Quote:Not as much fun?
Well,.... i don't know about that. It's all subjective & i think there would be a fair number that wouldn't necessarily agree with you, including me.
But then, i've never owned or driven an "L" series powered Datsun 1200.
Have you?

Isori
I wonder if you should think about taking a little holliday & driving south for the summer. There must be a number of places in the three east coast Capitols that could provide you with what you need, like a tweaked A14 or so, at a much more competitive price. Then you could enjoy the new found performance on the way home, & that would make it a real holliday.

No no i havent. but in my point of view an A series would be great fun, but an L would take the cake.
now i dont care if you's disagree but thats my opinion. every one is entitled to there opinion.

Quote:

Thats the problem Dodgeman. Drive a L series, work on one, feel the power,

I would agree with Woodydat, that the L Series are great fun.
These motors are proabaly the best motors ever mnftd by Datsun/nissan, when it comes to strenght, reliability.

Chris........ I'm sorry mate but I have to agree with Reeves and the little 14 year old.

As I once own a B310 with a L18 in it, with some twicks. It was fast(194 kph) and fun, but I still dont like them as they just look funny, sound funny and was a very big pain in the a$$ to work on. I just had a bad run with the car as at the time I knew nothing about Datsuns, motors and just cars in general, but in saying that there is no way in hell I would go to an L series now.




I am going to stick to the A series for a couple of reasons.....1 Monty is cert'ed to run the mod'ed motor and gear box......2 I have the A series EFI. With this set up and a SC I should be happy for a while. Then it will all come out and I'll go for the CA, SR or something else??

Once again my 0.02.

The reason why i started this thread is to get a good idea where i should take my datsun. i have given my self a budget of $4,500. im leanging towards on staying with the A series, but the L18 seems to be somethin i could go to.

You should be able to get exceptional street power in the A15, as long as you set yourself up right.


But in all goes, what your theroy on an A15/L18 with $4,500 going on what extras needed..... diff/g/box etc

Reeves
Perhaps you should re-read my summation about 12 posts before yours.

The "fun quotent" is, as i said, somewhat subjective. L18_B110, & some others would have a good idea as he /they have driven both of these combinations, while others who make flat statements [of fact?] about it, while never having legally driven either, have opinions that cary somewhat less weight.
Remember, my earlier comment revolved entirely around the arbitary statement that one combination was "more fun" All I said was that i did not necessarily agree. Re-read my comment.
This has nothing to do with wether or not it is the best combination within a specific budget or other criteria.

For what it's worth, i have a 200b with it's L20b engine. I had to build this engine from a pile of parts from several engines, so i DO drive an "L" series, & i DO feel the power every time i drive it.
Do you?

The good thing about the 1200 is that there is so many options for motors, and all these motors give you so many options for each persons different wants and needs.

For realiabilty and plenty of fun I would always choose the Aseries. All the Aseries are light motors, easy to swap, heaps of parts, cheap parts compared to new motors, reliable, plenty of power when modded etc.... there are heaps of options like turbo'ing, EFI, S/C or good hard N/A power.

The CA18det/Ca18de are a great option as well, plenty of power stock and heaps when Modded. A conversion can Cost $$$ and Modding them can cost more $$$$. But huge power results and not much cars on the road can get a Cadet 1200. To get Bang for your buck power results a stock Cadet with some driveline upgrades is proably the best option (in my opinion )

There are lots other great options like Lseries, Rota, Sr20det/de and some toyota motors etc.

I think its personal perference. There is so many motor options with different results for all diferent sistuations in our awsome 1200s from street/rally/track/drag/ to weekend hooner.

You gotta decide what you want for your 1200? power? handling, striaght line? etc

The reason I choose my Aseries/setup because i wanted decent fuel econmy, didnt want to spend $1000'sss on a motor/upgrade, good all round handling, enough power to have plenty of fun and to be able to have the realiablity to drive it everyday and direct swap with out spending $$$ on other uprgrades (diff, boxes etc).

My next motor I think will Be a L20b out to 2.4L, with all the works etc etc etc. Because i want to do something different, I also wont be a UNI BUM when i do it(different life sistuation) and because i love OLDSKOOL POWER.

MY 2cents I guess...some people mite not agree, but its my story and Im sticking with it

P.S Dont rush into something that you dont really think you want with little funds. Best to make a decsion on exactly what you want and save $$$$ to that project, even if it takes awhile.

Why not be different and go a Nissan SD20 or LD20. Plenty of torque for the street, can tow things easily, they sound good and most of all, nothing beats the sight of diesel lag chugging into the air.

Diesel Gemini's look out.

Quote:Well at least you agree with me.

On second consideration, some may prefer the long-chain sound of the L-series. I however prefer the super-quiet sound of the A-series. I'm not talking about exhaust notes, but about the underhood/underbonnet sounds.

And since when is an OHC engine easier to work on than a pushrod engine? If you are changing cams, maybe ... so again it's subjective. Depends on your point of view and what kind of "repairs" you might have had to do.

Yes, the L-series is super dependable. I would even say more so than the super-dendable A-series.

The the BIG ADVANTAGE of the L-series is simply displacement. "There's no substitute for cubic inches". Since there is no 1800cc A-series, let alone 2-liter A-series, the L-series will beat it hands-down in the power category every time -- not because the L-series is a better design, but because it's bigger. I'm not saying the L design isn't more sophisticated (it certainly is) but that the more sophisticated design doesn't matter on the street.

well heres my thoughts on the situation. i first off went turbo a12 in my 1200 sedan but for the price of a turbo rebuild an carbon seal i have basically completed my l20b conversion (turbo seals were gone). i picked up the car (series one bluey wagon) for fifty bux with slipping clutch and no rego. I did all the mounts etc myself using works welder so no cost there. new clutch, radiator recore and shortning, tailshaft and exhuast is all that i need to fork out for. i attacked this conversion differently than what ive read here as i wanted the engine to sit as low as possible to fit downdrough webber and hat for future turbo conversion (not for a while). to achieve this i modded the crosmember, cut 25mm out of the centre and rewelded it giving me extra sump clearance. aslo had to make spacers to drop swaybar down to clear oil pump. trans tunnel needed no mods just ground off old mounts, gearstick sits back approc 100mm. used bluey clutch slave and rad as well, cut complete rad support out for clearance, used l16 water pump and pulley to gain extra front clearance due to l20b having that hydrulic coupling. this setupwill provide plenty off fun with huge scope for further mods. i have also driven a a15 in rally car with twin carbys and monster cam etc and to be honest it felt slow (supposedly 55rwkw). tuorque is great thats why i went the extra capacity, just some food for thought.