I just finished rebuilding a 1983 280ZX distributor I had in my shop to prepare for the summer. I had ordered all new parts and the new rotor was a Beck/Arnley #1737824...I trust Beck/Arnley as I've always suspected they secretly source the same parts that are supplied to Nissan. Out of the box the new rotor looked great with a brass top terminal I consider superior to the aluminum ones. But when I compared it to the old rotor I couldn't believe my eyes.

The aluminum terminal on the old rotor was as thin as a sheet of paper and the tip was glued to a layer of phenolic plastic(!) I use a MSD ignition and the thought of all my voltage passing through such a thin aluminum layer left me dumbfounded. In comparison the brass terminal is 4 times thicker and solid.

Interestingly the parts numbers and origin on the rotors are almost identical (the 280ZX one is labeled 114). I can only surmise the aluminum one is for a 240Z points distributor while the brass for a electronic (280ZX). Which would you use...? Ummm...I think I prefer the brass.

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Bryan Little
Datsunzgarage.com

1970 240Z - enhanced F54 L28 w/P90, Weber DCOEs, 4:11 R200, Nissan T5 5-speed

That's spooky. Aluminum isn't as good a conductor as brass, won't flow current as well as brass and doesn't dissipate heat as well as brass. But it's used a lot because it's cheaper.

I recall one of my buddies' 1950s/60s French cars had a rotor which used twin thin aluminum contacts and the repair manual specifically cautioned against using brass because aluminum allowed less of a magnetic field to build up than brass did. Apparently that was a problem back then? Maybe it added to the considerable radio interference or something?

I'd still opt for the thick brass, thank you.

Frank

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1970 240Z

I believe what I've always heard thicker is better..

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Mike Tubiak
1978 Datsun 280Z - HLS30-438694

Well since Brass is made from Copper, I will go with the brass one. Some wheres I have a beautiful ZX dizzy for anyone's future needs. I think I have an early ZX and a later ZX, plus a turbo dizzy for 82-83. Plus IG modules. So I hear the later ZX dizzy is even better than the aftermarket PerTronix? Can that be confirmed?