New danish Murena owner = a few questions

[Waldo]

Hi everybody...

After having seen some Murenas on the internet, I had to own one, so I ended up going to Germany and buying a car!
I haven't collected the car in Germany yet, but I had a test drive the other day and agreed on the price.  

The car has a few flaws, that I hope to fix without spending a huge amount of cash.  

1.
Water on the floor - I expect this to be a front windscreen problem, like I have read many places on the web!
I guess the best solution is to take the windscreen out. Then clean up and fix any corrosion around the windscreen and glue in a new windscreen.
This brings me to the question: Is there any way to get an "inexpensive" windscreen in Denmark?

2.
I expect to strip down the entire bodywork, when I need to take out the windscreen. I guess this will allow me to sort any corrosion issues on the chassis and maybe find any other unknown issues that needs attention!
I hope the chassis is still in a good state, but any suggestions to what I must do while working on the car would be appreciated?
I believe taking of the rear wings are hard to do, and maybe I need to leave them on, or am I mistaking?


In general the car seems in pretty good shape, but I dream about taking the car to Poland (I'm on a rather tight budget) for a new paint job and a complete new leather interior, within the next year!

Pictures of the car can be found here:

http://cgi.ebay.de/Matra-Murena-1-6-ltr-3-sitziger-Sportwagen-TUV-AU-neu_W0QQitemZ4624616868QQcategoryZ18304QQcmdZViewItem

Best regards,
Valdemar Madsen

[Anders Dinsen]

Congratulations on the purchase! It will be great to see one more Murena in Denmark!

My knowledge on Murena is theoretical, but I will be importing a 2.2 later this year. I will also need a new wind screen, so I will be interested in hearing what you find out. Or we can purchase together and save transport costs? I'm in Copenhagen area.

I checked the manual and it should not be necessary to strip any bodywork to replace the wind screen.

Further, corrosion should not really be a problem - unless you want to restore it to 'concours' state (as they say in French) and win prices for best restored car - or just want to have fun removing the full body... I would just leave it as is and drive the car for some time - to spot mechanical things in need of restoration too. If  your budget is limited, eliminating surprises would be a priority 1, I think. But that's just what I'd do!

Good luck with it!!

- Anders

[Matra_Hans]

Hi
Water on the floor is normally due to a leaking windscreen or the roof coming loose at the front, in both cases you need to remove the windscreen. The windscreen can great care and with a little bit of luck be cut out with a (special) string and reused. There is no supplyer of Murena windscreens in Denmark but you can get one from Simon Auto in Germany. It is not expensive app. 400€. But Simon it not willing to send the windscreen, you will have to pick it up yourself. However I know of one member of the Danish Matra Club who had a windscreen picked up from Simon by a Danish lorry, and it arrived safely in Denmark.
As the chassis is hot dip galvanized rust is not an issue. I have however heard of some Murena owners who have found some rust in the windscreen surroundings due to comical reaction between the glue for the window and the zinc. In some very rear cases limited rust have been found in the chassis in front of the rear wheels. (Even zinc does not last forever).
The only thing that will always rust on a Murena is the suspension arm for the rear wheels, but as the car has a new TÃœF approval this should not be the case with this car (or TÃœF did not notice) However the Danish Club has contact to a workshop in Denmark who can renovate this suspension arms.

From the pictures the car and its paint look OK. So why strip it down and have it repainted?
If it is not broken don’t fix it! That has always been my motto.

Regards Hans

PS We will of cause like to see you as a member of the Danish Matra Club.

[Anders Dinsen]

As the chassis is hot dip galvanized rust is not an issue. I have however heard of some Murena owners who have found some rust in the windscreen surroundings due to comical reaction between the glue for the window and the zinc.

Humor can be a source of many problems! Best to avoid it!

From the pictures the car and its paint look OK. So why strip it down and have it repainted?
If it is not broken don’t fix it! That has always been my motto.

At least his front bumper is broken. It also seems he may need some new rubber on the rear. But while it doesn't look great, it's no reason not to enjoy this great car from day 1! Unless Valdemar is trying to attract the ladies' attention?

- Anders

[Matra_Hans]

As there are 103 keys on a computer keyboard (many of the keys have two or tree functions) I am surprised how often I manage to hit the correct keys.
The damage on Waldemar’s Murena’s front spoiler can easily be repaired with a fibreglass repair kit.
The parts for the rubber list on the bumper might be a bit tricky to locate.

Regards Hans

[Waldo]

Hi Fellows...

Well as you both stated the car should be in a rather healthy state for now! I expect to drive it straight away...

I have looked at the import TAX and it shouldn't be that bad... anyone that knows more about the import tax for the Murena's?

From my point of view it's about time to strip down the nearly 25 year old car and take care of any starting corrosion, so that I can enjoy the car for the next 15 years or so...  
First priority is to get the Murena in great technical/mechanical shape, and see what the economy will allow to spend to attract attention!

I did read about the rear trailing arms before inspecting the car, and checked them from underneath. They looked ok, though I plan to take them off to have them surface treated (maybe sand blasted and galvanized?)... as they seem to be very expensive indeed.

400€ plus P&P for a windscreen is a little expensive when you consider the price of the used Murena's in Germany... so I hope to get the windscreen out without braking it!!!
Otherwise I'm sure we can work something out and save on the cost Anders...

Apart from that I will recieve a repair manual (in german) and some spare parts info, that I plan to share with anyone interested. The owner told me that Simon Auto is rather expensive, and recommended another german company that did great service and fast delivery at low prices! Can't remember the name though...

Cheers,
Valdemar

PS: By the way, the german owner had bought a Opel Speedster and was into center motor cars big time.... sweet car by the way, but not as "charming" as the Murena's (or maybe that's just because I can't afford one!).

[Anders Dinsen]

The warm galvanisation process really means that 25 years is not a problem! Just look at the lamp posts in your neighborhood. I am sure many are much older than 25 years, and they do not rust. I agree with Hans though: Even galvanisation does not last forever, but you do not need to worry yet. Without having seen your car, I beleive you can drive it for many years - even without stripping anything.

The warm galvanisation process that the Murena (and later Espace) chassis was treated by is entirely different to the galvanisation that any other cars have had. Except some exotic tubular-frame cars.

Opel Speedster... that's one fine car. Built by Lotus on their Elise platform. Good choise now that he was going for something contemporary. It seems you are getting an enthusiasts car.

Om afgift: Send mig en mail og måske kan jeg hjælpe (sorry, but this is not of interest to non-danes). Du kan jo slå vurderingerne op på hjemmesiden - det ser ud til at det ligger omkring 20-30 tkr.

- Anders