They are not the same, you will have to the base from either a 81 280ZX turbo or a 82 280ZX Turbo, if you look under the base of your Turbo Distributor it should look like a Torx head fitting on a plain 280ZX distributor it has a fitting cut in half, when you get the correct base your Torx like fitting on your Turbo Distributor slide right in that Torx like opening, on my 280ZX Turbo Distributor I also Change the Chopper wheel inside with A chopper wheel from a 84 300ZX what you get is a true #1 cylinder "Home" reference. With the crank angle sensor in the distributor you get 720 degrees of engine rotation for each 360 degree of trigger wheel rotation. This allows for a unique #1 cylinder identifier. The original trigger wheel in the 280zx turbo does not uniquely reference the #1 cylinder. That's why you need to change the wheel. The 81 distributor has no optical sensor built in, which is why they use the crank trigger wheel and pick-up. The 82/83 distributor is a direct drop in replacement