distributor upgrade

[vissan]

Hello everyone!

I want to upgrade my old 1974 260z distributor to electronic distributor. I'm not sure what year Z I should get it from. I was told 1981z will be the perfect fit.. Can anyone tell me what year will fit..

thanks,

Vissan

[Zs-ondabrain]

The 79' to 80' 280ZX distributor will bolt right up. Make sure it has the E12-80 ignition module on it.

Disconnect the points wire from the side of your stock distributor and plug it into the "C" terminal (on the ign. module of your new ZX dist.) and run a positive wire from the (+) side of your coil to the "B" terminal on the module. use 16 gauge wire.

Make a jumper wire (2") with male terminals on both sides and BYPASS your ballest resistor.

Your done....

Get an MSD Blaster 2 coil to top it off and always run NGK plugs and wires.

I gap my plugs at .035 instead of .032 (with the MSD coil)

Try a junk yard and give 'em $50 bucks for it. I have this conversion on both of my Z's and I'll NEVER go back to points.

Good luck,

Dave.

[Arne]

The MSD coil is not required, but it is a highly regarded coil. Regardless of what brand you choose, you do need to use a coil for electronic ignition, not a points-type coil. I have a similar setup to Dave's, my dizzy is from an '83 which came with the wrong ignitor module, but I bought a used E12-80 ignitor and swapped it on. For now, I have a cheap aftermarket coil that was intended for a '79 ZX. ($15 brand new.) Seems to work fine.

With that distributor and a decent coil, you should easily be able to open the plug gap much wider. The ZXs that came with that combination called for .045" gap. I've got mine gapped wide like that and it seems to work great.

[yukonharry]

If you are running the late 74 electronic ignition instead of the early 74, I can see why you want to change. Those brain boxes are quite spendy! I used an 80ZX dizzy on my 77 with a 260 engine. I also have a blaster coil. Talk about a difference! I'm like the guys above, I'll never be without it. I'm also putting the same setup in my GF's 73 240Z.

NOTE!!!! When you go to the JY to pick up that Dizzy, make sure you get the ZX hold down bracket, as they are different than the Z's.

[beandip]

[

NOTE!!!! When you go to the JY to pick up that Dizzy, make sure you get the ZX hold down bracket, as they are different than the Z's.

Absolutely I agree with all the above . I am using the ZX coil and have no regrets. I just want to clarify one item. the '' hold down bracket '' this is the extension that the dist bolts to and it in turn is attached to the engine block. yukonharry is correct, the same part from your old L-24 dist will not work. One more thing '79 & 80s have the correct module . '81--83 all use another , however the distributors of all years of the ZXs will work , you just need to change to the 12 80 module . The manual cars have different advance from the automatic equipped Zs . Others may have input on the effect of this. I have a manual ignition on my 240 Z with a automatic trans. It's a '82 ZX flat top engine with SUs and a Moderate cam. runs strong. My 2 ¢ Gary

[Arne]

The difference between manual and automatic transmission ZX distributors is in the mechanical advance curve. There is apparently a small difference in the weight of the centrifugal weights, and maybe in the springs as well. I haven't been able to confirm which is better, and it is not easy to determine whether a particular ZX distributor was from a manual or automatic without disassembling it. So I don't think I'd worry about that part too much.

[jmortensen]

There used to be a site that had all the advance curves on it, but it's gone now. It did not show a different spec for manual and automatic, that I'm sure of. I do recall the spec listed on the site as 17 degrees advance all in by 2500 rpm for the ZX distributor, and that was for either of the housing numbers, the DK48 and the DK68. As Arne said you can pull the thing apart and look at the bottom of the mech advance and it shows distributor degrees advance. 8.5 is what mine was stamped, double that for crank degrees, there's your 17 degrees total. Mine definitely came from a manual transmission ZX. It would be fairly easy to check when it's all in, just have someone in the car rev it up until it stops advancing while you check with a timing light. As soon as it stops advancing, note the rpm, and adjust springs to get it in earlier or later as desired. Most of the other datsun distributors were all in by 3000 IIRC, so 2500 or 3000 isn't going to make a huge difference IMO, but it could be adjusted if desired.

[Arne]

More - Bryan Little's Z webpage states that the manual cars had the '8.5' marking, and that the automatics had a '9' marking. Not much difference, so I don't think I'd worry much about which I got.

[beandip]

The info I have is on a '79 Part number # D6K8=02 the centrifugal advance starts at 0 at 600 and full advance 8.5 @ 1250 RPM Vacuum advance to start 5.90 inches of vacuum and max vacuum advance of 11.6 @ 9 inches so the total advance is 20.1 These specs. are from my notes when I was researching this stuff 5 years ago and I didn't add the source of the information. I do agree that the difference is not much between the two units . It just was recommended to me to get the manual one , and as it happened I did. The advance markings are stamped on the centrifugal advance arm that is seen , only when the vacuum plate is removed . Judging from my past dealing with advance curves back in the '70s , it is the springs that control the weights as they spin that dictate the advance curve . Now I am guessing that there may be a difference in the weights or the position of there stops , that account for the different specs. In either event I think either unit it isn't signifficant . Gary

[LBO730]

Will the 79 - 80ZX distributor "bolt right up" to a 75 280?

[yukonharry]

The answer is yes, providing you have everything you need. The following link is an exalent how to write up on it with pics. I've used this tech tip on 2 of my Z's so far and have never had a problem. http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/distributor/index.html

[vissan]

Hey guys, thanks you all for the great advice.

Vissan