In principle, it should work.  The marks on the pulley are based on which wire is fired when they're passing by the pointer.

You could also have just moved the timing light pickup to other plug wires until you found the one that was on target.  Should have mentioned that.  You can still do that if it makes the wires fit better.

Zed Head: Thank you for the advice.  

My valve cover gasket no longer usable, so no start attempts until Friday at the earliest.  No gaskets available nearby.

Buy a Nissan valve cover gasket. They hold up a lot better than the aftermarket ones.

Here is the current part number: 13270-Y7010. You can order at your local dealer or an online dealer like https://www.nissanparts.cc/

Edited July 14, 20222 yr by SteveJ

SteveJ: Thank you for the Nissan valve cover gasket details.  Once I saw your note last night I ordered a Nissan gasket from a well known Z Car parts house and it shipped this morning.  Delivery is scheduled for Saturday.

Pro tip: Don't use RTV on the valve cover gasket!

I was working on a guy's 280ZXT last year and found some idiot used RTV on the valve cover. I convinced the owner to replace the gasket since I was going to do a valve adjustment. I was delayed on the valve adjustment because I was picking off pieces of RTV from the camshaft and other places under the valve cover.

Still no luck; unable to start the car.

Since last Wednesday, July 13, I moved the plug wires on the distributor one to the left (counterclockwise).   The rotor at TDC (11:25) is now before the #1 plug wire at 10:00 on the distributor.  The new Nissan valve cover gasket is installed.

While cranking I’m getting slight backfiring through the carbs and unusual odors, but it will not start.  I think the rotor is not close enough to the #1 plug wire on the distributor now.

I’m beyond frustrated.
 

Did you retard timing any after moving the wires? It might be too far advanced.

SteveJ: Thank you for the suggestion.  I'll try to retard the timing more.  Was not sure which way to go advance or retard.

Have the distributor turned counterclockwise to the stops, but backfiring through the carbs continues.

Do I need to reset everything back to TDC and move the oil pump shaft 1-2 notches to the left (counterclockwise)?
 

Edit: Some things got clipped out by mistake.

Does your distributor still have a plate like this?

Here is how it's lined up on my 240Z.

Here's what you might try to do before messing with the oil pump. (Minimize jumping around.)

1. Set the car at TDC.
2. Align the mark on the plate to the middle.
3. Verify that the rotor is at the #1 plug.

From there, you'll have a better idea of what way you need to go.

 

 

Edited July 17, 20222 yr by SteveJ

SteveJ: My adjuster is the same and I lined up the center marks when I installed the distributor.  My adjuster works a little strange though, it will advance a mark or two, but the retard adjusts past the "R".

The rotor points to 11:25 and my #1 plug wire is at 2:00, so they are not close.  I could move the #1 plug wire back to 12:00 on the distributor, but that's where I was missing my timing marks and the engine ran horrible.

49 minutes ago, ZNate said:

SteveJ: My adjuster is the same and I lined up the center marks when I installed the distributor.  My adjuster works a little strange though, it will advance a mark or two, but the retard adjusts past the "R".

The rotor points to 11:25 and my #1 plug wire is at 2:00, so they are not close.  I could move the #1 plug wire back to 12:00 on the distributor, but that's where I was missing my timing marks and the engine ran horrible.

There should be two adjustment bolts for timing. Have you played with both?

If you have, and what you said still holds, here is what you might do.

1. Put the mark at the first line past the middle and toward retard. Consider that your static zero position.
2. Adjust the oil pump from there to put the rotor at TDC.

Still this picture bugs me.

In the 240Z, I could swear that when the engine is at TDC, the rotor is near the Hall effect sensor, not 180 out like in your photo. 

I tried searching for images with your setup, and I tried searching Hybridz. I didn't find anything useful.

Maybe someone smarter than I am can chime in about this.