Zed Head

Might be that the tach (edit - wrote coil before) was damaged by too much current. Good resistance measurements might tell something. Only superconductors have no resistance and they require liquid nitrogen and/or helium.

Shipping costs seem kind of high. That's gonna kill the sale right there...

Too much powder coating is a common problem for all powder coated parts. Scrape the inside of the hole clean, I'd say. It's almost, or maybe it is, an interference fit. Zero play.

These are no good? Maybe you're looking at the arm (transverse link) upside down.

Just a follow-on to cgsheen's post - the ballast resistor is in play while the engine is running. So if you had the ballast wiring wrong, bypassing the ballast like the Start circuit does, you might get too much current through the tach. You can get the diagrams and/or you can see which post on the ballast has power with the key on, then measure resistance from it to the negative post. Resistance should be the ballast plus the coil. Or it might be that you used a "Blaster" or some other low resistance coil. 72 uses a pretty high resistance for the coil. Or you used a 3 ohm coil and don't have enough current through the tach circuit. Many possibilities.

I'm going to guess that your new coil is different than the old coil. Can you give specs on the two, take a picture, and/or measure resistance across the primary circuit? Might be a clue there.

15%?

Is the door jamb tag gone?

You don't really need the manifold just the "slingers". Here's the 280Z parts. Couldn't find 240. http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsuns30/Datsun-Z-Index/Engine-280Z/Cylinder-Head

Well done! We should have some sort of Sherlock Holmes award. I tried the Google but it just took me to a motorcycle race shop.

I had this problem with an electronic ignition system. A condenser/capacitor added to the system fixed it. It wasn't the tach it was the signal on the line. My guess was based on logic based on accumulated random knowledge. Can't explain in detail why it works. Like 7 too says, it's hard to tell what you're working with. Why would you pull the distributor to change those parts?

Since your manifolds are off you've lost at least one slinger. Their general positions are shown in the FSM though. Make your own and bolt them tightly to the head. You could probably drop the cross member and just lift the remainder of the car shell off by hand. Like an old VW Beetle.

This is a good point, and it's after you drain the transmission fluid. In case you were thinking you could pull it with the fluid in. As things tilt, there will be residual fluid draining. You could leave all of the fluid in but you'll need a much tighter seal. You'll probably need to remove the console also to get to the shifter. The propeller shaft bolts will be hard to remove, but should be since you'll want the prop shaft off before pulling. You can leave the slave cylinder hanging. Remove the radiator, don't try to finesse the engine out with it in. Take pictures or mark your parts with tape. Use ink that won't rub off with greasy fingers, or put the label inside the bag. There's a lot of small stuff that could/should be done before even hooking up the hoist. A few thoughts in case it's your first time.

Pretty common to lift, move the car, drop the parts and move them, then move the car back. Easier than trying to roll a cherry picker around on its tiny wheels with 500 pounds swinging from it.

Room for storage or room for maneuvering? There is nothing to hold the transmission up if it's disconnected from the engine. You'll have to rig up some cables or rope and hang it from the hood latch or let it sit on the ground underneath the car, or on blocks under the car. If you want to work on it you'll have to raise the car high enough to slide it out. Those are some reasons that it's actually easier to pull both at once. If you pull both, you can always slide half of the trans back under the car for storage, or stick the starter bolts back in and stand it on end. Takes up about half the space. The bolts are to keep the input shaft off of the ground.

Pull the wire off of your oil pressure sender and alternator and turn the key on. The pump should get power. The FSM and the EFI Book 1980 have more about how things work. https://www.classiczcars.com/files/category/14-280zx/ https://www.classiczcars.com/files/category/4-manuals/

Does it solve your no fuel problem? You know that the pump only runs when the key is at Start or the engine is running, right? Some ZX's have a 5 second prime when the key is turned on but it's often broken.

Whose left? Can't get it right until you know whose left.

Whatever you end up doing be sure that the front edge of the rotor is pointing at whichever wire you choose to be number 1. If you understand how the parts work you can make it do what it's supposed to do. The "star" wheel spins, when the two points align spark happens, whichever wire terminal is closest to the leading edge of the rotor gets the spark. Set your damper mark at about 10 degrees advanced, and move the distributor wires and distributor body appropriately so that #1 is where you want it to be. Even if you decide to realign the drive spindle you'll still need to know these things. Trying to look at all of the pieces separately doesn't work well.

I was just giving too much detail. When the two spikes pass each other is when spark will happen. Based on where the spikes are your ignition timing is retarded. Marked up the picture, below. I think that it might start if you advance your ignition timing. Loosen the adjustment screw at the base of the distributor and rotate the distributor body slightly clockwise while you're trying to start it. You can do it with everything assembled you don't need to see the internals. It's actually pretty common to have to move the distributor back and forth to find the spot that will start the engine, after reassembling everything. Then use your timing light for the final setting.

Have you tried rotating the distributor to a new spot? Your picture of the distributor shows the trigger wheel in a position that will give retarded ignition timing. If the timing mark is on zero then it's going to be very retarded for starting and running. Turn the distributor body clockwise and that should advance your timing. By the time the damper mark is on zero the spike on the star should have already passed the spike on ring.

Things look about right. How about valve lash? Any chance it's too tight and you have valves hanging open? You didn't show firing order either, or rotation direction. I've put my wires on backwards before. The engine actually started but it ran like the wires were on backward.

Agree. The whole engine really needs a good checking. Obviously it's got problems. If there's one there might be others. Best start with the basics and run through the list.

They're cheap and probably available at one of your local parts stores. I searched on 280Z but 280ZX is the same. The small ring seals, the big top ring applies the downward force and vibration damping. https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b/standard-intermotor-5820/fuel---emissions-16775/fuel-injection-16471/fuel-injector-seal-o-ring-kit-12312/ee721b9bfdb5/standard-intermotor-fuel-injector-seal-kit/sk4/6017490/1976/nissan/280z?q=injector+seals&pos=3 https://www.oreillyauto.com/search/1976/nissan/280z?q=injector+seals

His first set of measurements seem to show some increase on the second one, but not near the difference between cylinders. Are we over-hoping?