B11 Ignition Conversion help

fastpakr · Jan 20th, 2003, 10:53 AM

I'm going through the conversion to a 32/36 Weber carb and the standard electronic ignition for a B11 so I can remove the hopeless chokeless and the computer controlled ignition. I've already got the carb and will have the adapter in the next few days, but I'm stuck on the distributor. A reman from Napa is $139 plus a $55 core which I'll have to eat. However, there is a distributor on eBay HERE which may be just what I need. Can someone verify if that's the correct unit? What else will I need to do this swap? I'm guessing I'll have to grab an ignition control module, but I'm not sure beyond that. Does anybody have a list of what's involved in the conversion? BlownB310's modification list mentions this conversion but doesn't go into much detail.

Any tips/tricks/helpful information would be greatly appreciated!

fastpakr · Jan 20th, 2003, 03:52 PM

Update: I've verified that the eBay auction is for the wrong distributor. At this point, the best price I've found is for an A1Cardone at Advance Auto Parts for $137 plus a $20 core. Does anybody know of a cheaper source?

Jan 20th, 2003, 09:58 PM

Umm.. That distributor on Ebay IS the correct distributor. I almost got that distributor from that guy. I did this conversion on my '87 B12. E16 engine (at least the head is from an E16, I have an E15 block for the time being). The ignition module your thinking you need is inside the distributor. There are two wires coming out of the distributor. Black/White, and Blue. The black/white goes to the + side of your coil, the Blue goes to the Negative side. VERY simple.

I had my car running like 15 seconds after I installed the distributor. (Which was the first time I ever had it running, since I got the car with a bad computer)..

Good luck with the swap, I don't have anything to compare to, but the car starts perfectly everytime.

fastpakr · Jan 20th, 2003, 10:53 PM

Alright, I'm a little confused. When I pulled up the parts for an 82 Sentra and an 86 Pulsar on the Advance Auto Parts website, I see two different distributors (logically). The one for the 82 has two vaccum advance ports (I assume one is ported and the other is manifold vacuum). The 86 distributor is the one shown on the eBay page - single advance. You're saying that the one on the eBay page is NOT the distributor that's used from the factory with the 86 (I can't get to the Pulsar to check tonight)? As far as the ICM, I realize it resides in the distributor but I didn't realize at the time of the first post that it came with the distributor in the listing. If you're sure that is the correct unit, I'll bid on it. If you can, please post back before 10am EST when that auction ends! Thanks for your help.

Somewhat different question - the carb adapter I've ordered for the Weber says that it's for the DG series 32/36. The carb I got is a DFAV 32/36, which seems fairly similar, and they both use the same base gasket. I'm pretty sure that the DFAV will be fine for this application - is that correct?

edit:

Quote:

Originally posted by UnaClocker
There are two wires coming out of the distributor. Black/White, and Blue. The black/white goes to the + side of your coil, the Blue goes to the Negative side. VERY simple.

Heh - one last question... If you're running the two wires from the distributor to the pos/neg sides of the coil, where does the coil get power? Does a run/start hot wire go the pos post on the coil along with the wire from the distributor?

Jan 20th, 2003, 11:08 PM

The distributor gets it's power from the hot side of the coil, you still have to run power to the coil. The distributor gets ground through it's base. And the blue wire that runs from the distributor to the coil is the fire signal that makes the coil spark.

The dual vacuum distributor was optional on certain models in 82 and 83 (maybe all the way to 86 in California). The single vacuum distributor works better from what I've read. Everywhere except California did away with real distributors in 84 and went to the crank angle sensor your trying to get rid of, which doesn't even have a vacuum diaphram on it.

Yes, that carb adapter will work with a DFAV just fine. It'll also work with a Holley 5200 series carb.

Where did you buy the adapter and how much was it?

fastpakr · Jan 20th, 2003, 11:17 PM

I paid 34 plus 12.86 shipping/handling for it, but I know now that it's available through WeberCarbsDirect for $20 or $36 (I think the $20 is the correct one, at least I hope it is, because that's what I got from eBay).
HERE is the link for the one that sounds like what I bought on eBay HERE

OK, so at this point the only thing I need to acquire is the distributor/cap/rotor and I'm all set? Do the plug wires match up on the new cap, or will I have to get a different set? Also, is the plug gap set the same on the older ignition system? Sorry for all the questions!

Last question (I hope) - Does the distributor need ported or manifold vacuum?

Jan 21st, 2003, 01:51 AM

The distributor needs ported vacuum. Yes, you'll need the correct cap and rotor for that distributor. Just call it an '83 Sentra at the parts store and you should be golden. The plug wires match up fine, I'm using the original factory wires on mine still (they say 1986 on them.. hahaha OLD..) Plug gap should be the same if your using the same old coil. I'm running Iridium spark plugs and never messed with the gap on them.

fastpakr · Jan 21st, 2003, 08:06 AM

Thanks for all your help, I'll post an update as soon as I've had a chance to do this. Hopefully it will help solve the rich running and terrible cold startup it's had since I bought it.

fastpakr · Jan 21st, 2003, 11:19 PM

OK - now that I know the ignition was used in 1986 on the CA cars, this has gotten a lot easier. The shop manual I had picked up a while back has some great diagrams of the system and proves that it really is as simple as you've made it sound!

This brings me to one new question though - the back of the shop manual lists the base ignition timing for the Pulsar:
15* before TDC for the non-CA models (sounds higher than I'm used to, but no big deal)
5* after TDC for the CA model (surely that CAN'T be right??)

I've never heard of base timing being set to after top dead center - can somebody verify the accuracy of that?

Jan 22nd, 2003, 12:10 AM

beats me.. I can't imagine how that engine would run.

fastpakr · Jan 22nd, 2003, 12:12 AM

What have you set your timing to?

BeEleven · Jan 25th, 2003, 02:14 PM

Is there anywhere to get a Weber carb for less than retail (the 32/36) and would you recommend electronic or manual choke?

Jan 25th, 2003, 04:02 PM

I'd definately go for electric choke. Manual is such a pain in the ass. And if you want to get it for less than retail, the only place to go is Ebay. DGEV 32/36 or one of it's close derivitives, such as DGAV, DFEV... Or even, Holley 5200, it's very similar, same bolt pattern and such. Just uses Holley jets rather than Weber jets.

fastpakr · Jan 25th, 2003, 08:35 PM

eBay is definitely the place to go for a used Weber. I paid $29 for mine (I've since spent about $50 on a rebuild kit for it). If I ever get the adapter for this, it'll be interesting to see how it runs.