EI Distributors - what's the true story part 2!

[Gregs672000]

Yes, it's a locked topic if you look it up! But by chance I was thinking about my old friend Bill Beaubier from my early Roadster days in So Cal, so I googled his name and one of the links sent me to a very old 2008 or so rather "heated" 311s discussion about the origins of the first EI dizzy for a Roadster. I had never seen this thread but I was mentioned numerous times? That topic was beaten to death, but several times it was hoped that either Bill or I would chime in to end the mystery, but neither of us were on the site back then, so....

Just to close out the history and the thread, here's the 100% true story!

At either the 2nd or 3rd Shasta meet (I missed the first), I think 1988 I met the mysterious "man from the Napa Valley" who had a beautiful 2000 sporting a match box EI distributor that HE had made himself. I was quite intrigued and he told me in general what to do to make one, but I'm not writing things down etc... we're just chatting, but later I'm thinking "I'll talk to my new friend Bill about this." I had already experimented with MSD spark boxes for my previous 620 PU so I was interested in more spark for the Roadster. So when I got back I talked to Bill and before long we went out to the wrecking yard looking for 4 cylinder Datsun distributors that matched up... they were cheap. Brought them back to Bill's garage and before long he had a prototype. I think I already had a MSD Blaster coil, so we figured out how to wire it up. In fact, once we got it working I was comparing how much hotter the spark was by holding the wire away from the cap while Bill reved the car and it shocked me so bad I couldn't let go of it... with Bill laughing his ass off at me!

So after that we kept that one on my car, Bill made a few (several?) others, I think he started doing some with Les C, then I later heard that someone was doing a kit. But obviously I was not in touch with the Roadster community at that time like we are now so I don't know anything more. I know Gary Boone made them because when my original prototype finally died I reached out to him for a new one which I then ran for years.

So, that's the solved Mystery of the Datsun Roadster EI Distributor... if anyone "cares!"

[TobyMan]

Great story ! Thanks for sharing

[drieseck]

Yes, that is a great story. My guess is several experts (above my ability) like Bill were pursuing this simultaneously. I've known Gary B. for 25 years or so when I lived in Denver, raced at the Coors Field course. He visited last summer and is spending less time with roadsters these days, (but successfully brewing a fine adult beverage!) We put one in my car, late 90's (I was an roadster infant). By then, he'd been winning SM in CO Region SCCA for 15 years, using his version. That would date/confirm these mods into the early-to-mid 1980's -----all using the B210 (1975)!. Thanks for connecting some dots.

[Gregs672000]

Yes, that is a great story. My guess is several experts (above my ability) like Bill were pursuing this simultaneously. I've known Gary B. for 25 years or so when I lived in Denver, raced at the Coors Field course. He visited last summer and is spending less time with roadsters these days, (but successfully brewing a fine adult beverage!) We put one in my car, late 90's (I was an roadster infant). By then, he'd been winning SM in CO Region SCCA for 15 years, using his version. That would date/confirm these mods into the early-to-mid 1980's -----all using the B210 (1975)!. Thanks for connecting some dots.

Yep, it looked like GB had developed one on his own, and that was a part of the controversy as there were "licensing" issues. I was surprised at the "heat" in the posts... guess we've finally moved beyond that, thankfully! Anyway, my story may be posted somewhere else on 311s but like I said I had never seen the original thread and found it interesting.

[rwmann]

I've run a Boone EI distributor/Blaster 2 coil on the '68 2000 Solex since 1996. Its instant performance and reliability improvement was the modification that prompted me to press forward to refresh numerous systems for the new millennium and digital age...

[23yrRebuild]

I installed my GB EI in 2005, I had been fighting ignition problems since the early '80s, replacing caps, rotors, points, condensers, coils, wires, numerous times, with only temporary successes, then they miraculously disappeared after installing my "Boonie" with MSD Blaster 2 coil.
It's still running great to this day.