JaysZ Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 I recently heard it is highly recommended to run a mechanical advance dizzy such as the Mallory Unilite on my Weber triples. I have SU's on the car that are in need of a rebuild (the car runs, but rich). should I wait and get the new dizzy first? it looks like I already have an aftermarket coil, but nothing else. i have a '78 280z... what are your suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 I don't know what the big deal is about the Mallory distributor. It's $600 or pretty close to it. Bottom line is I think people just like to see that big red distributor cap on their engines. For just a bit more $$$ you can run DIS like the Electromotive setup and you can completely rid yourself of all of the slop in the distributor drive gears, and you never have to worry about cap and rotor, etc. Or you can run a ZX distributor that you can buy for $50 that has a good mechanical advance curve from the factory (17º advance, all in by 2500). I use the ZX dizzy, and I went out of my way to JB weld the vacuum advance breaker plate in place so that it can't vary the timing at all, so now I have a mechanical advance distributor that's reliable and if I need a replacement I can get them all day long for $50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHO-Z Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 I did not know that the ZX distributor has both vacuum and mechanical advance. This could solve my ignition set-up on my supercharger project. Thanks for the info jmortensen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 The vacuum setup on the ZX distributor kinda sucks. Almost every one I've ever seen has been broken. But if you aren't using the vacuum like me or JaysZ then it is a cheap reliable distributor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHO-Z Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 I found this information of the 280zx distributor and rebuilding one. It is a good read. http://www.jrdemers.com/280ZX/distributor/distributor.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaysZ Posted May 21, 2005 Author Share Posted May 21, 2005 awesome, i'm always down for a cheaper alternative i think summitt has the mallory for a little over $400 but thats still too much for me! should i eventually get an MSD 6AL? i'll probably get new wires too since i dont know how old the ones i have are, any suggestions? i believe i have taylor 8mm right now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaysZ Posted May 21, 2005 Author Share Posted May 21, 2005 would this be what i'm looking for? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7974966081&category=33615&sspagename=WDVW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 21, 2005 Share Posted May 21, 2005 Yes that is the one. Joseph Demers' site is awesome, and he is a great resource as well. The vacuum advance mechanism is easily fixable, my point earlier was that they are commonly broken. EDIT--I love my 6AL too. I'd definitely recommend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaysZ Posted May 22, 2005 Author Share Posted May 22, 2005 so.. as a first upgrade, you recommend ZX dizzy and MSD 6AL? how safe would it be to buy those items used (say, on ebay or something) i'm watching that auction now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 I run a zx distrubutor, and it's great. Very simple install, and I just unhook the vac-advance and run more intitial advance. It works all on it's own. Problem is, the 'little black box' on the side is .. touchy, and sometimes they just up and die. Out of nowhere, the car will stall. 5 mins later, it may fire up and run great.. Here is where the MSD box comes in; Take off that black box, and run the MSD wires to the zx pickup coil, and you're all set. (I have some instructions I got off the net if you need them) Currently, I'm runing just the stock zx unit, but I'm having some (I think)ignition problems, so I'm going to hook up my MSD box soon. Have it waiting on a shelf, prepared for the day the black box dies on me. I got my distributor for about $50, and the msd box w/soft rev for $100 used. It's been hooked up to verify good working order (on two cars), but I didn't want to have it instaled till I worked out other issues with the car. Just put a new motor in, had some problems, wanted to run everything else just as it was last year, as I know it ran then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 22, 2005 Share Posted May 22, 2005 DL is right. You can just disconnect the vacuum advance and run it purely on the mechanical advance. If you buy that distributor and follow the bushing inspection instructions on Joseph Demers' site you'll be in good shape. Worst case scenario you'll need new bushings. He sells them cheap. If you don't want to run the vacuum advance you can either just leave it disconnected or you can actually glue the breaker plate in place like I did. The reason I did that was that on my distributor the vacuum advance plate had been broken and left for so long that the stator started to tilt in the housing and hit the reluctor. That COULDN'T have been good for the timing. So I took the vacuum advance guts out and JB welded the breaker plate in place. You kinda have to take it apart to see why you can't just take it out without gluing it all together, but suffice it to say that you can't. The nice part is that the distributor only has 17º of mechanical advance, so you just set it at about 16 to 18 degrees at idle and you're done. And as DL says you can get rid of the module if you run MSD. I actually ran the MSD WITH the module for a couple years before I figured out that you don't need the module. Never had one go bad on me, but I always carried a spare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2126 Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 I get a kick out of people who pay $600.00 for a Mallory Uniliite!!! With a little investigation on the part number, one can buy a UniLite from Summit Racing for around $350.00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 I still don't see the "upgrade" in that upgrade, even at a cost of $350. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted May 25, 2005 Share Posted May 25, 2005 I see about 4 spare 280zx dizzys w/moduls on my shelf as spares for that kind of money! Oh yah, Jmort; I'm gona be JB welding mine soon.. strangest thing.. looks like the stator is starting to tilt in the housing and hit the reluctor.. wonder if that's part of my problem.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaysZ Posted May 25, 2005 Author Share Posted May 25, 2005 datsunlover, would you want to part with one of those dizzys? i checked summit, but didnt see it for $350, last i checked it was $450? regardless..its too much for me right now. i definately want the msd 6al though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted May 25, 2005 Share Posted May 25, 2005 Well, Actually, I only had one spare left on my shelf.. and I traded it to a member here for a clutch a few months back! I may come into another 280zx soon.. (kid I know bought one, but doesn't know his arse from a hole in the ground.. seriously, he's an idiot..ok that's harsh... 'uneducated' is better I supose..) It's ussualy one of those parts I pull almost imediatly when I pick up zx's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaysZ Posted May 25, 2005 Author Share Posted May 25, 2005 hey that would be great. how much are they typically worth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2126 Posted May 25, 2005 Share Posted May 25, 2005 I still don't see the "upgrade" in that upgrade, even at a cost of $350. I tend to think that compared to my original single point distributor that was over 30 years old, a new UniLite is certainly an upgrade. Yes, there are other avenues to take for upgrading the ignition system, I just happened to like the UniLite system. My previous post was intended to inform people, interested in a UniLite, that they don't need to spend $600.00 to get one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 25, 2005 Share Posted May 25, 2005 I wasn't trying to be rude or anything, 2126. I just don't think there would be a significant advantage for anyone who just wants a mechanical advance distributor to spend $350 on the Mallory vs the ZX distributor with some slight modification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 305240 Posted May 25, 2005 Share Posted May 25, 2005 "what do you suggest for a first ignition upgrade" The "first" ign upgrade I would do is using a ZX dizzy. IMO that will give you hot enough spark that you will want to keep it. If you want a RED cap, then just paint it red. Who's gonna know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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