skyblue Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 That is a stock matchbox electronic ign. from late 70s and early 80s datsun. are they pretty reliable? or should i change it out for something more modern? Quote Link to comment
Pacific coast Datsun Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 you got any old pics? would love to see it. When you say "re-keyed" is that the same as re-indexing? how was the ride? Yeah re-index'd...same difference :D The matchbox distributor is very reliable, run it & enjoy. Heres my old 521..... would've sat lower up front but the shock were bottomed out. That being said it rode kinda rough but it didnt bother me. Quote Link to comment
skyblue Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 sweet. that stance is just what i'm looking for. i like it. did you have to notch the frame? Quote Link to comment
skyblue Posted February 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 is the ballast resister the white thing under the coil? and should it be hooked up? Quote Link to comment
Pacific coast Datsun Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 I didnt notch the frame but it needed to be done. I removed the HUGE #8 bump stops & the frame hit the axle sometimes. You could get some 720 or Hardbody bumpstops & cut them down & run those.They fit under the U bolts & are a lower profile. It may still ride kinda rough at times without a notch though. With the correct coil [bigger than stock & may say "for use on electronic ignition" on it] the ballast does NOT need to be hooked up. Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted February 15, 2011 Report Share Posted February 15, 2011 Bluesky Those matchbox ignitions are good. what might be happening is if that is the stock point coil it could be getting HOT as Point coils are design to run on low current. Try a s coil from a 79 200sx or 79 620, 80 720 these are designed to run on straight 12volts. if this is the point coil you could rehook up the wires back to stock. and wire the matchbox like a Pertronix. Put red on the Blk wht wire which is the POWER . stock it would be at the ballasst resisitor.olddatsuns.com has the wiring drawgs there for a 521 to make this EZer just get the 79 coil and you dont need to worry about hooking it back up to stockbut ne I bet coil is getting hot feel it Quote Link to comment
skyblue Posted February 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 Bluesky Those matchbox ignitions are good. what might be happening is if that is the stock point coil it could be getting HOT as Point coils are design to run on low current. Try a s coil from a 79 200sx or 79 620, 80 720 these are designed to run on straight 12volts. if this is the point coil you could rehook up the wires back to stock. and wire the matchbox like a Pertronix. Put red on the Blk wht wire which is the POWER . stock it would be at the ballasst resisitor.olddatsuns.com has the wiring drawgs there for a 521 to make this EZer just get the 79 coil and you dont need to worry about hooking it back up to stockbut ne I bet coil is getting hot feel it on my way home it died like 6 times on me on the freeway. to make things worse there's a huge rainstorm going on right now too. but anyway, i pulled the coil wire from the cap, cranked it to check for spark and nothing. then it came back, then gone. it would come and go intermittently. soo frustrating. didn't feel it but what you said makes sense cause it starts acting up after ive been driving for half an hour. eventually (barely) made it home. i will get a new coil as soon as i can. thanks for the help guys. i'll keep you posted. Quote Link to comment
skyblue Posted February 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 would a Pertronix Flame Thrower coil be enough? Quote Link to comment
Pacific coast Datsun Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 Id park it until you can find a better coil. Not sure if the Flamethrower coil would work but you can also grab one off a 280 Z or ZX. The Z-ZX coil will be taller & wider that a points coil. Quote Link to comment
skyblue Posted February 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 so do i just go to a parts store and ask for the suggested coil? Quote Link to comment
Pacific coast Datsun Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 Hit up the junkyards to find a ZX coil. Maybe an Accel coil will work but may be pricey. Quote Link to comment
DatDoug Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 Its the wrong coil. Go to the parts store & get a new stock coil for a 79 620. It will hook rite up & u can toss that ballast resistor. Awesome truck by the way. Like Hainz said buff that paint out with TR3. It looks way better lowered :cool: 521's can be static dropped pretty low without c-notching & bags. Try that first & find some cool rims. You will likey :D Quote Link to comment
skyblue Posted February 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 great. i will do that first thing tomorrow. thanks soo much for the help everyone.:D Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted February 16, 2011 Report Share Posted February 16, 2011 a MSD Blaster 2 coil will work also about 35$-40$. I think they have more bling than spark to a Actual Jap made Black coil. but the stock type one might be alot cheaper. let us know hard to keep track of all these post as they are all over this site. Quote Link to comment
72RaceReady Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 hey guys i am new to this site as well and everyone is super cool i have always wanted a 510 and now finally picked one up a 2 door 71 with an l20 and that matchbox ignition but its starting to fail too now just like yours skyblue its cutting out and sputtering like its not firing on all cyl it had an accel super coil on there from the previous owner kinda over kill lol but anyways i got in it the other day and it wouldnt fire finally i tapped the coil and the matchbox and finally started i drove it to work at oreillys and i baught a cap and rotor cuz they were fried and i baught an msd blaster 2 coil and now its still acting up worst than before is it the matchbox going out? or what could it be it runs like doodoo and it only gets better when i get on the throttle at high rps i looked one of the ignition module and its almost 200 bucks that my cost and damn i would rather just pick up an msd and by pass the matchbox if i could. can you? thanks for all your help you guys are the best Quote Link to comment
wayno Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 Make sure the two connections to the matchbox from the coil are not loose. The engine moving around can loosen them, at least thats what happened to mine. wayno Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 72RaceReady make sure the dizzy just isnt plane worn out. Like alots of side wiggle on the shaft. you sure the timming is good on this? have you used a light? if its erractic at idle then soemthing is wrong. The Accel Super coil is a .7 ohm coil. But I heard they can get hot if running a matchbox as one guy with a 280zx told me. But Bertvorgen on the realm runs his just fine with a Matchbox. So I dont know. Just want to make sure your just no running out of time if your dizzy is off. Maybe the module is going bad. They is a resistance ck for thes but I dont have the specs. Quote Link to comment
72RaceReady Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 i havent used a timing light on it but i havent moved it from the position it was runnung fine in all i did was switch the cap rotor and coil i haven measured any of the volts or any of that stuff i will do that today does it sound like matchbox failure i switched both wires out to the coil from the matchbox and all the connections are tight and secure some dude in tolleson is selling a matchbox dizzy complete for 125 i wanna pick it up sould i? or coul i use the msd box to bypass the module banzai you said those msds suck so i kinda want to keep the matchbox but if i could bypass it for less money and have a hotter ignition that would be good too i gotta try and get it fixed today its my dd lol thanks guys Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted February 19, 2011 Report Share Posted February 19, 2011 i havent used a timing light on it but i havent moved it from the position it was runnung fine in all i did was switch the cap rotor and coil i haven measured any of the volts or any of that stuff i will do that today does it sound like matchbox failure i switched both wires out to the coil from the matchbox and all the connections are tight and secure some dude in tolleson is selling a matchbox dizzy complete for 125 i wanna pick it up sould i? or coul i use the msd box to bypass the module banzai you said those msds suck so i kinda want to keep the matchbox but if i could bypass it for less money and have a hotter ignition that would be good too i gotta try and get it fixed today its my dd lol thanks guys What you really should do is start your own thread on this so the answers aren't confusing to the original poster of this thread. If you have a 510 try the 510 section or Electrical. If you want, start a Project thread and discuss you problems there. Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 B) matchbox goes to + coil C) - coil. use a EI coil(79 200sx ) with a matchbox and bypass the ballast resisitor this is a EZ fix. Quote Link to comment
skyblue Posted February 22, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Update. finally got a new coil. went with the pertronix flame thrower 3 ohm . swapped it out this morning then drove to sonoma and back and she was running great. then about an our ago i was at the mall parking lot and she died. but started back up. then stuttered a bit on the freeway. ugh!:angry: I've never had this problem before and this is my 5th datsun. but i'm not very good with electric. I've got the wiring diagram and the only thing behind the coil is the fusebox. could a faulty fuse box be the culprit? Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 Dude we told you to buy a stock 79 200sx coil. You putting a 3 ohm coil on there is good for a stock set up on a Point system. Otherwise you could have used the coil you got & the ballast resisitor and have the same out put as you have now. as a point coil is 1.6 ohms and the ballast is 1.6 ohms so a total of 3.2 The Pertronix is 3 ohm is design to use with Pertronix as is needs a high resistance of around 3 ohms. 12volt divide by 3 ohms is 4 amps. more than 4 amps it could POP. the 79 coil is a .7 ohm and is designed to run on 12-14volts. and the match box as you have it hooked up. anyways I dont think its a coil proplem now as its still happening. Flame Thrower dont mean Bigger spark!!!!!!!!! Find some metal heat resisiant tape and cover that Blk module and maybe add a ground wire to the dizzy to the pedastal Fuse box????? just replace the fuse with a new one. Matter of fact replace all of them with the correct one just for maint. sometimes the ends break off due to age and vibration. Quote Link to comment
skyblue Posted February 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 ah dang. i didn't realize that. thanks for the schoolin'. it dont? damn it i thought it was. :confused: i'll try the ground. what's the pedestal? thanks Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 Pedastal = distributor mount with the tang that has the 10mm hold down bolt. also known as dizzy mount. ground the case of dizzy to the dizzy mount(pedastal) I wonder if you go to Radio shack and buy a bottle of quick freeze and spray the module whn this happens if it goes away. maybe take module off and clean the 2 connections there. the grn red wire. Quote Link to comment
burrito213 Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 nice! :cool: Quote Link to comment
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