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I have searched around trying to figure out which distributor this is. I have never seen one with two vaccum diaphragms on it. Any info will be appreciated

I recently acquired a 71 240Z. The car was sitting for the better part of 4 years however it started on first turn. The gentleman who owned it before did what's necessary to keep it in running condition. Although the car was drivable it would occasionally hesitate or sputter in 3rd or 4th gear at cruise speeds. It was evident there was a sediment in the fuel filter. I decided to due a tune up for good measure and ordered major tune up kit from MSA (http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/12-4700). I changed the fuel filter first then started the car to ensure it started. Success. I then went to work on changing out the ignition parts. As I took the plug wires off one-by-one the old distributor cap I placed them onto the new distributor cap in same order. Remove and replaced the points set and condenser. Replaced new rotor in same order it was removed (it could only go on one way). Placed the new cap on and went to start the car. It cranks but does not start/run. As a troubleshooting step, I placed the old cap and rotor back on as well with same result. Nothing was done with the adj screw. Do I need to? I've since sourced the FSM (NICO) and did some soul searching on the forum(s). I can't seem to figure out what's wrong. The air filter was also changed. I do have plug wires on order and have compiled a list of next steps. Verify fuel, although it started after changing fuel filter. Verify spark from plugs. Waiting on new wires before pulling old plugs and verifying spark from old plugs. Set engine to TDC and confirm rotor is in #1 position. Try starting fluid Any suggestions are welcomed.

My son has a 1973 240z with stock ignition, weber 40's and headers. We have purchased a MSD 6AL, Blaster 2 coil, and 1979 280Zx e12-80 distributor Does anyone have a good wiring diagram to use? After looking at the directions and searching the internet there seems to be a few ways to do this and we would like the Tach to work. It sounds like some folks use the 8920 tach adapter and some don't. Any help would be appreciated before we tackle the job. Thank you. Eric

Hey friends. So I was finally putting in a new set of points for the Distributor I've restored and cleaned up... and while flipping through the FSM pages, I came across the distributor weight governor springs portion- and something is off here. The distributor I have is an Emissions Control spec D612-52 model, as opposed to the D606-52. I believe it is the original one that came on this Jan 1970 car. They differ slightly, the D612- as far as I can tell, has distributor cap clamps that are two piece, and use a small bracket that holds them onto the body of the distributor- one of the small plated brackets has the cap alignment square that makes sure the cap only goes on one way- whereas the later style ones have it cast into the body itself (you could theoretically swap the two bracket positions and install the cap incorrectly on the one I have. Anyways, that's neither here nor there, just a detail on the version I have to avoid confusion or if it relates to the issue I'm having: The governor spring assembly... On the spare distributor from the 71 (later style, cap can go on only one way) that I took apart to look at, the governor springs have two different tensions and are visibly different. This is indicated in the FSM: On the distributor I've rebuilt, the springs are the exact same, and there is no difference between the two, except for #3 and #7 in the diagram- the circular end and the rectangular end. while situated at top dead center (on a bench, mind you)- I put the cam plate in and verified that everything looked like the photo shown, even the small start/end advance angle gap on #2... but the springs are still bothering me. Is this part of the reason why they were "Emissions" style distributors? They didn't advance the gap due to offset weight distribution? Should I be concerned? I am new to points distributors so I am having fun putting it back together, but I'm not sure if it's going to work well. I'm going to try it with the oil ignition coil when I get the car started because I don't want to damage the NOS ignition coil.

Hi, I have read through and followed the http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/distributor/index.html instructions numerous times for upgrading the distributor to a 280zx on a 240z and have not been able to get my tach to work at all. I have a 3 ohm coil, 280zx distributor and the car is an 11/70 240z (note that the majority of the instructions are for a 280z). I have spliced the blue/white and the green/white wires together from the harness. The thick black/white tach wire is to the postitive side of the coil and the black wire is to the negative. The black wire from the harness is to the distributor box and there is a new wire going from the positive end of the coil to the distributor box as well. Pictures attached so you can see what I did. What happens to the orange(yellow?) lead from the harness? Did I miss something or can someone weigh in on why my tach isn't working?

Hi - I've replaced my stock 240Z distributor with an E10-80 from a 1980 280ZX. I've replaced the advance plate mechanism, magnet ring and now also need to replace the vacuum advance which bolts onto the outside of the dizzy. Does anyone know the correct part number for a *single-line* vacuum advance which will fit into this distributor form/fit/function? Note, the original 280ZX vacuum controller had 2 vacuum lines -- I think one was advance and the other for anti-backfire retardation -- but I only need a simple 1-line controller which has the correct mount hole location and arm length. Thanks in advance, Sean Gillen Arlington, Tx

Alright guys so I was planning on using a Mallory MAL 2363901 distributor and pertronix in my 11/70 240z but I just got an email back saying that they're discontinued and sold out. Every other place I've tried online seems to be sold out as well. I'm thinking of going with the Mallory unilite with mechanical advance (no vacuum advance) coupled with pertronix and was hoping someone else here might have had success with it and can give me some info. I'm going to be installing triple mikuni carbs shortly and plan on keeping the ballast resistor and using a 1.5ohm coil as well. If someone has done this before and could share what model they are using it would be greatly appreciated! As a side note, I have looked into other options such as late model distributors and have decided that I want to go with a Mallory one and spend a little bit more. Thank you. Chris

I am in information overload here and I am looking for setups that have worked for others. I have searched and searched and with all the info out there on all the Z sites I can't determine what actually worked under what circumstances. I mean seriously, you can prove and then disprove the theory of relativity within a post or two in some of these threads. The short of it is that I am in the process of connecting an MSD 6AL with MSD Coil to a 280ZX Distrubutor in a '72 240Z with the original tachometer. The more complete version: I recently picked up a somewhat used Rebello 3.2L with triple Mikunis and have already put it in place... along with replacing the entire driveline... ACT Clutch, T-5, STi R180 LSD, Wolf Creek Halfshafts. The ZX ignition module was not being used in the previous owners setup and it was running the MSD instead. The wiring for the MSD seems pretty straight forward... because there isn't a module the green/purple goes straight to the dizzy which is wired for it. The coil is straight forward. I "think" I need the 8920 Tach Adapter... but in a thread somewhere somebody was swearing up and down they were using the 8910... and then there is the 8910EIS. And in a few spots people are saying 8610, which MUST be a typo because that's CSB crank trigger kit. I'm pretty certain I will need one, but which? I remove the ballast right? Where do those wires end up? Aren't they going to the tach? Is this where the Adapter comes into play? Also, what is this about the ignition signal running through the Tach and if a wire somewhere is disconnected it won't start? I plan to connect the MSD up tomorrow and fire this baby up with or without the Tach, I just want to know that a solution is on the way. I've actually got a brand new Mallory Uni Lite in a box that will eventually find it's way on this motor, but I want to prove the engine works in this car with it's last known good setup before I start swapping parts. Thanks!

I've got 72 240z that i bought about 7 months ago. I put in an l28 from a 280z with about 50,000 original miles and so everything is hooked up and I've been dieing to get this thing running seeing as it's my first car, but the thing wont start. even spraying gasoline into the carbs and sucking fuel up from the take isn't working. I still haven't tuned the engine yet so that could be a problem, but the one thing i'm not 100% sure on is the distributor. The manuals i have show which wires go where on the cap but there is no real reference point so i'm not sure if the wires are in the right ones. so if anyone could show a picture with labels for each wire going into the cap that would help.

Hello All, I am trying to refreash my 1972 240Z. I had the engine rebuilt by a machine shop and finally got it back home and in the car. After putting everything else back on I tried to start it. It took me about 3 weeks to figure out that the distributer was on backwards. Now I know that you cannot put the Z car Dist on backwards because the shaft has an offset key. But when all else was correct the only thing left was that the rotor was pointing aft when the No 1 piston was at TDC. I moved all the spark plug wires to opposite points and the engine fired up. Now the problem is that I have a distributor that is "backwards" but the real problem is that I ran the engine for about 1 minute and had a loud high pitched noise coming from the front of the engine. It may be the oil pump or the shaft that connects the pump and the dist. I shut the engine down and haven't started it again since I am afraid the shaft may be the issue and it may be causing internal problems. Does anyone have experience with this issue? Can that shaft be installed upside down and cause this problem? The shop where I had the work done is 65 miles away (I had to move since the work was done) and I haven't tried to work with them again yet. This is my baby - I bought it new in 1972 and it was my daily driver until about 10 years ago when I put it away. Two years ago I started to refreash it and the body work is done but this issue with the engine is keeping the project at a standstill. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Harry

so ive got another wierd problem with this 72 240z of mine. when i get going abut 60 mph it soundslike a lawnmower and boggs down till i get to maybe 45 miles an hour. But it cruises just fine at about 50-55. oh and it does this up hills too. i can take hills only about 25 mph. all of my emmisions crap is removed. ive replaced my fuel pump and filter, flushed my lines and cleaned the parts on the tank that the fuel comes out of with a clothes hanger and compressed air. pulled my carbs apart and cleanedthem out. steve at z therapy set my float bowls for me. and i replaced my points and checked my timing.. still does it... anyone have any idea what i should try next? someone suggested that i need a new distributor and that pertronix kit would fix this. But its pretty out of my budget right now unless i have to. well any advice would be appreciated:) oh by the way it idles good and drives just fine in the city.