Pretty sure the E12-80 has the modern current-limiting (dwell control) so the Blaster 2 coil should work fine.  He has all of the parts, I'm betting that the distributor needs a little work.  Whenever I find a ZX or Maxima distributor in the wrecking yard they're always mis-adjusted and have broken magnets.  I don't think that they're very durable.  Rockauto sells a replacement bushing for the shaft.

" The distributor came off a 280zx "

Zed head, you are the man. Thank you for all your support.

is this the broken magnet you were referring to?

The gaps were slightly tighter on one post than the others maybe a .008 and the others I could fit up to a .014 feeler gauge. 

Also the resistance for the pick up coil was 369 ohms. 

Also taking the distributor out and spinning it with the key on test showed that with low speed rotation there was no spark, but if I spun it quickly it would be a strong spark that would spark about an inch or so, but only if spun quickly. It will also shock you too... that was fun...

So I'm thinking distributor rebuild? *edit* Rock auto had a reman distributor for $105 and after adding up cost to renew the old one, this is cheaper... should be in mid to late next week *edit*

Thanks for all your help!
-Josh

Edited May 30, 20168 yr by YoshiDori

Figure up the rebuild parts price and your time then consider getting a Cardone reman from amazon.com. I bought one for $100. Make sure and enter a '79 280ZX, I think it's a D6K8? There's an Excel spread sheet with all the different years and specs, Walter Moore put it together I believe. I can post it later or you can google Zx distributor curves spreadsheet. 

Awesome, thanks man! I went ahead and found a 79 cardone reman on rock auto for $105 for that exact reason. I appreciate all your help!

I logged in just to say what site already said.  If you haven't already bought the Cardone unit, you might just step back and reconsider everything.  What are you looking for in your ignition system, how much do you want to pay, etc.?  Easy to see how you got on the ZX path but there are other options.  The ZX distributor and E12-80 module are a good system though.

I'm open to suggestions for future upgrades. For now, I'm trying to get the car going to be our get away car at our wedding.

Rockauto is dependable and the ZX distributor should work fine.  Stick with that.

We need to know more about this wedding that has a 1970 240Z as the honeymoon car though...

Haha we are getting married July 2nd and I'm a big car guy. I bought the z after I got my job and around the time my fiance and I started dating. She loves the car and it's a car I've always wanted. So this car kind of has special   place in both our hearts. When I bought the car, it would over heat. So I got a new radiator and electric fans and pulled the dash to update the tach and replace the heater core. I haven't had a bunch of time to work on the car because of work and the race team I'm on takes up most of my time. So I'm taking a break from the race team between now and the wedding except for the weekend before we will be at Road America for a Pirrelli World Challenge race. I'm hoping to have the car running and cleaned up before then.

Also fun things, we are making  the beer, wine, and mead for the wedding ourselves. 

So good drinks, good company, and a great z it should be an excellent wedding!

Thank you for your help and input! It's greatly appreciated!

Here is the car:

-Josh

Edited May 31, 20168 yr by YoshiDori

Sounds like you're living the good life.  Good luck.  Don't forget to reset timing with the new distributor.

Thanks man! Will do!

I believe- working off of memory here- the broken part in your pic is just a spacer. The stator usually cracks and won't hold the gap setting when you tighten the screws. I wish I had mine in front of me but I made it work by properly spacing the stator ring . I will try and dig it up.

ive since given up on distributors

The workings of the 280ZX distributor are definitely more mysterious than the 280Z's.  But they do call it a magnet in the manual.  I guess the real question is "does the magnet need to be intact to work at full function?".  Apparently, they still work when broken, but how well?