Hey all...... Are there any good books or articles on builting a performance A block dat engine.... ? Stuff that specs out cams, intakes, carbs etc.... and what can a guy expect. Is a weber sidedraught any good vs a 32/36 downdraft? What is a good streetable cam to run but gives awesome power? How do you get real performance and power out of one of these little units and what are the best options for a good daily driver vs a weekend road car vs other?
If you put a single sidedraft weber 45 on a lynx manifold and installed a nice cam and collector would it perform or be over carbed or ???

So it may have been covered here and there or in a book somewhere, but I really wish I could find a good sourse for this kind of info for anyone anywhere that just wants to have a fun little ride, (incl me here in Canada)

Cheers gang

Hey Salty, There is a book written Nissan in about '74. It covers rally prep, based on what was around back in the day. Most of the part numbers are NLA. This book would be hard to find, however several members here have copies. Maybe one of them could scan it for you, and email it to ya. (Don't look at me, I don't have a scanner) Searching this site, is better than a book, because it covers many peoples realworld experiences with our beloved "A" engines.

Talking to performance shops will help with cam choice etc.
Get a cam grind that will have characteristics to suit your desired application for your car, and go from there.

I've found the search feature holds a wealth of knowledge

Making your car streetable is all in the cam.

Hey thanks guys....

Up here on Vancouver Island, BC Canada, where I live, there is a local Datsun Enthusiast Club and not one member has a Dat 1200. There are a handfull of the 1200's around but I have only even seen one on the road, bone stock, not interested in selling (why would you be interested in my old car? its just a car? whats wrong with you?) and I know of two that are sitting rusting in a ladies back yard 2 hrs away, but she is saving them for her grandson! (wont be anything left of em by then, but whatever)

As for performance.... most the guys on this side of the pacific seem to be more into resto and stock than road machines. The local machine shops look at me funny when I say DATSUN. They seem to be more into the domestic engines and the aftermarket stores dont carry anything that old, it seems to be 1990 NISSAN or newer, with mostly bolt on kits for bodies and some stuff for the new engines.

It seems like there are tons of shops and people "Down Under" that are into the Datsuns and up here everyone just says, "Why dont you buy something newer so you dont have to work on it?"

Thanks for the help guys and girls

datsun 1200/210/310 etc cars have bad aftermarket support in north america. There are a lot of parts from other datsuns or generic parts that fit any car.

it's usually easiest to adapt parts from more loved cars.

models you can use bits of: 240z,280zx,200sx,stanza/810, 510's

all the usual things work like port n polish, lightening valve train weight.

think of it as a miniature ford engine from the 50's, low tech, but you can add all kinds of things never imagined in it's day