MatraSport Forum

Looks like someone has had the lights already!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MATRA-MERANA-PROJECT-SPARES-/180511615977?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Automobiles_UK&hash=item2a0754abe9

He might kick himself for not spelling it right, and even though there's a few bits missing there's a bargin there for someone!

Seats look very good...

I was thinking EXACTLY THE SAME THING! Still got mirrors too, worth a £100 of anyones money!

From the looks of the suspension I'd say the engine is missing too...

Mote details listed now and it now has a bid on it... Lights are included!  Happy bidding...

I think the rear lights must be from a Talbot Horizon, if you look at the picture of the rear of the car through the fence you can see a piece of red curved material that is in place even thought the rear lights are removed.

I am tempted to bid but it is a bit far away for me.

John

If anyone on here buys it for spares - assuming that it is as bad as it looks I would not fancy trying to restore it - I would be interested in buying any of the black plastic interior trim parts from around the dashboard.

I have a black dash top and main section but none of the smaller bits.

Cheers

David

It sold!

Anyone on here buy it?

Yes I did. Just been down to Somerset today and bought it back to Kent on a trailer.  Engine stripped completely right down to a bare block and has been left outside for many years with all the auxilliary components from the engine bay.  Glass, Mirrors and tailights lenses all present and correct.  Chassis is good including the trailing arms.  Body work so so.  Best £158:00  though I have ever spent!  ;D

GP

Glad to hear you got it! so what's your plans?

In my dreams I would like to turn it into a lightweight racer with one seat, roll cage and no interior. Build a fuel injected fire breathing 2.2  litre (or bigger if possible?) engine. Then replicate one of the  Murena évolution "Groupe F" cars from the 80's.

I will then turn up at  "La Vie en Blue" at Prescott (which it would be eligible for as well) and win a huge trophy worth £2:50 for a brilliant return on investment  :D

What do you think of that dream then?

I like it. ;D
I was watching Le Mans qualifying on TV last night and speculating on what it would take to qualify a Murena for the race.  :D
I have plans for converting my 2.2 into fuel injection. I bought a 205 Turbo injection manifold from Anders. I have the wide-band Lambda probe required and will probably use a MegaSquirt controller. It will not increase HP, but it will make coldweather starting easier and improve fuel consumption. I hope ;)
Before this I will probably fit a Holbay cam. Anders has kindly lend me his spare, so I can have it ground to Holbay specs and still be able to drive my car while that is happening. Unfortunately Coltec Racing, where it should have been ground, closed down and he is not yet ready to do the work at his new place. I will be looking for other places that are able to do the work.

Not strictly true, he's moved premises but from my conversations with him he is not really interested in doing camshafts and has sold the machine to a private buyer who is probably not interested in commercial work.  Coltec is alive and well, but we will have to look elsewhere for our camshafts.

Just recently returned from Germany with a little something to get closer to the dream!

Oh dear what have I done now?  :-\

GP

Oh dear, Graham... it seems you've fitted wonderful new wheels, a fuel tank up front, spax suspension, carbon fibre panels, carbon fibre roof!!, roll cage... What's happening with the engine??

I've got chills...  :P

Cheers,
Anders  8)

Hi Anders,

Err the engine...now thats a very good question???

As you can see from the picture there is a very large space in the back now for pretty much anything I like really.
I am not sure which way to go at the moment as I have a good Murena 2.2 engine complete more or less ready to drop in. It would then be eligible for Prescott Hillclimb and similar events, or to move into the dumping ground of specialized class where anything goes and also have myself a very interesting trackday car. Having seen the Honda Civic conversion in the UK, I must admit that this is probably the way I am leaning towards at the moment. It will not though ever be road legal and will have to be trailered to events.

There is still lots of work to do as it more of a running mock up at present. The previous owner in Germany basically had to give up on it, as it was draining his time and resources whilst still trying to run a business.

First thing though is to sort out the rear trailing arms, as I was rather hoping I can convince someone ( i.e. my new best mate) to put me first on his list for a pair of fully adjustable for camber and toe in trailing arms, he has a design for in his mind.

Cheers,

Graham

P.S. There is also a little bit more carbon fibre on the car, look at the dash! :o

Wow! What about 2,2 Turbo Injection? It will be convertion "in spirit" of the mark...

Do You know how much kg it has now?

Now, so this is not the eBay advertised Merana... I begin to understand ;)
I love it Graham. I really love it! :)

That space in the back is very roomy indeed :D

I love the big Murena 2.2 lump, the sound, the way it looks, the noise it makes, vibrations... everything! At it does have a race heritage, it was even used in Le Mans in the 60's (not in a Matra though).

But it's just not suitable for racing any more unless you have a load of money to spend keeping it running. Spares are too rare and expensive :( A Gordini engine is cheaper to work on! And if you race - you RACE. You don't want to be careful with the car.

So I understand your focus on alternatives. I think i'll approve it, even if you fit the Honda engine, though a Peugeot would make a lot more sense IMO.

About trailing arms - BMW used to have that on their race and rally cars. It's feasible! But if I was you, I'd begin with considering adjustable anti roll bars. The roll bars are THE balance tuning item on any car.

/Anders

Someone recently crashed and burned a Ferrari 430 in Denmark, with a potential buyer at the wheel. Sadly both owner and buyer got killed.  :(

Wonder if the V12 engine survived and could be bought from the insurance company. Looks like it would fit. ;D

The space at the back is almost all behind the rear wheel line a consequently most center engines will not fit into the space (defenitly not a v12 Ferrari). However a Renault Alpine V6 is hanging out at the back. 185 -200 HP seams to standard output. But with 2.5 L displacement and turbo more power will be available at wish.

I do not think that anything hanging out to the rear of the back wheel centreline would be a great idea, unless you want to find out the extremes of understeer and oversteer that is!
John

505kg. at present.

Componets required:
Battery which is mounted under the right scuttle where the fan used to be.
4 x brake calipers
Engine
Gearbox assembly/ controls.
Front nose cone
Rear wings
Rear bumber assembly

Any ideas of the weight of that lot. 250kg. perhaps depending on power unit??

Currently weight % distribution is:
55% Front / 44.4% Rear
Right side 48.87% / Left side 51%

See attached images for clarity

NB: Not on a particulary level surface and with flatish tyres, but looking pretty good anyway as a starting point. There are coil overs dampers with adjustable spring platforms for all corners, so corner weight jacking will be achievable.

So the million dollar question (and probably cost!) still is which way to go with the power plant?????

Cheers,

GP

I just saw, and heard, njesper's Murena with the AlfaRomeo V6. Man, does it sound sweet. The best part is that he has got the Danish paperwork through, so it is fully legal in Denmark. That should clear the way for others who want the appx. 184 HP this puts out. ;D

How about a honda k20a with a rotrex supercharger 345bhp and 220ib ft torque 6 speed gerabox lsd mounted on a subframe

Excellent idea. When can I pick it up?
I wish!  ;D

with 345 HP you will need to reinforce the frame of the Murena.

Why not put in this engine ;D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkTw78zsdQo&feature=channel_page

Movie from Theo's car, by Theo.

I think that the best will be the 0,8 CDi engine from Smart  ;D

Still considering all the options? Whatever is fitted though has to have a certain "ring" to it and look good on the badging on the rear!

Matra - Honda
Matra - Peugeot
Matra - Renault
Matra - Alfa
Matra - Smart
Matra - Ford Cosworth .............Ooh now that sounds familiar?

Which brings me to a Ford Cosworth YB 2.0 16v Turbo. I would not go down the turbo route, as I would want to keep things as simple as possible. A popular conversion is to fit twin 45/48 DCOE Webbers, lower the compression ratio and 225bhp is easily obtained.

There is a wealth of knowledge, specialists and suppliers locally to me, in particular Burton Power Products, who can provide all the parts for turning the engine around for a rear wheel drive/kit car type installation.

http://www.burtonpower.com

As an aside their Tech Tip section is very good.

I think I will make a few enquiries.  :-\

Ford is a good choise, I think. Matra had Ford engines in the F1's and Sports car prototypes until their V12 was ready. And the 530 was fitted with a Ford V4.

However, speaking of the V12... the ultimate project would be this one:

(http://www.matrasport.dk/Cars/Murena/Gallery2/Med/mur_V12_09.jpg)

Ooh! I like it. Wonder how I can get it accepted by the Danish "Færdselsstyrelsen".
But it should not be that difficult. After all, it is only a minor modification. ;D

Made a phone call to Burton Power Products and they will build me a Ford YB 16v for between £10k - £15k depending on whether normally aspirated or fuel injected.  Errr I think I shall pass on that idea then!  :o

Ouch!  :o

Too bad, it was a great idea.

Back to the list then... I like the Peugeot idea, though the Honda is very "sexy". I just feel that a japanese engine in a Matra would be wrong somehow ::) Sorry!  ;)

/Anders

Peugeot Mi16 engine might work.

http://www.pumaracing.co.uk/pug16v.htm

Than what about 405 T16?

I think GP want to stay clear of Turbo's

Anders, this car is the last one which I dream about  ;D could You imagine what would this had to be? If they were making this, than all Ferrari drivers were looking for Matra stickers  :D :D :D

GP, where did you get those carbon inner wheel-arches on pic "Matra Germany 010.JPG "?

Hi Razorback, the carbon inner wheel arches came with the whole car which I bought in Germany. I do not really know if the guy himself made them or bought them from someone? I will send you a PM with a contact number and name (he doesn't have e-mail).

Cheers,

GP

PS: Darrenheli has several items from me including the inner wheel arches for copying in carbon. So you can always put your name on the list like the rest of us for bits.  I am hoping for a carbon roof panel no less, as I have a sunroof in my silver car which I detest.

Who, where, what list....? consider me signed on it allready!

I have a spare light pod, if it needs copying if carbon. ;D

Do not despair Darenheli descended on my spare car and stripped it bare like a vulture including the light pods. He was last seen entering the curing oven with many rolls of carbon fibre and case of beer. Goodness knows what he is going to come out with?

All we need to do now is convince him to give  up the day job!  
  
 

Graham i wish i could give up my day job , playing with cabon is much better all i need is a sponsor. ive finished all the wheel arch stone guards at last next is the wiper mechanism cover panel behind the fuse box , then either the roof panel ( waiting on the walk in oven) or front inner wings hopefully , this all takes a lot of time to do but we will get there slowly . by the time i retire i might have a carbon murena

A case of beer ??? He may come out with new carbon fiber beer cans. ;D

now thats a good idea, how about carbon matra mugs!!

... So whats up with the racing murena (carbonlishcous)?

GP, have you any news on that veery interessting project?
Have you found your engine?

best Jesper
Denmark

Hi Jesper,

Unfortunately no developments on the project and no engine either. It's ground to a halt I'm afraid.  :'(

Regards,

GP

damn...
just started fiddling with the cooling system on my murena v6. Looking so much forward to getting it out and running again the coming spring. That old alfa 164 v6 12v, just sounds so f..... nice. I can really recommend that engine for your car. But its a tight fit i must say. (getting waterpump and belt replaced without pulling out the engine is a task  ;D)

I hope you will get the project up and running again soon.

Best Jesper
Denmark