and im gonna go with ca18, i know alot of people dont like them but i used to have one in my S12 drift car and that served me well over the years and ive become alot more familiar with them, plus my 1200 used to have a L20 in it but they dont fit snug and it has to have this terrible looking bonnet bulge/scoop in it so it fits and i dont wanna run that again, but if anyone is looking for a bonnet so they can fit a l20 ive got one! it does the job just doesnt tickle my fancy lol

No need for emissions testing hahaha as long as your using standard computer the engineer already would know what your car emissions are as they needed to be passed n recorded when they first came I to the country, and as for the new cars that STILL have drum brakes, your prob referring to Barinas,Mazda 2, Toyota echoes, there not even pushing 80bhp lol n they way over 1200 each, BUT comparing to A12 to a 1800 injected potentially turbo pushing well above 200hp in stock form, turbo or n/a dose not matter, come on bud who in there right mind wont put disc brakes, I'm guessing you don't need a brake booster either

Please NSW is the hardest/strictest state to get cars passed if it passes here it will pass anywhere with ease

I know at least 6 cars passed under new rules 2 here with cadet conversions no need for booster.

Talk to engineer that's,my tip. Then you know exactly what you need to do

Hard to believe no booster would be needed to pass with today's rules

What are these new rules you speak of? Got a link to official documentation?

NSW still has the same modification rules 2007. But there is some talk that national rules have been updated.

You dont need a booster in NSW to pass a CA18DE in a 1200 I did it recently. Also to the Author of this thread you don't need bulging modified bonnets to fit an L20b in a 1200 you just need the right sump (bowl at front) say stanza, series 1 or 2 bluebird sump. and maybe knotch the cross member so motor can go lower.If I've learned anything it is that engineers all have different likes and dislikes outside of the rules and regulations and they hate know it alls. You will get a CA18DE passed in a 1200 in Adelaide just ring around some engineers and more so talk with other Adelaide members no point taking advice from a NSW member the rules are different here. What I'm hearing around the traps is there trying to make the rules the same in all states for many reasons one being you dont have to reengineer when a car changes states.

yeah either way for the work ill do to fit a L20 in properly id be more satisfied with ca18 but cheers anyway, as for booster its already got one so no issue there, but im still gonna ask round some engineers bout brakes and so on

lol, so much crap in this thread

i also agree with andy, its easy to get an L20b into a 1200 without going anywhere near the bonnet, i had one in mine with the standard carby and filter on it and it still cleared the bonnet. But you are also right in saying that they are really more effort than they are worth compared to a CA coversion as the CA fits much better

datto13b.....yeah, i dont know where to start

if you look at the title it says CA18DE, not fully blown turbo CA that is going to have a million kilawasps
Remember that the brakes are dealing with weigh....not how fast the car is. is a new barina that weighs 900-1000kg can pull up quite well with tiny front discs and equally tiny rear drums then how is it logical to assume that a 1200 ute that weighs the same or less wont be pulled up by the same brakes
Sure having larger brakes is always good but it is a bit rich to say you need 4 wheel discs to pass engineers

and i ran 4 wheel discs on my 1200 for ages with no booster....it pulled up perfectly fine, Most engineers will like you to have a booster but if it pulls up fine and doesnt require ridiculous pedal effort then why add the extra weight of a brake booster....thats just more weight that your brakes need to deal with

And $10,000 for the conversion. again its a CA18DE, i did my first ca18det conversion for $1500 buying better than standard parts and getting everything seperately which no doubt ended up costing more. Even with a standard CA turbo the stock ute diff should be fine if you know how to drive. front brakes cant cost more than a couple of hundred $$$ if you actually know the right stuff to buy


Anyway, as to how much of a pain it would be depends on the engineer you use. you should do a bit of calling around to see who is around and what they think it will require. Some engineers are nice and are willing to give you basic info and have a chat. some are arseholes and wont give you the time of day without a deposit. They also vary largely on what they require you to do. so if you find yourself having to pay thousands of $$$ to hire a race track to perform some basic vehicle tests, you've probably gone with the wrong engineer

Thats just my experience, the engineer i used was great. He was happy to chat about my can with no commitment from me and then also talk about other cars and give general advice. Another engineer i talked to didnt manage to even get back to me with a simlpe yes or no on whether i could engineer the CA in my car or not, even after having actually talked to him for a little while about it

You wil also probably be required to have retractable seat belts and the collapsable steering column if your ute doesnt already have them

DD from what my engineer said mid way through last year they have just got a bit tighter on how the weight of the car is defined, so a 1200 is right on the line of being able to have a CA or not. Apparently the same with some toranas and stuff with small block chevs, they must also have been pretty close to the limit and it has caused a bit of a hassle with some conversions