Put the spark back with a Distribution Cap for £6

I'm slowly starting to make some changes to the car, and narrow down the causes of it stuttering at about 3-4,000rpm.

Although one of the likely causes is the carb, it makes sense to check and overhaul some of the other possibly reasons. And with new HT leads, and the spark plugs checked, next on the list was the distributor.

It looks as if the original Nissan distributor was still in place 15 years later, and it was definitely starting to show it's age! And being a weekend, the nearby Nissan dealership parts department was obviously shut by the time we'd got to the stage of needing a replacement.

So it was off to the local 'motor factors', and stockists of an almost infinite supply of anything and everything. I was expecting quite a large bill, but after comparing catalogues and specifications on a range of distributor caps, and putting them next to the original (Top Tip: Remember to take original parts with you if possible - makes it a lot easier to find a similar alternative!), we settled on what we thought was the right part.

It cost a whopping £6!

And since fitting it, the problem hasn't vanished completely, but it's a lot, lot better. The car starts more easily, picks up from low revs in a much better manner, and has only stuttered in really cold and damp weather.

And that's for a total cost of £6. In fact, the car really doesn't owe me that much in spares so far. I should really have kept a closer record, but it roughly stands at a jubilee clip (And an RAC call out), a distributor cap,four exhaust mounts and fitting (£24), a Haynes manual, and lots of cleaning products!

So £30 for spares and labour, about £14 for the manual, and some shampoo. Not too shabby!

If you've got a 1.6 carb Nissan 100 NX, the most 'cost effective' distributor cap, and the one that I have, comes from Commercial Ignition, Catalogue Number XD243.

Nissan 100 NX 1.6 litre specifications, top speed and 0-60 time

I'm slowly collecting all the stats I can find for the Nissan 100 NX, NX Coupe, 1600 and 2000 NXs, starting with the manual geared 1.6:

Length 4140 mm
Width 1676 mm
Engine Size 1597 cc
0-60 mph 10.8 s
Power Output 102 bhp
Top Speed 121 mph
MPG 40
Insurance Group 11

12 months UK road tax is currently £185.
6 months UK road tax is £101.75.

Spotted another NX on the road today...

Turns out that maybe I'm not as unusual as I thought in owning a Nissan 100 NX.

First I saw a red one in nice condition on the way to work this morning, and then I found out someone from the 100NX Club Forum is in the same town (With a far more modded car than mine!).

Nice to see some others avoiding the perils of rust...

The evolution of my NX continues

I've been incredibly busy recently, but it's given me time to come up with a realistic plan for the NX.

I'm never going to have a show-winning concours conditions car all the time I use it as a daily driver, and don't have access to a garage.

I can, however, have a car which is fairly quick and reliable, increasingly unusual, and shaped to my tastes.

So I'm planning some changes shortly. The first plan is to see if I can cure the problems with the NX running rough under acceleration by sorting the stock Nissin carb. If that fails, then it's time for a Weber.

Then after that, it's about tackling any rust, and also starting to unleash the free power of any car, by getting it as light as possible...

Just have to hope it stops raining for a couple of days....

Some Nissan NX goodies, including t-shirts

I've been playing around with a website called Squidoo, which allows you to create simple pages around your favourite topics.

So of course, I chose the mighty NX. And in the process discovered some cool Nissan t-shirts etc. See them all for yourself, here.

Nissan 100NX problems...

Well, it hasn't all been smooth running - hence the delay in posting.

First problem was during a day out. Went to town for the day, and just as I pulled into a filtering lane for the multi-storey car park, I noticed steam coming from the bonnet. And of course, there was no way to get out of the line of cars...
By the time I made it inside and found somewhere to stop, there was a bang as the lower radiator hose shot off and sprayed coolant across the floor of the car park.

My RAC membership came in handy, as I didn't fancy trying to find gallons of water and a jubilee clip on a Saturday afternoon. Next day we filled the radiator back up with coolant and it's been fine since.


As opposed to the loud thumping noise from underneath the car. Withing the space of the day it had started tapping, turned into a thud, and ended up undriveable. A trip to the local garage diagnosed the problem as an exhaust mount, which was sorted for free - and the NX was booked back in for all of them to be replaced - which has now been done...

In the meantime I'm working on a shopping list...

Boot light cover.
Passenger side door handle shield.
Handbrake gaiter
Front left headlight
Front left foglight surround.

For starters!

Why I love my Nissan 100NX

Because even with petrol prices at £1.16 a litre, I can fill up a full tank for about £40.

Assuming the fuel gauge is in any way accurate, of course.)

I wonder how you'd test the accuracy without getting yourself stranded by the side of the road?

In other news I'm also putting together a shopping list of parts I'll need. Starting with the interior, and a passenger door handle shield, a cover for the light in the boot, and a gaiter for the handbrake.