Matra 530 in a Field of Wheat !!!

geckoeng

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All sorts of weird finds. This Matra has been found in a Field of Wheat/Barley near Margret River in WA.

It cannot be seen from the road and needs the "Hippie" type owner of the field to open the gates to maybe look at it, and I am told you will need to do a lot of persuading to try and buy it.

The Matra was converted to RHD before being brought to Australia in the early '80s, it was driven for about 6 years here, and then disappeared off the scene, until these pictures were taken at the beginning of the year. Condition of the car is not know, but anything is rebuildable.

I have been given the story, second hand. But can put you in touch with people who have seen the car, and can introduce you to the current "owner".

Ray

Matra 530 1 sml.jpgmatra 530 2 sml.jpgMatra 530 3 sml.jpg
 
That's not wheat - nor any other sown crop - which is lucky, because many farmers burn the stubble after harvest
 
These cars are not really in demand. It is easy for me to say this and break it down, but that is not the idea. In Wikipedia, they say the 1700cc V4 was chosen to get the 4 seat version. I have spoken to another Matra owner and both of us thinks that Matra was in a pinch when Renault stopped the support and the Ford motor was the only one available in a hurry. The older Renault powered Jet had more kW than this one had Hp. That German Ford V4 was renowned for being a slug, 70hp and later upgraded to 75hp. Imagine a top end of 95mph and 0-60 in 16 seconds.

Why would you choose the Ford for one model and then go Simca for the next?

Frans.
 
The sweedes actually made good results with the Ford V4 in the SAAB 96.
I sold some instruments to a owner of one of those strange matras some time ago and he had given it the SAAB rallye threatment witch gave about 140bhp.
 
For how it might end up looking, see the link in the M530 thread in Froggy Chat.
 
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All sorts of weird finds. This Matra has been found in a Field of Wheat/Barley near Margret River in WA.

It cannot be seen from the road and needs the "Hippie" type owner of the field to open the gates to maybe look at it, and I am told you will need to do a lot of persuading to try and buy it.

The Matra was converted to RHD before being brought to Australia in the early '80s, it was driven for about 6 years here, and then disappeared off the scene, until these pictures were taken at the beginning of the year. Condition of the car is not know, but anything is rebuildable.

I have been given the story, second hand. But can put you in touch with people who have seen the car, and can introduce you to the current "owner".

Ray

View attachment 114072View attachment 114073View attachment 114074

Hi Ray,

As the representative the Simca Car Club Australia in WA which covers the Matra cars covers, we would like to follow up on this car with the view of rescuing from the elements. Can you send me a PM with a precise location and a cont if possible.

Regards

THE SIMCA MAN
 
Hi Ray,

As the representative the Simca Car Club Australia in WA which covers the Matra cars covers, we would like to follow up on this car with the view of rescuing from the elements. Can you send me a PM with a precise location and a cont if possible.

Regards

THE SIMCA MAN

Nice looking car, would be nice to hear that it has been rescued by someone that will do their best to get it back on the road or at the very least get another one restored from the useable parts.

As one that many years ago spent quite a bit of time talking to farmers about bits of old cars they had on their property, many are very cautious about parting with something that they might later regret when they see a write up about how cheaply the bought a bargain by ripping off the farmer. Needs to be a very diplomatic approach with just enough monetary reward or better still lots of conversation as to something the farmer sees to his value and needs.

Good Luck with that I hope you succeed.

Ken
 
Hi Ray,

Any luck with a contact and location for the Matra. Keen to follow this up as our Simca Club needs to grow.

Cheers

JP SIMCA MAN
 
Hi Ray,

Any luck with a contact and location for the Matra. Keen to follow this up as our Simca Club needs to grow.

Cheers

JP SIMCA MAN

???

I can imagine a Simca club being interested in a Bagheera or a Murena but a Ford Taunus engined M530?

Still, I wish you well & hope that it's saved.

cheers! Peter
 
Sorry about the progress on this thread. The people involved who know where this vehicle is, do not want to give any information. Because it is not near normal roads it is out of site. Such a shame.

Ray
 
Sorry about the progress on this thread. The people involved who know where this vehicle is, do not want to give any information. Because it is not near normal roads it is out of site. Such a shame.

Ray
It should be saved although, like my Murena, the cost will probably far exceed its eventual market value. The Matra Club UK advertised a clean looking one for 10,000 Euro. I don't know if it is still around but I remember it appearing in magazine after magazine for a long time.
 
The privacy of the owner should be respected. The car and its fate are his alone. Once the location is known there are those who think it their right to enter private property to "inspect" the vehicle at will. Parts soon disappear. All manner of early vehicles are farm stored as is the right of the owners. If they are left to rust away, so be it. City owners would baulk at the publication of the cars and parts they hold and their addresses so smart country people could come down, rummage through them at will and offer pittances.
 
i somehow ended up watching a video of a saab 96 rally car fitted with the same V4 engine ,yes quite impressive twin side draught webbers ,etc ,my experience with this engine was in a ford transit van in the day ,it was horrible ,.so saab realy did a job on it
 
The privacy of the owner should be respected. The car and its fate are his alone. Once the location is known there are those who think it their right to enter private property to "inspect" the vehicle at will. Parts soon disappear. All manner of early vehicles are farm stored as is the right of the owners. If they are left to rust away, so be it. City owners would baulk at the publication of the cars and parts they hold and their addresses so smart country people could come down, rummage through them at will and offer pittances.
I can certainly understand that. Years ago I bought an old 1973 Honda Civic - complete running car but with big impact damage in the side. Still drivable but not repairable - I bought it as a parts car that I intended to strip and discard. Living in a suburban street of Units, I stripped 95% of it in my garage before rolling the shell out onto the street for Sims to pickup.

Boy did the vultures descend ! One guy saw me pushing this shell up the street to a 'parking' spot and gave me a hand. Little did I realise that his intention was to grab a few items loose in the shell and make off. In hindsight it must have looked as though I was thieving things and about 4 other people came out of their units and joined in. I watched - a little shocked - as people just grabbed parts out of the car and walked off. One guy had the spare wheel under his arm. Late that night someone turned up with a gas torch and took a section off the front of the car. No really - and it wasn't that bad a suburb !

So I can appreciate that giving away the location of the Matra could be an issue, but in this case it's almost as if the car will be lost through inaction.

Such a quandary . If the car can't be seen from the road, surely the danger 'to the car' is reduced. Surely any potential thievery can be tracked back to the small Matra community ?

Years ago I was aware of a large collection of Fiat 124 coupes a guy was collecting - I'm talking 25-30 cars - yes you might argue that was enough to make at least one good Fiat......... He had them in the front yard of his semi-rural property for years. The count kept increasing. I chatted with him on several occassions about obtaining one from him. Of course no - it wasn't for sale - it's his project car. They were all his next big project cars. I never saw the numbers of cars in his front yard decrease as if they were being rebuilt. As far as I'm aware he passed away and they were all scrapped. Such a loss.

I'd hate to see the Matra just scrapped and surely it deserves a divine power to intervene and save it.

Cheers

Justin
 
Maybe its the guys exotic french super car project that he bought for his retirement ,his wife was pissed off with him because she would have preferred to have a new washing machine ,so the poor car becomes ,the subject of a standoff and banished to the corner of a paddock ,i dont know Its his car and he /she can do with it what they will,my wife has said why dont i build a shed to put all my stuff in ,i know that that shed would be packed with cars i had to save ,then i would have to build another shed ,i have seen enough american pickers shows and lots of garage clear outs to know ,not to go there ,my mother used to say when i was a young bloke that i used to bring cars home like stray dogs ,ps a friend of my wifes has just baught a new car ,her 05 carolla accent is in here drive way ,waiting to be picked up by the wreckers ,it has a mths rego and 400k on it drives fine ,had clear coat coming off bonnet and roof ,i weakened ,told here if her sons mate dousnt take it i will find it a good home ,hope i dont get stuck with it ,i sure im not the only one
 
All depends on how you approach the person. There are those who give car restorers a bad name. At the lowest level are the badge strippers, followed by the backyard dealers who spin a story to get the car at the lowest possible price. There's a reason why the car is there. Perhaps a never to be realised restoration dream. Some people will part with a car if they think there will be a sympathetic restoration by an enthusiast. Others are just hoarders.
There was a certain dealer in old Peugeots who would spin any story the seller wanted to hear to get a much loved old car which was then sold for a very large profit.
If the person is approached carefully it may be possible to establish a relationship.
 
the carollas gone to a good home ,no money exchanged ,all good
 
no my sons sister in law is a theater nurse ,whose Astra blew up, was driving her mums car but now , has the Toyota ,driving it to the gold coast ,to work every day ,400k on it it drove like new ,
 
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