boro92

Hey Arne, Thanks again for the help on this matter! The tach doesnt go past 4.5K under hard accelleration, but the engine continues to pull and revs will continue to climb as expected. Not sure what's causing the tach to go all funny.

Is there any play in tie rod bushings or anything of that sort? Alignment spec can be bang on, but any worn bushings will cause misalignment under load.

FWIW, I just put in a Pertronix and experienced the same issue upon install. Note: Prior to the Pertronix install, I had the car tuned on a wide band and carbs synced as appropriate. Timing was re-adjusted and put back to factory spec post install. Hesitation occured at around 4.5k RPM as you noted. On my car in particular, the vacuum advance was disabled. For fun, I just hooked it back up and the hesitation went away. It now revs hard (though power band sucks post 5k rpm) to 7k. Unfortunately, my tach wont read past 4.5k under hard accelleration now...but that's another problem all together. Are all vacuum lines hooked up on the car? What's the timing your'e getting under full advance?

I just installed the Pertronix Ignitor with their 3.0 ohm coil and bypassed the ballast resistor. The car actually runs very well after a timing adjustment. However, I noticed that the tach doesnt rev past 4.5k under hard acceleration. Any idea what would cause this and what can remedy the situation? The tach operated fine when I was using the original points and ballast. No bouncing, no nothing...just reliable. Now it's all funny! Is something going wrong in the electric circuit?

Yup. Try spraying pb blaster or something similar first to loosen the bolt. That way we don't run into the broken bolt problem again

Thank you! This is perfect. I'll get going on this and make it happen. Thanks to all who contributed.

Yup, I found a good write up here: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?37452-Pertronix-Ignitor-1761-install-and-coil-evaluation The problem is that I have 2 black wires left, and as I understand it, one of them needs to be connected to the (+) on the coil. This will be powering the coil. Without a volt meter, it's not possible for me to check polarity. Both black wires have spade ends, and one of the spade ends look deliberately bent. Is it safe to assume that the bent one is the (+) I need?

Thanks for the response! I have a green and a black wire that was on the ballast. This needs to be connected to the coil? Just want to be certain here, because in Arne's first post, it was mentioned to connect the wires on the ballast to each other. Right now (maybe hard to see from the image), I have the 2 ballast wires connected to each other. I also have 2 free hanging black wires (that used to be connected to the oil coil). I believe these 2 freehanging wires used to be the + and - on the old points? I don't have a volt meter, so I can check for voltage I also happen to have a free hanging black wire by the dizzy. I believe used to be connected to the condensor.

Hmm car wont start. I suspect I'm not getting a spark. Any input appreciated

Silly question: I know stock tire size is 175/14...but what is that in modern day standards? I understand that your chart converts this...but just curious. Was the stock tire an 80 profile? And why not include 195/55r15 on your chart Lots of good tires in that size

It's actually quite easy. I too removed my bumper over-riders. To do this you will need to fully remove the bumper. You can do this by loosening the brackets in the grille area. If memory serves, there are 4 bolts total for the 2 brackets, and 1 bolt on each edge of the bumper. Sounds to me like you are removing the bumper from the bracket itself. Leave the brackets on the bumper, but instead remove the brackets from the car. Let me know if that makes sense!

Thanks, Arne! i appreciate the help. Just to dot my i's and cross my t's, I included an image. As per the noted instructions: 1) The ballast resistor is removed 2) the 2 wires originally going to the ballast resister are joined (that mound of...electrical tape) 3) The 2 original leads going to the coil are disconnected. In their place, 1 red and 1 black from the pertronix ignitor are going to their respective polarities 4) That green wire going to the positive terminal....not sure what that is, but it was connected that way originally, so I've retained that connection Am I good to go once I have my coil mounted?

Hi Arne, Your quick response is much appreciated I'm sorry, I always seem to forget to post the car. It's a '70 240z. I am using the 3 ohm kit, so I can bypass the resistor. Just wanted to make sure and not fry anything.

A quicker response to any pedal input. This is especially noted on rev matches and heal toe. My results were from 2 cars which had very restrictive airboxes (despite K&N dropins), however. Lastly, since it seems that the 280 doesnt have a resonator, the difference may be negligeable or simply non existent.

This is correct and very important - the disc, bearing, collar and release lever are specific to the clutch being used. So do not re-use the ones that came with your 5 speed (despite them being in potentially better condition or whatever). Also, if you have an early model Z, you'll want to retain your early shorter driveshaft. Otherwise, a later model car will utilize the same longer shaft. On an early model, you'll notice that the shifter is close to the edge of the cut out on the tranny tunnel. For this to work, you'll have to use one of those bent shift levers...straight ones wont work.

FWIW (no hands on experience with a 280--i drive a 240), stock airboxes typically go to a resonator. As well, they are limited to drawing air from any openings which the airbox may have. With a cone filter, you are no longer utilizing the box and are drawing air from all its surroundings (albiet hot air). From experience, I've noticed better throttle response without the airbox on my other cars.

I just purchased and installed the pertronix ignitor and coil. I'm aiming to bypass the ballast resistor, but really am no good at this electrical stuff. Rather than leave it up to me, I'd be more comfortable seeing pictures of anyone who has this installed. Is it safe to disconnect the ballast resistor all together? With that, I'd hook the ignitor up directly to the coil... But if I do that, there will be some extra wires left (I assume for the tach), and want to be certain that these go to the right places. Any help is much appreciated!

FWIW I run springs made specific to the 240 and my car sits level (tokico advanced susp kit).

My Z used to ride on cut lowering springs (not me, but previous owner). The increased drop on stock strut housings really limited front end travel to something like 1 inch if not less. I could tell when I went over speed bumps and it hits the bumpstop! Anyhow, like you, I switched to the Tokico Illuminas, and I'm running the Tokico springs which lower similar to the Eibachs. Travel is significantly better and handling actually is improved (old shocks were kyb with cut msa springs). You've probably already tried this, but for those who have not tried: tire pressure does a lot! Play with the pressure--drop the front a couple pounds and try again. Does your Z have a rear antisway bar? you can add one in to get the rear to rotate better. Since you run the Tokicos, run softer settings up front and harder out back if you havent already tried. Lastly, if camber is absolutely needed, then try those eliptical control arm bushings. I read they get you an additional -1.5 degrees. I too track my car, and am finding understeering tendancies -- esp once my tires heat up. It get's worse with a passenger in the car! Seems like out of the box, these cars will tend to push. At the moment, I have front and rear anti sways, and run softest in the front, and #3 out back on the tokicos & 0 degrees front toe. These settings helped somewhat with the push (ps my tire pressure for track was 28f, 29r cold). I may try some toe out in the front and go with the camber bushings... If you want a cheap way to gain steering, you could of course also disconnect that front bar!

Just thought of something: the car is an early 240 with a type b tranny. Should I be using the longer type b Driveshaft? The yoke isn't all the way into the tranny but I presume that the play is to account for changes in length as the suspension compresses. thoughts?

Good to know 1st and reverse is on the same fork. Nothing else is mismatched and i am running the stock rear end. If reverse works but forward grinds, is it possible that a bearing has let go in the rear end?

Thanks guys. The car does not grind going into gear... Only when moving does it do this. When I drained the tranny fluid out, it didn't have metal shavings excessively... Not sure if the tranny is dead. I used the original 4sp shifter fork with my 5sp bearing and collar to match my clutch if that helps

Thanks all. I've installed the tranny and for those who are curious: the standard S shaped shifter will do the trick--no cutting is required. A straight shifter on the other hand, will have a problem and will require the cutting described above.

Can anyone help me diagnose? Thanks to the helpful folks here, I installed a 2nd 4 speed transmission into my car (since the 1st one just decided to implode). Once installed, I backed out of my driveway and all was well (ie: R gear works well). However, as i shift into first and begin to let go of the clutch, the transmission would grind. There would be quite a lot of vibration coming from the transmission tunnel. The grinding only occurs when the clutch is fully depressed. At first, I thought that perhaps this was an issue where 1st gear wasnt fully engaged, so I tried 2nd...but I got the same problem. Caveat: I had a 5 speed tranny in my car, and what I presume to be a 280zx pressure plate. If memory serves correct, I did re-use the throw out bearing from my original 5 speed tranny. The fact that I can get the car into gear without grinding leads me to believe that I have used the correct throw out bearing. Not sure what it is if reverse works without grinding, but 1st and 2nd gear doesnt. This is at very low speeds btw (ie: 1 to 2mph). I ended up going onto the street and reversing back into my garage This is all happening in a '70 z btw. Just want to make sure if I've done something wrong, or I need to go crazy and get yet another transmission. Any help appreciated!...is it possible this is a rear end problem?

I also use Redline MT90 (75w90) which is of the GL4 specification. Synth fluid for the z tranny is good as it protects better. Not all trannys appreciate synth, however (ie: wrx)