280zx into a 260z

[flannelman]

I just got 2- 74' 260Z 2+2's. one had a wore out l24 with the e31 head. I kept my '80 280zx after getting t-boned by a Suburban. so I am in the process of putting the l28 into the 260z. motor is in, headers on, triple Webers on, electric fuel pump added. here is my first of probably many bumps in the road to figure out. The distributors. I was hoping that eliminating the zx injection and using the Webers I could use the dis. that was in the car and not have to change wires and stuff.... rolled the motor up to TDC compression and placed the dist. in. It does not line up the rotor with the #1 plug. can I drop the oil pump ,rotate it a tooth and get it to line up and be ok to move on to starting it up or do I have to use the xz dist. and change more stuff?

[flannelman]

pics of the project here

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/member27006-albums525.html

[Zed Head]

If the ZX distributor was correct in the ZX engine then the Z distributor should be also. Did you swap the ZX mounting plate for the Z mount? Maybe the shaft and rotor are right but you've just run out of rotation space.

Here's a link showing the difference, from the ever-popular atlanticz site - http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/distributor/index.html

Go down to picture #6.

Of course, after reading through the link you might decide to stick with the ZX distributor.

Edited May 16, 2012 by Zed Head

[Walter Moore]

I don't know about the distributor in a 74, but the stock distributor mount for an L24 is different than what came on the 280ZX. OH! I also remember that to get the ZX distributor to work on my L24 I had to drop the oil pump and turn the drive approximately one tooth!

So if you are trying to go the other way, (I am not sure why you would want to...) you will likely have to move the distributor drive shaft to get the rotor to line up properly. (Even with the correct mounting base.)

[flannelman]

Thanks guys will be doing it tomorrow. why this way. over the course of 3 weeks I found and got 2 (one red one blue) 74' 260Z 2+2's. one (Blue) has really tired motor. removed it to rebuild later. Stuff the running zx in it just so I can have a toy to drive and tune up. The other (Red) is getting gutted and restored. it (Red) will end up with the ZX upgrades while the second one will be staying a 260z

[SteveJ]

I don't know about the distributor in a 74, but the stock distributor mount for an L24 is different than what came on the 280ZX. OH! I also remember that to get the ZX distributor to work on my L24 I had to drop the oil pump and turn the drive approximately one tooth!

So if you are trying to go the other way, (I am not sure why you would want to...) you will likely have to move the distributor drive shaft to get the rotor to line up properly. (Even with the correct mounting base.)

The S30 distributor mounts are different from the S130 distributor mounts. Having recently converted my 73 to a ZX distributor and having a ZX distributor in my 74 (installed by a PO), I would say that keeping the ZX distributor is the way to go if you're swapping a ZX motor into a Z. I found the distributor mount on eBay, and I bought a rebuilt distributor from Rockauto. It was pretty darn easy to swap it in electrically, too.