Im getting really close to getting my 260Z running, and going through the electrical today i found out i have a points distributor hooked up, i would like to switch it back to an electric one, but i cant find any 260Z distributors anywhere. so can i put in a 280 distributor into my 260?

 

it was always a points style. electronic didnt happen until the ZX i do believe. and yes you can swap them with a little modifications. go to atlanticz.ca and find the write up for it on there. at least i think its on there

 

Points went away ~'75, replaced with the "magnetic trigger":
http://www.geocities.com/zgarage2001/z.html
I know for sure the 3 '78s I've done have all been mag trigger. But, they also require the ECU to work (pain in the butt for upgraders with carbs). And by Blue's notes, it sounds like the E12-80 based upgrade (one of the two ZX distribs) was noticeably better than the '75 to '78 mag trigger anyway. Great, another thing I'll want to change or upgrade. Here's the link to his tech tips about the swap:
http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techti...tor/index.html

hope this helps,
Dave

 

That dizzy in the 260 with transister module is a pos smog system that hinders performance. If you can get a 280zx/ E12-80 dizzy you will be surprised at the improvement. It's hard to find one that works because the vacuum advance goes bad and/or the plates inside freeze up. When you take them apart they crumble. I found one that worked so I cleaned it and lubed it. Real easy to change over and it made the most noticable improvement I've done yet.

 

A question: If the time involved with finding a working one is more of a challenge than the money, would you go with a Unilite or something else instead? My current situation is that free time is extremely limited. I'm thinking I haven't seen anyone offering reman/like new E12-80 dizzies, either, unfortunately. Thanks for the info!
Dave

 

isnt the mallory or w/e dizzy popular? 12al or something. i forget. haha. but i know its also an upgraded ignition coil as well.

 

Dave, I have the means to spend my way out of any Z problem but there is no challenge in that. I guess that's why my car is still on stands! I had a mallory dual point that worked good for hard driving but without a vacuum advance I had to ride the clutch a little more for normal driving. I noticed right away that the zx would allow me to ease out the clutch and start to roll without the gas first. It would also run me up to 6500 rpm, a little fast for the old girl but fun. Mallory moved their op to China last year. I don't no about Unilte but my next change will be MegaSquirtnSpark for the turbo engine(also still on a stand)
Tom

 

Oh, damn. No vac advance. That's not going to work too well for me. Guess I'll just keep my eyes out for the ZX dizzy. Thanks for the help! The no-free-time thing is just killing me the last year or so. Also didn't know about their moving mfg. to China. Might be fine, but I'll use the approach we used to have for new brands of rock climbing gear: "Let someone else fall on it first."
My sympathies on the jackstands. Mine was up for 4 years. I finally got to drive it around the block last November/December and it's been nothing but snow and ice ever since. It's patiently waiting in the garage. I need to bolt down the seats, get the bar/harness situation straightened out, and finish the stereo/vent console area. Hope I'll have enough time to actually drive it when the weather warms up.
Thanks again, Tom!
Dave

 

A friend of mine worked there. They took the molds there too. It still says made in USA on the inside of the dizzy cap. After they moved they had to have my co cut 30,000 gears for them cause they f'ed them up. Crane, Sig Erson, Accel and the clutch line is gone too.
There is a vacuum advance version but you might have problems. It took me 5 weeks to get a rotor cap through Summit!