1980 280ZX Distributor

[sblake01]

....white-trashed...nigga-rigged....

Nice touch....:stupid: Edited October 23, 2010 by sblake01

[EScanlon]

And an infraction at that.

E

[Zed Head]

Nice touch....:stupid:

He said he's a student so hopefully he's just young and ignorant, and doesn't realize the racist origins of his remark.

It is sad though that I'm hoping for ignorance...

[EScanlon]

Drop this line of discussion folks.

No explanations, no preaching, nothing further.

The poster has received an infraction and further commentary can only be inflammatory.

Further comments will have infractions assigned.

As Moderator

E Scanlon

[DoctorMuffn]

I'm not entirely ignorant on the matter, and I'm well aware of the risk I took in gauging the social response.

But I do apologize if I offended anyone, as that was not my intention.

And now I better recognize the limits imposed by this board and the consequences to follow when I push those limits.

As I said before I intend to include pictures, and I'd like to refocus the thread on the upgrade performed. It was a cinch and a pleasure to do, and I did ultimately make good use of the others' comments and redirects to threads entailing the research they've done.

And regardless of the outcomes I greatly appreciate CZCC and its membership for all of the help it has offered to date while I tinker with my little car.

Regards,

Sean Molle

Lake Forest, CA

[Zed Head]

Use the "Edit" function and fix it...

[DoctorMuffn]

If someone wants to tell me how to post pics I'd be happy to show the progress. Thanks in advance.

Nevermind... I figured it out. It's "attachments" not "insert picture."

Edited November 5, 2010 by DoctorMuffn

[DoctorMuffn]

In these pictures we can see the 4 components I own now that I've received the pedestal or base for the 280ZX distributor. From left to right in picture 001 we have the dry timing plate for the 240Z distributor (I believe that's what it is but my engine bay is completely Frankensteined and I can't be sure unless I've done it myself). Nevertheless it was the plate between my old pedestal and old distributor. The pedestal to the right of that plate is the old 240Z pedestal (I guess). The one to the right of that is the new 1980 280ZX pedestal which Jack at Irvine Nissan helped me special order; good guy. And finally you can see the 280ZX distributor (PN 22100-P8102 I believe) which I picked up rebuilt from Autozone for $104.99 and a core fee of $38.00. I ordered the ignition module for an extra $135.99 because I was told the dizzy wouldn't come with it, but low and behold it did at which point I returned the module.

That's odd... The dizzy is less than the module; but if we factor in the core fee whereupon I don't have a core to return and compare prices the remanned dizzy is only worth $7.00 when I take away the new module cost of $135.99 from $142.99. But I digress... And don't tell Autozone.

The remaining pictures are close-ups of the two pedestals placed as parallel as eye-engineering will allow for comparison sake. And the timing plate superimposed on both pedestals to show its incompatibility with the new 280ZX pedestal I have.

[DoctorMuffn]

So here is the receiver for the dizzy on the front cover indicating the engine is at TDC between compression and power for cyl 1. The next picture shows roughly the proper orientation of the 280ZX dizzy when installed with the secondary ignition rotor pointing toward the radiator. The next picture also shows the outlet from the cap for the number one cylinder high tension wire and its index mark. The next pictures show the cap on as well of a close-up of the cap showing another index mark identifying the first cylinder's high tension wire outlet.

The engineers really made this easy for me and I still managed to boggle myself. Thank goodness I couldn't change the phasing of the reluctor wheel for the primary ignition circuit and the dizzy shaft (hence dizzy rotor) or I really would have messed this stuff up for myself.

[DoctorMuffn]

Finally here is the "rigging" I did to make it work temporarily.

The first picture (014) shows the OLD pedestal mounted below the dizzy and a blue zip-tie routed through a "lucky" hole on the dizzy body. The locking end of the zip-tie serves as a stop to provide "resistance" to the dizzy rotating any further counter-clockwise (when viewed from above) which would retard the timing.

Notice the extension of the dizzy body with all of the letters on it. This is the bracket where I would fasten the appropriate timing plate to the dizzy. That plate is then fastened with another bolt to the appropriate pedestal almost exactly opposite (roughly 150deg away). The appropriate plate is shown in the final picture.

The second picture (013) shows the OLD pedestal again mounted below the dizzy and a yellow zip-tie routed through another "lucky hole" and it serves two purposes. It simultaneously prevents rotation of the dizzy clockwise (when viewed from above) which would advance timing, and it holds the distributor down into the pedestal. This zip tie can be seen in pic (014). And the mounting tab on the dizzy body is seen in (013) just to the right of the yellow zip-tie.

Note that this is a very temporary arrangement and I am presently seeking the appropriate plate. I presently have variable spark timing and it's nothing I'd advise for anyone else. I'll post pics when I locate and install the appropriate timing plate.

And many thanks to Joseph R Demers (http://www.jrdemers.com/280ZX/distributor/distributor.html) and many others who frequent this forum and share their knowledge. My Z runs very well now and no longer hesitates or caps my revs; albeit true I haven't really stepped into her because zip-ties just don't inspire confidence.

And the electrical hook-up was sound for my install; I followed Mr. Demers DIY. The red wire comes from a 12-volt switched source on the appropriate side of the ballast resistor (do not include ballast resistance in series in this circuit) and attaches to terminal B on the module (B might stand for Battery; at least it does in my mind). The blue wire goes from C on the module (perhaps Contacts) and connects to the negative side of the coil. I still have complete function in my tachometer.

Thanks again. See you all soon.

[DoctorMuffn]

Done and done!!!

Here's a pic of the plate I got from a yard. You can see the 240 setup on the left compared to the 280 setup on the right. And after installing it I set base timing with the vacuum advance disconnected to between 10 and 15 deg BTDC. If I had to guess it's roughly 11 deg. I also checked the dwell for shits and giggles and found it to be base-lined upon start-up at around 24-26 deg. When I get into the throttle I see the dwell rise to a peak of 39 deg. My car runs amazingly well so far! She has no hesitation, ceilings, or misfiring all the way to 7k rpm, but a shift feels appropriate around 6.5k (maybe that's due to the larger displacement of my L28 as opposed to an L24). I also picked up an old E12-80 module off of the same 280ZX which donated the plate for about $25. I remember reading a few stories about failures so I figured why not have an extra one.

So far so good, and no more variable ignition timing.

Thanks to all

[beandip]

If you haven't already seen this site, it may offer some insight.

http://datsunzgarage.com/engine/index.htm

Go to the section called "SEVENTH" and it covers distributors. I'm considering doing the same modification. The one thing to consider is that you may need to replace the factory tachometer.

I did the same install 8 years ago in my '73 and am still using the original 240 tach. You will need the bottom part that actually bolts to the block that the dist bolts on to. If you try and use the 240 part you will have problems setting the timing. The two parts look alike but are not. I have installed several of these in 240Zs . All the best, Gary