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Author Topic: Murena reliability - safety  (Read 6174 times)
Bago
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Posts: 1


« on: May 05, 2013, 04:49:02 pm »

Hey,
I'm thinking of purchasing a Murena and use it on a daily basis (25-40.000km per year). I understand that the car is over 30 years old so I expect some problems. Could someone tell me how reliable the engine are and how safe is it to drive murena, as it's a quite light car and I guess I would have pretty low chances of survival in the crash at the speed of 70-90km/h?

PS:
Currently, my daily is golf mk4 diesel - so far no serious problems except for the coilpacks (220.000km on it right now).
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Matra_Hans
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Posts: 659


Owner of Bagheera, Rancho, Murena & Espace


« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2013, 07:15:27 pm »

I consider the Murena and its engines very reliable however the reliability depends very much on the maintenance. But parts are not easy to locate any more, the 1.6 L engine has been used in many Talbot cars, but most of them have been scraped long time ago, the 2.2 L engine have only been installed in the Murena, Peugeot 505 Turbo and Talbot Tagora. None of the mentioned cars have been produced in big numbers consequently you are not likely to find an engine at the local car breaker.

It is very entertaining to take the Murena down a twisted country road, but driving long distance at high speed is tiring as the noise level in the car at speed is high and with 60% of the weight on the rear axle, a lot of steering corrections is needed.

Safety: I think that the passenger compartment is rather strong, but you do not have much out in the front to protect you from the impact in case of an accident. I have found a few old pictures that illustrate this.

Hans
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Matra_Hans
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Owner of Bagheera, Rancho, Murena & Espace


« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2013, 07:16:16 pm »

... and the second picture
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Oetker
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Posts: 1097



« Reply #3 on: May 06, 2013, 10:29:10 pm »

Side impact will certainly give high risk of injury.
There is nothing then a thin steel strip that can protect you.

pic Randha
On daily basis a 1.6 will do best.
I use one for over a year now on daily basis and it is a running resto.
Of course there was a sh*tload of work to make it reliable.
Parts are not a big problem for the 1.6 engine.

Here the topic over my 1.6...(just look pictures, they tell the story)
http://www.matramania.be/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2610
Buying price 800 Euro
When finished probably astronomic so don't think it wil be a cheap runner.


Best regards Herman

« Last Edit: May 06, 2013, 10:47:20 pm by Oetker » Logged

I feel like Jonah, only my fish looks different.
Murena 2.2 Red 1982. Murena 1.6 black on places.
krede
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« Reply #4 on: May 09, 2013, 11:07:31 am »

For everyday use, what you want is a 1.6  with a peugeot 1.9 gti engine fitted to it.IMHO the engines are ,by far, the weakest parts of a murena... (the ONLY weak part really)
The pug 1.9 gti is a  Good and light unit that is easy to find spares for and modify.

I drove my 2.2 with twin carbs for a year as my only car, but did not have the heart the time or the money to see it running through a second Danish winter.

I would say that a Murena is an excellent "second" car, but you should NEVER rely on it as your only means of transportation. You need to be able to take the time to fix it right if it goes wrong.. which it will... like any 30 year old car .
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