufacturing new ones in-house, we can produce components that no longer exist on the market—without waiting for someone to find a rusty original part in a barn.
\n\nWhy Are Original Parts for Ascona B and Manta B Running Out?
\nOpel Ascona B and Manta B were manufactured until the early 1980s, and the factory stopped making spare parts long ago. Plastic body and lighting parts also age worse than metal parts: UV radiation makes the plastic brittle, and old adhesive and clamp mounts come loose. As a result, grilles, light assemblies, and smaller plastic details are among the very first parts to disappear completely from the market.
\nWhen a part can no longer be bought new, there are really only three options: search for used parts and hope for good condition, pay an exorbitant price for a final newer original part, or develop a new part from scratch. The latter is where we come in.
\n\nReverse Engineering of Body and Lighting Parts
\nFor parts that are no longer available for purchase, we often start with reverse engineering—we measure, scan, or digitize a functional original part (our own, a customer's, or a reference) and build a new digital model that matches the original's mountings and dimensions. This is particularly important for details like grilles and light conversions, where being off by a single millimeter in fitment prevents the part from mounting against original sheet metal and clips.
\n\nParts We Have Already Developed for Ascona B and Manta
\nAscona B Grille
\nOur Ascona B grille has been developed together with other creators in the community and fits the original mountings, while giving the car a slightly more aggressive look. It is sold as second-grade stock, making it an affordable option for anyone building a daily driver or track car where every detail doesn't need to be cosmetically flawless—function and fitment are the main focus.
\n\nLight Conversions for Ascona B
\nThe headlight assembly is often the first thing that becomes hard to find in fully working condition, as lenses crack and plastic mountings become brittle over the years. We have developed two versions:
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- \nAscona B Light Conversion with dual headlights (H4 and H1), inspired by Irmscher's 400 headlights but moved slightly at the bottom to make room for turn signals. \n
- \nAscona B Single Light Conversion with two H4 headlights and a built-in air intake for anyone wanting to channel more air toward the engine bay—note that the air intake version is not guaranteed to be approved in all racing regulations, so check with your class before building. \n
Both kits are delivered pre-assembled so you can see how everything fits together before disassembling for painting, which saves time and reduces the risk of misunderstandings during reassembly.
\n\nLight Conversion and Headlights for Manta
\nThe same logic applies to the Manta model. Our Opel Manta Light Conversion is also inspired by Irmscher's 400 headlights and comes with two H4 and two H1 headlights, bulb holders, and adjustment screws—complete for building the front end from scratch. For anyone who just needs individual lamps or wants to complement an older kit, Opel Manta Headlights are available separately, with adapter, adjustment knob, springs, and bulbs included.
\n\nHow the Process Works If Your Part Isn't in Our Range
\nThe Ascona and Manta range is growing continuously as it is based on community demand. If your exact part is missing—such as a specific lamp, bracket, or dashboard detail—the process is the same as for our other models:
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- \nReference Material. Send in photos, measurements, or a functional original part so we can assess what is required. \n
- \nDigitization and Design. We build a digital model, either through measurement/scanning or by designing the part from scratch based on the car's original geometry. \n
- \nPrototype and Verification. An initial prototype is produced and test-fitted against the car or a reference part before we proceed to a finished batch. Read more about how we work with this under prototype and batch manufacturing. \n
- \nBatch Production. Once fitment is verified, the part can be manufactured in the required quantity—from a single unit to a smaller batch for other owners of the same model. \n
More Models, Same Problem
\nAscona B and Manta are far from alone in lacking spare parts. The same challenge applies to a range of older cars in both street use and motorsport, and our range of vehicle parts currently covers Volvo 240/740/940, BMW E36/E46, and several Opel models, among others. If you have a model or part that isn't listed, it's usually just a matter of getting in touch—chances are high that we already have the reference material or can develop it.
\n\nSummary
\nOwning an Ascona B or Manta doesn't have to mean hunting through junkyards for parts that stopped being manufactured 40 years ago. With the right digital reference data, it is possible to produce grilles, light conversions, and headlight assemblies that fit like original—and can be ordered again whenever the part is needed once more. Browse our range above, or get in touch if you have a part missing from the list.
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