SteveJ

I'm not seeing where the wiring is hiding for the matchbox if it is a 280ZX distributor. That's why I was thinking it was a 280Z distributor. Of course, the wires could just be hidden well enough. I could swear that the wires on my 280ZX distributor are more visible, but that could be that I don't have as many things in my engine bay that could conceal the wiring.

Unless that car started out as a right-hand drive and you converted it to left hand drive, you have a 1978 280Z body. The distributor and ignition are from a 280Z. Jim @jfa.series1, is there a knowledgeable person in ZCOT who could make the drive up I-35 to help him with testing?

I think if the blue wire from the wiring harness is still connected to the negative of the coil, the tach should still work.

Amazon has several sources.

What is your budget?

Your car has been suffering from neglect. Aside from the corrosion, it is also obvious that the SUs are missing the dipsticks. The good news is there are plenty of knowledgeable people living a couple of hours west of you. Atlanta has a really good early Z community. You'll need to get the gaskets for the carburetors. Those come in kits. You'll probably also need new hoses from the float bowls to the carburetors. You may also need new needles if someone messed with the carburetors and bent them. Get some straight 20W oil. You can probably find that at your local Ace Hardware in a 3in1 brand bottle. I have two or three of those in my garage. Hopefully you won't need floats. I can't remember if those were reproduced yet or not. Z Therapy doesn't list them in the product line. Get the SU video from Z Therapy (http://www.ztherapy.com). Download the factory service manual. See the link in my signature. Ask questions.

Do not overthink this. The TIU acts essentially like an overgrown Pertronix or matchbox on the ZX distributor. Points, Pertronix, and electronic ignitions all work off the same principle. They detect the position of the distributor and close the circuit between the distributor negative and ground. That allows the coil to build a field and discharge. The electronic ignitions (TIU/ZX) require a reluctor to detect the distributor position. @Captain Obvious once posted a nice oscilloscope capture of a reluctor waveform. Bruce, is there any chance you still have that handy? You could replace the TIU with an HEI if you wanted to, but you would need a 260Z distributor since it requires a reluctor to operate. If you wanted to convert the car to a ZX distributor you would need the ZX distributor mount, and ZX distributor with the electronic ignition module attached. The early ones seem to be preferred, though I'm not knowledgeable on why. The negative wire from the coil goes to the negative on the EI module. The positive on the coil gets jumpered to the positive on the EI module. @240260280 has a nice write-up here: http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/distributor/index.html. I did the conversion on a 240Z in a very short amount of time.

All 260Zs ran the TIU.

And this level of detail is why I tagged Carl.

I would tend to agree with Jerry. I was talking about this car at lunch with @Patcon. I think if you could get 2 or 3 people in an auction who really want a one-owner 240Z, it might go higher. The problems with the Hagerty valuation are 1) they tend to run high IMHO and 2) they group the 73 with the earlier 240Zs. Within the North American 240Z community, the 73 isn't considered as favorably as the 72 and the Series 1 cars. @Carl Beck could probably give a better idea of what the higher end cars are swapping hands for these days.

At first Mike's name didn't click with me, but as soon as I saw the photos, I realized I knew the car. The car looked great back in the summer of 2011, and it still looks great. It was definitely Mike's baby. It's probably a great opportunity for someone to purchase a nicely restored one-owner 240Z. That's coming from someone who owns two Zs that were rode hard and hung up wet by multiple owners.

Here are the ones I have from the 2011 ZCON.

I met Mike at the 2011 ZCON in Savannah. I remember his car well. I'm sorry to hear that this is an estate sale.

Oh sure, Jim, skip over what I've documented. The roller ball will stay in place nicely with a tiny dab of dielectric grease. I have rebuilt a few switches. There are descriptions of early and lat turn signal switch rebuilds on Fiddling with Z Cars.

Thank you for filling in the gaps, Jim.

There are two flasher relays. In the 240Z, I believe one is tucked up under the passenger side while the other is under the driver side. I can't remember which is for the hazard lights and which is for the turn signals.

I know in a previous thread that I believe you started, I posted the diagram out of the FSM. Find that post, look at it, and ask questions. Or just find the turn signal diagram in the BE section of the FSM, study it, and ask questions.

Don't forget to check the simple stuff first. A bad ballast resistor could allow the car to start, but it would cut off as soon as the key is released. Use an ohmmeter and check across the terminals on the opposite sides of the resistor. If it's more than a couple of ohms, that is your problem.

Go with the 3 Ohm Fireball, bypass the resistor and live a happy life.

The light on the gauge is wired in parallel with your blinkers. If the light in the gauge is on steady, it means the turn signal is not flashing, and you should check the flasher relay for the turn signals. If the light in the gauge does not come on, it could mean there is an issue with the circuit going to the gauge, an issue with the bulb, or that the overall circuit is not getting power (usually an open circuit). If your hazard lights flash properly at the corners and dash, it tends to mean there is an issue with the hazard switch, turn signal flasher relay, turn signal specific wiring, or the turn signal switch (if neither turn signal works) or an issue with the turn signal switch or wiring for that side (if one side works but the other doesn't).

I love seeing photos of your car, Jim @Zup

By the way, once the center nut is removed, the wheel pulls off. However, it is good to leave the nut threaded on loosely so that you don't hit yourself in the face with the steering wheel after you wiggle it loose. Also, if you have all of the other components in place, you can test the horn by putting a jumper wire to the green/black wire on the dash harness near the steering wheel and grounding it. If that does not sound the horn, you could also have a bad/missing horn relay.

The most likely culprit is the turn signal switch. If not that, then there is an issue somewhere in the wiring for that side downstream of the switch. The 76 FSM has a nice breakout of the circuit in the BE section.

If there is an issue with the fuel pump relay, the good news is that replacements are readily available. Just search for Volkswagen Bosch fuel pump relay. Nissan licensed the Bosch system. The bad news is that it's still $60+ for the relay.

@Carl Beck might know of a place.