Distributor pickup coil interchange

[Zcardude]

Hi there,

 

I recently picked up a non running 260Z. It hasn’t been driven in 27 years and I’m trying to get it back on the road. I’ve traced my issues down to a corroded and dead pickup coil in the distributor. I’ve ohmed it out and it shows that there is no connection in the pickup internally. Additionally I’ve bench tested it trying to get it to fire an MSD box to no avail
 

I’m not able to find anywhere that I can get a new pickup coil for this distributor and don’t really want to spend $150+ and a long turnaround time having the distributor rebuilt when I know this is a part you can generally just buy for other distributors. 
 

For example I see I can get a new 280Z pickup from rock auto here: https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/nissan,1978,280z,2.8l+l6,1209260,ignition,distributor+pickup+coil,7176 But I’m not sure it would work in the 260Z dizzy as I know they are a bit different. 

 

Is there an alternative pickup coil I can install in the factory 260Z distributor? Would the 280Z one work despite being for a slightly different distributor? Is there some other pickup that I can buy at a local parts store and install?

 

thanks for your help :)

[NewZed]

Looks like they are definitely different parts from the 280Z parts.  Probably just the way it mounts on the breaker plate.  If you could get a 280Z coil to mount next to the reluctor wheel correctly you'd probably be fine.   Might be worth an experiment if you can get an old 280Z pickup to try.

 

Here's the 260Z part numbers.  Different from 280Z.  Part #7.

 

http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/electrical/distributor/260z

 

Here's 280Z.  #9.

 

http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/electrical/distributor/280z

[NewZed]

Forgot to say, have you checked the breaker plate on the distributor?  Often they get locked up or broken and don't rotate anymore.  

 

You could use a 280Z distributor in its place.  Or a 280ZX unit.  The ignition module on your 260Z is one of the very first models and those old ignition modules fail on a regular basis.  In short, consider the sum of the parts involved.  And, the early electronic ignitions were not "high energy".  They were just points replacements.  Same plug gap,.  1978 was the first high-energy ignition module.

[Zcardude]

11 minutes ago, NewZed said:

Forgot to say, have you checked the breaker plate on the distributor?  Often they get locked up or broken and don't rotate anymore.  

 

You could use a 280Z distributor in its place.  Or a 280ZX unit.  The ignition module on your 260Z is one of the very first models and those old ignition modules fail on a regular basis.  In short, consider the sum of the parts involved.  And, the early electronic ignitions were not "high energy".  They were just points replacements.  Same plug gap,.  1978 was the first high-energy ignition module.

Yep, I have the distributor on my bench and it spins freely and appears to be in relatively good shape outside of the failed pickup. 
 

I was also considering a 280Z or ZX distributor for the car but those appear to not be in good supply so I figured trying out a new pickup for this one might be the best bet. Additionally I was likely going to convert the car to either use an MSD box or 4pin HEI module once I had the pickup working as I’m not sure the factory TIU is in good shape still and either of those options would supply more power to the coil. 
 

 

[NewZed]

The breaker plate is the part that rotates when vacuum advance is applied.  It moves the pickup coil in relation to the distributor shaft to advance the timing.  The distributor shaft itself can rotate freely but the breaker plate can be locked to it instead of free.  Easiest way to check is to remove the vacuum advance canister and gently try to rotate the plate.  If the balls are rusted in place you might break the plastic cage so be careful.

 

Think about advance curves also.  There the vacuum advance and the centrifugal advance.  Once you get in to them there's all kinds of small details to worry about.

 

 

[Zcardude]

36 minutes ago, NewZed said:

The breaker plate is the part that rotates when vacuum advance is applied.  It moves the pickup coil in relation to the distributor shaft to advance the timing.  The distributor shaft itself can rotate freely but the breaker plate can be locked to it instead of free.  Easiest way to check is to remove the vacuum advance canister and gently try to rotate the plate.  If the balls are rusted in place you might break the plastic cage so be careful.

 

Think about advance curves also.  There the vacuum advance and the centrifugal advance.  Once you get in to them there's all kinds of small details to worry about.

 

 

Thank you, that’s very helpful! I’ll definitely use this info once I figure out the overall spark triggering situation 😄