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Gary Boone was kind enough to give me permission to reprint his recent post the the Datsun Roadster list. Gary has been making EI Dizzys for our roadster for awhile now. I have bought five of them including one for my Z car. They are easy to install with excellent instructions. I love the fact that I no longer have to worry about points burning out and needing replacing. Besides the fact that the points we get today are pretty much crap to begin with. Many others have bought and installed Gary's EI dizzys as well. They have had nothing but good things to say about them. With that said, read on, and Gary will tell his own story. Thanks Gary for sharing!
Hello fellow roadster owners,
Just wanted to let you know of some recent developments of my electronic
distributors for roadsters. There's a lot of information here about my
recent improvements to the package, and also the new options for advance
characteristics and details about how I build these distributors.
Previous buyers, feel free to chime in to the list, with your positive
or negative comments.
The price for the electronic distributor is as follows: For distributors with vacuum advance, such as most SU carburetor 1600’s and 2000’s, the price is $230 plus $8 shipping and a refundable $25 core charge for your original roadster distributor. For distributors without vacuum advance, such as Solex U20’s, etc., the price is $195 plus $8 shipping and a refundable $25 core charge for your original roadster distributor. I will accept a personal check, money order, Paypal (email gaboone70@earthlink.net personal account, which does not accept credit cards), or Bidpay. If you send a spare roadster distributor with your payment, ignore the $25 core charge. I recommend that you not remove your distributor until you have the EI distributor to install. The reason I need to charge the $25 core is that if I don’t get your original roadster distributor or your spare, I have to buy them for about $25 each in order to build more EI units. It is your option to keep your original distributor. I can send a used Nissan 12 volt coil to you with the EI distributor for an extra $15 and the total shipping cost increases to $10. I test the coils to make sure they are good. I also paint them so they look good under your hood.
I will provide my phone # if you would like more info. Just send me an email message Gary Boone and I'll reply.
Improvements to the package:
I'm now providing a modified fixing plate, so there's no need to do any extra work to install the distributor.
Simplified and improved instructions include:
I've now built 60 electronic roadster distributor conversions. I haven't gotten a single return or problem from any buyers. But if you are unhappy with it, I will refund your money. Also, I'm providing a one year warranty. With the improvements I've made to the Nissan EI distributor design, I believe these distributors will easily last over 250,000 miles with no problem. In the unlikely event you have a problem after a year, the instruction manual provides a parts list and diagram, as well as an electrical troubleshooting guide. The only maintenance required on your part is the occasional replacement of cap and rotor, which is inexpensive and easy to do. You can get the cap and rotor for this distributor from your neighborhood parts store, usually in stock behind their counter.
There is a lot more to a distributor than the points and condenser. There's a device inside called a mechanical advance mechanism deep inside the distributor that you can't see unless you pull out the breaker plate. It needs to operate properly and be set up properly for the right amount of advance, to make your engine run to its peak performance.
After getting about 20 original roadster distributors, I've found that virtually every one of them has the smog advance curve. The smog advance curve will cause poor performance, along with many other problems. Also, many of them had grease inside that was so dried up that it was preventing the mechanical advance mechanism from working at all.
As a test, I've seen what the spark energy is from this electronic system. It will consistently jump a 1" wide gap with just the Nissan 12 volt coil, when I've placed the coil spark cable an inch from a grounded surface. I have a MSD 6AL system in my 2000. I bypassed the MSD control unit just for a comparison of power difference and did not notice any significant difference in engine power or torque.
There is virtually no bushing wear on these electronic distributors because there is no side force from the spring on the points like in the original roadster distributor. I have found a very low percentage of the EI distributors from salvage yards have any wear at all on the shaft bushings. If there is wear beyond the factory tolerances, I replace the bushings. But to ensure even better life and performance, I re-assemble them using Mobil 1 synthetic grease.
The Nissan electronic distributors that I build these conversions from are very well made with very high quality components made by Nissan, with one major exception, which I've remedied. With the original Nissan design, the vacuum breaker plate has a plastic bearing cage, which with age, will break apart. When this cage fails, the ball bearings can fall out and this will cause many problems. It will not allow the vacuum advance mechanism to work at all, and can also allow the reluctor tips to make contact with the stator tips. Contact of the tips will ruin the operation of the distributor. I fabricate new bearing cages of teflon to replace the cheap plastic cage Nissan used. The teflon cage will last forever, so the only weakness in Nissan's design is eliminated with this conversion.
Another typical problem with the original roadster distributor is vacuum breaker plate wear. The ball bearings on which the plates rotate, will wear grooves in the plates, which will eventually disable the vacuum advance mechanism. The EI distributors have hardened steel plates on which the balls ride, so there are no grooves created in the plates by the ball bearings.
I can offer different mechanical advance characteristics. More specifically, I can provide a mechanism that allows full advance to be reached at a lower than stock rpm. This mod will allow full advance at around 3000 rpm versus the stock mechanism reaching full advance at 3800 rpm. It will still have the desired dual slope advance curve. I've done this on my 2000 Solex with no problems in driveability, detonation , etc.
Some people have concerns about the ignition module (mounted on the side of the distributor housing) failing. Of the 25 EI distributors I have gotten from salvage yards, not a single one has tested bad. I test each one a minimum of 3 consecutive times to ensure they are heated up while being tested. If you are uncomfortable with the module failing later, you can find one in a salvage yard for about $5, get it tested free at your auto parts store, and carry it in your glove box. The same module on my 280ZX lasted 225,000 miles and it's exposed to exhaust heat. The modules on these roadster distributor conversions are from a car that the exhaust manifold is on the opposite side of the engine from the distributor.
To make the distributors look nice, I polish the housings and apply a thin clear coat to prevent aluminum oxidation. I used this same clear coat on my 2000 cam cover and timing cover a year and half ago after I polished them, and there has been no cracking or discoloration.
I make wiring harnesses that you get with this distributor, to connect to the coil. Except for the original Nissan connector to the ignition module, which is very good, I solder the other connectors, so there will never be a problem with corrosion. There are no crimped connections that I do for the harness. I check the resistance of both wires of the harness to ensure good continuity.
As far as my qualifications for building these distributors, I have a Bachelors of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with several years of on-the-job experience in rotating equipment reliability. So I understand things like clearances, end float, lubrication, and all the measurements required to ensure it will operate properly and last a very long time. All this sounds pretty serious, but I do have sense of humor. But I take this distributor building seriously.
Enjoy the ride more,
Gary Boone
WyCROC
'70 2000 Solex