Questions about electric dist routes?

[KAL7467]

saw his kit and looks like it is exactly what I have in mind. it seems to replace the points dist with a electric one and also replaces the coil with a higher powered aftermarket one. When searching around the forum I see many have gone this route...and seem to be pleased but some say they have problems with their tach and some don't...

1.why is that?

2.are their any other parts recommended to do this swap(I was thinking of upgrading the stock wiring going to the coil with higher gauge wire) should I do new plugs and wires at the same time?

any recommendations at all would be great so I can do it all at once, on a side note what alternator upgrade are people using for the 240 I have heard about people using one from a 280zx and swapping to a volt gauge from said car and I was sure I saw a site outlining this but cant find the link...anyone randomly know what site I am talking about had a bunch of Z upgrades numbered...thanks in advance

[SteveJ]

Jamie,

The Pertronix is a good move from points. Many people have swapped in a 280ZX electronic distributor instead. For my 73, I did the Crane ignition. A previous owner of my 74 did the 280ZX swap.

I'm not sure where all of the tach problems come from. The Crane was plug and play for me.

Boy, when you're through, you'll have replaced about half of the wiring in the car.

For upgrades, look at Blue's site. The link is below. I did the ZX alternator swap many years ago, myself. However, unless you're doing things to increase the demand on the alternator, it doesn't add anything.

Personally, I'm not sure that swapping to a voltage gauge improves anything since I don't know much about the accuracy of the 280Z voltage gauges. Some people claim some safety benefit to moving away from the ammeter, but that's only if you also redo the wiring in the dash.

[rtaylor]

Jamie. The Pertronix is a good way to go. I have one in my semi high performance speed boat with a Mallory Distributor. I've had it in there for ten years with no problems, no replacement.

There is not much you have to do, just put in the unit where the points are located and use the sleeve for the rotor. Two wires come out and get hooked up. If you search here for pertronix you will dicover where to hook up the wires.

[KAL7467]

thanks guys...funny you mention that Steve because on Friday i was sitting at work contemplating gutting every single wire out of the z and making my own harness. I think it would be a neat project as well as peace of mind that all the connectors are secure and not broken down by age...only reason I would attempt this is because I make harnesses for police cars all the time at work and am very familiar with the process and from what I can see there really is not that much wires in the Z harness to begin with...

[SteveJ]

I remember you mentioning your occupation before, Jamie, and I wondered if that thought was going through your head. If you really want to get wild and crazy about that, I could make some recommendations while you're in the design phase that could make your life easier.