Another update -
I have checked the fuel tank outlet for crud, there were a couple of flakes inside the banjo bolt but nothing too serious. There was no filter in the tank so I presume this was discarded at some point. Apparently Paul Matty remove them if they find them.
I checked the timing chain and it was a bit slack, maybe 1/4" too loose so I have re-set to 1/2" total play. Also checked the valve clearances and all were in spec apart from no.4 exhaust which was .0085, i.e. 1/2 a thou too tight. Is this a problem?
This didn't cure the rattle but, with the aid of my 'stethoscope' (screwdriver) it sounds like the alternator bearings have gone so I've ordered a new 45A one.
None of this has had any effect on the refusal to rev problem however...
I was going to take it to Aldon to see if there are any ignition bits breaking down under load but I don't have the time at the moment. I'm still thinking of trying another coil, also maybe another distributor cap after reading this thread:
http://www.lotuselan.net/forums/elan-f15/stops-when-hot-why-t22622.htmlSpecifically:
With the demise of Lucas, many of the pattern parts available for the ignition system seem to be of poor quality and either fail after a short period, or don't work at all (many would argue it wasn't much better when Lucas were still going)
I suffered exactly the symptoms you describe, and after a great deal of hassle traced it to the distributor cap - which became conductive when hot. I tried three or four caps from different suppliers, but all had been sourced from the same manufacturer, and all had the same problem. The tell tale sign was a small square moulding sprue on the top of the cap.
As others have pointed out, your problem could be coil, dizzy cap, condensor, rotor arm or leads. Any of these components can fail when hot, only to come back to life when they have cooled. The morale of my tale is if you are trying to find the fault by substitution, dont assume that new components are going to work any better than the originals, they could even be worse.
I am trying to remember when the last time was that I definitely remember not having this problem. I think it was fine before I did the head gasket. I had trouble getting it to run on all four cylinders after this and in my attempts to fix it I replaced the distributor cap and leads and the plugs. Then I gave it to Paul Matty who found it was just the carbs out of balance
. They also replaced the distributor as I noticed the body had cracked and had had a piece glued in.
So the only changes after the head gasket were the Distributor, cap, leads and plugs. The plugs have been replaced since so I'm left with the possibility of the new cap, leads or distributor being faulty I guess.
As you've probably gathered I am resisting the temptation to go to electronic ignition at the moment because I'm dying to know why it won't work now when it did before! Also the last Plus 2 I had ran fine on points for years.
I know. I'm going round in circles.
Sorry if this is becoming a blog
Can anyone recommend a supplier of quality distributor caps without the aforementioned 'sprue'?
Robbie