Vacuum advance won't work

[FastWoman]

Hi all,

Following advice I read elsewhere (common Z problems), I checked my vacuum advance. It's frozen up. (You would think I would have found that out when I checked the timing with my timing light, but my light only worked long enough for me to confirm it was 10 deg BTDC, and not long enough to goose the engine. I guess that's something else I have to fix/replace. :disappoin) The breaker plate does move a little bit, but not as much or as freely as it should -- not by a long shot. I also checked the play in the distributor shaft. I get a wobble of approx. 0.010" from side to side. Is that OK? It's not TIGHT, but I wouldn't think that little wobble would create problems. Or would it?

So supposedly the design of the vacuum advance was somewhat cheesy. Is there a better fix than replacing the vacuum advance with NOS parts?

Thanks!

Peace,

Sarah

[Walter Moore]

I see that O'Reilly Auto Parts lists a rebuilt distributor for a 75 280Z for $119 exchange. I suspect other shops sell them as well. (It seems like for the Z all the major stores actually stock the same brand parts)

It would be easier, and might be cheaper, to just replace the whole distributor.

[FastWoman]

That's not bad. Are there any particular brands to avoid? Any that are particularly good?