Drake240Z

Your post was very helpful, Thanks I didn't know the MSD 6a was made back then, so thats great news. I'm thinking the 280zx dizzy with the 6a and my current coil would be a good system and still all period correct.. I'm still wondering about the "effective to 6500rpm" in the coils specs though.. Is there another coil that you would reccomend that is still period correct?, or should I just stick with the one I have? I'm also unsure if I'll need the ballast resistor with that coil.. I'm guessing not, but again i'm a total newb when it comes to ignition systems. I'll have to figure out how to wire everything up together properly, but those diagrams you sent me along with whats in the various shop manuals I have laying around should help. Of course the instuctions for the units themselves will help, but I'll probably post a diagram of my own to be sure though once I've got that figured out. Once I have this system setup, what kind of Sparkplug gaps could I run? From what I've read alot of people run .045 or .050, but I've heard of even wider.. My carbs are running a bit on the rich side, so wider may be better for me, but I don't want to go too wide... I may have to play around a bit, but any suggestions or experiences would be appreciated.

Thanks for the reply. in terms of price I'm willing to spend a fair bit if the benefit is worth the cost.. The main thing is that in order to qualify for the vintage car race my 240 can only have period modifications. The class I would be entering it as would be 1970-1980, so upgrading to a modern aftermarket system wouldn't be allowed. Its kinda odd that they don't list much in terms of specs for the coil, but I did find them on another site: http://www.autoanything.com/ignition-systems/74A6547A0A0.aspx From what I know the engine was balanced and blueprinted. It has a E31 head, 280duration cam with .506 gross lift, stronger valve springs, and triple weber carbs... So not exactly stock. From the research I've done with that cam the max power should be around 7600rpm..The tach may not be 100% accurate, but it doesn't jump around at all so I'm sure its fairly accurate, and I really don't want to go aftermarket. I like the original look, and thats one thing I don't want to sacrifice. The highest I've ever reved it to was around 7800rpm, but only because some douchbag didn't feel like letting me merge, so I had to put the hammer down. The Pertronix kit I mentioned converts the stock distributor to electronic ignition, so it wouldn't be obvious to the scrutineers, but I'm not sure how good it is, or if it would work well with my coil. The other option is going for the ZX electronic ignition, but that requires a bit of extra work to get the tach to work.. I don't mind doing the extra work, but only if it will give me better performance.. Somehow I doubt 30 year old technology will be any better, but some people swear by them. Heres the Pertronix kit I mentioned. I've seen it on several online Z shops, so it seems to be a pretty common mod: http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/12-4020 I did come across this: http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/member-galleries/p7065-ultimate-ignition-setup-3f.html It wouldn't qualify for the race, but maybe if I came up with an easy way to intall and uninstall I could use that with my existing setup and just remove it for the one time a year I'll actually race it. I dunno, maybe I'm just over complicating things, But I really don't know much about ignition systems and I don't want to start throwing stuff together with no idea whether it will actually work properly

Hey Guys, I'm new to the forums, and a fairly new Z owner... I bought this 71' 240Z towards the end of summer and I've been loving it ever since. From the first test drive I knew this was the car for me.. It really felt like it was built for me. It was love at first drive

Hey Guys, I'm a relatively new Z owner.. I bought a 1971 240Z at the end of summer, and I've been trying to get it into top running form. One of the previous owners put alot of work into it, but one thing that has been giving me a headache is trying to figure out what to do with the ignition system.. I've done alot of searches, and research, but the more I learn the more I don't know what to do. Basically I would like to upgrade from the old points system to electronic ignition, and just get the best possible setup. From what I've read It seems everyone has a different opinion on which way to go.. It currently has an Accel super coil, but after reading the specs online I'm a bit worried about the part where it says "Effective up to 6500rpm". My 240 has a .280 cam and has been balanced to handle high Rpms, and although I don't like to do it, it will go past 7500rpm.. But now that I'm thinking about it I'm not sure its really pulling as hard as it should past 6500. Maybe I'm just imagining that though. (I would go test it right now, but since I can't get it through emissions testing I can't put regular insurance on it, which means expensive permits.. That and I avoid the wet weather like the plague.) I would like the ignition to handle up to 8000rpm to take advantage of the cam, not that I plan on taking it that high very often.. Then theres theres upgrading to electronic ignition.. I'd like something easy to upgrade where I won't have to replace the Tach.. Pertronix sells a kit which sounds like an easy upgrade, but I'm not sure if it will work with my coil, which I don't know if I should keep... And it all needs to look original, or be from the 70's-80's period for my car to qualify for a local Vintage car race I'd like to take part in.. ahhh, that headache is coming on again Part of this upgrade is to try and get the car running as efficiently as possible to help with the emissions testing.. If I can squeze it through without having to get it specially tuned, and retuned, while spending the money on what I should be upgrading anyways I'll be very happy. I'm really at a loss to which way I should go here.. Any advice that you guys could give would really help.