Hey,

Thanks for the tips, I have now just enquired about the 5 speed box.

I had a chap from S.A drop something off at my house one day and spotted the 1200 and got very excited about it and told me all about the Bakkies and how they are so loved in S.A!

I will come back to you guys when I hear about the gearbox, Naturally I will want some advice on the turbo size (I read somewhere Garrett T25 fitting is best but what size turbo exactly - or is it more about the HP target?) Also the intake & fuel set up etc etc as well, your knowledge is gold and I really appreciate it!

I will try to get a couple photos of the 1200 on here as well.

Speak soon,

Dave

Awesome advise - Thanks,

I am now starting to get an idea in my head about the car build!

Sorry for the delay, I was at a wedding for the weekend.

I am seriously thinking A14 Turbo as it would just be fantastic little beast and would aim for 160-185 hp?

I have a great Nissan performance mechanic not far from me so he is the man for the job and is keen but can't do much for 3 months, which is fine as I can get everything together once I know the path I wish to take!

My mechanic and I were talking via messenger the other day which was all progressive stuff but my worry is the gear box now for a A14 turbo setup, on your last message you talked about a 5 speed ute box, what was that from exactly, and do I need to make the transmission tunnel larger, hopefully not I really don't want to do that?

Funny you say about Banzai, I love the mag and it is guaranteed read every month and I am in talks with them about the Datsun and last month (August '15) I made letter of the month because I am selling my mint R30 skyline which was going to be my project to make space for the Datsun, I could not believe the Datsun came up for sale as the are so rare now I had to have it and frankly I love it and it is in perfect condition for age!

Thanks again.

Dave

Hello,

Right, I have made a decision and I am going the A14 path in my 1200!

I am in the process of getting the engine already, but now contemplating two things a fully 'of the time' tuned N-A A14 or a Turbo'd A14?

I do not want to cut any body work and transmission tunnels etc as the car is so mint I really want to try and keep it that way.......but with more HP!

Now.....Can any of you lovely folk please help on this,

1 - Give me a list of parts and 'to dos' for hotting up the A14 in N-A format?

2 - Give me a list of parts and 'to dos' for Turbo charging the A14?

Thanks so much in advance, as I have said I am new to the 1200 world and I am totally loving it and very keen to get the project on the go!

Best regards,

Dave

Hello,

I have been told that the A14 drops straight in to the A12 mounts and marries up to the gearbox nicely which also handles the power increase well (with the engine being tickled as well), which makes it all the more tempting - Are you saying this is not the case?!?!

I would love the rumble of a worked A14 but just trying to get my head around all the options and ideas out there..... and even maybe turbo the A14 one day but that is not on the books at this point.

Thanks I will have a good look around the site in the next couple days.

Thanks again.

Dave

Hello All,

Sorry I have not come back to you, been a very busy guy.

Now I have sourced a A14 and am thinking I will work that as suggested, I was thinking SR20 with ITB's but I really don't want to hack the car to fit the engine and gearbox. I am a bit this or that with it all as far as the engine is concerned as this car is very original and as I want to keep it nice and 'in keeping' but want more power.

So the couple questions I have are:

Does anyone know or had a SR20 on ITB's conversion done and what alterations needed to be done for it all to fit?

Also for a A14 what engine work would you suggest?

Thanks guys I will look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Dave

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the ideas, loving the feedback - all gets me thinking and checking stuff out!

I really want to keep it 'old skool' running carbs and simply tuning around the 70's period of time.

I have had on off conversations with the old owner and he was saying that using the A12 block (light rebuild) with a A15 head, port and polished with tickled cams running some 40mm carbs (twin Dellorto with K&Ns - could I have light secondariness on this?) better distributor, ignition coil and leads etc, alloy radiator, a custom exhaust manifold and maybe even look at higher compression running 98 unleaded would all give some good power and in keeping with the car.

Even a short shifter for the 4 speed box - I would not have thought this existed!

Naturally I would like to upgrade the brakes as well - anyone had experience with this?

What are your ideas and recommendations on the above?

As I said I am new to these engine types, if I wanted to go nuts (which was my intention) I was going to drop a SR20DET in it and have a real little beast but I really don't want to rush into that now I have heard the rumble of the A12!

Thanks again guys.

Best regards - Dave

Hello again,

I am lucky enough to say that it is a deluxe, and the interior is like brand new!

The suspension is already done with coil overs in the front and blocks in the back and it seems to handle well, as I only drove it around the block before tucking her in the (carpeted) garage.

I am general Nissan fan and owned Skylines (GTR, GTS-t and R30 TI & RS) but the 1200 is something really special that a lot of cars just do not have, like character or soul.

What I am really looking forward to is build up a path in my head how I want to see the engine build unfold. Frankly the cars I have owned in my life are generally turbo & fuel injected so this is all new to me and I am so excited about learning it.

Once I have some pictures up it worth me talking about how I envision the car and seek advice from there?

Where do you live, SA, South Australia, South Africa or neither.

Thanks again.

Thanks for that,

I will put a few pics up soon, I am away with work for the week so will try for next weekend.

I am in Buckinghamshire, I have been having ongoing conversations with the old owner and he has made a few suggestions but I am keen to hear what people have to say for some direction, the A12 is completely stock standard and still feels pretty tight so a great building block, though when the engine is out I am going to have it stripped down and gone over then build it up from there.

Only 11 1200's left in the UK to my understanding so I may be getting some bits from OZ & Japan for the build.

Hello,

I have just this week got my Datsun 1200 sedan I purchased from overseas and totally fell in love with it, I have always liked the look of them in pictures but never seen one in the flesh and it was instant love at the docks! I had plans to drop a SR20DET in it but after firing up the stock A12 and heard the wonderful rumble of the 4 cylinders & 1171cc working I now feel I must keep the engine.

So now I want to modify the A12 engine to get as much (reliable) N-A power and lovely exhaust tone out of the engine as possible. It is a 50,000km car in near perfect condition for age.

What do you experienced A12 1200 owners recommend I do to it.

Thanks in advance...

Dave