MAESTRO

Whoa. Takeover! Ok, so haven't had time to get under the hood any more, but in answer to earlier queries, it was recommended that I replace and upgrade the distributor. The shop that built the motor (Top End in North Hollywood) recommended upgrading to the matchbox style of unit. This is only following what seems to be the failing of the current distributor. I've been dealing with an intermittent misfire and loss of spark on cylinder #2 for a bit, so rather than just get a replacement EL distributor, it was recommended to upgrade to the matchbox unit. Was I wrong in assuming that I could basically just drop in the new distributor, wire appropriately, and go? I would think that since these are both EL distributors that use the same cap and rotor that I wouldn't put the new one in and have to radically change the timing or position of the plug leads on the cap. Or am I missing something? I do feel like I'm missing a wire from the ignition to the + terminal, but I'll need to investigate further...

Currently when I crank the car to start, it just cranks with a very slight stumble and makes quiet misfire and backfire pops. I've tried moving the distributor through the range of timing positions with no noticeable difference. The car started up and ran fine with the old system in place, so I think I'm just missing a wire?

I've got a '71 wagon with an L20B. When I got the car it had the 4-prong EL distributor and large remote ignitor box system wired up to fire it. I'm currently swapping out that setup and attempting to install a matchbox unit in its place. I figured that since they are both EL distributors that it would be a fairly easy switch... I clocked the new distributor to the same position and swapped it with the old one. The rotor and cap popped right back on, so I figured I'd be good to go if I got the wiring right. Was that a wrong assumption? This is how I currently have the coil connected: The red and blue wires are going to the correct points on the distributor. The brown wire was there before and was unrelated to the old ignition system, so I've left it in place. The black with white stripe wire is coming up from the loom that crosses the lower core support, and that wire was connected to the positive side before, so I left it as is. There are two other wires that were utilized by the prior ignition system which are not connected in the above picture. They emerge from under the dash and consist of a second black with white stripe wire and a black with green stripe wire – they are bundled together and look to have always been that way. I haven't connected them because they seemed to produce nothing measurable on my multimeter with the key in 'on' or 'start'. But, again, they were both utilized in the prior ignition system with the black with green stripe going directly to the negative side of the coil and the black with white stripe connecting to the remote ignitor box. Any ideas? I figured this would be a fairly easy switchover since I'm going from one EL ignition system to another... Thanks in advance, Marco

Yep, you're probably right. Wish there were better selections for 14s.... :sleep:

Wow dude. Love the look with the slots. How did you get such tiny tires on there? Are those 15s?

Sweet look... Diggin' it. Almost looks like it needs a checkered taxi stripe on the side. And some redline tires?

Thanks! 185/60/14 front, 185/65/14 rear - 280z struts/Datsport springs up front, 2" blocks and Monroe MaxAir in the back (aired down in the pic).

Thanks dude!

:rofl: I liked the Panasports, but the slots have a more aggressive 70's look - she definitely looks a little tougher now.

Something tells me this would work quite perfectly in a certain blue '68 wagon I've got my eye on. Consider it sold along with the car. :w00t:

Sounds good man! Congrats on selling the '69 so quickly, she sure was clean. That '68 is calling my name though... Definitely let me know when you're ready!

Bump... Still looking...

Still lookin'...

Really interested in this! I need to see more pictures!