On the Murena most lights are powered via the circuit and fuse board at the front left under the bonnet. The
four edge connectors that join the circuits to the board (grey, green, yellow and white) have terminals inside
that are liable to crack and lose positive contact to the board. If this happens, whatever that circuit supplies
will probably only work intermittently or not work at all. You will have to replace the wire terminal in the plug
and then all will be well. These terminals were available from Rover dealers under the part numbers:
ADU 7972 and ADU 7973 although it's been a while since I needed any, so I can't say for definite if they are
still available. If the lamp not working is one of the front driving lamps, check the security of it's bracket
to the chassis. It earths through this contact, and if it is loose or corroded, then it will not work. The other
places to check for bad connections are the multi-plug connectors near the headlamps.
The door mirrors on a Murena are almost identical to some Lancia Delta (1981) and some Monte Carlo
models. The one difference was the colour of the glass. The Murena used clear glass whilst the Lancia
models used a blue tint. The mirrors are handed and the glass is convex which gives a good rear view. If
you replace a broken original with flat glass you will realise how poor the view is by comparison. Although
right and left look very similar, there is enough difference that if you try to fit the wrong glass it might break.
Since these are virtually impossible to get now, you don't want to break one needlessly! To remove the glass
only, you need to push a knife in behind the plastic rim and prise it off, it is simply clipped in all the way
around. The glass sits on four small rubbers pushed on to four pegs - be careful not to lose them! The mirror
is no longer made for either Matra or Lancia so we both have problems and a diminishing stock of good ones.
Never throw broken ones away, as many of the parts can be saved and it is often possible to build up a good
one from several broken ones!
*Great News* A company in Cape Town are producing spares for these mirrors. They are not cheap but if
you want originality... Click here.
Lancia had three or four versions over a period of years, but only the first series is like ours. The last
version had a head that remained fixed and the mirror glass adjusted inside it, unlike ours where the whole
head adjusts, but they won't fit the Murena unless you want to start modifying the door! It is worth bearing
in mind that the alloy casting that holds the head is poor and breaks easily so be very careful with them. If
you think someone might knock it whilst parked, or you might catch it whilst working on the car, carefully
fold it inwards first.
On the continent, I have seen an alternative fitted, but it is smaller, uses flat glass and is closer to the body
since it no longer has a head extended from the door, but fits closely on the 'triangle'; and therefore does
not give a good rear view like the original. However, it is one alternative. Another I have heard about but
not seen myself, is the possibility of fitting a BMW door mirror. My guess is this is the sport style that is
extended away from the door on 'legs' but whichever type it is, it will involve some modifications. Also as
it is a BMW part, it would be expensive! If you are prepared to go non-standard, then I am sure there will
be more than one possibility or alternative, but you will need to search around and try it out yourself.
If you only have a cracked glass, you could use one of the stick on mirror glasses available from most car
accessory shops, and stick it on top of the broken one. If you have a mirror that won't adjust up or down,
and in fact usually rotates down on its' own, then the gearing inside the tube section is damaged or broken.
This can usually be repaired with good gears and parts from another broken mirror. Most damaged mirrors
though in my experience are because the casting has broken, usually because the mirror was hit or snapped
forwards. I have tried several ways to repair this casting but none have been successful. I believe the only
way would be to alloy weld it, but the casting is often porous, very small where it breaks, and it would be
difficult if not impossible to do this. So take great care with these mirrors!
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The rear lamps on a Murena are a combination of Talbot Horizon base units with unique lenses attached in
place of the Horizon ones. These unique lenses are virtually no longer available. There are moves on the
continent to have some replacements re-made but they are likely to be about 180 Euro each. If you wish to
keep the car original, unless you can find some secondhand ones, or repair the damaged ones, you may
have no other choice. However, if you need a good lamp to pass an M.o.T. it should be possible to simply
fit two complete Horizon lamps. The lens will obviously not conform to the cars' shape, but as a quick short
term fix it will make it legal. If you are open to changing the car away from standard, there have been
some other alternatives in Europe. One involved using those round rear lamps like the Ferrari often uses,
surrounded by a black plastic in the shape of our original lens, so blending in with the shape of the car.
The original RHD Rancho and Murena headlamps are extremely difficult to get or no longer available.
Replace the mountings with Wipac open body mounting sets (5669) for the Murena or Wipac closed body
mounting sets (5400) for the Rancho and fit the common English standard 7 inch headlamps. The reference
numbers are from the Wiring Products catalogue (Tel: 01159 305454).
For a Rancho windscreen, since this is a standard Simca/Talbot part, you should try these sources first.
The D'jet windscreen was taken from an Alfa Romeo I believe, but that may be rare now too, so you may
need to try the specialists for one. For the M530, Bagheera, and Murena models, have you tried UROglas?
This company deals in unusual glass and can often provide windscreens or other glass for unusual cars.
However, one tip - give their details to the windscreen specialists that will be replacing your windscreen
and let them obtain the glass. If it is damaged in transit, it will then be nothing to do with you!
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