1983 Talbot-Matra Murena 2.2 S
Discussion
Matra only made this car for three years, and it became a corporate orphan. About 10,000 or so were made, in 1.6 and 2.2 litre versions. This one is a 2.2 S, which has an additional carburettor and a more racy cam than the standard 2.2. The car was not given the Douvrin alloy DOHC unit, and had to make do with the old fashioned but reliable and long lived Talbot/Simca cast iron SOHC engine. This one has done 212,000 kms, but still pulls along lustily, and is well put together, with good attention to detail inside and out. 143 BHP in a 1050 kg plastic and galvanised steel car makes for a speedy ride. The car has three seats in a row in front of the engine, and a decent sized boot behind the engine . It goes, handles, and stops very well.
http://www.matrasport.dk/Cars/Murena/history.html
http://www.matrasport.dk/Cars/Murena/history.html
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 16th May 06:41
Thanks. The fleet is now completed. I am under strict instructions, on pain of severe marital biffage, to buy no more cars or motorbikes.
I have no immediate plans to sell any of the heaps, but will see how they go. Footman James fleet insurance is very fairly priced, I have a mechanic on hand who charges only £25 an hour, and have got the cars stashed in assorted underground car parks and lockups. The storage cost is the only thing that may signal a reduction in fleet size. Of course, I have already had one weekend when I actually needed a car (living in inner London, most of the time I don't need a car at all), and every car was broken in some way, but one of them was eventually made ready for the weekend.
I have no immediate plans to sell any of the heaps, but will see how they go. Footman James fleet insurance is very fairly priced, I have a mechanic on hand who charges only £25 an hour, and have got the cars stashed in assorted underground car parks and lockups. The storage cost is the only thing that may signal a reduction in fleet size. Of course, I have already had one weekend when I actually needed a car (living in inner London, most of the time I don't need a car at all), and every car was broken in some way, but one of them was eventually made ready for the weekend.
Great choice! Love the interior.
And may I say, it's very good to have you back Breadvan - you seemed to disappear for a few months. Hope all is well. I always keen an eye out for the Europa in the Temple car park when I'm passing through. Now I'll be on the lookout for this as well.
PH needs more car-obsessed Wadhamites...
And may I say, it's very good to have you back Breadvan - you seemed to disappear for a few months. Hope all is well. I always keen an eye out for the Europa in the Temple car park when I'm passing through. Now I'll be on the lookout for this as well.
PH needs more car-obsessed Wadhamites...
I fell out of love with cars for a while, but rediscovered the lunacy late last year. Sadly, the lunacy has now spread to bikes.
My policy now is to buy no car for more than 12K, and preferably to buy at well below 10K. I could if need be shift some or all of the heaps if I had to, which might not be the case if I had some valuable Ferrari or Aston.
My black JPS Europa is now in a collection in Hong Kong, alas, but I have a yellow Twin Cam that is a medium to long term project. It is road legal and drives well, but it is quite knackered underneath. With a few quid spent on it over a year or two it should end up as one of the best Twin Cams around. All of the other cars in the fleet are more or less OK. None would win a prize, but they only need minor fettling and general maintenance. My Excel SE might be one of the best three of four Excels in the UK. My Jensen should look amazing when it emerges from the paint shop, but then, inevitably, I may have to do the interior to match.
All cars, new or old, are ridiculous money pits. As long as a petrolhead accepts that, then he or she can avoid going completely nuts.
When were you a Friend of Dorothy, Gruber?
My policy now is to buy no car for more than 12K, and preferably to buy at well below 10K. I could if need be shift some or all of the heaps if I had to, which might not be the case if I had some valuable Ferrari or Aston.
My black JPS Europa is now in a collection in Hong Kong, alas, but I have a yellow Twin Cam that is a medium to long term project. It is road legal and drives well, but it is quite knackered underneath. With a few quid spent on it over a year or two it should end up as one of the best Twin Cams around. All of the other cars in the fleet are more or less OK. None would win a prize, but they only need minor fettling and general maintenance. My Excel SE might be one of the best three of four Excels in the UK. My Jensen should look amazing when it emerges from the paint shop, but then, inevitably, I may have to do the interior to match.
All cars, new or old, are ridiculous money pits. As long as a petrolhead accepts that, then he or she can avoid going completely nuts.
When were you a Friend of Dorothy, Gruber?
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 16th May 08:06
1981-84, for me. My Beta was sold in the year that I matriculated, and the Murena when I was in my second year.
I couldn't drive a car back then, and only one person I knew at university had a car - a Mark 1 Golf.
I might re-do the Murena's interior in levva, one of these days, but before then there are more important things to sort out.
The car was either silver or red before it was blue. There are signs of both colours here and there on the car. The blue is probably a BMW colour, and may suffer from the softness of paint sometimes found on metallic blue Beemers.
I couldn't drive a car back then, and only one person I knew at university had a car - a Mark 1 Golf.
I might re-do the Murena's interior in levva, one of these days, but before then there are more important things to sort out.
The car was either silver or red before it was blue. There are signs of both colours here and there on the car. The blue is probably a BMW colour, and may suffer from the softness of paint sometimes found on metallic blue Beemers.
Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 16th May 10:27
Breadvan, I hope this request is not in bad taste but I would be very interested to know just how much you spend on car storage/lockups etc. I'm feeling a bit blue at my costs for same and, hopefully, your laissez faire attitude to this may make me feel a bit better/richer/less wallet-raped.
Ta.
Ta.
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