Do I fit in a Murena?

[krede]

Then my car is DEFENATLY of Belgian origin (I suspected it to be when i bought it.. mostly because of that wired waffel smell in the cabin.. but now I am certain  !!

I always thought it was the position of the choke( either right or left of the leaver) that was the difference?

[Lennart Sorth]

I always thought it was the position of the choke

urmm yes - and according to the story, it is.

chicken and hen - wether you regard it as the choke or gearlever that swaps places with the other, the result is the same. :-)

But I may misunderstand you ?

However, as I wrote, my car is said to be Belgian, but has the choke on the left (and the gearlever to the right, I might add :-) )

/Lennart

[krede]

Hmmm... Rupert did say something about my car being a german model.. due to the glass covers of the extra front lights.... but how does one explain the waffel smell then?? 

[Anders Dinsen]

Hmmm... Rupert did say something about my car being a german model.. due to the glass covers of the extra front lights.... but how does one explain the waffel smell then?? 

Burning wires!!!

No really.... I thought my Murena smelled of petrol inside when running.... I didn't understand as engine room was not smelly... but it was just the insulation on the ignition lock wires that was melting due to a bad contact (see Lennarts thread on fan switch which I hijacked)

[Lennart Sorth]

... due to the glass covers of the extra front lights....

The glass inserts are often mentioned as "export" version - and possibly all the factorybuilt 'S' models had them too ?

Some countries legislation may have required lightcovers to be glass, and this may have prompted Matra to put glass-inserts on all export models. Would make sense.

I cannot imagine why some countries should have the gearlever and choke swapped, while other didn't - it would e.g. make much more sense if it was a modification Matra made from a certain date and onwards - but as far as I konow, that was not the case.

It is however a fact the both types exist. 

/Lennart

[Anders Dinsen]

I thought maybe it was because some Belgian regulations required a bit more leg space for the passengers?

[Lennart Sorth]

I thought maybe it was because some Belgian regulations required a bit more leg space for the passengers?

Ils sont foux, - but I wouldn't think they were THAT foux ?   :-)

/Lennart

[Will Falconer]

I had two cars resprayed by Carjoy in the Netherlands about 15 years ago.

I sold the Colombian Blue 2.2, bought it back some years later and resold it again, but even when I last saw it 3 years ago it still had the Dutch cheese smell it gained when it was resprayed...

[krede]

Drove my murena to Aalborg and back today...50km..in hard rain... Rupert (the previous owner)  was right when he called it a "more-rain-a".. I have not driven it in Dk in anything but rain!!!..
Lucky for me the heat and blower motor are functioning flawlessly (and smokelessly   )
However Steamy windows WAS the order of the day... especially the rear window tended to "fog up"... and the heater wire didnt seem up to the task.. though im sure it did the best it could.
Anyway...
It appear to me that my murena has a particular "bad" gear leaver position, and that much can be improved simply by ajusting the rods in the back.. I will see to this as soon as i can get the car on a lift.
Other then that, my (hard) headlining seem to arc slightly downwards right where my head is supposed to be.
If corrected I am sure even a '82 murena could comfortably accomidate even taller people then me with my 187cm.
Apart from the gearleaver (that HAS to be altered in my car) I find the driving position is quite fine!. I am sure the aftermarket "momo" steringwheel fittet to my murena has no small part in this, as it improves "thigh clearance" considerably, and the smaller diameter of the wheel is no problem due to the murenas light front end and responsive stearing.
The seats give better then expected back support, and are very nice and soft (though you get the feeling of sitting on the floor.... witch really isnt far from the truth anyway   ).
 
  

[Will Falconer]

As Brussels is the goverment seat for the European Community I wonder if it was an EC ruling that no one else took up; perhaps to make more room for your mother-in-law in the middle seat

We have new EC legislation here that says any child under 12 years old and under 1.5m tall must use a booster seat. My 6 year old son (1.35m) threw away his booster 18 months ago and does not plan to start using one again. As our police have been replaced by cameras I'm not too bothered about compliance.

[Anders Dinsen]

Drove my murena to Aalborg and back today...50km..in hard rain... Rupert (the previous owner)  was right when he called it a "more-rain-a".. I have not driven it in Dk in anything but rain!!!..
Lucky for me the heat and blower motor are functioning flawlessly (and smokelessly  )
However Steamy windows WAS the order of the day... especially the rear window tended to "fog up"... and the heater wire didnt seem up to the task.. though im sure it did the best it could.

I've got the same problem. If the carpet in the boot is just a bit wet however, when the engine starts heating, it becomes steam that fogs the rear window. Since there's no ventilation back there, there's very little the heater can do. I have a water leak which I have *not* yet fixed, but after I replaced the carpet in the boot with a rubber mat, it has improved a lot. There's still water there, but a water pit apparantly generates less steam than a damp or wet carpet (which probably has something to do with surface area of the water).

Anyway...
It appear to me that my murena has a particular "bad" gear leaver position, and that much can be improved simply by ajusting the rods in the back.. I will see to this as soon as i can get the car on a lift.

I don't think you should need a lift. If you remove the airbox it's easily accessible from above.

Other then that, my (hard) headlining seem to arc slightly downwards right where my head is supposed to be.
If corrected I am sure even a '82 murena could comfortably accomidate even taller people then me with my 187cm.
Apart from the gearleaver (that HAS to be altered in my car) I find the driving position is quite fine!. I am sure the aftermarket "momo" steringwheel fittet to my murena has no small part in this, as it improves "thigh clearance" considerably, and the smaller diameter of the wheel is no problem due to the murenas light front end and responsive stearing.

Obviously you are still going slow around the corners. You will begin to feel the resistance when you start going faster.

But yes, it's very light and responsive! Very nice. This reminds me about an article at MulsannesCorner about the Allard J2X prototype racer. It generated 5500 lbs of downforce at 150 mph - WITHOUT power steering. It must have required enormous overarms to run a race. Obviously designed for small winding circuits, but just imagine taking a stint around Le Mans in that...??

The seats give better then expected back support, and are very nice and soft (though you get the feeling of sitting on the floor.... witch really isnt far from the truth anyway  ).

Yes they are really good and gives a good amount of support without being difficult to get out of at all.

Not like this:

(thanks to Bilmagasinet! - strange picture by the way with the contrasting old Skoda in the background!)


- Anders

[Artur]

http://www.matraforum.de/thread.php?threadid=2467&boardid=2&styleid=1&sid=60ff1a3a1e7e4c076843589782c46e11&sid=60ff1a3a1e7e4c076843589782c46e11
Same theme)

[krede]

Riiiiight...
In the name of science my uncle and I did a little experiment....


A tight fit.. and not the seat for the trip to southern France... but short trips ... well....he mesure 2m 9cm... witch is a bit extreme in any case.... but please note that leg room ISN'T a problem!!


Actually it was only the lack of headroom that prevented a perfect fit...

[Jensby]

A little off track but as i am the happy driver that Lennart took photos of when trying to get out of the Djet i will comment too.

What do you complain about ? 

You do not have a to wear a helmet and at the same time negotiate a full safety cage when entering and leaving the car. When inside the car my head is tilted sideways as the helmet is in constact contact with both roof (no headlining luxury) and the rollcage.
There is no headrest at all as a proper raceseat would mean even less space so i still have the original seat installed.
I also had to move the central part of the instrument panel to give space for my right knee and the space between the pedals, or lack of it, means that proper race shoes are the only footwear to use if you do not want to hit 2 pedals at a time.

So, if you have trouble fitting into a Murena - Dont buy a Djet 

Best regards
Erik
Ps. my other car is a Fiat 500

[Lennart Sorth]

Ps. my other car is a Fiat 500

heh, yes - and I might add that Erik is about the same height as me - which is 194cm (6'4" and a bit)

But I doubt Erik would take the Djet for his commute to work.

/Lennart