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So fella, if it’s any consolation, my shaft went wobbly with age too - so did the distributor’s! (OK, joking about the former!) Half an inch is significant and I wouldn’t keep driving it. You are getting spark scatter and that means random but potentially too much timing in certain conditions. I very much doubt that you’ve damaged anything with excessive timing if you haven’t been hearing it pinking/knocking. In fact if she’s not stuttering on pick up or cruising then you’re probably not getting any significant change in timing. These engines are rather hardy and can withstand a fair bit of abuse. If you want to put your mind at rest, idle the car warm, then do a compression test. You won’t damage your engine with irregular or too much timing at idle. What is the base timing set at and what is the dizzy’s total mech advance supposed to be? If you NEED to drive it, you can always dial it back 5 or so degrees. She will run but not be very keen. Frankly I’m amazed you haven’t seen signs of contact inside the dizzy cap. I’m a big fan of my 123 even though it took me a while to fall in love with it. Just make sure you don’t use the 280zx original black coil with it as it will stress it too much with it’s less than 1 ohm impedance. A Bosch red coil with 1.8ohm is ideal and will save you a lot of headaches but a flame thrower with 1.5ohm is OK too. I started a thread on the 123 if you fancy a long read about the ups and downs ... https://zclub.net/community/index.php?threads/123-ignition-for-datsun-l6-on-my-l28.25467/

Make it a 6 pack of Diet Dew. I don't drink alcohol like normal people.

You’re most welcome. Yes it does sound like time to get a new one. A friend of mine just bought one and paid 1/3 less than I did. Hoping the same method works for you ... Also don’t go buying spare caps from them. The Beru cap they supply is junk (I won’t go into why) and there are many alternative manufacturers. Here are some for example: Alternative part numbers for cap ... (BERU: VK102, VK155) BMW: 12111351446, 12111353117, BREMI: 8017P, DAF: 163793, EPS: 1.306.072, FACET: 2.7472PHT, FORD: 11710256, KW: 806072, MERCEDES-BENZ: 0001580702, 0001582502, 0001585302, 10001585302, A0001580702, A0001582502, A0001585302, MWM: 606908730203, OPEL: 1212135, 1212138, PORSCHE: 90160295600, 91160293300, QUINTON HAZELL: XD138, SMPE: 44160, STELLOX: 21-00002-SX, 21-00746-SX, 21-00779-SX

I have 1 round cut out of my fronts with stock struts. The previous owner did it but I like it and the stance is nice. Handles good. Not too rough through the steering or the seat. Cheap way to lower one I've always heard.

I'm walking a road many before me have traveled. The original distributor in my '80ZX has about a half inch of play in the shaft in either direction from a stationary position. The vacuum advance has been inoperable for about a year. I have been monitoring the distributor for some time, knowing that it is in its final days. Today on a drive, I noticed some hesitation, above that which is observed running a capped vacuum advance. Obviously I will not drive the car until replace it. Probably with the 1-2-3 Bluetooth distributor. The engine has about 800 miles in it since rebuild with mild cam. My question for the group is: Could I have possibly damaged my engine somehow running the distributor with more play than it should have? If I'm being honest, it's been slightly out of spec for shaft play for several months(of driving). But I only noticed the excessive play today, after about a 30 mile drive. Thanks for advice as always. (Tried to post a video but this cheap phone is not compatible with the future)

As @Terrapin Z said, the tab for the lower mount needs to be turned up. Look at about 1:09 in the video. Here's a closer photo, but the wiring for the headlights obscures it a little.

Your mount tabs are bent straight out. They need to be at a 90 degree to line up with the hole in the grill. Should be easy enough, but the paint might chip. Here are some pic's from an older post (not mine)

Thanks for the reply. The parts are on the way. I do have a tubing bender tool and flaring kit. A quick look at my filter/drier appears to have AN style fittings. I will look closer at the lines. As mentioned before, I am not too familiar dealing with A/C systems since I was born and raised in the Northeast and we really never needed AC in the vehicles we owned. Down here in SC it is almost a necessity. I am much more familiar with working on the heating systems-a necessity when it is 15-20 below zero up in the mountains during the winter. Thanks again, John-Lugoff-SC.

I used something like the spacers offered here, https://www.suspension.com/universal-coil-spring-isolators.asp#poly

Thanks for the replies.[mention=32052]AK260[/mention] I've watched your video and it has been what's has sold me on the 123. The base timing is set to 10 degrees BTDC. But now I notice it wandering under the timing light. The dampener is solid. Edit: total advance should be 47 degrees

I wouldn't think so. I dont see any way for the timing to change even with the slop. PS there is a 123 dizzy currently in the classifieds

I have a feeling that it's wear on the contacts on the ignition switch allowing bleed over somehow. Maybe I'll run a test at the switch some day.

Yup, that will work. I have one in my 260Z. The high pressure (liquid line) tubing is standard 3/8" OD refrigeration tubing (soft copper) and can be bent with a standard 3/8" tubing bender and flared with a standard flaring tool (NOT an "AN" flaring tool) you can get from any hardware store or plumbing supply or HVAC supply. Nuts and fittings are all standard refrigeration flare fittings.

@Zed Head I went back and found the 71 wiring diagram I used from the 1971 FSM Supplement and it seems to show the same thing as EuroDat's 72 diagram. If it is accurate I am still wondering how the car can start with the B/W to the Ballast being switched out of the circuit in START assuming you had that wire "swapped" (connected to Coil +) Not to dwell on that issue too long, but I think this is what was confusing me back when I did the wiring on my car.

I went ahead and removed the carburetor heater plumbing. Wasn’t so bad. I used the hole to install the sending unit. I used a 1/2” NPT adapter in this BSPT hole, added some Teflon tape to prevent spiral leaks. Don’t have it wired up yet but the water circuit is leak-free!

That is called a hinge. I can take some photos later today.

You missed a key detail in my video. I said ALL the wires were disconnected. You had the ignition wire connected to the ballast resistor along with the green/white wire. That's why you had voltage on the black/white at coil positive. Anyway, all the wires are connected properly. Post a photo of the back of the tach if it's still out. Let's make sure it's a 240Z tach. It would take some rewiring to mate a later tach to a 240Z, but with the other surprises on your car, we don't know what we're going to find.

I learned to have them checked right out of the box, before I leave the store. Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me.

New alternators aren't always good

This is my Full-Race (same form as the Race-Sport but larger primarys), line and Classic muffler. So, in early July and under this summers' typical weather so far, our national French Z club assisted with Peter Autos' Historic-Racing Le Mans Bugatti and were allowed several track sessions each day.....who could resist ? Please bear in mind that I haven't driven my Z on a circuit since 2009...and that the engine is still limited to 4500rpm and so lacking a LOT of horsepower and this wet session was undertaken on Toyo R888 semi-slicks ! Enjoy and have a good laugh on me at the end. Apparently there are more videos to come earlier in the weekend. ps the real action starts at 4mins at the beginning of the pit straight - the first out lap was (always in every session) driven behind the safety car : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l58MRgoGIjg Many thanks #DavidDonné for the filming and editing.