That lovely Matra feeling...

[macaroni]

Something struck me this morning as I arrived at work, how very relaxed I felt.
When I drove my Xantia Activa to work, I felt comatose, it was so dull.
When I drive my 205 to work, I am usually shaking as the car is so hyperactive.
When I drive the Murena, I arrive feeling strangely calm and relaxed, but invigorated.

Lovely...

[Anders Dinsen]

Hey THAT is why I was so tired this morning!

(I left her (i.e. Murena) at home and took my Espace J117 instead - with a snow storm coming and winter tyres not yet on her, I'd rather drive a front engined, front wheel car!)

[krede]

My murena run a hot cam, stainless steel exhaust and an overly rich mixture on the twin delorthos.....
That makes slowing down for a roundabout, sound like the end of the world.. and makes me feel the closest to a ww2 kamakaze pilot i recon Ill ever do!!.   

[Lennart Sorth]

... sound like the end of the world..

EXCELLENT!   :-)

I genuinely think we Matra drivers are a bloody privileged bunch, - imagine having a car where everything always work, and nothing goes awry ?? - it must be very boring, and the car becomes just transport.

I am constantly pleased, when something still works; wipers, headlights, rear window demist, etc etc.

To be fair, these things work most of the time, but having owned the car for 11 years, I have seen a fair amount of things go wrong. But then I fix them, and have yet another thing to be pleased with on a daily basis. B-)

These days I am e.g. happy that my headlights work everytime, and my fanswitch doesn't catch fire ... how many VW drivers even think about this ? :-)

magic.


And almost every single time I walk back to a parkinglot to locate my car, I have this immense feeling that it is simply the prettiest car in sight.   Good going for a 23 year old car, made from humble Simca parts.
I was parked next to a friends F360 Stradale once, where I must admit my Murena faced stiff competition, - but if it wasn't for the knowledge of the package contents og the Stradale, I still prefered the Murena for its looks.

absolute magic.

/Lennart

[Artur]

...These days I am e.g. happy that my headlights work everytime, and my fanswitch doesn't catch fire ... how many VW drivers even think about this ? :-)
 

No, Lennart, you are wrong
As an owner of 93 VW Golf VR6, I can tell you, that any other car will be more reliable than this Wolfsburg magic...
I think of my Golf as a general test before Murena. If i can still fix and drive the VR, Murena will be no problem at all.

[Anders Dinsen]

Artur I know what you mean...!

One of the great things about the Matras is that they aren't that complex and Matra-owners are very helpful to each other. So the collected of experience about them is actually very big!

I can't really think of any real deficits - true, some things could have been made better, but that's even true with Ferraris - and Volkswagens!

Take brakes for example: You don't find many cars of that age with this good brake system - and there's people around to explain exactly how rear brake calipers should be restored. In most cars, you just throw them away and get new ones. Spares are quite cheap and easy to find too. And the electrical system isn't that bad actually. That doesn't mean it can't be upgraded or assembled better, but it's really good actually.

Same goes for drivetrain, engines, gearboxes - there's been some discussion about the qualities of the engines (in the Bagheera forum), but both seem excellent. Spares could have had better availability for the 2.2.

There's probably an increasing count of Murenas around in need of restoration, but it's never going to be as bad as with other cars - e.g. most MR2's have simply rusted away by now.

And not least, there's the grand feeling of fixing things and enjoying the car again when it has been. Just look at how active Lennart has been here on the forum after he got his Murena back!

- Anders

[Artur]

Also, I think all money, time, etc you put in restoring Murenas will go back to you with fun, respect and sometimes maybe even will bring you profit. Somehow, I think the same about my Pug 405 Sri - there are not so many left in such a good shape as mine, I dont want to sell it! and thats why I dont like (but i have ) to repare my Golf...it becomes cheaper to sell, rusts, gets milege... 

[krede]

what I like the most about my murena is, that it fills me with joy everytime i look opon it!!
... Its just such a pretty little red car  ....
....
....
....
And!!... as a two time opel owner... it never hurt that it doesnt rust either!!! 

[Artur]

what I like the most about my murena is, that it fills me with joy everytime i look opon it!!
... Its just such a pretty little red car  ....
....
....
....
And!!... as a two time opel owner... it never hurt that it doesnt rust either!!! 

Well, I also used to own 3 Opels... 

[macaroni]

My murena run a hot cam, stainless steel exhaust and an overly rich mixture on the twin delorthos.....
That makes slowing down for a roundabout, sound like the end of the world.. and makes me feel the closest to a ww2 kamakaze pilot i recon Ill ever do!!.   

Ha mine does that too and it pops at idle. It sounds great, but I suspect it is very rich and could do with a tune.