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Author Topic: Buying a Matra murena!  (Read 19799 times)
Protide
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« on: March 26, 2004, 01:06:15 pm »

Hi!!

I recently discovered Talbot Matra Murena and i got very interested.

I will probably buy one later this year and what i want to know is what i should look after, if there are any major problems with the engine, suspension and the car overall!

Since i live in Sweden it´s pretty hard to find a murena, if even possible at all!?

So i wonder wich country is the best if i want to find a murena!?

I searched on mobile.de and found two murenas for about 4000 euro ! That´s about my car-budget!

I would be very happy if someone took the time to answer my questions!!

Sincerely yours Mattias Ekholm

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Michael
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« Reply #1 on: March 31, 2004, 02:01:50 pm »

Hello Mattias,

well germany is probaly i good country to buy a Murena, cos the cars are here very cheap.
BUT a lot of them looks pretty good from the outside and the substance is worse.

I have wrote down (in german) my expirences with the Murena

http://www.michaelfaust.de

The 1,6 engine has nearly no problems, the 2,2 sometimes with the oil-pump and the resultig dameges.
The Parts for the 2,2 engine are very expensive.
The Trailingarms in the rear are often rusty.
The electrical system is worn (connectors, fuseboard).
Waterleakages at the roof and the windscreenseals.

Always remember the youngest cars are older than 20 years!
So, if you can do many garagethings yourself, it could be a good idea to buy a cheap Murena (1.000 Eur) and restore it.
Otherwise the better car is the cheaper car!


Kind regards from germany

Michael



Hi!!

I recently discovered Talbot Matra Murena and i got very interested.

I will probably buy one later this year and what i want to know is what i should look after, if there are any major problems with the engine, suspension and the car overall!

Since i live in Sweden it´s pretty hard to find a murena, if even possible at all!?

So i wonder wich country is the best if i want to find a murena!?

I searched on mobile.de and found two murenas for about 4000 euro ! That´s about my car-budget!

I would be very happy if someone took the time to answer my questions!!

Sincerely yours Mattias Ekholm


« Last Edit: March 31, 2004, 02:07:27 pm by Michael » Logged

Kind regards

Michael
Abe
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« Reply #2 on: April 16, 2004, 10:32:40 pm »

Mattias,

I don't know where you live exactly, but there's a Matra Specialist somewhere near Köln.. (http://www.simon-auto.de)
He also does business with my dealer in the netherlands ( http://www.carjoy.nl), parts are easy to find for both 1.6 and 2.2 Murena.
I found my Murena 2.2 service-friendly, i recently replaced the standard exhaust for a sport manifold, which only took me 1 hour to do.
When looking for a Murena make sure all body panels are without cracks, and are aligned properly, if they're not, that could be a sign of structural damage.

About Micheals remarks:
replacement (rustproof)Trailing arms are made in the netherlands, and for sale at Carjoy, They're also working on a new Fuseboard, with Littlefuse Fuses.
They also offer special exhaust systems and accesories

As Far as driving is concerned, at his price, the Murena has no equal, handles like a go-kart, so with a trained driver it will outperform all those "would-be racers" with their "kamei-Golfs" Grin

Good luck with your search!

Abe
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Protide
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« Reply #3 on: May 27, 2004, 08:46:21 am »

which engine is to prefer 1.6l or 2.2l?
I really like to drive on small roads with lots of curves accelerating fast and so on =)!!

I have been thinking a lot about how spacious it is concidering it has three seats  Huh

What is the original dimensions on tires and rims?

/Mattias
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Matra_Hans
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Owner of Bagheera, Rancho, Murena & Espace


« Reply #4 on: June 29, 2004, 09:56:09 am »


Hi Mattias.
Which Murena: 1.6 or 2.2.
I have been driving a Matra Bagheera with a 5 speed gearbox and an 1.6l engine (i.e. same engine as the 1.6 Murena) with two tween Webers 36 DCNF carburators and the engine was developing approxematly 90-95 HK. The Bagheera is 120 kg ligther than the Murena but in my opinion the 1.6 engine does not even give the Bagheera sportscar performance. Remember that the 1,6 engine is a very old fasioned  Simca push-rod engine, and it is not possible to tune the engine to much more than 100 HK no matter what you do. I have however seen a Bagheera with a turbocharger installed, but that engine did not last long.
So in my humble opinion the 2.2 is the only Murena to go for. The standard 2.2 is only developing 115-118 HK but is can easily be tunes to develop 140-150 HK. You could also try to find one of the only 480 original S models with 142-144 HK engine.
I do not find parts for the engine expensive, the price level is similar to many modern cars, but even though the engine is a “standard” Peugeot engine it is a very rear Peugeot engine, so your do not find a spare engine at your local car breaker's yard.

Tyres and rims: Rims are 6 j 14. Tyres front 185/60 14and at the back 195/60 14. Remember the car was produced in the early eighties, low profile tyres was hardly invented at that time.
For the balance of the car, when you are pushing it at the limit it is very important, to have different sizes of tiers at the front and at the back.

The passenger’s compartment is spacious if you are only two persons in the car, but with three grown up men in the car you are in trouble. The luggage compartment is also for a car of this type quiet spacious, is takes four crates (of 30 bottles) of Danish beer, which is better than a Toyota Starlet.
The car is really fun to through around on small twisted roads, but it is also reasonably commutable for long trips, but the notice level at high speeds is rather tiring.

What to look for when buying a Murena:
If the rear trailing arms are rusty remember that a new set (both sides) including silent blocks and new bearings will cost you € 1300 for at set made of normal steel, and you will have to add cost of installation to this figure.
If the seats and the interior of the car is worn, you must be aware the you cannot get this parts as spare parts any longer.
Some German cars has the original suspension replaced with Spax suspension, I think you should avoid this cars as the Spax suspension need new bushings very often.


Other weak points:
The fan for the cabin heater is a peace of shit from "the American Plastic Company in Texas". I have replaced my with a fan from a Toyota Starlet, which is in any way much better, (and the fan is hidden so no one knows that I have installed a Toyota part)

The capacity of the cooling system is on the low side, so you might get overheating in queue on a hot summer day.  I have installed two big fans on my radiator to overcome this problem. The pipes under the car for the cooling water are corroding, (but replacements are available). If you have a water leak you will soon have a major damage to the engine.

The mechanical petrol pump is installed very close to the exhaust, so when (and not if) it starts leaking, you will have an engine room fire. After two engine rooms fires I have replaced the mechanical pump with an electric pump that is installed far away from the exhaust.

The original 55 A alternator does not produce enough electricity to ensure that the car is starting during the Scandinavian winter. So I have just installed an 80 A alternator.

The vacuum system for the pop-up headlights is another weak point.

Anyway I think it is a great car, which I am using for my daily transport and it is reliable and relatively cheap to maintain. It is great fun on small twisted roads, but it is also reasonably comfortably for long trips, but the noise level at high speeds is rather tiring.

Regards Hans
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Protide
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« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2004, 12:08:35 pm »

Thank you for the reply Hans!!


Since you´ve almost told me everything i need to know, i´m not sure i have to ask anything else.

But, i was thinking about an engine conversion. Is possible (with small efforts) to replace the engine (1.6 or 2.2) with an engine from a 405 mi16?

Which engine fits easiest in a murena? (more power, less fuel consumption and not so old)

/Mattias
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olasu
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« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2004, 11:01:21 pm »

Hi!!

I recently discovered Talbot Matra Murena and i got very interested.

I will probably buy one later this year and what i want to know is what i should look after, if there are any major problems with the engine, suspension and the car overall!

Since i live in Sweden it´s pretty hard to find a murena, if even possible at all!?

So i wonder wich country is the best if i want to find a murena!?

Du har lite otur. Förra året var det två murenor, vad jag vet, som bytte ägare i sverige. Men då jag gissar att det finns mindre än fem totalt så lär det va "pretty hard to find one".

Jag vill gärna veta om du lyckats importera en.
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Protide
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« Reply #7 on: October 09, 2004, 03:45:49 pm »

Du har lite otur. Förra året var det två murenor, vad jag vet, som bytte ägare i sverige. Men då jag gissar att det finns mindre än fem totalt så lär det va "pretty hard to find one".

Jag vill gärna veta om du lyckats importera en.

Oj, jag var lite osäker på om det överhuvudtaget fanns någon murena i sverige. Känns bra att det finns några iaf. Vet du hur det fungerar på regbes?

Det är vår/sommar nästa år som gäller om jag ska köpa en murena. Import troligast.

har du e-mail/msn som jag kan kontakta dig på? Jag är inte inne här så ofta.

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Baggyjoe
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« Reply #8 on: October 19, 2004, 12:12:01 am »

Mattias

I can't read the Swedish of the last two posts, so you may already have noticed this.

There was a lady from Trondheim Norway selling a 2.2 back in March, you could check up the post on the ForSale forum and give her a call.

Joe
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78 Black & Green & Rust Bagheera X
Protide
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« Reply #9 on: October 19, 2004, 12:24:55 am »

Sorry for that.

What I wrote to olasu was that i´ve had a change of plans.
I won´t try buying a murena until spring/summer next year due to economical problems but also the lack of garage or at least a place where i can work with the car (which i most likely will have to because of my small budget).

I am still very interested of information about the car.
Ideas and advices are mostly welcome.

/Mattias
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Baggyjoe
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« Reply #10 on: October 19, 2004, 12:41:13 am »

OK man,

I ran one for years as an everyday car.  Not expensive to run.  Responsive to drive and great fun, but the noise is tiring if you are going long distance.

The 1.6 is very nice to drive.  Light controls and handles well, but underpowered.  The 2.2 is powerful enough, great 4th gear!, but is heavier to handle, not as sweet as a 1.6.  The 142S model is the one to have.

If you are buying one to transplant the XU injection engine, the 2.2 is a better bet, as some parts are stonger, notable the trailing arms.

Joe
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78 Black & Green & Rust Bagheera X
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