Waking the Sleeping Beast Part II - 50 years later !!

[Racer X]

14 minutes ago, Shawninvancouver said:

how do you open and close the points " by hand" ??  spin the top plastic T ?

I use a small flat tip screwdriver, like all the tool guys give away.

Like one of these:

 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2021 by Racer X

[Zed Head]

9 minutes ago, Shawninvancouver said:

how do you open and close the points " by hand" ??  spin the top plastic T ?

If you have your friend spin the engine while you watch the points you'll see how they open and close.

Here's a video.  Go to about 1:30.

 

[Racer X]

These should be in every toolbox.
 

The file is a point file, fine double cut, parallel faces. Points only need filing if they get burnt and eroded, and only as a stopgap until a new set can be installed. Never file new points. Also use a clean tool when setting the gap, any oily residue will ruin them.

The other tool can be used to set plug and point gaps, the wire brush for cleaning the wire sockets in the distributor cap and coil center post.

 

Edited March 14, 2021 by Racer X

[Shawninvancouver]

Amazing help here.  I just want to make sure some wire came loose and is missing.   in photo below with white arrow shows a terminal on the side of distributor,  and there is no wire there.,   did something come off or is that normal??

[Shawninvancouver]

ROUTE OF WIRE..

attached is the rout of the power wire.. as shown in red it goes from the starter motor red wire.. and goes straight to the ballast. ( the yellow wire on ballast )... is that correct ??  or is it missing something that is causing no spark??  or does it need to go to any igniter or anything before going straight to the ballast??

 

or is it correct??

[Zed Head]

3 hours ago, Shawninvancouver said:

LOL- ok where on coil do i put the multi meter? one prong in middle hole and one to ground??

 

15 minutes ago, Shawninvancouver said:

ROUTE OF WIRE..

attached is the rout of the power wire.. as shown in red it goes from the starter motor red wire.. and goes straight to the ballast. ( the yellow wire on ballast )... is that correct ??  or is it missing something that is causing no spark??  or does it need to go to any igniter or anything before going straight to the ballast??

or is it correct??

Shawninoneofthevancouvers you need to start using that meter.

[Shawninvancouver]

Yo Zed --  i WAS using the meter but there was so much bloody rust i could barely fine a place to ground it.. the meter starter at like 3V then slowly moved to 10 or 11V.. is that normal??? or should it just jump to 12V ?

i think i got more a  volt reading when i had the meter stuck in the main coil lead and not when i had it on a  positive or neg and to ground.. can you simply just tell me where i put the two ends? does it matter which coil terminal?? and just ground it???

also - does a wire go to where yellow arrows go on distributor????

Edited March 14, 2021 by Shawninvancouver

[Zed Head]

I think that your yellow arrow just points to an extra ground for the distributor.  It should also ground through the mounting points.

Sorry, but I already said where to put the probes.  "Ground" is any part of the body or engine block or whatever that has a circuit back to the negative post of the battery.  Have you put the black cable from the battery negative post back on, attached to a starter bolt or transmission bolt?

I think that you might be moving too fast, thinking that what you're doing is easy and you'll soon hear the sound of that engine running.  Maybe stop and think a bit about what people have recommended.  It''s  not one simple thing to do before the engine starts and runs.  It's many small things.

Hate to be a buzz-kill but you have a ways to go.

[Shawninvancouver]

Have you put the black cable from the battery negative post back on, attached to a starter bolt or transmission bolt?

Not sure what  that means.. the negative to the battery was from the wire harness i believe..should we have another wire off the negative battery post to another ground??

 

the ground off the negative was there.. but possibly when we chopped out the two X out units of junk. we may have chopped that ground,,  if we chopped that ground, will it stop the engine from starting????

Edited March 14, 2021 by Shawninvancouver

[Zed Head]

The cable labeled as ground here is connected to the battery negative post.

https://www.zdriver.com/forums/240z-260z-280z-performance-technical-124/electrical-gremlins-30669/

 

[Racer X]

@Shawninvancouver, the battery negative cable should have two wires, a large diameter one (4 or 2 gage) that goes to one of the starter mounting bolts, and a smaller diameter wire (10 gage) that goes to a bolt on the firewall near the battery.   
 

Grounding is very important, all grounds must be clean and tight. Given the amount of corrosion in the photos you have posted, it would be a good idea to go through every ground and clean them up, and ensure they are tight on reassembly (don’t overtighten and break off the fasteners).

When using your multi meter, use the alligator clip lead for the negative, connect it directly to the battery negative terminal (assuming the battery is connected correctly). using the sharp probe on the positive lead, push the point hard into the point you are testing for voltage. For simple continuity tests, use the pointed probes on both leads to contact testing points.

I wrote earlier that the thing on the side of the distributor is a condenser, and what you need to do there.

By the way, have you repurposed the old spark plugs yet?

 

 

 

 

Full disclosure:

The spark plug I used for this one is a tapered seat plug that actually came out of a late 1970's or 1980's era Chevy 350. I replaced several hundred over the 30 years I worked on the fleet at a public electric utility. I made dozens of these things on my lunch breaks, gave all but this one away.

Edited March 14, 2021 by Racer X

[240dkw]

I am sure that the condenser on the points needs to be connected, it is part of the points. The two other two, voltage reg and coil are used for noise reduction, but the points will not work in the one on the dizzy is not hooked up. As well the wire to the spade connector must be connected. I will look at my car later, but I think it is a wire that comes from the neg side of the coil. 

Edited March 14, 2021 by 240dkw
Changed polarity on coil