Ignition sanity check

[AnthonyG]

So I was in a high performance driving class with my z. 1976 280z. And had lots of fun, but revved the engine a lot. Near end of day engine was a bit rough. Drive home it started chugging and missing.

At home I did compression test - good and consistent across cylinders (engine was rebuilt 10000 miles ago). checked spark plugs - a little brown and white, nothing odd. Still replaced with new

Then went to cap and rotor and found something

This looks to be the culprit. What I am asking is what else should I check. I have new cap and rotor on order( 2 sets on order from different places) problem I leave Tuesday night or Wednesday for a roadtrip I have had planned awhile. The parts come on Tuesday.

Iam pretty sure this will fix it, but am thinking what if...

[Captain_Zeros]

disclaimer: I'm a 240z guy, so I mostly can tell you about the points and condenser you don't have

However, it might be a good idea to grab the distributor shaft and see if it has any lateral wiggle. It should spin fine, and feel a little slop there from the vacuum and mechanical advance, but it shouldn't have much of any play sideways (which would be a sign of worn out bushings in the distributor and would prematurely wear out the cap & rotor)

How old is the cap you're replacing? If it's pretty new I'd be suspicious, if it's ancient... well... it's considered a wear part.

[AnthonyG]

The cap and rotor were new with the rebuild.

However I was revving near redline for protracted periods.

Ill check the distributor for play. I have an extra of that part on hand.

[Willoughby Z]

And just a thought... buy quality parts, and I prefer to buy both the rotor and the cap from the same manufacturer. Perhaps that's just my superstition. Even with that, I do frequent checks after a replacement, looking for damage and I don't hesitate to return them if there's any sign of the rotor tip and the contacts crashing or burning.

Assuming the distributor shaft bearing is solid, of course.

[SteveJ]

Something doesn't fit right. Is there any chance you have a ZX distributor or some other modification?