NA Distributor same as isuzu ?

[Tuga2112]

yes, thats all in the title.

i need to worder stuff from rockauto eventually for a myriad of different cars. so if its the same, i reckon i can save up on the postage.

Ive recently got hold of an NA that was a complete bargain. came with a full year MOT interior in pretty good condition, but its a bloody nightmare to start (cranks forever before eventually very shy spurts an explosition and after another minute of cranking it eventually fires up.

the smell of petrol is a good indication the fuel pump is ok,
obviously refreshing the plugs, and new leads are a starting point but my main suspicion is the distributor cap has condensation. (not verified yet)
so im going to be checking out everything and trying to make that a second daily runner. so i can turn up at work with a different elan every week

[Chas54]

Sorry , dont understand the NA bit.
But if you are looking at the M100 Elan , there really isnt a distributor . The black plastic cover on the cam end is only there as a protection for the cam angle sensor and hall affect device. The plug leads all go to 2 coils under the water header tank , and the spark timing and distribution is figured out electronically. If the car is new to you , make sure you have the correct petrol ESSO E5 is one of the lowest ethanol types.
I have had countless hours exploring everything when i couldnt pass the MOT emission test and improved the matter immensely by refilling with ESSO E5.
I had the plennum off twice, the injectors tested etc.

Also check the ignition timing with a strobe light under the drivers side front wheel with the car hot and the ECU in service mode . The precise setting is absolutley essential to the ECU performance.

Charlie

[Fredjohn]

The M100 Elan NA (naturally aspirated NON turbo) has a distributor.

The SE turbo model is different and has a cam angle sensor etc.

[dapinky]

Joao,

Firstly, congrats on the new acquisition - the only NA's I know of for sale recently were a very nice BRG one (which I was in talks with the seller for a while) and the dog of an overpriced yellow one - I really hope you got the green one! - the only thing which stopped it from being in my garage was the colour, and Angie couldn't be convinced.

Anyway, back to your question (and a few other things which you may or may not already know/appreciate).

The ignition system is identical to the Impulse - the only thing I am not 100% sure of is the single HT lead from the distributor to the coil, as I'm not sure that the location in an Impulse would use the same length, but it probably does!

Elanscan doesn't work with the NA.

The ECU is completely different (very basic) as there is little to keep tabs on in an NA configuration - a very simple fuel curve for revs really..... it is also directly from an Impulse. There are a few online forums (based in USA) which will probably give you far more information than you will find here - simply because not many of "us" have owned and/or worked on them in any great depth.

The gearbox itself is the same as an SE - but the final drive ratio is different - this means that at a given speed, the NA will be revving slightly higher than a turbo...... ie, at 70mph you may have 3200 revs instead of 2900 (just a guess on the numbers, I haven't got the time to work it out exactly).... this also means that the acceleration is nearly as brisk as the turbo - and without any lag, it isn't even noticeably slower at useable speeds.

The clutch on the NA is slightly smaller (7 7/8" instead of 8 7/8") and is the one usually fitted to the Impulse anyway.

It is possible to improve the power of the engine with some internal work to the cylinder head - but it isn't really worth it (IMO)..... alternatively, you can just replace the engine with a 1.8 litre unit if you wanted to.

[Chas54]

Oops
For some reason i never twigged it was normally aspirated (NA)
I must be getting to old for this stuff

sorry

Charlie

[Tuga2112]

ive taken apart the distributor cap and found multiple points corroded. after 10 minutes with sandpaper and reassembly, i went from a car that was not starting to a 2 turns on the crank to fire up.

now, im going to order a new cap from rockauto so i have a replacement ready for whever the contacts start corroding again.

thanks for your help guys. and yes, this is the green one with a J reg which was discussed elsewhere in the forum. i did mention there i was very keen on it, but i missed out on the ebay listing, and when it came up again on facebook i went for it asap.

it has the usual age marks with rear wishbones with surface rust. nothing that i wont be able to resolve given some time.

[Dave Eds]

What's the rotor arm looking like mate?

[Tuga2112]

What's the rotor arm looking like mate?

didnt even give it a second glance to be honest.
considering its only 2 dollars for the replacement i ordered it together with the cap. and a couple of rebuild kits for the rear brakes... and a few mr2 parts.... and a few 4runner parts... i only logged on to buy a dizy cap for the elan. but paypall was charged 98 quid