EA81 pointless distributor conversion

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 9:21 pm

Thought i might posts this up in case anyone else was interested. The distributor in my MY wagon had worn lobes which was cauing the timing to be a bit erratic. I've been on the look out for an electronic distributor from a Brumby but i've had no luck finiding one, and the bushes in my distributor were still really good so i decided to order a crane cams optical distributor conversion instead. Set me back about $200 posted from the US and took me a good 3 hours to install.

Got this in the mail. Ordered a fireball coil while i was at it since it was only another $25.

Everything laid out.

Bye bye points.

Sorry bad focus. That's the disc over the shaft and you can see the optical trigger that gets screwed in to replace the points. Wiring goes through the stock seal.

With the rotor button over top.

It got dark soon after so i stopped taking photos. I'll take some more pictures tomorrow in the daylight.

Basically standard distributor cap goes back on and hand crank to make sure there are no clearance issues. The wiring is pretty basic, i kept all the wires that were on the old coil minus the ones that went to the distributor. New balast resistor replaced the old one. Yellow to coil -, red to coil +, black earthed to body. All cabled tied into place untill i decide on the final location of ignition module.

Timing doesn't move at all anymore, revs are steady whereas before they jumped around a bit. No more flat spot since the weber went in when putting the accelerator to the floor.

My last long trip i got 8.57litres/100kms (32.97 MPG) which wasn't bad, i'll be interested to see if this makes a difference. Either way i'm just glad there are no more points to **** up and no dwell angle to set. I like these EA81s

Cheers,

Rhys

Post by **TOONGA** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 10:30 pm

nice setup I didnt think these were still available

good to see it works well

last thing.. is that the phenolic spacer block I see under your adaptor plate that your Weber is sitting on?

TOONGA

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Tue Jul 26, 2011 11:13 pm

Ha ha no phenolic spacer just too much gasket goop the first time i put the weber on and I didn't bother cleaning the outside. I have been thinking about putting one on though, they're pretty cheap and i've heard good things about them.

d_generate · Post by **d_generate** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:35 am

Totally pointless thread & conversion.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 1:22 am

That's awesome Venom!

As for the weber's air filter, maybe time to knock something up like this:

Pics stolen from this USMB thread

Cheers

Bennie

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:31 am

d_generate wrote:Totally pointless thread & conversion.

Someone had to say it

Bennie i've had a look at a couple of factory air filters modified to fit over the weber. I really like the factory look so it's something i'll think about doing, not untill i have a welder though. In those pictures the blokes gone through all that trouble and then just blanked off the crankcase ventilation lines? Seems like a waste. Someone on these forums did a neater job, but i can't find it right now though.

Optical sensor is mounts are adjustable both vertically and horizontally. Its aligned to be just before the leading edge of the disc slot when rotor is aligned direclty on a cylinder.

Coil and ignition module. I would've preferred to mount the module next to the spare tyre against the firewall but the wires aren't long enough. This will do though.

Put a tacho in while i was at it to make tuning easier.

Noticed the rotor button had some play in it so i replaced it with a new one. Also got rid of the old plugs and put in some copper ones. Treated the leads to a bit of dilectric grease since i had it sitting in the toolbox already. I haven't really driven a properly set up stock EA81 so i can't compare, but the cars is driving really well at the moment. I can sit on 60 in 4th which i couldn't do before, don't need to downshift at all really for hills etc, the car pulls away from the lights with only light throttle. It's even torque steering a bit off the lights if you go hard

No more capacitors to fail either so another bonus.

Cheers,

Rhys

mud_king91 · Post by **mud_king91** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:35 am

Would this kit work on the mpfi l wagon ?

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:42 am

Nope an MPFI wagon should already be electornically controlled from factory, so no need for something like this. This is really only for pre-84 EA81 motors that will have points.

Venom · Post by **Venom** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:58 pm

I ordered the parts from http://www.summitracing.com/

Part number for the XR700 to go with Hitachi/Nippon denso distributor is 700-0292. Direct link http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CRN-700-0292/.

Cheers,
Rhys

mud_king91 · Post by **mud_king91** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:13 pm

But if i were to fit that it would replace my currently stuffed ignition system wouldnt it ?

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:51 pm

mud_king91 wrote:But if i were to fit that it would replace my currently stuffed ignition system wouldnt it ?

No.

The MPFI EA82 has a computer controlled spark advance, and is much more sophisticated than this basic mechanical ignition replacement system as Venom has with his EA81.

Your EA82 MPFI will need some attention, read the codes etc and check the various components that come up on that - do a search for more information about this. Then maybe start your own thread if you don't find your answer to the problem...

Cheers

Bennie

mud_king91 · Post by **mud_king91** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:04 pm

i tried all of the above its also been to an electrician and still nothing im contemplating an attempt at a carby ea82 ignition crossbreed or just dropping the carb version in all together i can pick up a decent carby L for $500 that,ll supply other bits and pieces too... oh well maybe ill downgrade and sell my current one

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Wed Jul 27, 2011 11:33 pm

Mud king, I'd suggest that you start your own thread in the trouble shooting section, detailing the history of your subi, the symptoms and what you've tried as well as what the auto elec has done.

Down grading isn't as easy as it sounds - I've done it and had to jerry rig a few wires on the carbie and even then it didn't run right

Cheers

Bennie

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 9:12 am

Was it only the turbo mpfi series 1 that got the dizzy that works independent of the ecu for spark? 1985 Vortex non turbo FWD were mpfi ...what did they use dizzy and ECU wise?

And bennie is right, start a new thread on your problem and maybe get it towed home from the auto elecs

tony · Post by **tony** » Thu Jul 28, 2011 5:17 pm

there is a electronic dissy for ea81 on ebay now went on in the last couple of days.